Clark County celebrates its centennial

When readers wonder just how long I’ve been a columnist, few of them realize that I was around when Clark County broke away from Lincoln County and declared its independence back on July 1, 1909.

For proof, look no further than this David Stroud illustration of yours truly in his newspaperman’s garb circa 1909.

I think I still have that suit in my closet somewhere.

I like the illustration from the award-winning Stroud, but I think he made me look a little constipated and somewhat like my distant cousins, the Smith Brothers of cough drop fame.

A little centennial trivia: When the first railroad houses were built in the Las Vegas Town site, a four-room place cost a whopping $1,425.

Which, by coincidence, is about what your four-room house is worth in 2009.