We have two historical panel discussions this week that we hope you will join us for:

On Thursday, March 5th join us as we look back at Early Families of Las Vegas.

We will shine a spotlight on the families that helped build and nuture Las Vegas from 1905 through the Great Depression.

It will be a great night of history and memories so we hope you will join us and our panelists:

Paul Carson - local historian with a great deal of knowledge on the family of Helen J. Stewart.

June Eddins - her family had a business on Fremont Street

Bill Gildner -his family arrived in the throes of the Great Depression

Don Payne - local historian

Las Vegas Springs Preserve

Desert Learning Center

7:00 pm

$12 admission

We hope to see you there!

And on Friday, March 6th as part of the Clark County Centennial monthly celebration we have organized another great panel for Mark Hall-Patton to moderate:

The women of Clark County are the focus of the next panel discussion about local history set for Friday, March 6 at 6 p.m.

The 90-minute roundtable discussion, called “Centennial Stories: Examining Our Past,” is timed to coincide with Women’s History Month and includes an opportunity for those who attend the free event to ask questions of the panelists of pioneers and historians.

The event takes place in the County Government Center Commission Chambers, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, and is aired live and later replayed on Clark County Television (CCTV) Channel 4 and viewers are able to call in with questions. All Channel 4 programming also may be viewed live on the county Web site at www.accessclarkcounty.com.

The roundtable will feature Sue Kim-Bonifazio of the famed Kim Sisters; Dr. Joanne Goodwin, associate professor of history at UNLV and director of the UNLV Women’s Research Institute; Thalia Dondero, a former university regent and former county commissioner; and Hannah Brown, a former Delta Airlines executive and longtime resident. Moderating is county Museum Administrator Mark Hall-Patton.

Panel discussions about Clark County’s history are set for every First Friday in 2009, except in July when the event will be held Wednesday, July 1, and kicked off last month with a discussion of the history of segregation in Las Vegas.

“One of the goals of the county’s year-long commemoration of our centennial is to engage the community and celebrate our common heritage,” said Commission Chairman Rory Reid. “These monthly roundtables are a great way to do that.” 2009 marks the 100^th anniversary of the birth of Clark County, and the county is commemorating the event with a year of activities.

Roundtable discussions slated for later in the year are April 3, Clark County’s Mining History; May 1, “Architecture and Neon in Clark County”: June 5, “The History of the Strip: The Early Years”; July 1, a Wednesday, “The History of the Strip: Howard Hughes and Beyond”; August 7, “The Mob and Las Vegas”; Sept. 4, “Hispanics in Clark County”; Oct. 2, “Entertainers on the Las Vegas Strip”; Nov. 6, “Military History in Clark County”; and Dec. 4, “Marketing Las Vegas.”