Sources

To have a complete understanding of Clara Bow and the Walking Box Ranch, it is necessary to understand the sources available to research Clara, who is involved in the Walking Box Ranch and the importance of artifacts at the Walking Box Ranch.(1)

1. For secondary sources on Clara Bow and Rex Bell please refer to Stenn, David. Clara Bow : Runnin' Wild. New York: Cooper Square, 2000; and Rainey, Buck. Saddle Aces of the Cinema. San Diego: Tantivy Press, 1980. For primary sources on Clara Bow and Rex Bell please see St. Johns, Adela Rogers.  "Clara Bow: My Life Story," Photoplay, April 1928, (Parts 1, 2 and 3); Crouse, Jeffrey. "’The Last Silent Star Standing’: An Oral History of 1920s Film with Diana Serra Cary." Film International 11, no. 2 (2013): 6-24 and the University of Nevada- Las Vegas Special Collection Archives. The Archives hold photos of the Bell family. They also contain oral interviews on the Bell family, including: Bell, Rex, and Klatt, Craig S.;. Transcript of Interview with Rex A. Bell Jr. by Craig Klatt, March 1, 1977, Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas; Bell, Rex, Claytee D White, and Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. An Interview with Rex Bell, Jr. : An Oral History. Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project (Series). Las Vegas, Nev.]: Boyer Las Vegas Early History Project, Oral History Research Center at UNLV, University Libraries, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2007); Marshall, Ronald, Barbara Tabach, and Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project, Issuing Body. An Interview with Ronald Marshall : An Oral History. Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project (Series). Las Vegas, Nev.]: Boyer Las Vegas Early History Project, Oral History Research Center at UNLV, University Libraries, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2014 and Weikel, William Carl, Weikel, Betty, Tabach, Barbara, and Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project, Issuing Body. An Interview with (William) Carl Weikel : An Oral History. Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project (Series). Las Vegas, Nev.]: Boyer Las Vegas Early History Project, Oral History Research Center at UNLV, University Libraries, University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2014. There are four key collaborators for the Walking Box Ranch: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the Nature Conservancy (NC) and the public. Each collaborator plays a very different role in process. The BLM is in charge of the physical property and land of the Walking Box. For more information please refer to “Historic Preservationists and Cultural Resources Managers: Preserving America’s Historic Places” by Antoinette J. Lee (Gardner & LaPaglia, Public History: Essays from the Field (1999)), “Managing the Past in a Natural Resources Management Agency” by Janet G. Brasher (Public History: An Introduction, (1986): 145-157) and the website of the BLM (https://www.blm.gov). UNLV by contrast is in charge of the archival items from the Walking Box (furniture, private property of the Bell family, etc) as well as the historical interpretation. While all under the umbrella of UNLV, there are three separate departments involved in the Walking Box. First, is the Department of History, who has physical possession of all artifacts and the knowledge to assist in interpreting all items. For more information please refer to the Department of History website (https://www.unlv.edu/history).  Second, is the UNLV Library Special Collection, who is in possession of many photographs, news clippings and interviews of the Bell family. For more information, please refer to the library website (https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol). Third, is the Public Lands Institute (PLI), which encourages community involvement of the protection of public lands. The PLI is in the process of creating The Friends of the Walking Box Ranch, which will be made of the general public who have a passion for the history of Southern Nevada, and the Walking Box, in particular. For more information please refer to the PLI website (https://publiclands.unlv.edu/). The Nature Conservancy has a very different role in contrast to the BLM and UNLV. The first two are concerned by the physical buildings and object, while the NC is concerned about the living objects found on the land of the Walking Box. The NC is interested in particular of the Desert Tortoise which is found on the Walking Box. For more information please explore the website of the Nature Conservancy, (https://www.nature.org). The last key collaborator involved in the Walking Box is the public. The last collaborator is different than the first three, in that it is made up of a group of people who have passion about the Walking Box but not necessarily formal training. The public brings passion for the project and a desire to see the Walking Box become a place for many to enjoy. Without each of the four collaborators making significant contributions, it will be difficult for the Walking Box to be open to the public. For more information on the importance of artifacts at the Walking Box Ranch please see Patricia West. “Uncovering and Interpreting Women’s History at Historical House Museums,” Dubrow & Goodman, Restoring Women’s History through Historic Preservation (2003). It is essential that we interpret the Walking Box and represent the entire ranch- even when the topic may be slightly uncomfortable, such as the Walking Box sitting on the native home grounds of the Southern Paiutes. For information on how to have a well-rounded history, see Benjamin Filene, “History Museums And Identity: Finding “Them”, “Me,” and “Us” in the Gallery,” Oxford Handbook of Public History (2017), Jes Koepfler, “Just Do It: Resources for Interpretive Planning,” The Journal of Museum Education 33:3 (Fall. 2008): 301- 307 and Edward Linenthal, “Anatomy of a Controversy,” History Wars: The Enola Gay and Other Battles for the American Past (1996). An important aspect of a complete history are the artifacts that will be returned into the house. A more complete picture of the Bell Family- Rex, Clara, Rex Jr and George, will be seen in photographs of the family, oral histories and artifacts. Such artifacts include a make-up kit of Claras, several cowboy hats that belonged to Rex, a set of chaps that belonged to Rex Jr and many pieces of furniture. For information on the importance of artifacts, see Rosenzweig and Thelen, “The Presence of the Past: Patterns of Popular Historymaking,” The Presence of the Past: Popular Uses of History in American Life (1998), John Falk, “The Museum Visitor Experience,” And Anderson’s, “Reinventing the Museum.” For information on the Monterey Furniture please see Barnes, Christine. “It’s Monterey, Jack: Will Rogers Loved It. Clark Gable and Edward G. Robinson did too. Now everyone wants this Old West furniture.” Los Angeles Time, April 12, 1997 and Finch, Christopher. “Antiques: Monterey Furniture.” Architectural Digest 53 (June, 1996): 170. For information on the Brooklyn Tenements please refer to http://www.museumoffamilyhistory.com/lia-fles2bb.htm