From the Syphus-Bunker Papers (MS-00169). The folder contains an original handwritten letter, a typed transcription of the same letter, and a copy of original letter attached. Laura's last name "Lyman" is not included in letter or title, but there is correspondence with previous letter and location of Parowan, Utah.
Sandra Peña’s story begins in East Los Angeles, where she spent her first fifteen years with her parents (both from Michoacán, Mexico), and her younger sister. The father's managerial position at Master Products allowed the family to live rent-free in a company-owned house behind the main factory, because he collected the rents for the company's two other dwellings. In this interview, Peña recalls the family move to Porterville, in California's Central Valley, her return to Los Angeles at nineteen, and her work with Parson’s Dillingham, a contractor for the Metrolink rail system. She draws the link between the Los Angeles and Las Vegas construction communities by describing her husband's move to Las Vegas to find work; a chance Las Vegas encounter with a friend from Chino, California; her ability to gain employment in Las Vegas at Parson’s, a company that had joint ventured with Parson’s Dillingham, and her move from there to Richardson Construction, a local minority-owned company. As Peña says, "It's kind of all intermingled. Even if you go here and you go there, it's like everybody knows everybody." Throughout, Peña weaves her family story into the narrative as she describes her youth, the birth of her son, the illness and death of her father, and her family's participation in her current employment with Richardson. As she remembers the people, places, and events of her life, Peña speaks to the ways one woman of color built on her interstate construction connections and rose in a male-dominated industry.
The Southern Nevada Chapter of the American War Mothers Organization Records (1947-1995) are comprised primarily of scrapbooks containing correspondence and minutes, numerous newspaper clippings, and photographs. Also included are pamphlets on American War Mothers organizational rituals, bylaws, history, ceremonial ephemera, flags, and a Henderson Chapter Charter. The materials also contain items relating to the North Las Vegas Chapter, the Rose Garden Chapter, and the State Chapter.
The Squires Family Photographs document the Squires Family and the development of the Las Vegas Valley in Nevada from approximately 1860 to 1980, with a bulk of the photographs depicting people and events from 1900 to 1950. The photographs depict the Euro-American settlement and growth of Las Vegas, Nevada; traveling and exploration of Southern Nevada and the Southwestern United States; the Hoover (Boulder) Dam and the Colorado River; clubs and social groups; and the Squires Family, especially prominent newspaper editor and publisher Charles Pember (C. P. or “Pop”) Squires, Delphine “Mom” Anderson Squires, and their children.
On February 24, 1975, Kathleen Kasmir interviewed Marion Brooks (born 1913 in Santa Ana, California) about his life in Southern Nevada and his work as a mining engineer. Brooks first talks about his background before talking extensively about his early work in mining. Brooks also mentions some of the professional mining societies of which he was a part, and the two then move on to discuss gambling, recreational activities, and the atomic testing. Other topics covered during the interview include the price of groceries and food, the El Rancho Vegas, social changes, population growth, and environmental changes. The end of the interview then shifts back to Brooks’ work in mining at Blue Diamond and then a discussion on the possible locations of three lost mines.
The Carolyn Merriam Collection on the Sands Hotel (1972-1998) consists primarily of Sands Hotel merchandise and ephemera, including mugs, glassware, playing cards, dice, an ashtray, and a tote bag. The collection also contains several framed photograph reproductions depicting Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s and 1960s. The Sands Hotel operated in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1952 to 1996.
Discussion of the necessity of public education in the Moapa and Virgin valleys in regards to irrigation, drainage, water storage, domestic water, and flood control. Report was written October 10, 1945, attached application was dated February 3, 1945.