Oral history interview with Kathleen Cortez, Delores "Dee" Gammell, Kelli Hansen, and Sallie Samis conducted by Jerwin Tiu and Stefani Evans on January 26, 2024 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, three sisters of seven siblings, Delores "Dee" Gammell, Sallie Samis, and Kathleen "Kathy" Cortez, describe their beginnings in early Las Vegas alongside Dee's daughter, Kelli Hansen. This six generation family of Las Vegas natives trace their roots to Mexico and Delores, Sallie, and Kathleen all recall their childhood spent with family. Each sister eventually ended up leaving Las Vegas. However, each sister ended up returning to Las Vegas and settling in the city where they grew up. While they have their qualms about the city and it is different from when they were growing up, they savor the time they are able to enjoy as a family in the place where they all started.
This collection is comprised of the personal papers of noted Las Vegas entertainment writer, producer, and critic Bill Willard, which date from 1887 to 1999. It contains material on his father's theater and political involvements as well as Willard's early childhood and high school years. His time in the United States Army is chronicled by the editorials and correspondence he wrote. His papers trace his continued involvement in writing, entertainment, and art which culminated in his direction of the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center. The collection also includes pictures of his artwork, articles he wrote for various newspapers and magazines, scripts, skits, jokes, awards, over 700 audio cassette recorded interviews done for the "Rap with the Artist" series, and personal memorabilia.