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Displaying results 1951 - 1960 of 59424

Hildred Meidell oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01278

Abstract

Oral history interview with Hildred Meidell conducted by Greg Abbott on February 27, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Meidell covers a range of topics about living in Las Vegas, Nevada, from her and her husband’s time as tourists in the city and their subsequent retirement to Las Vegas from Los Angeles, California. Meidell describes the Las Vegas Strip, the interstate and highway conditions between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, as well as their numerous visits to Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam). Moreover, she speaks about the changing layout of the city, the increase in shopping centers and department stores, and the clothing stores inside of hotels. Lastly, Meidell talks about the prominence of churches in local communities, the atomic testing program and the structural damages these tests caused in her neighborhood, and the influence of the railroad and passenger train on the town.

Archival Collection

Kirk Kerkorian oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01009

Abstract

Oral history interview with Kirk Kerkorian conducted by K.J. Evans on February 10, 1999 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal First 100 Oral History Project. In this interview Kirk Kerkorian discusses Howard Hughes and Jerry Williams and how they were two men who he respected and learned from. He also talks about how Jerry Williams introduced him to Las Vegas, Nevada. He then discusses how he was ecstatic when he saw Las Vegas for the first time and how he helped build Bally's, The International, and the MGM Grand Hotel.

Archival Collection

Timothy C. Williams oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03588

Abstract

Oral history interview with Timothy C. Williams conducted by Claytee D. White on April 14, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Williams discusses his personal history in Chicago, Illinois in the 1960s and eventually moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985. He describes his career in law and the increase of African American lawyers in Las Vegas by the end of the 1980s. Williams then talks about the founders and past presidents of the Las Vegas National Bar Association (LVNBA). Lastly, Williams recalls his involvement serving on a committee for the Las Vegas Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Archival Collection

Christian Giovanni oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03853

Abstract

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.

Archival Collection

Maureen Lewis oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01114

Abstract

Oral history interview with Maureen Lewis conducted by Hillery Pinchon on March 17, 2006 for the Hurricane Katrina Survivors in Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Lewis first describes her upbringing as one of eleven children, raised in the home her father built in New Orleans, Louisiana's Lower 9th Ward, the area of the city hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. She then begins to describe the events in the days leading up to the landfall of of the hurricane, as she stayed behind in New Orleans with her eldest son and a cousin as most of the family evacuated to Alabama. She relates how she and the cousin were able to leave the city after the initial impact of the storm, but her son was one of the hundreds trapped on an interstate bridge for several days without food or water. She continues talking about the response of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), about people who were forced to commute between Alabama and New Orleans to keep their jobs, sky-rocketing rents, the inadequate state and local response to the emergency, and the strong response of the American Red Cross. She then describes her move to Las Vegas, Nevada with her son, his financee, and their child, and ends with some comments on questions how much racial prejudice played into the tragedy in New Orleans.

Archival Collection

Cheryl Leonard oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01103

Abstract

Oral history interview with Cheryl Leonard conducted by Claytee D. White on February 12, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Leonard discusses her life growing up in 1950s and 1960s, including school activities at Rancho High School and attending college in California. She then discusses working as a telephone operator for Central Telephone Company, and as a clerk at the Nevada Test Site before marrying and quitting to concentrate on raising her daughters.

Archival Collection

Mike Montano oral history interview

Identifier

OH-02135

Abstract

Oral history interview with Mike Montano conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres on September 19, 2008 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. Montano begins by discussing his mother and father, who met in Hawaii when his father immigrated there from the Philippines, and later moved to Stockton, California during the late 1930s after Montano was born. He describes racial prejudice he has faced as an Asian American, how he developed interest in playing the piano as a child, and his siblings. Montano continues, detailing how he started playing jazz while attending the College of the Pacific and the musicians he played with. He describes first going to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1960 and returning throughout the 1960s as a member of various touring jazz bands. He talks about the other places he performed around the world and the celebrities and prominent musicians he has met. Montano concludes by reflecting on his career as a musician and his life in Las Vegas after moving there permanently in 1974.

Archival Collection

Evans Rutledge oral history interview

Identifier

OH-02966

Abstract

Oral history interview with Evans Rutledge conducted by Curtis Lind on November 10, 2006 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Rutledge reflects upon his 38-year career as a teacher and administrator in Alabama, Washington, D. C., and Nevada. He discusses his upbringing in Selma, Alabama and involvement in the civil rights movement, and how this involvement led him to become a teacher. He describes his experiences as a teacher and principal as an African American man, and how his life experiences shaped his approach to school administration. He also shares his opinion on contemporary issues such as immigration, school overcrowding, public funding, and programs such as No Child Left Behind.

Archival Collection

Timothy Dickhudt oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03409

Abstract

Oral history interview with Timothy Dickhudt conducted by Barbara Tabach on March 13, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Timothy Dickhudt discusses his move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2017 for a fellowship at the University Medical Center in Southern Nevada (UMC). He describes the night of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting, how he was called into work almost immediately after he arrived home from his shift, and his gradual understanding that a mass shooting had occurred on the Las Vegas Strip. Dickhudt also talks about operating on a family acquaintance from his home state of Minnesota who had attended the concert.

Archival Collection

Dorothy Eisenberg oral history interview

Identifier

OH-02897

Abstract

Oral history interview with Dorothy Eisenberg conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on March 08, 2017 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. Eisenberg starts this interview by discussing her personal history and growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She describes living through World War II, arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1964, and the Jewish community that she was involved with at Temple Beth Sholom. Lastly, Eisenberg talks about being a founding member of the League of Women Voters in Las Vegas and racial integration in Clark County schools. Digital audio and transcript available.

Archival Collection