Columnist Joe Delaney: ArtFest stirs memories of small town Henderson

Joe Delaney

Thursday, May 7, 1998 | 10:18 a.m.

GO HENDERSON. ... One of Nevada's fastest growing communities, Henderson hosts its first ArtFest, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., this Saturday and Sunday, free admission and free parking. ... More than 175 artists will exhibit their paintings, sculptures, ceramics, wood carvings and jewelry for an expected attendance of 30,000 art fans. ... There will be food booths, hands-on art activities for children and day-long entertainment.

Activities will take place along Water Street and in the park area around the Henderson City Hall and Convention Center. ... This is another coming of age for Henderson.

It was in the late 1940s, just after World War II, that I drove through Henderson, enroute to Las Vegas, and stopped at a shack that bore the legend, "KBMI Radio." ... This was my first meeting with the late Jean Magowan, who later joined Lee Fisher as a top public relations team at the Dunes Hotel.

A connection

Rick Richardson, also no longer with us, was working at the radio station with Jean... She went on to become a Las Vegan, but Rick held on to his Henderson roots. ... It was Richardson who pressed me into service in the late 1960s, along with show producer Maynard Sloate, as judges at various annual functions for Henderson Days at Basic High School.

The late Gus Giuffre often made us a threesome. ... We would stop at Nick's Supper House, also no more, for a bite to eat before returning to Las Vegas. ... During that 1960s period, I also hosted a radio call-in show at KTOO Radio in the Valley Bank building on Water Street in Henderson.

Duke Hoover (Hoover-Gorin Associates), still here, was station manager at KTOO, and preceded me on the air in the mornings. ... Cy and Evelyn Newman took over the station and I moved to KLAV-AM Radio, 1970-1976, live from the Landmark, then the Sahara.

Mardi Gras Balls

St. Rose de Lima Hospital in Henderson still holds its annual Mardi Gras Ball at Caesars Palace. ... Back then it was more a people event that a society event. ... Remember those special bar set-ups, each manned by members of a different group -- lawyers, doctors, media, etc. ... All the money went into a big bowl at each booth. ... Media usually raised the most money.

No one received any change, nor did they ask for any. ... The tens, twenties, and occasional hundred dollar bills went right into the bowl. ... The drinks were free-pour. ... It was an easier, gentler, warmer, less-populated Las Vegas at that time.

During the years, one of my favorite political sparring partners and a great contributor to Henderson's growth was Rev. Caesar Caviglia, now retired, then pastor of St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church. ... We wish Henderson and its ArtFest many more happy years of sustained growth.

Star-policy rundown

It's Jeff Foxworthy (Bally's); Howie Mandel (Caesars); Debbie Reynolds (her hotel); Hall & Oates (Desert Inn); Patsy Cline Tribute (Gold Coast); Burt Bacharach, Friday and Saturday (Harrah's); Tom Jones (MGM Grand); Siegfried & Roy (Mirage); Lance Burton (Monte Carlo); Everly Brothers (Orleans); Danny Gans (Rio); and the Coasters, Platters and Drifters in "Love Potion No. 10" (Sahara).

Johnny Mathis follows his successful Christmas Concert in the Hilton Convention Center last December with a Friday through Sunday run this week in the Hilton showroom. ... Mathis has few peers as a balladeer.

This confirms our earlier column mention that Paul Anka had moved to the Mirage. ... He will replace Siegfried & Roy, June 11-14 and 18-21, the first in a series there. ... In addition, Anka has new multi-year deals at the Atlantic City Hilton and Foxwoods Casino.

Thursday addenda

When an accurate, unbiased history of Las Vegas is written, the names of E. Parry Thomas and Jerry Mack and their Bank of Las Vegas, later Valley Bank of Las Vegas and now Bank of America, will rank high as major factors in this area's growth. ... On Tuesday, Thomas was presented with the 1998 Good Scout Award by the Boulder Dam Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America in a luncheon at Treasure Island.

It was Valley Bank who gave us the loan that launched Westcare in this community. ... Our annual check is in for the SUN Summer Camp Fund. ... Will you please join us in supporting this vital cause? ... See you Friday.