Biggest Little City

Q & A with Harry Spencer IIby Zach Spencer

Hello again readers, this is Zach Spencer with part II of the interview with my dad.

Z. When we left off last month, you were on your way home from Korea where you were

Zach Spencer stationed during World War II. What do you remember most about the boat trip? H. Putting out the daily paper. I forgot to mention that my helper was one George Vucanovich. He was the same first person I saw on my initial trip to the University of Nevada. We palled around that semester and went our separate ways when school ended. Apparently, he was drafted about the same time I did and ended up in Korea. One day I happened to walk out of the PX over there and who do I bump into but George who was an MP at the time. When he found out I was in Headquarters Company, he asked if I could get him a job there. I was able to fit him in and we teamed up to create the base basketball team. Z. What was your first stop after you were discharged? H. I got out from a camp near Roseville, CA and took the bus up to Reno hoping to catch up with my buddies and possibly sign up for school. Z. How did that work out? H. Not very well. The school was closed for semester break, so after spending a couple of nights at the Mizpah Hotel I decided to take the train home to Florida. Z. I see that you spent the next three months at a business college. H. That’s right, I wanted to check out how the G.I. Bill worked. Z. When did you come back to Nevada? H. During the fall of 1947. My roommate Pridgen and I hooked up with our other roommate in New York and the

Alex Cushing (R.) receives the annual Sportsman of the Year award for his work in securing the 1960 Winter Olympic Games for Squaw Valley from Carl Digino (C.), President of the Sierra Nevada Sports Writers & Broadcasters Association, while Harry Spencer (L.), Vice President, looks on.

three of us drove nonstop to Pasadena, CA in 44 hours,

then eventually up to Reno. Z. Anything memorable about the next couple of years at school? H. The most exciting thing was a couple of movies that were shot on campus.

Z. What were they? H. Apartment for Peggy and Mr. Belvedere Goes to College.

Z. Did you meet many movie stars? H. Yes, they were William Holden, Jeanne Crain, Edmund Gwenn, Shirley Temple, Clifton Webb and Alan Young.

Z. When did you settle in Reno permanently?

H. In 1949, after a couple of summer breaks in Florida. Z. After you graduated what sort of job did you find? H. I was a clothing salesman at a men’s store, Herd and Short.

WHEN WINTER WAS WINTER. This photo illustrates the height of the snowpack in the mid-1950s near the summit of the Mt. Rose Highway after the road was plowed and finally re-opened. The vehicle is Spencer’s ’55 Buick Super.

Z. That sounds odd, didn’t you major in journalism? H. Yes, but one day a priest, Father Welsh, who had been a classmate at the U, wandered in and I told him we did not stock clerical garb. He said he didn’t need anything because he was there to offer me a job as an editor of the weekly Catholic newspaper.

Z. Did you accept? H. In a heartbeat, as I received an increase in salary and instead of a six day work week I would now work five days doing what I had studied for.

Z. How long did your journalistic career last? H. A little over seven years.

Z. What happened next? H. The manager of the Mapes Hotel lured me over to handle publicity and public relations.

Z. That was the career you pursued from then on? H. Yes, and then I added advertising to my resume.

Z. I suppose that’s where you met many of the celebrities and staged all of the special events that I see listed here. H. That’s right, I think we can skip the minutiae of my personal life and get to some of the exciting events of Reno’s so called Golden Era at our next session.