Oral history interview with Elaine Newton conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Kristel Peralta, and Vanessa Concepcion on May 19, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Elaine Newton shares her family's history living in Hawaii and Japan, and memories from her childhood growing up with her six siblings in Honolulu. She talks about becoming a flight attendant for Pan American World Airways and how she met her former husband, Wayne Newton, after a stop in Vietnam. Elaine recalls their courtship and marriage as well as what Las Vegas life, fashion, and entertainment were like during the 1980s. She also speaks about racial discrimination and anti-asian violence in the past and present.
On March 23, 1977, Paul Pearson interviewed Ellen Lempe (b. 1928 in Detroit, Michigan). Lempe details her life in Sturgis, Michigan—her marriage, her kids and an automobile accident that resulted in gangrene and amputation—before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. She recounts working as a telephone operator, gambling after work and a big win playing keno. Moreover, she describes her disinterest for politics, her husband’s love for sports and his work as a car salesman. The two end by discussing inflation and the changing attitude and landscape of the city.
The Juanita Greer White Photographs (approximately 1960-1979) depict Dr. Juanita Greer White’s activities in politics and higher education in Southern Nevada. Images depict Dr. Greer White receiving a Distinguished Nevadan Award, acting as a Nevada Delegate for the National Conference on Aging, and her time spent in the Nevada State Legislature.
The Harold Minsky Photograph Collection (1957-1977) contains photographic prints, negatives, and slides collected by Las Vegas burlesque show developer Harold Minsky. Subjects include performers in costume, showgirls, comedians, advertisements for shows, performances, and some of the venues at which Minsky's shows were held, including the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino, the Aladdin Hotel and Casino, and the Dunes Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Walter V. Long Photographs consist of three black-and-white photographic prints and corresponding negatives dating from approximately 1923 to 1966. The photographs include two formal portraits of Walter V. Long and one image of him as a teacher with the Tonopah High School Band in Southern Nevada.
The Arthur and Joe Lyon Papers (1930-1935, 1985, 2020) document the first transnational automobile trip taken from North America to Central America in 1930 by Arthur and Joe Lyon, two brothers from McDermitt, Nevada. The materials in this collection include Arthur and Joe Lyon's passports with stamps from their trip and their travel scrapbook. Materials also include the brothers' handwritten notes about their trip from the 1930s and original typescript for Central America Through a Windshield written in 1985. The collection also includes a published hardcover copy of 1930: From Manhattan to Managua, North America's First Transnational Automobile Trip published in 2020.
The James Cashman Sr. Papers date from approximately 1890 to 1969 and contain correspondence, photographs, insurance records, and bank records related to Cashman and his businesses in Southern Nevada. The collection documents the lives of the Cashman family and their businesses in southern Nevada.
The Woodrow Wilson Photograph Collection consists of black-and-white photographic prints and negatives. The images depict black elected government leaders attending the first Conference of Black Elected Officials held in Washington, D.C. in September 1969. Of particular interest are images of Nevada's first black state legislator, Woodrow Wilson; Georgia state representative, Julian Bond; and President Richard Nixon.
The J. Ross Clark Scrapbook dates from approximately 1897 to 1972 and consists of newspaper clippings collected by his wife, Miriam Evans Clark. The clippings relate to professional events in the lives of J. Ross Clark and his brother, Senator William A. Clark. A small number of the clippings refer to births, marriages, and deaths in Miriam Evans and J. Ross Clark's families. Also included are documents written by J. Ross Clark's grand-niece, Dorothy Murdock Dunkley, that offer additional information about the Clark and associated families.
Jim Hodge describes an active and success filled life in this narrative. Born and raised in the South, Jim enlisted in the Navy at the young age of 17, just as World War II was winding down. His primary job was that of a cook. He became smitten with the life of an entertainer after participating in a play and headed for Hollywood in 1952. It was there that he auditioned for Donn Arden, who organized and directed Las Vegas shows. Though he didn't get the part, he did get hired to be a singer for a show featuring Betty Grable. Thus his career was launched and would span the heyday of Las Vegas entertainment from the 1950s to the 1970s. Jim talks about the people, shows and places that touched his life. He also offers thoughts about the changes in the Vegas entertainment scene as well as shares his relationship with his church over the past 40 years.