He was one of our best interviews and one of our best supporters.  Ralph Denton is a part of Las Vegas history. He was, as Las Vegas historian Michael Green noted, our "Liberal Conscience". His life is woven into our history and he was known for standing up for the little guy and doing the right thing.

He and his wife, Sara, moved to Boulder City in 1959 and raised their family there. Their door was always open and they have many friends who are saddened by the news of Ralph's passing this past Friday.

We will miss him, his stories and his zest for life. I'm glad we had the chance to interview him back in 2005 as that led to a friendship we will always value. He made time in his schedule to participate in the various panel discussions we did with the Nevada State Museum, Las Vegas and Untold Stories at the Springs Preserve.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Sara and their children, Sally and Scott as well as the rest of the family.

We will miss you, Ralph.

From the Las Vegas Sun:

http://m.lasvegassun.com/news/2012/jul/07/attorney-remembered-liberal-conscience-nevada/

From the Review-Journal:

http://www.lvrj.com/news/ralph-denton-attorney-and-civil-rights-fighter-dies-161692165.html

These videos, from the Las Vegas Review Journal site, shows how July 4th was celebrated around the Las Vegas Valley.  Enjoy!

It's back!  One of the most comprehensive guides on the web to the Fireworks and 4th of July Holiday  celebrations in Las Vegas!

SCROLL DOWN FOR UPDATES!

Here are some of the listings we have put together for the holiday weekend.  Bookmark us or subscribe to our RSS feed as this list will grow and be updated as the Strip hotels make their plans known.

If you are traveling to Las Vegas, be sure to check out our new section on Special Hotel and Show Discounts.

Las Vegas Springs Preserve

"Red, White and Tunes"

June 30th

8:00 -10:00 pm

Kick-off your Independence Day weekend with family-friendly fun and patriotic music as the Springs Preserve hosts Red, White and Tunes, featuring a performance by the UNLV Community Band and barbershop/a cappella quartet Ready or Not.

Guests are encouraged to bring their own small folding chairs to the event. Ice cream, snow cones, hot dogs and other summertime goodies will be available for purchase. Please note: There will be no fireworks show at this event.

Tuesday, July 3rd:

Annual Night of Fire at the Bullring at

Las Vegas Motor Speedway features

Fireworks, SMRA Supermodifieds

 The Bullring, Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s NASCAR-sanctioned 3/8-mile asphalt oval, will kick off the Independence Day holiday weekend on Tuesday, July 3rd, with its annual Night of Fire. The night of family fun features fireworks and NASCAR Whelen All-American Series stock car racing, a jet car and SMRA Supermodifieds.

Spectator gates will open at 5 p.m. with racing at 7 p.m. Fireworks are tentatively scheduled for 9:30 p.m.
Stock car racing classes include: SMRA Supermodifieds (50 laps), MetroPCS Super Late Models (76 laps), Chargers, Outlaw Enduro Bombers (76 laps), twin Legends Cars features, Bandoleros.

Advanced Spectator admission:
Adults: $15.
Senior citizens and military personnel with ID: $15.
Children (6-12): $8.

Day of Pricing:

Adults: $20

Senior citizens and military personnel with ID: $15.

Children (6-12): $8.

The Bullring's concession stand offers a family-friendly dollar menu, including $1 hot dogs, $1 soda and $1 beer. For more information, please call the LVMS ticket office at (702) 644-4444 or visit www.LVMS.com.

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North Las Vegas 12th Annual Independence Day Jubilee

July 4th

Includes Fireworks

The City of North Las Vegas in its 12th Annual Independence Day Jubilee from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 4th, at Seastrand Park, 6330 Camino Eldorado.

Parking access is restricted to Revere Street & Centennial Parkway
(Gates open at 5:00 pm)

FEATURING
The rocked out styles of FRANKY PEREZ
Platinum Recording Artist SLEEPY BROWN
Performing the hit song "I Love the Way You Move"

Also including a spectacular fireworks display, the Kids Corner, the
NEW Teen Zone, inter-active sponsors, food and ice cold beer.

ADMISSION IS $4 PER PERSON
Pre-sale wristbands available June 1st - June 28th
(5) Wristbands for $15.00
(can only be purchased in increments of five)
Monday - Thursday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

At the following locations:
City Hall Utilities Counter
2250 Las Vegas Blvd. N.
North Las Vegas, NV 89030

          Neighborhood Recreation Center                Silver Mesa Recreation Center
          1638 N. Bruce Street                                  4025 Allen Lane
          North Las Vegas, NV 89030                      North Las Vegas, NV 89032

          City of North Las Vegas Library                 Municipal Golf Course
          2300 Civic Center Drive                             324 E. Brooks Avenue
          North Las Vegas, NV 89030                     North Las Vegas, NV 89030

***Lost wristbands will not be replaced and/or refunded***

 The Independence Day Jubilee Schedule of Events

          5:00 pm Gates open to the public
          6:00 pm All dignitaries to the stage
          6:10 pm Honor Guard to the stage, Presentation of the Colors
          6:20 pm National Anthem performed by Raven Chanel
          6:25 pm Dignitary Introductions:
                         Mayor Shari Buck
                         Councilman Robert Eliason
                         Councilwoman Anita Wood
                         Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown
                         Councilman Wade Wagner
                         City Manager Timothy Hacker
                         Mayor and Council Remarks....
          7:00 pm Franky Perez performs...
          8:00 pm 15 minute intermission
          8:15 pm Sleepy Brown performs...
          9:15 pm Fireworks Display

The following items are prohibited:

FIREARMS or WEAPONS
PERSONAL FIREWORKS
OUTSIDE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
PETS (Service Pets permitted)
TENTS, CANOPIES, UMBRELLAS or TABLES
HIGH BACK CHAIRS or CHAIRS w/UMBRELLAS
UNAUTHORIZED SOLICITATION & VENDING
UNAUTHORIZED RECORDING OF PERFORMANCES
BARBECUE GRILLS
BIKES or SKATEBOARDS
GLASS BOTTLES

For more information please call (702) 633-2650

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 July 4th

Las Vegas 51's Baseball Game

and Fireworks

 
When: July 4th,after the game
Where:Cashman Field
Admission: $14
More info: 702-326-7200

The 51s host the Tucson Padres, Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, at Cashman Field. The 51s will help celebrate Independence Day with the traditional post-game "Fireworks Extravaganza!" All seats are priced at $14.00 for this special event!

Five flat screen televisions will be given away to selected fans throughout the game!

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 FREMONT STREET EXPERIENCE

July 3rd - 5th

Summer of the '70s Celebration continues

Faux Fireworks Display on the FSE Canopy

The Little River Band helps the FSE celebrate the  4^th of July  with highlights on the Fremont Street Experience’s Viva Vision show.

  The evening of the 4^th of July will also showcase a brilliant virtual fireworks show on the Viva Vision canopy.

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64th Annual Boulder City Damboree

When: July 4th
Where: Boulder City
Schedule: Pancake Breakfast - Bicentennial Park - 7am
Parade - Nevada Way - 9am
Damboree Ceremonies and Midway Booths - Broadbent Park- 11am

Fireworks Festivities - Veteran's Memorial Park - 6pm
Visit the Boulder Dam Damboree online

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July 4th:

Summerlin July 4th Parade

The annual Summerlin Patriotic Parade returns July 4th,  from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

The parade begins at the corner of Hillpointe Road and Hills Center Drive in The Trails Village of Summerlin.

Participants travel south toward the Village Center Circle roundabout before heading west on Trailwood Drive.

It usually attracts more than 25,000 people. The event is free.

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Knickerbocker Park

Providence Master Planned Community

6:00-9:00 pm

For a spectacular fireworks show and views of Las Vegas, celebrate July 4th at Knickerbocker Park. Sponsored by the Providence Master Planned Community, Pyrotecnico and the Providence Master Homeowners Association, the event features a band, contests, food vendors, park activities beginning at 6pm with fireworks at 9:15pm. Bring a picnic. Also bring new or gently used books for Spread the Word Nevada. The park’s design and NW LV site provide a great vantage point overlooking the city.

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Downtown Henderson Fourth of July fireworks & celebration

When: 6-9 p.m. July 4

Where: 

Mission Hills Park
551 E. Mission Dr.
6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
COMPLIMENTARY ADMISSION

More Info: 702-267-2171

Entertainment Schedule - Battle of the Bands - Shuttle Service - Rules & Regulations - Proud Sponsors

Celebrate Independence Day in Henderson with great live entertainment and the time-honored traditional fireworks display! Pack your favorite blanket and come out and enjoy a night of family fun and concessions. Local high school clubs and groups will be selling hot dogs, hamburgers, sno-cones and ice-cream, with all proceeds benefiting the school. Spend your July 4th holiday with us!

ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE

BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITION

Nine bands. One Competition. One Winner. Sign up to participate in our Battle of the Bands competition, as we give high school bands the opportunity to show off their rocking skills in front of our Independence Day crowd of thousands for cheers and a possible grand prize of a $1,000 Guitar Center gift card! Deadline for sign up is June 13, so submit your applications now! Click here for the official application and contest rules.

SHUTTLE SERVICE

Shuttle service will be provided. The shuttle will run continuously throughout the event, starting at 5:30PM. The pick-up locations are as follows:

Foothill High School 
800 College Drive 

Locations subject to change or cancellation. For additional information, please call 702-267-2171.

RULES & REGULATIONS

NO glass containers
NO alcohol
NO sparklers or fireworks
NO weapons
NO bar-b-ques
NO pets
NO hazardous materials

Management reserves all rights.

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………………………………………………………….

Each Station Casino property listed above will play host to a different local radio station on July 4th.

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 MANDALAY BAY ANNOUNCES FIREWORKS SHOW

Wednesday, July 4th

Mandalay Bay announced today that it will have a fireworks show on Wednesday, July 4th.  Show is scheduled to begin at 9:00 pm.

Reggae band, Mystic Roots will be playing and there is a $25 cover charge.

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 Lake Las Vegas

July 4th

Minature flags will be given out to the first 3,000 people who arrive at 6:00 pm

The Stinson Brothers will perform and Fireworks go off at 9:00 pm.

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PRIMM VALLEY

Wednesday, JULY 4TH

Primm Valley Casino Resorts will celebrate with a fireworks display over the desert in Primm.

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CAESAR'S PALACE ANNOUNCES FIREWORKS SHOW

Saturday, July 7th

Caesars Palace announced today that it will have a fireworks show on Saturday, July 7th.  Show is scheduled to begin at 9:00 pm.

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ROCKETS OVER THE RIVER

Laughlin, NV

9:30 pm

Free

For the 22nd year, this extraordinary fireworks display is one of the most spectacular and exciting in the West.  Just after dusk on two nights -- Saturday, June 30 AND Wednesday, July 4 -- rockets will be shot into the dark desert sky and the dazzling display will be reflected off the Colorado River as fabulous patriotic music is simulcast by Laughlin hotels and local radio stations.  You won't want to miss this annual, breathtaking event!

The 1960s, the mob, Las Vegas.  It is an era burned into our collective memory.  The Sands, the Stardust, the Dunes, the Desert Inn all classic hotel/casinos that were in their prime and are now gone from the landscape of current day Las Vegas.

When we think of that era we remember the neon, the showrooms, the entertainers and the headlines.

And at the heart of the era is Ralph Lamb, the mythic sheriff whose job it was to hold the line between good and bad, during an era when the bad guys had charming public personas and were considered philanthropic residents who helped to build schools, hospitals and shopping malls that all helped improve the daily lives of the greater good. When I did those 130 video oral histories, it seems like almost everyone I spoke to not only knew Ralph but had a story about him. He was woven tightly into the fabric of the town and back then, even if you didn't know Ralph, you knew of him.

Today, many look back on that era and wish that the mob still ran the town.  In today's corporate driven Las Vegas, many yearn for that era of cheap drinks, comped shows and less crime as if the mob was responsible for a lower crime rate.

In reality, much of it is nostaglic yearning for an era that has passed, for the small town/city that Las Vegas once was as if somehow a magic wand could be waved and that million plus residents that have moved here in the last twenty-five years could just vanish and those beautiful hotels and glowing neon signs could be returned to their rightful places of honor.

But if you ask those residents who lived through the twenty years that mob was a potent adversary, who they remember most, they will likely say Ralph Lamb, the cowboy sheriff who hailed from Alamo and was responsible for keeping the peace.  He had grown up in Alamo but his father's death at a rodeo in 1938 changed things.  He and his sister Wanda went to live with his older brother Floyd, who had a ranch.  During World War II, Ralph worked in Army Intelligence. He hoped to become a G-man after the war but was needed to help sustain the family so his dreams of college were put on hold and he returned to Nevada.  He became a deputy sheriff in Las Vegas. Before long, he was the Chief of Detectives.

For awhile, he left the force and started his own detective agency where Howard Hughes, a frequent visitor to the oasis in the desert, was his best customer.

He ran for sheriff in 1958 against the incumbent, Butch Leypoldt and lost.  But that didn't deter him.  He came back in 1961 when Leypoldt left the job to take a position on the Gaming Control Board.  In 1962, Ralph won election to a full term and held the job for the next 18 years.

He began modernizing the department and made his business to know who was running what on the Strip and on Fremont Street.  He took the job seriously and made it clear that business as usual was over.

Like a mythic hero out of a western, Ralph captured the imagination of newsmen looking for stories as well as the townfolks who lived in a town that had been founded in the very waning days of the closing of the western frontier and still marketed the town as if it was still a frontier paradise, the Old West in Modern Splendor.

The city's fathers capitalized on that slogan and in many ways, Las Vegas still felt like a small western city.  Every May we celebrated our western roots with the month long Helldorado celebration including parades, rodeos and western wear.

The Lamb family embodied that western creed that Las Vegas liked to think we lived by and of all the brothers (Floyd, Darwin, Ralph among a family of 11) involved in civic duties and politics, it was Ralph Lamb that Las Vegans looked to keep our streets and us safe from harm.  He was shot at but never shot anyone in all his years as sheriff. 

His showdown with Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal is legendary among old-timers.  He also wasn't afraid to tangle with Moe Dalitz, Benny Binion and other owners and remind them that he was the law in Las Vegas.

Years ago, Sam Peckinpah wanted to tell Ralph's story.  For the last ten years or so,  Nick Pileggi has been trying to bring Ralph's story to the screen.  Back in the mid-2000s, I heard that it would be a feature film starring Russell Crowe and that Clint Eastwood was interested in directing the film.

Then the economy tanked and the script went into turn around.  Peliggi took the idea and re-imagined it as a television series.  Which might actually be a better platform for not only telling Ralph's story but the story of Las Vegas in that mythic era.

This fall, Vegas, (not the old Robert Urich series) debuts on Tuesday nights on CBS.  The show stars Dennis Quaid as Ralph and Michael Chiklis as Johnny Savino ( a combination, no doubt, of several real-life characters), the mobster that Ralph goes up against.  Carrie Ann Moss and Jason O'Mara co-star.

It should be interesting to watch.  Back in the mid-1980s when Crime Story was shooting, many of the classic hotels were still standing and Fremont Street still looked much as it did twenty years earlier.

Today, the showrunner and crew of Vegas have a harder job.  They have to recreate that era from scratch. CBS seems quite supportive of the show so here's hoping they have the budget and the research they need.  But it's more than just recreating long-gone hotels and facades, it's getting right the feel of the town that Las Vegas was. There was much to love (and to depict) about that town back then that goes beyond just the normal checklist.

It's a big story to tell but one worth telling and worth telling with more than a nod to the way it really happened.  John Ford liked to say "when fact becomes legend, print the legend". 

Here's hoping that those behind Vegas mix the facts in with the legends they will no doubtedly tell.

Here's a video of Dennis Quaid and Michael Chiklis talking about the show:

Young Electic Sign Company, better known as YESCO, has been serving the sign needs of Las Vegas over almost 80 years.  Tom Young, the founder, was traveling through Las Vegas in 1933 and talked the owner of the Boulder Club into a new sign utilizing neon.  Thus began a long-running love affair between Las Vegas, neon and YESCO.

Here are some memories:

Vegas Vic being built, courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

Sketch for the neon sign for the original El Rancho Vegas sign, courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

Sketch for the Desert Inn Hotel's neon sign, courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

Sands' sign being built, courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

Flamingo's champagne tower being topped, courtesy of UNLV

The Mint being topped with its star, courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

Yesco workers working on the Aladdin sign, courtesy of UNLV Special Collections

To learn more about  neon signs and their designers be sure to read this entry:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/classic-las-vegas-neon-designe/