I arrived at the Southern Nevada Cultural History Fair in the middle of the cowboy poetry session, in time to hear a fellow talking about a poem he had "founded" among some old papers. Perhaps the poetic license was inspired by the occasion: to commemorate the 99th anniversary of Las Vegas' founding on May 15, 1905. On that date, a suitably corrupt Montana senator, William A. Clark, and his partners, successfully auctioned off plots of land around the new railroad station in Las Vegas.
Perhaps not wanting to burn out the celebratory vibes too soon, this weekend's event was a decidedly more mellow affair than the centennial celebration set for next year—which Mayor Oscar Goodman modestly predicted in the book A Short History of Las Vegas will be "the biggest birthday bash in the history of the world." That this year's event would not be an over-the-top Vegaspalooza was immediately clear to anyone pulling into the dirt lot set up for parking at the Gardens, a preserve run by the Las Vegas Valley Water District. In addition to the cowboy poetry, Dixieland jazz and other similarly antiqued entertainments, visitors could wander through the Garden—paths containing labeled native plants and the occasional irritable lizard—where the booths were set up like a college career day, offering information on nature groups and historical and preservationist societies. Attendance was sparse when I was there, although the final visitor tally was reported to be 1,000.
Wandering through the exhibits on this dusty and hot day, it was in fact possible to envision the desert nothing that became our Las Vegas. Certainly, this is an image unlikely to be associated with next year's celebrations, which, according to one volunteer, may not even be held on May 15 for a reason perfectly valid in Las Vegas: "This isn't a good time of year for the tourists."