Oral history interviews with Lee Tilman conducted by Dennis McBride on February 06, 11, 13, 17, and 22; May 28; and July 09, 1996 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. In the interviews, Tilman discusses his birth in Gooding, Idaho in 1913, his early life, and his arrival to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1931. Tilman then talks about his experiences mining, milling, and ranching before moving to Las Vegas. While in Las Vegas, Tilman was involved with construction of Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) and labor issues. Later, Tilman describes fishing and boating in the Colorado River, working at a duplex mine in Searchlight, Nevada, and working at the Las Vegas Ice House. Lastly, Tilman talks about influential Boulder City residents he knew, his children, and the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Diana Saunders conducted by Joyce (Marshall) Moore on May 23, 1996, conducted by Brigid Kelly on July 22, 2002, and conducted by Joanna Goodwin on August 12, 2002 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. In her interviews Saunders discusses her dance career in New York City, New York. Saunders discusses working on Broadway and touring internationally in Europe and Australia as a dancer. Saunders discusses working at the Dunes in Las Vegas, Nevada and her experiences as a dancer in Las Vegas. Saunders also talks about the lengths dancers had to go through to be successful.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Marge Jacques conducted by Dennis McBride on November 19, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Jacques discusses her friendship with the former Governor of Nevada Grant Sawyer. She talks about LGBTQ supporting policies that Sawyer contributed in, and his involvement with the progress of LGBTQ civil rights in Nevada. Lastly, Jacques describes Grant's social obligations during his time in office.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Harry Mortenson conducted by Claytee D. White on April 08, 2014, April 22, 2014, and May 06, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In the first interview, Mortenson discusses his personal background, working at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and arriving to Nevada to work as a nuclear physicist at the Nevada Test Site. Mortenson describes his work and recalls anecdotes from his employment. He then talks about his company, Sigma Scientific, and explains the different projects where he worked as a consultant. In the second interview, Mortenson discusses the methods of transportation used to arrive to the Nevada Test Site, his involvement with different organizations, and his tenure in the Nevada State Legislature. In the final interview, Mortenson discusses the device he built to take photographs of the nuclear reactor cores at Las Alamos National Laboratory, and explains how that device worked.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kitty Wright conducted by Dennis McBride on January 25, 2004 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Wright discusses the life of her friend Suzanne Daly and the court cases that Daly faced. Wright recalls her memories with Daly, the court case regarding the custody of Daly's child, and her life after having a sex reassignment surgery.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Charlotte Ellsworth conducted by Jane Ellsworth Olive on March 22, 1977, December 26, 1980, December 28, 1981, and August 06, 1987 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In the span of four interviews, Ellsworth discusses her family’s history, the growth of Henderson, Nevada, working at the Basic Magnesium Plant, and life during World War II. She also talks about war bond drives, the Oakey Theaters, Nevada Chamber of Commerce, "western" clothes, and hotels like the Flamingo Hotel and the Riviera Hotel. She then describes visiting places like Canada, Salt Lake City, Utah, Washington, D. C., and San Francisco, California.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Christine Szukala conducted by Bridgette Foote on November 12, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Christine shares her family history and the story of her Thai mother and American Air Force father who met in Thailand and married before moving to the United States in 1970. She talks about her upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada near Nellis Air Force base with her six siblings. Christine discusses her beliefs of how her newly immigrated mother adapted to American life, including altering her recipes to fit her husband's taste and reducing her visits to nearby Buddhist temples.
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Oral history interview with Chris Phipps conducted by Dennis McBride on November 16, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Phipps talks about coming to terms being a gay man in California, being involved with the Apollo Spa and Health center, and becoming a lawyer.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Paul Velez conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 22, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Paul Velez, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) campus officer, discusses his experience at the Thomas & Mack Center during the night of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He shares his goal of creating a safe atmosphere for the survivors and providing them with all of their needs, including helping separated survivors find their loved ones and friends. Velez also describes his move to Las Vegas in 2008 and his time with the New York City police force, talking about his experience as a first responder at Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks. He discusses the effect these attacks have had on general and campus security measures and on him as an individual.
Archival Collection