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Audio recording clip from the fourth interview with Senator Joe Neal by Claytee D. White, March 24, 2006

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Audio file
Download ohr000239.mp3 (audio/mpeg; 3.73 MB)

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Date

2006-03-24

Description

Part of the fourth interview with Senator Joe Neal conducted by Claytee D. White on March 24, 2006. Five interviews cover Neal's life from his birth in Mounds, Louisiana, in 1935 to his service as a local politician and community leader. Shortly after joining his family in Las Vegas, Neal served in the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1958. Following his military service, he earned a bachelor's degree in political science at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Neal continued his education at the Institute of Applied Science in Chicago, Illinois, with postgraduate work in law. From 1973 to 2001, he served in the Nevada Legislature as the Senator from Clark County Senatorial District No. 4. In the clip, Neal comments on his experience in Nevada politics.

Digital ID

ohr000239_clip
Details

Citation

Joe Neal oral history interviews, 2006 January 24, 2006 February 07, 2006 March 06, 2006 March 24, 2006 June 01. OH-01363. [Audio recording] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University L

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Digital Provenance

Original archival records created digitally

Language

English

Publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Libraries

Format

audio/mpeg

Well, I guess it's okay. I did not expect that to come as quickly as it did. And now it's becoming somewhat political. You're not being put there, you know, based on your merit, but because some politician who is in power has the authority to select you and put you there. I think based upon the information that the state archives had research relative to my position and my contribution in the state, I think that was worth mentioning and it pointed out that the contribution I had made did enhance the state in some way. When you talk about the fire safety bill or the Retrofit Bill, that was a major piece of legislation that not only had effect in the state of Nevada, but also throughout the country and the world. So in that particular sense, I think that I was worthy of being put in the Senate Hall of Fame or whatever you call it. I even forgot the name of it now because I'm not a person that looks for accolades when I do something. I do things based upon the need. And I tried to address that particular need as I see it. Tell me what the ceremony was like. The ceremony was very good. You heard people that you were at odds with over the years get up and make good comments about you and tell you how great you were and all of that. And you sit there and you just listen and begin to ask yourself the question about where in the hell all these people were when you were fighting certain issues and you couldn't get them to participate with you on those issues that you were involved with. So I sat there and I just listened. I was kind of glad in a way that most of my family was present and, particularly, the grandkids. They were present with the exception of two that were not able to get here. That would be Ania's children, Alfonse and Christian. They were on their way here, but they got stuck in Atlanta. They missed the flight because of a storm that they were having back there at the time. But to sit there and listen to people that I had served with tell these stories about me, you kind of wonder where they were when I actually needed them on critical issues that I was dealing with when I was in the senate.