Louis La Porta served on the City Council of Henderson, Nevada and the Board of Clark County, Nevada and oversaw periods of great growth. He was born in 1924 in New York City, but his service in the United States Air Force pulled him out West. After settling in Henderson, Nevada, with his wife Elayne, La Porta became interested in insurance sales and local politics. While in office, La Porta oversaw the development of critical roads for Clark County, the Henderson Historical Society, and Henderson Libraries. He recounts each of these major developments in his interview, chronicling the evolution of Henderson, Nevada, into a major city.

Randy Garcia is the founder and CEO of the investment management-consulting firm, The Investment Counsel Company. Born in Los Angeles on Feb. 21, 1954, Garcia’s family moved to Las Vegas in 1957. The son of a World War II vet and a homemaker, Garcia’s ancestral roots come from Mexico, Italy, and Spain. He grew up in Las Vegas during segregation and expansion. He remembers a time when much of city included dirt lots and casinos that no longer stand. A champion in serving under privileged youth and communities across southern Nevada, Garcia lives by the philosophy, “give until it hurts.” Garcia uses his success as a wealth manager to promote, foster, and cultivate positive change for the Latinx community in Las Vegas. His story and dedication to his community is a pinnacle of hope and benevolence for current and future generations. Garcia became the first in his family to attend and graduate college. He graduated from UNLV in 1977 with honors, where he majored in business administratio

Oral history interview with Angela Castro conducted by Stefani Evans, Cecilia Winchell, Kristel Peralta, Vanessa Concepcion, and Ayrton Yamaguchi on November 05, 2020 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Castro begins the interview by talking about her early life, childhood, what Guam was like, and the history of her parents and grandparents. She describes the difference in public and private education in Guam and compares it to the United States. She explains the reason why she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1998 and attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for public relations. Castro then talks about the differences between older and newer generations, the political atmosphere in Guam, and the differences between the United States and Guam in politics. She also talks about the discrimination she has experienced throughout her life and diversity in the workplace. Lastly, she describes her culture and traditions during holidays, the struggles with an absence of culture within her family, and her personal religious beliefs.

Gilbert Yarchever was one of nine siblings, born and bred in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He describes the way his mother?s family was granted the last name of ?Kurfeersf" by Emperor Franz Joseph (of Austria-Hungary), explains the Seder (the Jewish observation of the exodus of Hebrews from Egypt), and tells what it was like to survive the Depression. Gilbert describes the jobs he held after high school and the government examination he took that led to his lifetime of adventure and travel. He moved to Washington, D.C., in 1940 and kept himself busy working for the government and taking classes at George Washington University, as well as working part time at Hecht Department Store and as a freelance court reporter. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Gilbert was sent to Africa on a merchant ship, helped smuggle Jewish survivors into Jerusalem, and was assigned the task of negotiating with Arab sheikhs for laborers to build a road. In the years after that, he worked in Europe, Panama, Alaska, Japan, and Hawaii and describes many of the jobs he was responsible for and many of the individuals he met. He also married and had children, kept up with university classes whenever he could, and collected art objects and paintings. Following his retirement in 1977, Gilbert and his family came to Las Vegas and bought a condo in Regency Towers. He did some consulting work for a couple of years, and then he and his wife began traveling around the states and going abroad. He was involved with UNLV?s EXCEL program, the music department, and the Las Vegas Art Museum. (He and his second wife Edythe presented the first major exhibition on Holocaust art at the museum.) These days Gilbert often donates pieces from his art collection to churches, synagogues, and charitable organizations.

Gilbert Yarchever was in the Navy during World War II, helped smuggle Jewish refugees into Jerusalem, worked as a civil servant in many countries, and moved to Las Vegas in 1977. He helped found the EXCEL program at University of Nevada, Las Vegas and was an art collector with his wife, Edythe Katz-Yarchever.