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About the Author:Frank Wright 1938-2003
Frank Wright spent only about half his life in Las Vegas, but Las Vegas became his whole life. Originally a political scientist, he became the keeper of Las Vegas history, passionate in uncovering the truth; diplomatic yet firm in deflating the myth.
Born in Salt Lake City on June 15, 1938, he was educated at the University of Utah, and taught political science at the University of Montana before assuming a similar job at Nevada Southern University (now the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) in 1968.
He left the job in 1973 to pursue a doctorate degree, returned to Las Vegas and worked two years as hotel night manager at the famed Binion's Horseshoe Casino on Fremont Street, and was hired as curator of education at the Nevada Historical Society. He would work as a historian the rest of his days.
His duties included developing historical studies materials for school children. Once-legendary figures like trappers Joe Meek and Jim Beckworth had faded from the state's popular culture by 1983, when his booklet, The Mountain Man - Early Explorers of Nevada brought them back to life in a compact, yet realistic version, which children could appreciate. It was one of at least nine monographs Wright would publish to shake the dust off a colorful past.
Dorothy Ritenour, then employed by the Nevada Humanities Committee, approached Wright for help in developing a traveling program to enliven history studies throughout Southern Nevada. He served four years as a speaker for Humanities on the Road, where his storytelling ability, his bushy moustaches and weathered face, left a long-lasting impression on his listeners.
Wright and Ritenour became allies in efforts to preserve the vanishing historical buildings and sites of Las Vegas, a contribution recognized posthumously in 2004, when the city of Las Vegas gave his name to a pavilion in a downtown mini-park near a historic post office building.
The allies also became friends and, in February 1984, husband and wife. Dorothy Wright is now employed by Clark County Parks and Community Services. Frank's projects sometimes touched the uncomfortable parts of Las Vegas history, as in 1994, when he curated an exhibit called “Eastside — Westside: Overcoming a Segregated Environment, 1940-1960.” But they also celebrated some of Las Vegas' moments of self-sacrifice, as in the museum's permanent exhibit, “Las Vegas: The War Years.”
Besides scripts for the Nevada Yesterdays pieces collected in this book, he wrote and narrated the TV/video series Looking Back At Nevada with the Cultural Division of Clark County Parks and Recreation. In recent years he served on the boards of the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, the Neon Museum and the city of Las Vegas Historic Preservation Commission; in earlier years he had helped guide such organizations as the Preservation Association of Clark County, the Southern Nevada Historical Society, and Allied Arts Council.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal's staff in 2002 named him “Most Popular Male Las Vegan” in its annual "Best of Las Vegas" awards.
Wright retired February 2, 2002, and began work on this volume. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2001, and not long after his retirement, there was a recurrence. Wright made a last-ditch effort to expedite his project, editing and polishing a number of the vignettes before the advancing illness forced him to hand off the final tasks to his wife. Wright died April 25, 2003, survived by Dorothy; a stepson, Christopher Ritenour; a brother, Robert Wright; four grandchildren; and a large body of carefully researched historical lore, much of which, without him, would have vanished forever.
The family of Frank Wright and Stephens Press extend their thanks to the following people, who stand out among many who helped make this book possible.
