Oral history interview with Beverlee and Ivan Cannon conducted by Claytee D. White on April 12, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, the Cannons discuss their personal histories and living in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1950s. Beverlee Cannon describes her father's ice company, and later describes the work she and Ivan did for the Nevada Test Site and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico while contracted through Reynolds Electrical & Engineering Company. Ivan Cannon talks about his time in the United States Navy during World War II and working for the Southern Nevada Telephone Company. The couple also jointly discuss divorcing their former spouses so they could marry each other and going to India to study transcendental meditation, later bringing back what they learned and teaching people in the United States.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Carye St. Claire conducted by Claytee D. White on July 02, 2008 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. St. Claire begins the interview by discussing her upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she was born in 1948. She details riding around the city on a horse before the area became more developed and how she learned to dance. St. Claire discusses her career as a showgirl, the audition process, and performing at the Aladdin Hotel and Casino with comedian Richard Pryor. She describes performing at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino, being friends with the first African American showgirl, and her parents' reaction to her career choice. St. Claire also details the influence of Howard Hughes on Las Vegas, race relations in the city, and performing shows on ice.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Liliam Lujan Hickey conducted by Claytee D. White on September 7, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Hickey speaks about working on building her educational “village” and the challenges of building in East Las Vegas, Nevada. Hickey discusses her early life in Cuba and life in Cuba before and after the Castro regime and her husband’s decision for both of them to flee Cuba for the United States. She also describes arriving in Las Vegas in 1964, working in real estate, and selling homes to the Cuban community. Hickey details her work with the Latin Chamber of Commerce and her involvement with Career Day at the Latin Chamber. She later discusses being elected to the State Board of Education. The interview ends with Hickey speaking on the neighborhoods she lived in and the political climate in 2018.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dorothy and Don Tomlin conducted by Joyce Marshall on April 3, 2002 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. Don Tomlin relates his early life in Los Angeles, California, military service during World War II, returning to California and working as a bartender. He then talks about moving to Alaska and meeting Dorothy, who was there as choreographer and manager for her professional dance troupe. The couple then talk at length about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. Dorothy describes the long hours involved in running her dancers for the El Rancho Vegas Hotel showroom. Both talk about the hotel's owner Beldon Katleman and Don describes opening a men's clothing store near the Moulin Rouge Hotel, catering to both the Westside community and the professional bands that played at the hotels. Finally, the couple describe retiring to travel, buying a resort hotel in California and selling it after repeated flooding, returning to Las Vegas and settling down to help their son run his photography business.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Maralee and Charles “Chuck” Anderson conducted by James Way on March 02 and March 03, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In these interviews, Chuck discusses his employment with the Central Telephone Company in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s and 1960s. He discusses the development of dial service in both Las Vegas and Boulder City, and tourism’s contribution to population growth in southern Nevada. Maralee discusses her volunteer experience with a local high school handling student absences and comments on raising children in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Valerie Chapman Eliot and Connie Pooley conducted by Su Kim Chung on January 30, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Eliot begins the interview by discussing her upbringing in England, her early dancing career in France in the Bluebell Girls dancing troupe, and working with Donn Arden. She continues, describing the other countries where she performed, including Argentina and Cuba, before eventually going to Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1960s to dance in productions at the Stardust Resort and Casino. She describes the life of a dancer, the differences between dancers and showgirls, and life in Las Vegas during the 1960s. Connie Pooley was also present for this interview.
Archival Collection
ral history interview with Guadalupe Meza Redmond conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez on December 07, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Redmond discusses her upbringing in Guanajuato, Mexico and her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1982, where her older brothers were already living. She describes obtaining work as a guest room attendant at the Sundance Hotel (later known as Fitzgeralds) even though she spoke no English at the time. Redmond reflects on the various housekeeping positions she held at several hotels on and off the Las Vegas Strip. She discusses how she and her mother became involved in the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 as a union organizer, and being arrested for the cause of labor rights.
Archival Collection
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Oral history interview with Irene Bustamante Adams conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Claytee D. White on May 13, 2020 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project.
Irene discusses her personal history, her culture and family traditions, and her previous employment. She also talks about her time in Las Vegas and how she came to be a representative for District 42 in the Nevada Assembly. Subjects discussed include: Migrant Farmworkers; California; Mexican culture; Equal Opportunity Program
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Florence and Jerry Vallen conducted by Kenneth "K. J." Evans in 1999 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal First 100 Oral History Project. In the interview, Jerome "Jerry" Vallen discusses his early life in Philadelphia, focusing on his family history and marrying Florence. Jerry then talks about his children, his education in hotel management, and his arrival to Las Vegas, Nevada with Florence in 1967. Jerry and Florence recall the establishment of the College of Hotel Administration, later known as the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Other subjects they cover include the Clark County school system and the programs available for the students' professional development.
Archival Collection