Search Results
Fred B. Houghton oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with Fred B. Houghton conducted by Philip Partridge on February 09, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Houghton discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada and how he came to practice law.
Archival Collection
Chris Davis, Debbie Davis, and Mynda Smith oral history interview: transcript
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Archival Collection
Description
Oral history with Chris Davis, Debbie Davis, and Mynda Smith conducted by Claytee D. White and Barbara Tabach on May 24, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Debbie and Chris Davis and Mynda Smith discuss the murder of their daughter and sister (respectively), Neysa Davis Tonks, at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on October 1, 2017. They discuss plans to form Fifty-Eight Loved and Never Forgotten, a foundation to help educate the children of the 58 families affected that night. Neysa, a single mother, left behind three sons, 24, 18, and 15 years of age. The family members recall how they were first alerted to Neysa's death, and having to locate and identify her body at the coroner's office twenty-four hours later. Chris, David, and Mynda reflect on Neysa's life, her work, and legacy. Debbie, Chris, and Mynda believe that "darkness cannot exist in the presence of light. Neysa's light will shine forever."
Text
James A. "Jimmy" Gay oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with James A. Gay III (Jimmy Gay) conducted by Perry Kaufman on April 12, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Gay discusses becoming the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas, Nevada and his work improving race relations, social, economic, and civic issues.
Archival Collection
Herb Jeffries oral history interview
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Oral history interview with Herb Jeffries conducted by Cork Proctor on 2009 May 5 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. In the interview Jeffries discusses his life as a singer and actor, entertaining in Las Vegas, Nevada where Frank Sinatra offered support when Jeffries encountered racial discrimination. He also talks about his life after retirement, his family, being an America, his military service, and his relationship with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington as a young performer.
Archival Collection
José Luis Gutiérrez oral history interview
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Abstract
Oral history interview with José Luis Gutiérrez conducted by Maribel Estrada Calderón and Barbara Tabach on October 1, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Also present during this interview is José’s close friend Sergio Salgado, who was interviewed separately for the Latinx Voices project in 2018.
José discusses his early life growing up in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, and his migration to Tijuana and then Santa Barbara, California as a teenager. He talks about his restaurant employment history both in California and in Las Vegas, including his time working at the Jolly Parrot, the Dunes Hotel and Casino, and his own eatery: Tortilleria Los Arcos.
Subjects discussed include: Tortilleria Los Arcos; Club Social Mexicano.
Archival Collection
Melvin Green oral history interviews
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Abstract
Oral history interviews with Melvin Green conducted by Robin Fults on November 28 and December 1, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Green talks about growing up in Bonita, Louisiana and his education through college. He then talks about working for an architectural firm in Connecticut before being recruited to join a firm in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1986. He relates numerous stories about his childhood, discusses problems with discrimination and segregation in the South, and an example of discrimination from a Las Vegas furniture store in the late 1980s. He expands on his views of religion, spirituality, and politics, the importance of travel, of hard work, and commitment. He also gives examples of architectural projects that he has created.
Archival Collection