Harolds Club in Reno was the first themed casino in the world, and for a while, it was also the largest. Harold Smith, the son who ran the gaming side, gave the place a Wild Western theme, which ran from the billboards to the wagon-woven carpet to the Silver Dollar Bar, which had a bourbon waterfall and over 2,000 silver dollars embedded in the curving countertop.
Then for the 1949 expansion, to celebrate the opening of the Roaring Camp Room, Smith created the Silver Dollar Buick Super Estate Wagon.
Harold covered the top-of-the-line Buick with silver dollars, 430 of them, to be exact. Except for the odd parade or promotional appearance, the car enjoyed pride of place at the entrance to Harold's Club for years.
Sometime in 1949, Life photographer Michael Rougier shot a whole series of pictures of Smith and his brand new Buick. The rich, black & white images dominate the Life search results for "station wagon."
I contemplated the fantastic car, clad all in engraved silver. Which just so happened to match my grandfather's silver dollar belt buckle. What if they were a set? Maybe Grandpa had lost the Buick in a card game, but Harold refused to take the buckle, letting him leave Reno with his head and pants high. I must reunite them, obviously. It's my destiny.
For some, compelling evidence against my set theory, but I'm still not convinced. I'm wearing the buckle right now.
The whereabouts of the Harold's Club Silver Dollar is unknown.
