Oral history interview with Arne Rosencrantz conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 18, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Rosencrantz discusses his family’s immigration story, him moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, and growing up within the Jewish community. Rosencrantz also discusses his involvement in the Las Vegas Jewish community over the decades.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Faye Rhea Porter conducted by Barbara Tabach on June 13, 2012 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Porter discusses her father's employment at the Nevada Test Site. Porter talks about her father being unable to describe the type of work he did with family or friends and tells anecdotes about the secrecy of the test site. She then recalls her sister and her employment at the Nevada Test Site until an accident on the way to the site resulted in her death.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elena Newman conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on April 11, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Newman discusses her childhood in Dagupan, Pangasinan, Philippines. At the age of eighteen, she moved to Singapore for better work opportunities to help support her family. After meeting her husband, the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Since moving to Las Vegas, Newman has spent her time working as both a guest room attendant and shop steward at Mandalay Bay. She is also a part of the Culinary Workers Union, and she discusses how helpful the union is to the livelihoods of the many workers in the casino industry.
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Oral history interview with Dr. William Larkin conducted by Ann Larkin on February 10, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Larkin reflects upon his career as a middle and high school teacher and administrator in Wisconsin. He discusses different schools and universities that he taught at before becoming a principal, challenges that he faced as a new principal, and life experiences that shaped his approach to education. He describes his experiences working with culturally diverse schools, standardized testing, and school violence, and highlights elements of his training that best prepared him for his career. He also provides his opinion on contemporary topics within the education system, such as curriculum changes, salaries, and school board oversight.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Danit Farwell conducted by Barbara Tabach on March 27, 2018 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Farwell discusses her early life in Morocco, antisemitism she experienced there, and being sent to Israel as a young girl. She recalls the hardships she faced while traveling to Israel, living in a kibbutz, and completing a teaching seminar to become a grade school teacher. Farwell talks about arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1974, her first impression of the city, and her decision to stay. Farwell describes becoming a member of Temple Beth Sholom, being a teacher there, and going to card dealing school. Lastly, Farwell talks about being a part-time card dealer at different casinos on the Strip.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Christian Giovanni conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 17, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Giovanni describes her early life being born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her mother, Oywan, who first worked for the casinos before turning her focus to community building. Throughout Oywan's life, she did everything from start the first temple in the city to the first Thai newspaper, Las Vegas News. Giovanni mentions having what she considers a normal childhood, especially because of her more Western appearance, and did not embrace her AAPI identity until much later in life after she started helping her mother with different organizations. Currently, Giovanni is involved in many organizations, from the AAPI County Commission to the Thai Culture Foundation.
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Oral history interview with David Bruce Dill conducted by R. C. Turner on May 04, 1976 and May 12, 1976 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Dill discusses the desert environment, human adaptation to the weather, and the Boulder Dam Bureau of Mines.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with John Mance conducted by Claytee D. White on February 27, 1998 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Mance discusses his introduction to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), forming a local branch in California in 1955, and his continued involvement with the executive committee of the national organization since that date. He explains the heirarchy and make-up of the NAACP, from the national convention to the local branches and their rights and responsibilities. He continues talking about the officers, who are all volunteers, and the numbers of paid administrative staff. He explains his involvement in the various local branches and his forty-two years as a national board member.
Archival Collection
Archival Component
Oral history with Nympha Comacchio conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on May 09, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Comacchio recalls her childhood in the Philippines and growing up in a large family. After attending elementary school, Comacchio immediately went to work on her father's lumber farm, performing manual labor until she was seventeen. Later, she recalls finding employment as a seamstress in Manila, where she met her first husband when she left to work in Saudi Arabia for better pay. Comacchio describes how she was able to receive a student visa to finally immigrate to the United States, where she first arrived in California. Eventually, after meeting her second husband and hearing about housing prices in Las Vegas, Nevada, they purchased a house in the city in 2000. After briefly working for the New Frontier, Comacchio began working for the Wynn and Encore, where she found out about the Culinary Workers Union and became more active in that organization. Throughout the rest of the interview, Comacchio touches on the responsibilities of being a housekeeper, the current challenges they face, and how she feels about the growing AAPI population in southern Nevada.
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