When my parents moved here in the early 1950s, there were only 50,000 residents. It was possible to know almost everyone in town or, at least, know someone who was related to those few you didn't know.
I was born at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital, which is now University Medical Center, and was delivered by Dr. Joseph George -- a wonderful man who is still a family friend. Our house was on the outskirts of town at Charleston Boulevard and Rancho Drive near the hospital.
After my dad passed away, my mom, Georgette Schaeffer, went to work for Variety Day Home, where I went to pre-school. When she got off work, we'd stop for a milkshake at the Dairy Queen on West Bonanza Road. Then we'd pass by the Binion house nearby and marvel at the size of it. We always wondered what that house looked like inside. Later my mom went to work as a cook for St. James Catholic Church on H Street before it moved to its present location.
I have a lot of great memories of those times. I remember riding down the hill on Bonanza and pretending it was a big roller coaster. I remember shopping at Vegas Village on Las Vegas Boulevard and Owens Avenue, and going with my best friend, Kelsey Hill, to Woolworth's on the corner of Fremont Street and Las Vegas Boulevard, where we would have lunch at the counter and think we were cool.
It was nothing for our moms to drop us off, at 12 years of age, and leave us on Fremont for the afternoon to shop at Ronzone's (which became Dillard's), J.C. Penney's, Joseph Magnin's, Trader Bill's, and who could forget Chic Hecht's ladies clothes store.
Later, we'd shop at Panorama Market on the corner of Hinson Street and Charleston, where my uncle Chuck Shines worked in the liquor department. My mom said Panorama had the best meat in town. It was like a small-town market.
Who can forget Fong's Garden on East Charleston, where you could get the best Chinese food in town? Fong's is still there today. What about the Blue Angel drive-in on East Charleston? Oh so many memories!
Who can forget the numerous drive-in theaters in town? What fun times we had there. Macayo Vegas on East Charleston was a great hangout for my Bishop Gorman High School friends and me. We had some fabulous TCTs (toasted cheese tortillas) there.
In the early 70s, my husband and I were fortunate to see Elvis Presley at the International Hotel, which became the Las Vegas Hilton. I had a menu that listed the dinner show with lobster and Elvis Presley for $15 per person. Boy, those were the days!
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