Centenarian could be Clark County’s oldest native

Friday, March 12, 2004 | 4:24 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

March 13 - 14, 2004

There is really nothing special about Woodruff "Woody" Leavitt. He worked construction and mining and later was employed by a Las Vegas distribution company and a downtown cleaners.

Nothing special, that is, until you consider that the construction job was building the first road across the Mormon Mesa 80 years ago and that his last job was more than 30 years ago. And he is no one special unless you consider that on Friday he turned 100 and is one of the oldest living men who was born in Clark County -- maybe the oldest, his family says.

"I don't think he has given much thought about being the oldest living Clark County man," said Leavitt's 78-year-old son-in-law David Cox, a native Nevadan born in Bunkerville. "He thinks it is quite a thing just to reach 100. Recently he told me, 'If I make 100, that's great. I'm ready to go.' "

Leavitt's family plans a party for him today in St. George, Utah, where he lives in a retirement home.

It is rare for a person to have been born in Southern Nevada in the early 20th century, when the vast majority of the state's population was in Northern Nevada, and still be alive.

It is generally believed that the late Ethel "Big Ma" Boggs, the last of 10 children of Las Vegas pioneer Rose Warren, was the first white baby born in Las Vegas on Sept. 15, 1907. Leavitt, who first came to Las Vegas in the 1920s, predates Boggs' birth by three years. However, it was more common for pioneer births to occur in older Southern Nevada settlement towns such as his birthplace, Mesquite.

Genealogy records kept by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Leavitt is a member, show he was 6 years old as of the 1910 U.S. Census. The LDS Family History Center in Las Vegas says Leavitt at the time lived with his father, Joseph, mother, Luna, and seven siblings.

In 1930 he lived at 45 Main St. in Las Vegas with his wife, Zelma, whom he married in 1923, the year Leavitt, a Virgin Valley High School graduate, first came to Las Vegas. At the time they had three children, including Nola, Cox's wife. Interestingly enough Leavitt's parents lived at 46 Main St. at the time, according to the LDS Family History Center.

Leavitt worked for the Dodge Construction Co. in Fallon, driving a horse-drawn earth mover to build roads. He recalled having an opportunity at the time to buy 4,000 acres of farmland off what now is Nellis Boulevard for $300, but Cox said Leavitt told him, "Who had $300 back then?"

After a stint at the Arden Mines, Leavitt became a farmer in Mesquite during the Depression. Crops were good, so he managed to keep food on the table. But the only money the family made was shipping five gallons of cream to Las Vegas each week for $3. Thus they relied heavily on bartering, Cox said.

Leavitt returned to Las Vegas in 1940 as a foreman for the National Ice Co., routing trucks that delivered large blocks of ice for ice boxes, as well as stove oil and beer. He worked for Society Cleaners in downtown Las Vegas from the 1950s until his retirement in 1972.

After retiring, Leavitt went on a Mormon Mission to Tennessee and did volunteer work in the Las Vegas and St. George temples until he was 97.

Leavitt attributes his longevity to "clean living -- he never smoked nor drank except a few times as a teenager -- and staying active mentally," Cox said, noting that Leavitt always has been "an easygoing guy" who still is in relatively good shape, though he cannot get around as easily as he used to and he has hearing loss.

Leavitt lost his wife of 50 years and in 1976 married the former Rema Freeman, who died last year. He had six children -- Nola, Norman, Ada Ann, Howard, Darwin and the late Corma -- and has 23 grandchildren; 46 great-grandchildren; and 20 great-great grandchildren.

As for the tremendous growth of Las Vegas over Leavitt's lifetime, Cox said Leavitt is not one of those people who laments the passing of the so-called good ol' days.

"Over the years, he had modern homes and automobiles -- he thinks the modern things about Las Vegas are great," Cox said. "He went with the flow in life and has no regrets."