Thursday, Jan. 8, 1998 | 10:44 a.m.
Curley Francis was not a man of many words, but he could spin a yarn with the best of them, especially when it came to his favorite subject, the Hoover Dam.
His stories, short and to the point, told of the days he spent working as a truck driver and heavy-equipment operator on the old Boulder Canyon Project and of Las Vegas' rollicking formative years.
In the 1970s, Boulder City Library officials took an oral history from Francis. The nearly two hours of recordings helped forever capture a bygone era of dusty desert roads and the "sawdust joints" of infamous Block 16 where gambling and prostitution thrived.
R.L. "Curley" Francis came here 66 years ago to help build the famous dam. Later he became a fierce advocate of keeping his postcard picturesque community untouched by the booming growth that has engulfed the rest of Southern Nevada.
Francis died Monday at the Boulder City Care Center. He was 90.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday in the Fifth Street Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Chapel in Boulder City. Visitation will begin at 12:15 p.m. Interment will be in the Boulder City Cemetery. Palm Mortuary-Henderson is handling the arrangements.
Assembly-woman Gene Seger-blom, D-Boulder City, remembered Francis as a "friendly, cheerful guy," who was unbending when it came to limiting growth.
"He was so intent on keeping Boulder City as we are today," said Segerblom, widow of the late Cliff Segerblom, the official photographer of the Hoover Dam in the 1930s. "When Boulder City left (federal) government control and became a city in 1960, he advocated that we should be careful about our growth."
Southern Nevada historian Dennis McBride, who has written extensively on the building of Hoover Dam in the early 1930s, said it was fortunate that library officials had the foresight to capture Francis' memories when they did.
"It was sad to see Curley lying in his bed at the care center (speechless) for so many years -- but if you mentioned the dam to him, his eyes would light up with such excitement," said McBride, author of "In the Beginning: A History of Boulder City,"
"At one time, he had one of the richest and most vivid memories of the dam. Curley told the greatest stories, and his delivery was so direct."
One story dealt with Francis driving his truck into the gas-filled drainage tunnels, which were responsible for severe health problems suffered by many of the dam workers in their later years.
"Curley said he knew the levels of carbon monoxide were getting dangerously high when he saw blue rings form around the electric lights," McBride said.
"That's when he knew it was time to get his truck and the men out of there. That observation may have saved a number of lives."
McBride said that Francis would look deep into a person's eyes as he talked, drawing them into the story, so much so, "you could actually envision those blue rings."
Francis also told stories about Block 16 in downtown Las Vegas, the old red light district where gaming was legal and $2 hookers were tolerated.
"He told a story about how dam workers would get these special cards so they could get into the speakeasies, or, as they were called, sawdust joints, in Block 16," McBride said.
"They would knock on doors of places like the Boulder Club, Golden Camel or the Venetian, and a small window would open. The dam workers would show those cards and would be let in."
McBride noted that Francis was one of the first dam workers to give an extensive recorded oral history about the project, copies of which are kept at both the Boulder City and UNLV libraries. Over the years, many such interviews have been conducted with numerous other early dam workers.
Born July 27, 1907, in Los Angeles, Francis was experienced in construction work when he came to Las Vegas at age 24 to apply for a job with the Six Companies, the group that built the dam.
Francis helped build some of the first paved roads at the dam site and operated such heavy equipment as the crane and cherry-picker.
McBride said that Francis was fortunate to get the trucking and heavy-equipment operator jobs because those workers "were not always exposed to the dangers like falling off the side of the canyon or getting hit by falling debris."
After the dam was built, Francis got a job with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which managed the site. He worked there for 38 years.
During World War II, Francis was a member of the Navy Seabees. He served in the construction battalions at Pearl Harbor and Okinawa.
After the war, Francis returned to Boulder City, where he did a great deal of community volunteer work, which included operating equipment that leveled land for softball and baseball fields.
He was a longtime volunteer at the Boulder City Hospital and was a member of the 31ers Club.
Francis is survived by his wife, Beryl Francis of Boulder City; a daughter, Janis Stoney of Las Vegas; a son, John Francis of Scottsdale, Ariz.; a sister, Eleanor Horr of Encinitas, Calif.; seven grandchildren; and eight great grandchildren.
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