Joan Massagli spent her childhood in the Tacoma, Washington area, singing three-part harmony—a member of a musically talented family that included five children and an aunt and uncle who raised all the kids to enjoy music. By high school in the early 1950s, she and her two older sisters were regulars on a local TV show. In 1956, the Sawyer Sisters act was formed and they were soon obtaining regular gigs in Las Vegas. Their popularity continued form 1957 to 1964 and they played many of the major hotels, usually as a warm up act for headliners that includes a list of names such as Roy Clark, Louis Prima, Shecky Greene, and Delia Reece. At first the Sawyer Sisters included older sister Nanette Susan and Joan. When Nanette quit to raise her family, youngest sister Kate stepped into what was called a "lively and lovely" trio. Joan met her future husband and musician Mark Tully Massagli, while performing in the early 1960s. Caring for ailing parents while working mostly in Las Vegas, the couple made Vegas home. Even after the Sawyer Sisters name faded from the Strip's marquees, Las Vegas remained home to the Massagli's, who raised their children here. Today they live in the Blue Diamond Village area and recall the changes that have occurred on the Las Vegas Strip—especially from an entertainer's point of view.
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Donna Newsom shares the history of her life in great detail, beginning with her childhood in Georgia and Florida. The family moved many times, following her father's work opportunities. Donna had a close relationship with her father and recalls the many daring adventures on which he took her. After graduating from high school, Donna earned a nursing degree at the Macon Hospital School of Nursing. She remembers dorm life, long hours, and the specific training nurses received in the late forties. Her career began at age 19 with a year of working at Macon Hospital as a graduate nurse, and then she made plans to leave the South. Donna's memories include moving to Houston, living in a boarding house, her first date, and working at Hermann Hospital and then Methodist Hospital. She then answered an ad to work at a Girl Scout camp in Colorado, and her roommate there became a mentor and one of her staunchest supporters. With help from her mentor, Donna went on to earn a teaching degree in Austin, Texas, met and married her husband Sam Newsom, and got involved in real estate. She relates the many experiences they had during Sam's Navy career, her teaching experience in New Orleans, and their eventual move to Las Vegas. Sam and Donna loved Las Vegas from the moment they moved here. She recalls many details of her employment at UMC, the differences in health care compared to down south, and the feeling of being safe no matter the time of day or night. Donna stays active in tutoring, the OLLI program at UNLV, and working for the Salvation Army women's auxiliary. She and Sam also get together with his golfing buddies and their wives for dinners in their various homes.
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Houghton Hoot Peterson played trombone in his high school band in northern Minnesota where he grew up. That same instrument would lead him to be a member of the highly regarded Air Force jazz band called Airmen of Note after enlistment. Then during a short tour at Nellis Air Force base, Hoot decided that the Las Vegas entertainment scene might have career opportunities for him. He moved to Las Vegas in 1962, an era of celebrity performers and tourists who enjoyed the crowds and nightlife. Hoot's point of view was as a musician in the band, most often a Strip relief band. But he also has tales of famous musicians and late night jam sessions. Hoot's career spanned 20 years. Eventually the Las Vegas scene for live musicians began to change. When times got tough for Hoot, he worked as a carpenter and at a music store. In this interview he discusses his fascinating past and offers advice for today's musicians.
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Dr. Joseph Rojas, born 1933 in Alexandria, Louisiana, was the son of Joseph Edward Rojas and wife Carroll. He graduated high school at age 16 and entered Loyola University of the South. Two years later he was accepted at Louisiana State University School of Medicine, graduating with a medical degree in 1957. He interned at Charity Hospital and then completed his OB-GYN residency at Tulane University. Several mentors worked with Dr. Rojas during his residency and he recalls learning surgical and bed-side skills from the likes of Dr. Lynn White and Dr. Fred Janson. He also remembers the very high volume of patients - up to 300 - that he and other residents saw daily. Dr. Rojas married Mona Robicheaux, RN, during his residency and afterwards joined the Air Force. He and his family — they eventually had six children — were stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, arriving in Las Vegas in 1961. He was chief of OBGYN and deputy hospital commander while at Nellis and then served as chief of OBGYN at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital until 1972. He later served as chief of staff at Women's Hospital and Valley Hospital, and was the first chief of staff at Summerlin Hospital. Dr. Rojas also maintained a private practice outside of the hospital. His wife worked alongside him in his office, and they share memories and anecdotes of the patients they saw and the general atmosphere of the medical community. Both Joseph and Mona agree that Las Vegas hospitals were less racially segregated than the hospitals in Louisiana, and felt that the West was more open to integration. In 1966 Dr. Rojas started the first OB-GYN residency in Nevada, which led to the development of the University of Nevada School of Medicine. He was a researcher, lecturer, teacher, and author. He earned many awards, including the Harold Feikes MD Award for Outstanding Physician in Clark County (2001), and the Nevada State Medical Association Distinguished Physician Award (1980). Dr. Rojas passed away in May of 2009, leaving behind an incredible legacy of service to the residents of Clark County.
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Mike Pinjuv sired one of Las Vegas’s early families after arriving in 1917. Mike Pinjuv arrived in Las Vegas via the Union Pacific Railroad and brought Ivan Pinjuv and his family to town (although Mike’s sons do not know the familial relation between the two men). Mike and his wife, Frances Malner, raised six sons and two daughters to adulthood through World War 1, the Great Depression, and World War II. The oldest five brothers attended Las Vegas High School, while Fred, the youngest brother, and the two sisters attended Rancho High School. In this interview, their three younger sons recall how they, their parents, and their siblings navigated the social and physical changes in the Las Vegas landscape. Over the near century that the Pinjuv family has lived in Las Vegas its members have contributed to the city in countless ways. In the early years Mike owned a gas station and a grocery store and worked several jobs before going to Nellis Air Force Base as a civilian. Of the Pinjuv sons
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Charles T. "Blackie" Hunt, born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1930, started accordion lessons at age five. He recounts learning from experienced musicians, then teaching others at age twelve because his teacher was drafted. He attended West Chester State Teachers College where, among other accomplishments, he put together a group with Nick Carlino as tenor sax player. Blackie shares detailed memories of the many musicians with whom he worked and toured. They played in venues that included Harrisburg, Toronto, and Montreal, and eventually were offered a booking at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. The group that Blackie worked with in Las Vegas, Tahoe, and Reno came up with the name "The Characters" (backward 'e'), and the show featured comedy and music. It was during this time that he met Lorraine (stage name Lauri Perry), who had her own group. They were married after a couple of years and Lauri joined The Characters. Blackie and Lorraine Hunt opened Blackie's Bar on Tropicana and Eastern Avenues in the seventies. He talks about the jazz sessions that took place and the musicians who sat in on them, and how he and Lorraine eventually decided to bow out of show business themselves. The Hunts went on to open the Bootlegger, a restaurant/piano bar on Las Vegas Boulevard. They started a little comedy/music session called "Off the Cuff', in which local or touring musicians, comedians, and singers often participate. Blackie and Lorraine have been part of the vibrant history of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada for many years, and continue to make their home here.
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Harriett Thornton Hicks was born June 8, 1913,in Parowan, Utah; the thirteenth child of 14. She tells of her pioneer family who dwelled in two log cabins—one for cooking and one for sleeping. In 1931, she moved to Las Vegas to join two older sisters who had relocated here. She was picked up at the train by young Charles Hicks, who was a friend of her sisters. Charles had a car and offered to provide transportation. Within three years, the two were married. She quit her drug store job to raise a family and he worked for the railroad, the only business at the time in Las Vegas. At the age of 96, Harriett recalls a range of community milestones, such as the Boulder Dam, the news of Pearl Harbor bombing, Fremont Street, the Biltmore Hotel, and how to live in a city with mob influences.
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Joseph Thiriot is a longtime Las Vegas resident who served the community as an educator. He was born in 1906 in Provo, Utah; one of five sons bom to George W. and Elvira Thiriot. He has vivid memories of moving about, including living in Idaho where his father sold a typing machine , a forerunner to the typewriter. Eventually the family moved to a ranch in Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, where the limits of educational opportunities compelled his paients to send him back to Provo to finish his education while living with family there. Gaining a teaching certificate enabled Joseph to teach in rural Nevada. He completed his degree at the University of Utah and after meeting Las Vegas Superintendent Maude Frazier he relocated to Las Vegas to become a teacher. He reminisces about his life and the changes that have occurred over the years in Las Vegas.
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Joyce Marshall-Moore came to Las Vegas from Chicago in December of 1953. Only eight years old at the time, she clearly remembers the road trip with her father Royce (known as "Mousie"), her mother Agnes, and her two brothers. They left Chicago, where it was snowing, and arrived in Las Vegas on a cold snowy day! Joyce attended school at Sunrise Acres ES until eighth grade and then went to Rancho High School, graduating in 1962. She recalls that her father worked for a time at the El Rancho Vegas and that her mother found work at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. Agnes Marshall (nee Rasmussen) took her nurse's training in Buffalo, New York, and then worked at Buffalo General Hospital and Millard Fillmore Hospital. Later she joined the army and was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, working at Kennedy General Hospital where she met Royce and married him. They moved to Chicago where she found work at Ravenswood Hospital. After their move to Las Vegas, Agnes was hired at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. She became disenchanted with nurse-patient interactions at the county hospital and found employment at Las Vegas Hospital. She worked there until 1976 and then was hired at Las Vegas Convalescent Center. Agnes followed her dreams and traveled during this period as well. Agnes worked with Doctors Lund, Allen, Woodbury, Sulvane, and Hardy, among others. Joyce recalls that Dr. Hardy, a cousin and look-alike to Oliver Hardy, was one of her mother's favorites. She shares anecdotes and memories of these and other doctors. Joyce remembers many aspects of her mother's life, including the fact that she took care of neighbors as well as her family and patients. She often worked double shifts and the pay was nominal, but she loved her job because of the relationships with her patients. Agnes passed away in 2006 at the ripe old age of 91.
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Joy Snyder, born and raised in Pennsylvania, is the daughter of Jean Dasinto and stepdaughter of Ray Hunt. Though she was raised thinking she was an only child, she shares that as an adult, she was contacted by an aunt who gave her information about an Austrian half-sister. The half-sister had tracked the family through WWII records on her biological father! Joy was raised in a very large extended Italian family (her maternal grandmother was first-generation Italian) and became the first in her family to attend college. She had decided early on that she wanted to be a nurse and chose to attend Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. She recounts memories of her earliest work there, which began the first week of school. After graduation from nursing school, Joy married her childhood sweetheart, William (Bill) Snyder. They made the move to Las Vegas in 1978 and Joy found work right away at Desert Springs Hospital. She worked there about six months and then took maternity leave after the birth of their second son. When she returned to work, it was at Sunrise Hospital (early 1979) in the newborn nursery. Joy comments on many aspects of her career, including the informal approach to health care, the effects of desert climate on mothers and newborns, and the changes she has seen at Sunrise Hospital. She also comments on adoption practices in Las Vegas, drug-addicted babies, and cultural attitudes that appear during the birthing process. Today Joy is retired and her husband Bill is close to retiring. They feel a strong connection to Las Vegas (Bill has a school named after him), but maintain a second home in New York for their trips back East to visit friends and family. They also keep up with various community activities, including book clubs and running clubs for the children at William Snyder Elementary School.
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