First CCSN library director, history buff Gafford dies

Wednesday, May 15, 2002 | 9:57 a.m.

Frank Hall Gafford, a man who lived and loved history, died Friday while holding a piece of it in his hands.

The first director of the Community College of Southern Nevada's library and a zealous Coca-Cola bottle collector, Gafford was inspecting a 19th century Winchester rifle that was for sale. While examining the weapon, Gafford suddenly laid it on his lap and died of an apparent heart attack, his wife said. He was 66.

Services for the Las Vegas resident of 31 years will be 4 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church, 1515 W. Charleston Blvd. Visitation will be for an hour before services. Bunkers Mortuary is handling the arrangements.

When Gafford began his job as director of learning resources for what was then Clark County Community College on North Main Street in 1971, the library had just eight books -- all on loan from the Clark County Library. When he retired in 1997, CCSN library branches in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson had 60,000 books, audio-visual tapes and other materials.

"He had a tremendous amount of dedication to anything that held his interest, whether it was his job or his collecting," said Boulder City Mayor Robert Ferraro, a longtime friend and fellow bottle collector.

"He would get so excited about finding historic things. He once called me elated about digging up a Civil War-era whiskey bottle in Virginia City."

Gafford and Ferraro long had a friendly rivalry to see who could collect the most "By a Dam Site" Coca-Cola bottles. The rare embossed bottles were issued to honor Hoover Dam but later were banned from further production by Coca-Cola's Atlanta headquarters for using the play on the word "damn."

Born Jan. 31, 1936, in Charleston, S.C., Gafford was the son of University of Texas history professor Frank Gafford and the former Anita Engerrand. The family moved to Texas when he was 5.

Gafford earned a bachelor's degree in library science from North Texas State College -- now the University of North Texas -- where he met his wife, Mary, when both were 18.

Gafford earned his master's of librarianship from the University of Washington and got his first librarian job at Arizona State in 1959. Mary became a teacher.

He was librarian at a junior college and high school in Texas before accepting the local community college post.

"After seeing the library had only eight books, he wondered what he had gotten himself into," Mary Gafford said. "But then he went to work, going through catalogues and asking professors what books and tapes they needed."

Gafford was a member of the American Library Association, Nevada Museum of History, Las Vegas Numismatic Society, Las Vegas Bottle Club and the National Organization of Collectors of Coca-Cola Memorabilia, aka Cola Clan.

In addition to his wife, Gafford is survived by two daughters, Michelle Gafford of Las Vegas and Georgette Gafford of Wisconsin; and a sister, Jeanne Humphreys of Denton, Texas.

The family suggested donations be made in Gafford's memory to the Lied Animal Foundation of Nevada or Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.