Oral history interview with Shelia White conducted by Irene Rostine on May 24, 2012 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. White opens her interview by discussing her move to Boulder City, Nevada in 1953 with her mother. White then talks about her experiences working for the Southern Nevada Telephone company in the 1960s as a switchboard operator and how she eventually became a low-level customer service manager. She describes leaving the Southern Nevada Telephone company and being hired at the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino. White also discusses the writer Celesta Lowe, the Lowe family, and the MGM Grand fire in great detail.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Audrey Wickman conducted by Joanne L. Goodwin on June 24, 1996 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Wickman opens her interview by discussing her upbringing in Kentucky, and her young adult life in Colorado. Wickman then talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband during the Depression to look for employment. She then describes the Mesquite Club in detail, including its members and the club's activities from the 1930s to 1950s. Audrey Swenson, Wickman's daughter, joins the interview at the end. She discusses what the Mesquite Club was like in the 1950s through 1970s, and being raised in Las Vegas as a child.
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Oral history interview with Thomas Cooper conducted by Irene Rostine on August 04, 2011 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN). Cooper begins his interview by describing his journey from Dublin, Ireland to Ohio, California, and eventually Las Vegas, Nevada to work for the Centel Telephone Company and Centel Business Systems. Cooper explains his job responsibilities and talks about what phone companies and telecom systems were like in the 1950s. Cooper goes into detail about the tools and equipment needed to install telecom systems in hotels and businesses. He also talks about the technology that made manual operators obsolete.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Barbara Davis conducted by Joanne Goodwin on December 18, 1996 and March 25, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Davis opens her interviews by discussing her audition for the Folies Bergere as a dancer with limited experience. Davis describes working with the Folies Bergere as a touring showgirl in the 1940s. She discusses touring the United States in the Folies Bergere, touring South America for three years, and going to college at night while performing during the day. Davis then talks about the city of Reno, Nevada and working as a showgirl there. Davis addresses common rumors about showgirls, such as being involved in prostitution or being addicted to gambling. She then discusses her interest in education in her later years including earning various post graduate degrees. Davis ends her interview with a discussion on classic entertainment of the 1940s, including vaudeville and entertainment hotspots of the time.
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Oral history interview with Rosemary Tall Dehart conducted by Brigid Kelly on November 14, 2002 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Dehart opens her interview by discussing her upbringing in Wellingborough, England. She goes on to describe her dance career and receiving an offer to become a member of the Bluebell Girls dance troupe. Dehart talks about performing in Paris, France for shows and movie dance segments. She then discusses traveling from Paris to Las Vegas, Nevada to perform at the Stardust Hotel. Dehart describes the treatment of different types of entertainers and the choreography style of Donn Arden. She then discusses returning to the Stardust later in life to work as a roulette dealer. Dehart ends her interview with a discussion of advice for young dancers and why she chose to settle in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Eglin "Peggy" Hamblin conducted by Irene Rostine on October 25, 1991 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Judith Hamblin, Eglin's daughter, helps prompt her mother to respond and recall answers. Hamblin opens her interview by discussing her time working for Basic Magnesium, Inc. during World War II. She describes her work, and her husband's duties at the plant as a security guard, and as a member of the construction crew that built the plant and the surrounding workers' homes. Hamblin goes on to discuss life in Henderson, Nevada at the time, and how the local high school was an integral meeting and event spot for the community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Lucille Matyas conducted by Irene Rostine on November 18, 2010 and December 02, 2010 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Matyas opens her interview by discussing her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada and her mother's turbulent marriage to a Las Vegas constable in 1935. She then describes working at the phone company after school to avoid the dangers of her home life. She discusses learning to repair switchboards, saving equipment parts during wartime rationing, and listening in to the private conversations of repairmen. Matyas then describes family gatherings in Ohio before her family's move to Nevada. She later returns to talking about working at the telephone company and describes the issues customers had with party lines and the lack of telephone lines to serve the growing population of Las Vegas. Matyas ends her interviews discussing other memorable experiences she had working at the telephone company.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Thelma D. Oldfield conducted by Irene Rostine on February 29, 1992 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Oldfield opens her interview with a description of her work responsibilities at the Basic Magnesium Plant starting in 1943. She then discusses her employment at a chemical plant transporting chlorine. Oldfield also talks about her job responsibilities and her union participation. Oldfield's husband interjects his recollections throughout the interview.
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Oral history interview with Winnie Prince conducted by Irene Rostine on May 18, 1995 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Prince opens her interview by discussing her history in Las Vegas, Nevada, which began when she moved to the city in 1942. Prince describes her husband's experiences living in a Las Vegas tent city, and her life in St. George, Utah prior to her move to Las Vegas. She also talks about her brief employment at the Basic Magnesium plant just before the end of World War II. Prince discusses her job responsibilities at the plant, and the importance of accuracy in her job as a shell casting inspector. Lastly, she describes her husband's job as a guard at the Basic Magnesium plant and the ways rationing affected daily life, including commuting to work and feeding her family.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary Ward conducted by Irene Rostine on March 14, 2012 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Ward discusses moving to Nevada in the 1950s with her husband to live closer to his family. She describes living in both Pahrump and Las Vegas, Nevada, and the commute between both cities. Ward then talks about the various places she was employed including the County Commissioner's office and the local telephone company. She also worked as a telephone operator at the Frontier Hotel and Casino, Sands Hotel and Casino, and the Flamingo Hotel. She goes on to talk about the duties telephone operators had, how important the union was for telephone operators because of unfair retribution, lack of stability, and the need for worker's rights. Additional comments are provided by a person identified as Opal.
Archival Collection