Oral history interview with Lawrence Nelson conducted by John Turner on February 22, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Nelson discusses the history of early Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks about the Old Mormon Fort, the importance of railroads in Las Vegas, and the construction of the Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with LaShannon Lewis conducted by Claytee D. White on March 22, 2019 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Lewis discusses her early life in Las Vegas, Nevada and growing up in the Westside. She talks about moving out of the Westside neighborhood, attending a sixth grade center, and the geographical division of the community. Lewis remembers her employment as a social worker for Clark County, and the redevelopment of the Westside.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elsie Whipple conducted by Hugo A. Cascos Jr. on March 22, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Whipple discusses Southern Nevada history and recalls the construction of Boulder (Hoover) Dam. Whipple also recalls the first hotels and casinos to open on the Las Vegas, Nevada Strip, and her work as a missionary with the Mormon Church.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Samuel Smith conducted by Claytee White on June 17, 2011 and June 22, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Smith discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978 and working as a fire inspector until he retired in 2003. He also discusses organizing free reading and math classes to help people prepare for the firefighter exam.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Afton Powers conducted by Stephen Johnson on January 22, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Powers discusses living in St. Thomas, Nevada before the town was submerged in water after the construction of Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam). She describes the utilities they had, her recreational activities, and how the town prepared for its eventual submersion.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Joyce Moore conducted by Claytee D. White on January 22, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Moore discusses her early life growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and attending Rancho High School with her brother. She also talks about how Las Vegas changed as she grew older.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ashley Hall conducted by Claytee D. White on September 2, 2015 and September 22, 2015 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. Hall discusses being the city manager of Las Vegas, Nevada during the early portion of the development of Summerlin, Nevada by the Hughes Corporation. He also discusses his earlier life before politics, pertaining to Nevada Trench Safety.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Claytee D. White conducted by Stefani Evans on November 2, 2023 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Claytee D. White, founding directory of the Oral History Research Center at UNLV Libraries, celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the OHRC by contributing her oral history to the collection.
She begins by explaining how the system of sharecropping worked in her family near rural Ahoskie, North Carolina, and she talks about the field work involved in raising cotton, tobacco, corn, and peanuts. The fifth of eight children and the first daughter, she shares memories of going into town with her mother, of admiring her women teachers, and of attending North Carolina Central College (now University) for two years before moving to Washington, D.C., and working for the telephone company.
After recalling her two years in D.C. and 22 years in Los Angeles, California, she describes "running away" to Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1990s. Here, at the History department at UNLV, she recalls learning to conduct oral histories. White shares memories of her first interviews with Hazel and Jimmy Gay and Lucille Bryant. She talks of matriculating to the College of William and Mary for her PhD and of returning to Bertie County to live with her mother and administer the office of The Shaw University Center for Alternative Programs in Education (CAPE). She describes how she was offered the position of OHRC founding director, why it matters that she was an "opportunity hire," and how it feels to be the only Black person in a room.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ed W. May conducted by Claytee D. White on July 22, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, May discusses golfing in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Valley View Club, an organization for predominately African American golfers, and its significance to the African American community. May describes how the club began and recalls anecdotes from his time as president of the club for nine years.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Barr Smith conducted by Melvin Smail on February 22, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Smith discusses his personal history and the history of Las Vegas, Nevada. Smith discusses working at the Basic Magnesium plant, playing high stakes poker games with prominent gamblers like "Nick the Greek," and the casinos built on the early Las Vegas Strip. Smith also describes how Las Vegas has changed, the different forms of gambling and gaming available in the city, and life in 1940s Las Vegas.
Archival Collection