Oral history interview with Sarann Knight Preddy conducted by Yvonne R. Hunter on July 16, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Knight discusses her bar (The Lincoln Bar) in Hawthorne, Nevada and how she built it for the African American community because of limited access to venues due to segregation. Knight then talks about working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the influence that gambling had on the community.
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Oral history interview with Jessica Guiao conducted by Grecia Lopez on November 22, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Guiao recalls her childhood in Hayward, California, and being raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She recalls not liking the climate of Nevada at first, and describes the friends she has made throughout her time in the city and the identity she has developed. Guiao discusses some of the pressures and stereotypes surrounding Asian Americans, such as what career path they should pursue or the aversion to embracing subcultures, and how she has consolidated her rebellion into her own identity. Throughout the interview, Guiao touches on other topics such as Filipino food, the long-standing history between Mexican and Filipino communities, Catholicism, goth culture, and anti-Asian hate and racism that she and her family has faced.
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Oral history interview with David Welles conducted by Patrick Carlton on March 27, 2002 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Welles first relates his family background and the circumstances that led to the family settling in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1940s. He relates numerous anecdotes about growing up and attending school, and then explains how a back problem ended his chances for a career in the Navy and led him to consider less physically demanding fields. He took jobs surveying and drafting, which led to his decision to study architectural engineering, taking his degree at the University of Oklahoma. Meeting and marrying while he was in Oklahoma, the couple returned to Las Vegas, where he took multiple jobs at different architectural and engineering firms, gaining experience toward licensure as an architect. By the early 1970s, he had established his own firm with a partner, gaining a state contract to build elementary schools. Welles then speaks at length about partnering with the Daly Group to design and build the UNLV Lied Library and ends the interview with another extended discussion of his long-time involvement in the Rotary Club.
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Oral history interview with Shirley Allen conducted by Nancy Hardy on June 21, 2003 for the Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Allen discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with her family and starting dancing professionally while attending university. Her first job was at the Riviera in 1964, working as a showgirl. She explains that the work was not difficult and they were not asked to do anything inappropriate, but they did have to pay for their own cocktail dresses and accessories. She also explains that she was a "covered dancer" in the beginning but by the late 1960s she had to "uncover" (work topless) to be employed. She then talks about working in Pzazz! '68 at the Stardust Resort Hotel and Casino, after auditioning for Fluff LeCoque, Donn Arden's company captain. She also talks about her impression of Miss Bluebell and Donn Arden. She spends some time talking about what life was like backstage, relations between the girls, and meeting celebrities, her first experience with topless dancing in Lido de Paris, and how the backstage dressing areas were assigned and the difficulty of fast changes between sets. Later, she talks about things that can go wrong, from forgeting choreography to the more serious issue of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that swept through the shows in the 1980s.
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Oral history interview with Sonny V. Mallari conducted by Chanele Mallari on November 26, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Sonny Mallari talks about his childhood in Masantol, Pampanga province, Philippines with his five siblings. He discusses his family's immigration to Salinas, California and details of his life and parents' lives in the United States. Sonny shares stories of being bullied in school and what the immigration process was like from his point of view at the age of seven. He also talks about his professional work as a cook, moving to Las Vegas, Nevada for work, and becoming a Culinary Workers Union member.
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Oral history interview with Arne Rosencrantz conducted by Claytee D. White on February 09, 2010 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. Rosencrantz discusses living in the John S. Park Neighborhood from 1954 to 1970. He also talks about his father, a professional violinist who owned furniture stores and played at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. Rosencrantz then discusses his career as a business owner of Garrett's Furniture and a real estate agent.
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Oral history interviews with Irma Varela conducted by Barbara Tabach on December 04, 2018 and March 05, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In these interviews, Varela talks about her upbringing in Zacatecas, Mexico, her move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1989, and how religion has affected her life. She also describes her work as the Cultural Program Supervisor at Winchester Community Center, and her career in preserving Hispanic cultural traditions in Las Vegas. Varela talks about being an active leader in local Las Vegas organizations and events such as the Mexico Vivo Dancing Company, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations, and the International Food and Folklife Festival.
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Oral history interview with Frankie Perez conducted by Elsa Lopez and Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez on November 05th, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Perez speaks about the importance of sports, and the lack of Latinx representation in teachers during high school. Perez then discusses being placed on medical hold in the military, how his transition affected his physical tests, how the 2016 election may have impacted transgendered people in the military, and how everyday military personnel feel about transgendered people serving in the military. The interview concludes with Perez discussing the Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, Transgendered, and Queer (LGBTQ) scene in Las Vegas, Nevada and about how culture impacts which clubs members of LBGTQ community would visit.
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Oral history interview with Arturo Ochoa conducted by Monserrath Hernández on April 09, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Ochoa discusses his early life in Greenfield, California and Tucson, Arizona. He talks about his experience with racial stereotypes, discrimination, and his initial interest in education. Ochoa recalls becoming an educator, teaching in a sixth grade center on the Westside of Las Vegas, and integration for Clark County School District (CCSD) schools. Ochoa remembers co-founding Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM), and launching Violins for Kids. Lastly, Ochoa discusses the challenges that special needs Latinx students face, and how special needs programs disproportionately consist of students of color.
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Oral history interview with Steve Wynn conducted by David Schwartz on December 8, 2006 for the Remembering Jay Sarno Oral History Project. In this interview, Wynn discusses his relationship with Jay Sarno and Sarno's development of the Atlanta Cabana Motel in Atlanta, Georgia, as well as the early days of of Caesars Palace and Circus Circus in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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