Jo Ann and Hal Mueller arrived in Las Vegas in 1956 when he accepted a meteorologist position. In addition to raising their two children, Jo was active in PTA, worked for Weight Watchers, and was a volunteer with League of Women voters. She tells the story of meeting Hal and their whirlwind romance to the altar, moving to the Caroline Islands and eventually choosing Las Vegas over Seattle as their next career assignment. Las Vegas became their permanent home and Jo reflects on life and experiences here.

On February 28, 1977, collector Steve Gortz interviewed Mike Meade (b. September 16, 1950 in San Francisco, California) about his life in Nevada. Meade speaks about growing up in Tonopah, Nevada before its decline in population, his move to Elko, Nevada and eventually to the city of Las Vegas. Moreover, he talks about the development of the Strip, the differences between Las Vegas and rural Nevada, as well as the changing environmental landscape. Meade also spends time discussing the controversy surrounding the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) dormitory at the time of this interview, the attitude of locals, and his opinion on brothels and prostitution. Lastly, Meade talks about the city’s pollution, the sports and recreation throughout the whole of the state and ends by reading a poem about Nevada from a Bicentennial book.

Whenever Paul Huffey drives through John S. Park Neighborhood he visualizes his youth and the times he spent with his childhood friend Michael Mack, who joined in this interview. Together they reminisced about their teen years in the 1950s and living in John S. Park Neighborhood. Paul's first home was Normandie Court, the first authentic motel in Las Vegas. In 1947, Paul's father purchased a lot on Paseo Park and built a home for his wife and only child. He describes life in that home as idyllic: no war or unemployment issues, a time when the Strip was "meaningless" unless you had a parent working there. An era when mothers, at least in his neighborhood, were stay-at-home moms and children freely roamed on their bicycles. Of their teen years, Paul and Michael recall their hi-jinks, discovering beer, and admiring pretty girls. In 1956, he graduated from Las Vegas High School, enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve and enrolled in University of Nevada Reno. He taught history at Basic High School in Henderson for nine years.

On March 19, 1978, Philip John Mile interviewed former chef, Harold R. Hunter (born 1901 in Norwich, Kansas) about his life in Southern Nevada. Hunter discusses his different experiences working in early Las Vegas restaurants during the thirties and forties. Hunter also discusses the rapid growth of the Mormon community during this time.

Joseph Thiriot is a longtime Las Vegas resident who served the community as an educator. He was born in 1906 in Provo, Utah; one of five sons bom to George W. and Elvira Thiriot. He has vivid memories of moving about, including living in Idaho where his father sold a typing machine , a forerunner to the typewriter. Eventually the family moved to a ranch in Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, where the limits of educational opportunities compelled his paients to send him back to Provo to finish his education while living with family there. Gaining a teaching certificate enabled Joseph to teach in rural Nevada. He completed his degree at the University of Utah and after meeting Las Vegas Superintendent Maude Frazier he relocated to Las Vegas to become a teacher. He reminisces about his life and the changes that have occurred over the years in Las Vegas.

Chef and longtime gaming executive Joseph “Joe” Wilcock was born in Detroit and raised by his mother, Ruby, and stepfather, Ross Johnson, in Sarasota, Florida; Gary, Indiana; and Harlan, Kentucky. After he graduated from high school in Gary he moved to Chicago to attend Washburne Culinary Institute. While attending Washburne Joe worked at Chicago’s Drake Hotel and lived at the Sears YMCA. After earning his certificate from Washburne, Joe worked at the newly opened Holiday Inn in Chicago, the Sea View hotel in Bal Harbour, Florida, and a resort at Blowing Rock, North Carolina. At Blowing Rock he heard about the new School of Hotel Management at UNLV and in August 1969 23-year-old Joe headed for Las Vegas with $400 in his pocket. Las Vegas was a disappointment. Joe could not get a job as a chef without first joining Culinary Workers Union Local 226-which he could not afford to do. Also, because he ran a poker game and cooked at the Chuck Wagon Diner during high school his high school grade point average was roughly a C-, which hindered his admittance into the School of Hotel Management. Undaunted, Joe found a job bussing tables at the Frontier Hotel and joined the Culinary Union so he could work as a chef. He also took three classes at UNLV that semester, earned an A in each, and was admitted to the School of Hotel Management. While at UNLV he affiliated with Sigma Chi fraternity. In his career Joe has worked in all facets of the gaming industry in such Las Vegas properties as the Flamingo Capri, the Frontier, Caesars Palace, the Tropicana, the Dunes, the Golden Nugget, the Mirage, Treasure Island, the Sands, MGM, and the Downtown Grand. He learned the business from the ground up. He also worked at Caesars Tahoe and at different times owned and operated a sandwich shop and a bar. Joe married his wife, Linda, 38 years ago in Las Vegas, in 1976. He is currently employed as a casino shift manager at the Downtown Grand hotel and is affiliated with the House Corporation of Sigma Chi Alumni, UNLV Rebel Golf, the Las Vegas Natural History Museum, and Candlelighters Childhood Cancer Foundation of Nevada.

From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Personal and professional papers file. (Transcripts less than 75 years old are restricted.)