Oral history interview with Joseph Digles conducted by Kathleen Wilcox on March 01, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Digles discusses his career as an editor of the
Archival Collection
Archival Component
Oral history interview with Mike Meade conducted by Steve Gortz on February 28, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Meade speaks about growing up in Tonopah, Nevada before its decline in population, his move to Elko, Nevada and eventually to the city of Las Vegas. Moreover, he talks about the development of the Strip, the differences between Las Vegas and rural Nevada, as well as the changing environmental landscape. Meade also spends time discussing the controversy surrounding the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) dormitory at the time of this interview, the attitude of locals, and his opinion on brothels and prostitution. Lastly, Meade talks about the city’s pollution, the sports and recreation throughout the whole of the state and ends by reading a poem about Nevada from a Bicentennial book.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lovell Gaines conducted by Claytee D. White on July 01, 2009 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview Lovell Gaines discusses his involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), becoming president for the Las Vegas, Nevada chapter in 1980, segregation, Freedom Fund banquets, national conventions, police brutality, and housing issues in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lydia Berry conducted by Kathy Zeller on February 22, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. During this interview Berry discusses her experiences as a worker for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Berry discusses her progression from being a teacher in Kansas City, Missouri to moving to Los Angeles, California and then to Las Vegas, Nevada where she worked at Nellis Air Force Base and then eventually to the Fish and Wildlife Service. She also mentions some of the operations of the Wildlife Service as well as her concerns over animal life and natural resources.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary Eaton conducted by Dennis McBride on November 15, 1986 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. Eaton joined her husband Bruce in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1932, soon after he found work at the Hoover Dam building site. Within months of her arrival, the couple welcomed their first child and moved to Boulder City, Nevada. In this interview, Eaton recalls the early community formed by the wives of the dam workers, the establishment of the Grace Community Church and the death of the church's first pastor, "Parson Tom" Stevenson. She discusses the beginning of the school system in Boulder City and her career as an educator, as well as her involvement in numberous community projects and groups including the hospital and the Rainbow Club for young women.
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Oral history interview with Joe Carlson conducted by Allen Carlson on October 11, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Joe Carlson talks about how his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1921 so that his father could work on the railroad. Joe discusses education, occupations, family life, and the social, economic and environmental changes of early Las Vegas. Joe also mentions presidential visits, the crash of Carole Lombard’s plane, early atomic tests, the old Mesquite forests, Fremont Street and the building of Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Paula Sadler conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on January 28, 2025 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Sadler describes arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada as a teenager with her mother from California. After graduating from Green Valley High School in 1994, she enrolled at Rollers Institute of Cosmetology in Commercial Center, and graduated as a manicurist. She then recalls renting a space in a salon before opening her own salon, A Harmony Nail Spa, in Commercial Center in 2004. In this interview, she discusses forming a business owners' association in 2007, cleaning up Commercial Center, and the original vision of Commercial Center by its original owners and developers, E. Parry Thomas and Jerome Mack. She describes the public ownership of Commercial Center's parking lots and sidewalks and the Clark County Commission's relationship with the property.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Maxine Butler conducted by Frank Johnson on April 22, 2016 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Butler discusses her early life in Jonesboro, Louisiana. She talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1965, the Westside, and businesses on Jackson Street. Butler recalls working at The Cove as a cocktail waitress, the reopening of Moulin Rouge Hotel, and the African American community on the Westside. Later, Butler discusses her involvement at Greater Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church, the importance of church to the African American community, and compares church life in Jonesboro and Las Vegas. Lastly, Butler talks about changes in the Westside.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lee Murialdo conducted by Kim Burco on February 26, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Murialdo discusses the history of Las Vegas, Nevada as it pertains to casinos and city growth. Murialdo describes the initial founding of the city and origins of the name "Las Vegas," entertainment on the Las Vegas Strip, and the different games available to play in casinos. Murialdo also describes the construction of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, as well as the construction of the Hoover (Boulder) Dam. Murialdo goes on to discuss her novel and why she decided to move to Las Vegas.
Archival Collection