The Nevada Silver Tappers display at the Pahrump Valley Museum has been updated.

With decades of philanthropy, empowerment and sisterhood behind them, the Nevada Silver Tappers is an organization with a deep history in Pahrump.

Throughout its years of entertainment and community activism, the ladies who make up this tap-dancing troupe have created thousands of memories and a recently renovated display at the Pahrump Valley Museum showcases some of the Silver Tappers’ best highlights. Iconic costumes, photos spanning from the ’90s to present, plaques honoring the group and more are arranged for public viewing, encapsulating the more than 30 years that this organization has been making a positive impact on the community.

The museum display update and expansion was the result of Ms. Senior Golden Years 2025 Queen Mary McRory, who chose the project as her platform when competing in the pageant last year. Ms. Senior Golden Years is the sister organization of the Nevada Silver Tappers and McRory said she was very happy to be able to honor both the Silver Tappers and founder B.J. Hetrick-Irwin, who has been such an inspiration to so many.

An unveiling of the newly updated display was held Saturday, June 6 and it was one of immense excitement for those in attendance, all of whom felt the display was fantastic.

“It’s so beautiful, isn’t it?” Silver Tappers founder B.J. Hetrick-Irwin enthused as a crowd gathered to celebrate that afternoon.

Hetrick-Irwin told the Pahrump Valley Times she wasn’t entirely sure what to expect when McRory announced that her platform was to update the display at the museum but she was absolutely delighted with the outcome. “To be honest, it made me cry, because we’ve got so much history here,” Hetrick-Irwin remarked with a beaming smile. “Look at all the pictures!”

“Look at the price of our shows in 1998! It was only $4 for adults and $2 for children!” Silver Tappers instructor and choreographer Ione DeSantis laughed as everyone was checking out the display cases.

The bustle and chatter then settled down as McRory took up a microphone to address the crowd.

“I ran in the Ms. Senior Golden Years Pageant last June and I became first runner-up and then queen a few months later, when Carolyn Buckley had to resign due to health problems. So, my platform had been to restore and expand the existing exhibit that was here,” McRory explained. “Thanks to B.J., who is the founder of both Ms. Senior Golden Years and the Nevada Silver Tappers — we’re going to showcase your legacy for all the years you have contributed to the community through these organizations.”

There were two others on the display update committee alongside McRory, including Kathleen O’Connor and Maryellen Swarowski. O’Connor offered a few words as well, ensuring that those who had contributed were recognized.

“Four of those costumes are B.J.’s original costumes and I donated ‘Emerald City’,” O’Connor detailed. “Star [Stewart] donated four wigs, Teri [Rogers] donated two wigs – we have one in abeyance – Chris Fay did the ‘B.J.’s life story’ part and I put together the photo boards from the 88,000 pictures that have accumulated over the years… And thank you to Marilyn [Davis], the curator and director of the museum.”

Of the five costumes on display, three have now been retired, including the original costumes for “Wooden Soldiers”, “The Military” and “Shine Las Vegas”, while those for “Emerald City” and “New York, New York” are newer and will continue to be utilized in shows in the coming years.

“Every show is dedicated to collecting money for worthy causes,” McRory remarked. “This exhibit will be on display for an indefinite period of time, so all of those in Pahrump who come here and look at it will be able to see what’s happening and people all over will know the legacy.”

McRory then handed the microphone over to Hetrick-Irwin, who was emotional as she recounted how the Silver Tappers came to be.

“When I used to come out here [to Nevada], my husband and I came quite often to Vegas – to gamble, of course,” Hetrick-Irwin said. “When we used to see the name Pahrump, we’d laugh and say, ‘What the heck is Pahrump?’ Little did I know that name, Pahrump, would change my life forever.”

Hetrick-Irwin said when she and her husband made the decision to move to Nevada, they had originally looked in the Henderson and Las Vegas area but there was nothing that suited them.

“So, we went to a realtor and he says, ‘Oh, let me take you somewhere.’ Well, he got us in this car and we went and we went and we went and we went. I’m thinking, ‘Where is he taking us?’” Hetrick-Irwin recalled. “Then we came to Pahrump.”

Not long after moving to town, Hetrick-Irwin saw something in the newspaper about senior tappers, which caught her attention, as she had tapped as a child. She became a Nevada State Trooper and started a local class for that organization. Then in 1992, following her crowning as Ms. Senior Nevada, Hetrick-Irwin decided to strike out on her own and founded the Nevada Silver Tappers with only one student.

“Then it just grew and grew and grew,” Hetrick-Irwin said. “I can never thank my girls here enough. Without you, I’d be nothing, absolutely nothing.”

“B.J., without you, we wouldn’t be here!” DeSantis called out, to a round of agreement from all.

“I just can’t thank you enough, there are no words to tell you how I feel,” Hetrick-Irwin concluded, adding, “Without God I would be nothing, I have to throw that in. And my whole team, my family, of course, and my kids, they are 100% behind me.”

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com