Content deleted Content added
No edit summary Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit |
m →History: removed an unnecessary "the" |
||
Line 13:
In May 1926, she opened Palm Mortuary in Las Vegas and, shortly after, married Gene Parks. She assumed her husband’s last name and become known as Anna Roberts Parks. She initially stored her burgeoning collection inside her home or scattered about her five-acre property. As her collection outgrew her own property, much of it was moved to an army building near 21st and Fremont Streets. This location proved less satisfactory since people broke in and stole valuable and historic artifacts.
In 1962, Anna Roberts Parks died in a car crash, leaving her collections and property to her only daughter, Edith. Edith sought a local sponsor to create a museum for her mother’s collection and keep the collection in southern Nevada. After another break-in at the army building, a local Nevada historian, Maryellen Vallier Sadovich<ref>Personal recollections of Maryellen Vallier Sadovich, summarized by her daughter on Memorial Day, 31 May 2011.</ref> contacted Edith and bolstered the search for a sponsor. Maryellen brought the collection to the attention of Dick Pryor, a member of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. The Henderson Chamber of Commerce was interested, but like other potential sponsors, they expressed their uncertainty over where to house the collection and how to raise sufficient money to build a proper museum building. In response to Maryellen's letter dated June 11, 1966, the Chamber announced the creation of a permanent committee to study the problem. The initial three committee members were Frank Schreck, Glen Taylor, and Dick Pryor. By January 1968, the Chamber of Commerce voted to go ahead with the plans for a museum building, but they had been told previously that the Henderson school facilities were not an option. About that same time, Maryellen Sadovich called to report that the collections had been vandalized yet again from their storage location, primarily in the army barracks building at 21st and Fremont Street. This prompted a call to
In light of these developments, Dick Pryor, Maryellen Sadovich, Glen Taylor, and Ellen Shirley-Frehner immediately drove to Las Vegas to supervise moving the collection from the army barracks to the school gymnasium in Henderson. By January 11, 1968, the move was complete and the collection was secured in the school gymnasium, awaiting a good cleaning, organization, and preparation for display.
| |||