On February 17, 1980, Judith Chavez interviewed Thelma Coblentz (born 1911 in New Jersey) about her experiences in Southern Nevada. Coblentz first talks about her move to Lovelock, Nevada, where her husband provided medical care as one of the first physicians in the small town. She later talks about her move to Las Vegas and some of the services she helped to provide at Nellis Air Force Base. Coblentz later describes Downtown Las Vegas, specifically the development of the casinos and shopping businesses. She later talks about the rainstorms and dust storms that the city would experience before recalling some of the entertainers who would perform on the Las Vegas Strip. The interview concludes with a discussion on the first physicians in Las Vegas and the increasing population of the city.

Emilio Muscelli was in his mid-80s when he sat for this oral history interview. With a thick Italian accent he recalled his career as a Las Vegas maitre d' that spanned decades of Strip history. Emilio arrived in America in 1948, landed a job at the Copacabana in New York City. His boss was Jack Entratter, who brought Emilio to Las Vegas when he opened the Sands in 1952. Over the decades he has witnessed the ups and downs of Las Vegas economy and has befriended many celebrities along the way. He reminisces during this interview about his friendship with singer Bobby Darin, actor Cary Grant and meeting a laundry list of others. He fondly speaks of those he worked for and their contribution to the growth of Las Vegas.

Ellen Barre Spiegel grew up in Jericho NY, a predominantly Jewish town in Long Island. Her ancestors had migrated to the United Sates prior to the outbreak of World War II. And for much of life her exposure to cultural diversity was limited. Ellen was born in 1962. She attended Cornell University, located in upstate New York, and graduated in 1984. Though the student population was 30% Jewish, the university expanded her knowledge of the world: her Protestant roommate explained that she had never met a Jew and Ellen replied, I have never met a WASP. Her college studies centered on consumer economics and she was a public policy major. Ellen was an early adopter of technology and her career path included positions at American Express, Prodigy (a joint venture of IBM and Sears), the Weather Channel, and Manufacturers Hanover Trust. Each company used her increasing experience with using technologies to improve connections with consumers. Ellen describes her Jewish identity as conservative and is a member of Midbar Kodesh Temple in Henderson. She talks about her bat mitzvah and her move back to New York to recite the mourner’s Kaddish for the year following the passing of her father. Later, she moved to Santa Monica, where she met Bill, her husband, using a new dating site called Luvitt AOL. After marriage, the couple saw financial advantages to living in Las Vegas and relocated their business and home to the valley in 2001. Soon Ellen noted that there was no active Democratic Club in Henderson and it became her mission to reignite the club. This launched a long list of political and civic accomplishments for Ellen. She has been an assemblyperson in the Nevada legislature (2008, 2013-2017). Her list of accomplishments and affiliations are on pages 46-47.

On March 11, 1978, collector Patty L. Baratti interviewed James Hogan (born April 6th, 1909 in Winton Place, Ohio) at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Hogan talks about his time working with the telephone company in Arizona and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. He discusses his time working on grazing rights and cattle ranching in Nevada and how planning went to ensure that farms were able to have land to graze their animals. He speaks about dealing with farmers, corporations, and the government and the frustrations he had to deal with before there were set laws about grazing. He also discusses the change from mainly family farms in Nevada to corporations owning much of the farmland.

Herman Jimerson and his younger sister Ruth Jimerson-Carter, along with her husband Leon Carter Jr., gathered on March 3, 2021, to talk about their memories and experiences growing up in West Las Vegas—the Westside.

OH-03746 contains additional interviews with the Carter family that are not transcribed in this document. Contact special.collections@unlv.edu for more information.

Commencement program from University of Nevada, Las Vegas Commencement Programs and Graduation Lists (UA-00115).