Oral history interview with Edmund "Ed" Fleming conducted by Mark Lucas on February 08, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Fleming discusses mining practices in Southern Nevada and his teaching experiences in Pahrump, Nevada, Goodsprings, Nevada, and Las Vegas, Nevada. He also discusses religion, transportation, and culture in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mark Douglas conducted by Dennis McBride on May 16, 1999 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Douglas discusses his family and upbringing in the Mormon Church, his realization of his sexuality, first experiences with gay clubs and associations, and the conflict between his feelings and his faith. He continues talking about Church views of homosexuality in a modern and historical context and then details two organizations that offer support to LGBT members of the Mormon Church.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with William Dean Whitaker conducted by Claytee D. White on April 05, 2010 for the Boyer Las Vegas Early History Project. Whitaker discusses being a member of the 398th Bomb Group during World War II and being captured by the Germans. He also discusses living in a suburb of Los Angeles, California then moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1990.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Willie Thompson conducted by Claytee D. White on November 25, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Thompson discusses his early life in Tulsa, Oklahoma and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1995. Thompson recalls the Doolittle Senior Center, the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino, and his involvement in the Martin Luther King Jr. parade. Lastly, Thompson talks about volunteering with the Mirage Reading Program.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kit Waldman conducted by Claytee D. White on October 09, 2000 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Waldman begins by describing her early life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the Great Depression, which forced her family to move to Las Vegas, Nevada due to financial reasons. She discusses life in Las Vegas during the 1930s and 1940s and how the city has changed since then. Waldman also talks about her career working as an assistant at her brother's law firm and being a member in the Jewish community of Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ronald (Ron) Tomlin conducted by Claytee D. White on December 20, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Tomlin recalls growing up as child with his mother, Dorothy Dalton Tomlin, who started the Dotty Dee Dancers in 1952. Ron recalls spending much of his childhood with his grandmother while his mother toured the country with the Dotty Dee Dancers. In 1955, his father, Donald Sherwood Tomlin, opened a clothing store, Scottie's Clothing Store, in the Moulin Rouge shopping strip on the Westside of Las Vegas, where he sold the latest fashion trends to Black men. Ron traveled across country with his parents after high school, helped them run a small resort on the Russian River called the Bohemian Grove, and then began his photography career. Throughout his career as a photographer, he has photographed Mike Tyson, Naomi Campbell, and Elvis. Tomlin also talks about having a passion for dancing, like his mother.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Stanley Paher conducted by Claytee D. White on March 20, 2023 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Paher recalls his childhood, being born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada. His family built and owned the Gateway Auto Court, now the Gateway Motel, at the corner of Las Vegas and Charleston Boulevards. After a brief period serving in the United States Navy and obtaining a bachelor's degree, Paher entered the master's program at the University of Nevada, Reno. Paher discusses his love of researching and writing about Nevada ghost towns, including writing his first book on the subject in 1970. He recalls seeing the physical book on the printing press, and talks about the profound impact that moment had on his life. It led to the founding of Nevada Publications, and his involvement with 59 Las Vegas and northern Nevada authors from 1970 through 2023. Paher has written fifteen books on Nevada, Arizona, and California.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Harold Wadman conducted by Dennis McBride on December 21, 1986 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. In this short interview, Wadman talks about running away from his childhood home in Ogden, Utah at the age of thirteen. He explains how he hitchhiked to Nevada, bypassing Las Vegas and reaching Boulder City, Nevada in the middle of the night. He explains how he worked odd jobs before a brief employment at the dam site as a waterboy; possibly the youngest person to work on the dam.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Agnes Cody conducted by Irene Rostine on February 17, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN). Cody discusses moving to Nevada in the early 1950s to work as a service representative for the New York Telephone Company. Cody talks about the telecommunications industry at length and describes in detail the transition from manual to dial-based line communication. Cody also discusses being in charge of finding and establishing operating offices for the company throughout the Southern Nevada area.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary R. Stout conducted by Greg Rowland on February 20, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Stout discusses her personal history and living in Boulder City, Nevada. Stout describes living in "Ragtown," a makeshift settlement for workers constructing Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) before Boulder City was established. She also describes her father's duties as a pipe fitter while working on the construction of Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) and how Boulder City has changed and evolved. Stout concludes by talking about nuclear weapons tests, her careers, and gambling in Boulder City.
Archival Collection