Oral history interview with Jim Gans conducted by Claytee D. White on January 30, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Gans discusses working as an electrician and attending the Aviation Academy in Reno, Nevada and then as a flight instructor there. He also discusses working in measuring radioactivity from nuclear testing, working at the Clark County Sanitation, and at the Las Vegas, Nevada Convention and Visitors Authority as a vice president there.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Brad Nelson conducted by Stefani Evans on October 30, 2017 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. Nelson recalls planning various parcels, the village of Silver Springs, the village of Fox Ridge, the Fountains, and the Green Valley Athletic Club. He discusses the Green Valley ethos of planning for a good quality of family life by making space for churches, schools, and parks; providing a variety of housing price points, public art, working with homeowners' associations, and Single Point Urban Interchanges (SPUIs).
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lee Scroggins conducted by Claytee D. White on February 27, 2009 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. In this interview Lee Scroggins describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in March of 1980 and starting work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in an administration position. She talked about the various departments she worked for, her brief hiatus from the university from 1985 to 1988, and her retirement.
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Oral history interview with Vee Wilson conducted by Connie Malin on April 12, 2003 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Wilson reflects upon his 30-year career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) from the 1960s to the 1990s. He discusses his approach to school administration, and the importance of working relationships with students, staff, and parents.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alfred Hurtado conducted by Chuck Williams on May 13, 2013 for the Friends of Red Rock Canyon in Nevada Oral History Project. Hurtado begins the interview by talking about his early family life. He recalls that he parents lived on Morgan Ranch, before the property was bought and renamed Oliver Ranch. He briefly talks about the town of Blue Diamond and life on Oliver Ranch.
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Oral history interview with Marilyn V. Tamre conducted by Sheri L. Woodward on March 09, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Tamre discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1955 and life in the city. Tamre describes how Las Vegas has changed and expanded, as well as what forms of recreation were available during the 1950s. She goes on to discuss how hospitable the casinos were to their guests, economic changes in the city, and flooding problems in Las Vegas.
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Oral history interview with Muriel Parks conducted by Judy Drappo on February 26, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Parks discusses her personal history and the history of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Parks discusses her career working at UNLV as the Director of Admissions and Records, and how the university has changed over time. Parks also discusses the career of Maude Frazier and their personal relationship.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with William Viera conducted by Ann Louise Pugh on an unknown day in October of 1971 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Viera discusses his work in real estate throughout Las Vegas, Nevada and describes the increase in value of homes, especially newer buildings. Viera later describes his thoughts on why the desert and other surrounding landscape areas would soon be developed.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Michael Arage conducted by Dalton DuPré on November 12, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Michael Arage discusses his upbringing in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Ontario, Canada with his sister and his Filipino-Palestinian heritage. He talks about how his parents immigrated to the United States, his life and education in Toronto, and his relocation to Los Angeles, California where he married his wife. Michael Arage shares how the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2012 when his wife started a job at Zappos. Because he lacked a work visa, Michael Arage began playing poker and working in sports betting. In 2019, he founded a community organization to support the people of Palestine, called Nevadans for Palestinian Human Rights. Michael Arage talks about his activism efforts, anti-Arab racism, his cultural upbringing, and of Filipino and Arabic foods and customs. He also shares his views of living in Las Vegas, the difficulties of raising a child away from her cousins, and differing governmental policies and healthcare between Canada and the United States.
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Oral history interview with Karen Carmichael conducted by Stefani Evans on December 9, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
In this oral history Carmichael discusses the world of professional dancing in the 1970s through the 1990s. She discusses her start in the industry and a variety of Las Vegas shows she participated in including: the Union Plaza Can Can, the American Dream Festival, Dasin’ Dirdy, and Babes Ahoy. She also goes into great detail behind her vision for Skyline, her adagio act, and the many celebrities she encountered throughout her career.
Carmichael also discusses her second career in jewelry design, and her experiences working with art galleries on the Las Vegas strip. She details the experiences of starting off at traveling art festivals, working her way up to award winning designs, and the art of jewelry photography. She also discusses the process of researching and publishing history for her book. She ends the interview with a discussion of what it means to be an artist and role of creativity in her life and those around her. She also discusses the ways in which others such as Betty Francisco, Hedy Jo Star, Debbie Reynolds and Sammy Davis Jr. had shaped her life.
Archival Collection