Dr. Gaelen Lee Felt was a scientist who was active during the height of atomic testing in the mid-twentieth century. He worked for the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. Felt worked on the Nevada Atomic Test Site and became deputy director of the site in 1955. He then worked for the firm Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier (EG & G), eventually becoming vice president of the company's technical support group. He served on the Nevada Board of Education beginning in 1965.

Joseph M. Neal Jr. was born July 28, 1935. Senator Joe Neal shares many memories of his childhood in Mound, Louisiana. He recalls his mother leaving him and his older brother Willie with a woman named Bea so that she could go to Alexander to get a job. He and Willie were ages 2 and 4, respectively, and were frequently left on their own. Willie would leave periodically for hours at a time and come back with food. He eventually took Joe to meet the couple who were supplying the meals, Mary and Gowens Prayder.