The Earl Rockwell Papers (1852-1978) consists of newspaper clippings, diaries, books, correspondence, and ephemera related to Las Vegas, Nevada pioneer Earl Rockwell. The collection documents Rockwell’s life in Las Vegas and Elmira, New York and also contains seven nineteenth-century diaries that belonged to Rockwell’s grandmother, Amanda Brees.
The Stardust Hotel and Desert Inn Hotel Photographic Negatives collection consists of black-and-white photographic negatives depicting the Stardust and Desert Inn hotels from approximately 1962 to 1967. The images depict annual and one-time events held at both hotels, including sporting events such as golf and tennis, fashion shows and beauty contests, weddings, and conventions for local and national associations. A significant amount of the collection documents the long running Lido de Paris show at the Stardust. Also included in the collection are interior views of Stardust and Desert Inn casino floors, pool side lounges, and guest rooms, as well as exterior and aerial views of the hotel properties located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Kendall Stagg Collection (1998-2000) consists of material documenting Kendall Stagg’s political races in northern Nevada and also details gay activism in Reno. The collection consists of Stagg campaign materials, a t-shirt from one of his campaigns, and documents pertaining to the Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Student Union at the University of Nevada, Reno and Gay Pride parade organizing in Reno.
Papers are comprised of newspaper clippings, photographs, and ephemera collected by Rochelle Hornsby about her life in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1970s and 1980s and her involvement with Temple Beth Sholom. The papers include information about Temple Beth Sholom productions and plays as well as Hornsby's involvement with local sport leagues.
The Johnny Eshow Haig Papers (1970-1990) are comprised of contracts, agreements, and correspondence of musician Johnny Haig, who worked as a trombone player and conductor at various hotels in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1955 until 2000. Additionally, the papers house extensive original music scores written by Haig. The papers primarily cover Haig’s later career in the 1970s and 1980s.
The Las Vegas Professional Men’s Club Records (1984-1997) consist of the constitution, meeting minutes, and organizational documents of the Las Vegas Professional Men’s Club, later known as the Las Vegas Men’s Club (LVMC). The LVMC provided a social outlet for gay men in Southern Nevada. The bulk of the materials date from the 1990s and include membership lists, event fliers, promotional materials, financial documents, and information documenting the club’s fundraising activities.
The Gilbert Buck Papers (1930-1986) focus on Buck's work as a surveyor and real estate broker in southern and central Nevada. Included are master reports, designs, standards, flood and drainage reports, and land specifications on water, sewer, and public lands. Papers regarding real estate include reports, housing and mobile home development plans, newsletters, surveys, and Buck Realty negotiations. There are books and information on seminars Gilbert Buck hosted in Las Vegas, Nevada on investing in raw land. Also included are awards, correspondence, newsletters, a scrapbook of Buck's early life, and information on his campaign for governor of the state of Nevada in 1974. There is include some documentation of Buck's real estate and mining interests in South America.
The Human Radiation Experiments Records (1949-1995) contain reports from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments (ACHRE), and the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE). Also included are newspaper clippings, a court case brought by the National Association of Radiation Survivors (NARS), and cancer research papers. With the goal of building an atomic bomb using plutonium extracted from uranium, the material also examines the outcomes of radiation exposure done on humans during the late 1940s and early 1950s at the Oak Ridge Nuclear Facility in Tennessee.
In 1948 in Las Vegas, Nevada, a camera-girl-turned-cocktail-waitress and a casino credit manager welcomed the birth of their son, Darrin Bush. After attaining his education at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Bishop Gorman High School, Bush earned his Bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. Bush credits his love for photography to his mother’s influence and his study of journalism. Bush’s first job after college as a room service waiter at the Sahara Hotel eventually grew into the coveted position of room service swing captain. His swing shift duties included the entertainers' dressing rooms, which meant taking care of the entertainers, getting them what they needed, and stocking their favorite foods and drinks nightly. Through his work, Bush eventually formed close friendships with several celebrities of the day. He enjoyed his work, but he never stopped honing his skills as an amateur photographer. In the mid-1980s, Bush left the Strip to become a professional photographer for the Las Vegas News Bureau. Throughout his News Bureau career, Bush photographed the casino buildings made famous by Las Vegas-the construction and the architecture of Southern Nevada’s gaming palaces-as well as iconic events in Las Vegas history. Darrin retired from the News Bureau in about 2014, but his work recording the building of and events of Las Vegas lives on in the News Bureau archives. He continues to be an avid photographer.
As he reveals in this oral history, Roger Thomas is, among many other things, a son, a father, a brother, a husband, a student, an artist, a visionary, and a philanthropist. As the second son of Peggy and E. Parry Thomas’s five children, Roger was raised a Mormon child of privilege and civic responsibility. The banking family summered in Newport Beach, wintered in Sun Valley, and taught their children by words and deeds that it is not up for debate if you will be involved in your community; the only question is how you will apply your talents and resources to benefit your community. Roger absorbed the lessons well. As a child who struggled in school but excelled in art, he attended his last two years of high school at Interlochen Arts Academy, graduating in 1969, finally finding himself “in an environment where what I did had currency.” From there he earned his BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston and Studio Degree from Tufts University before returning to Las Vegas and eventually joining Steve Wynn’s team in 1981. As Executive Vice President of Design for Wynn Design & Development, he is the man in whom Steve Wynn places his trust to make real at each Wynn property the Wynn design philosophy: aim for a constituency of highly sophisticated, well-traveled, very educated people and give them a reality, a now, that is so fetching, so alluring they wish to be no place else. As he was mentored by his father and Steve Wynn, he too is mentoring those who will follow him. At Wynn, the next generation will carry forward the Wynn idea of evoca-texture, of creating “moments of experiential emotion that result in a memory so captivating and so unique that if you want to repeat that you have to come back.” At home, he collaborates with his daughter on a children’s book that has the potential to become a series; she is the illustrator, while he provides the words. Roger Thomas sat for this interview five days after his father, E. Parry Thomas, passed away in Idaho. Instead of postponing the interview to a more convenient time, Roger kept the appointment and explained, “This is for UNLV. If I’d cancelled my father would have killed me.”