Image
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 Roxton Whitmore conducted by his grandson, Mark Whitmore, on October 22, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Whitmore discusses his personal life, including his marriage and his political affiliations. Whitmore also describes the atomic bomb tests and automobiles.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Christie Young conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In the interview, Young talks about her early life in Reno, Nevada and her experiences with race and sexuality during this time. She then describes attending University of Nevada, Reno in 1974, getting pregnant, having an abortion, and the social implications of abortions. Young recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979 to study anthropology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, learning about gay culture, and attending the Metropolitan Community Church. She then explains joining gay rights organizations as a straight woman, gay rights activism in the 1980s and 1990s, and stories of individuals within the Las Vegas gay community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Lillian Whalen conducted by Laura Bell on September 21, 1974 and November 22, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Whalen discusses her personal history in Boulder City, Nevada since the 1930s. Whalen then describes social life, the increase of local businesses, and the overall growth of Boulder City.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ralph Vandersnick conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1997 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Vandersnick discusses growing up on a farm with his family in Illinois, owning a gay bar called the Studio Club in California, and owning another gay bar called Snick's Place when he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1976.
Archival Collection
Interview with James A. Gay III conducted by Joyce M. Wright in 1973. Edited by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick, and transcribed for the project "Black Experience in Southern Nevada, Donated Tapes Collection," James R. Dickinson Library, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, December 1978. Arriving in 1946 from Fordyce, Arkansas, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.
Text
Oral history interview with Dorothy Keefe conducted by an unidentified interviewer on February 22, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Keefe explains how she first moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1931 to work as a school teacher at Fifth Street School. She briefly discusses environmental and weather changes in Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Archival Component
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