Matthew O'Brien is a journalist, author, and college instructor who is known for his nonfiction book Beneath the Neon about homeless people living underground in the Las Vegas Valley. He lived in Las Vegas from 1997-2017. O'Brien was born in Washington D.C. but grew up in Atlanta, GA, where he graduated from the University of West Georgia in 1995. He also earned an MFA from UNLV. O'Brien was a staff writer, news editor and managing editor of the alternative weekly Las Vegas CityLife from 2000 to 2008.

Ida Harris was born in Deshler, Nebraska on May 11, 1903 to Fred Grossman and Anna Steljes. Harris moved to Nevada in 1921 to visit her aunt and uncle who she eventually lived with until 1926 when they moved to Los Angeles, California. Harris worked for JC Penny's from 1921 to 1946, as a cashier. In 1926 Harris married Art Harris, a barber.

Ethel S. Hatch was born April 11, 1914 in Valentine, Texas to Pat Spruill and Ella Mayfield.

On June 24, 1975, collector Donna Mattson interviewed native Nevadan mechanic, Stephen La Thair Hawley, (born October 15th, 1936, in Ely, Nevada) in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview offers a historical overview of early Las Vegas including gambling and an in-depth discussion on local economic, environmental, and social changes.