By WESLIE GRAHAM
Moapa Valley Progress
The Queho Posse, an all male historical fraternity also known as E Clampus Vitus, celebrated the unveiling of a monument in Glendale on Sunday, Sept. 21 at 10 a.m.
The group honored J.H. Nickolaides, or “Glendale Nick”, for his foresight and entrepreneurship in building the first gas station at Glendale, and founding the long-standing highway stop.
Clark County Museum Administrator and Pawn Stars celebrity Mark Hall-Patton said that the Greek immigrant is credited as the person who created the settlement at Glendale in the early 1920s and that he got the nickname Glendale Nick because of the vision he had for the area.
“They were pushing through Arrowhead Trail Highway, later Highway 91 and the predecessor to the freeway, and he overheard where they would be going across the river,” Hall-Patton said. “He realized there would need to be a gas station there,”
Glendale Nick acquired land to build a gas station and began making plans. He was then told by a state engineer that the establishment would have to be moved.
According to Hall-Patton, Glendale Nick refused to move or change his plans. He told the engineer that he was the rightful owner of the land. The engineer countered that the state had obtained the right of way. But Nickolaides suggested that the engineer might want to double check his information. “Nick was correct,” Hall-Patton said. “He got them to move the highway to go right past his gas station. He was an early entrepreneur who made a difference.”
Hall-Patton explained that bits of history such as the story of Glendale Nick are what members of the Queho Posse or “Clampers” enjoy.
“It’s nice to have a little history for those who stop (in Glendale),” he said. “We look for different history to memorialize in plaques.”
The Posse has done plaques for early casinos, community history and various transportation such as the use of camels for commercial work in Nevada. “We try to find something that is interesting and not that well known so that people will learn a little more,” he said. “There’s a lot to be said about Nevada history. This is a little known piece but something that everyone drives.”
