Reminisce Extra – July 2018

22 REMINISCE.COM * JULY 2018

OUR LIVES

L

ife was fairly normal for my family in

spite of the fact that I was born in Las

Vegas, Nevada, in 1962. My parents

moved there because my father, Reve

White, was a musician who played

drums in a duo called Deuces Wild. My birth

announcement even appeared in the July 7 ,

1962 , edition of Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine.

We lived in an apartment on the grounds of

the Landmark Hotel at the time.

Eventually, my father left the duo to sell patio

furniture before opening a toy store in 1968

called the Toy Corral. It was on the corner of

Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard next

to The Jackpot casino. He also sold souvenirs

to gift shops on the Strip. Because he knew so

many people in the casinos, he had what was

then called “juice” or connections.

Here’s an example of how that worked:

My dad knew the manager at the Riviera Hotel

pool, so my siblings and I got to spend our days

swimming there. The lifeguard at the pool even

taught us all to swim. My brothers got their

hair cut in the Thunderbird Hotel barbershop,

and my oldest brother served as a lifeguard at

different hotel pools during the summer.

Whenever we grabbed a bite to eat at a

hotel coffee shop, women would walk through

modeling the clothing sold at the hotel dress

shop. My mother bought most of her clothes

from those boutiques.

Old Las Vegas was a wonderful place to grow

up. I have so many good memories, and I am

saddened when old hotels are demolished.

SIN CITY IN THE ’ 60 s

When you lived there,

things seemed quite normal.

BY DENISE AZBILL • HENDERSON, NV

Growing Up

STANDING IN front of

the store are, from left,

Reve White, his brother

Jesse, Denise’s sister,

Dianne, and her mother,

Kay. Jesse, an actor, was

best known as the lonely

Maytag repairman.

HER DAD knew people,

so Denise got to swim at

The Riviera Hotel pool.

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