The Robert E. Robinson Legislative Papers are comprised of materials relating to Robert Robinson’s career in the Nevada State Legislature as an assemblyman and senator from 1970 to 1986. The papers include correspondence, assembly bill research, bill proposals, roll calls, and materials from assembly committee meetings. The collection also contains Robinson’s campaign materials, including financial disclosures, press releases, advertisements, and correspondence with voters.
Archival Collection
The Robert L. Forbuss papers (1945-2011) are comprised of the personal papers of Las Vegas, Nevada educator and businessman, Robert L. "Bob" Forbuss. The collection materials include photographs of Forbuss throughout his life, including his early childhood, as well as some photographs of his mother, Marjorie Forbuss, during the 1940s and 1950s. The collection documents Forbuss's early childhood through adulthood and includes materials such as personal correspondence and Forbuss's baby book. There are also papers documenting Forbuss's professional life including his involvement with local politics and businesses. The collection includes records for J&B Strategic Alliances, LLC., a consulting company that he co-founded with former Las Vegas mayor, Jan Jones.
Archival Collection
The Thomas Clark Professional Papers (1950-1998) contain materials from his tenure as a Professor of English at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), which are divided into two series. The gaming research series includes newspaper clippings, correspondence, brochures, bulletins and articles. Also included are book chapters, a glossary of terms used in the casino industry, and gambling guides. In the linguistics and teaching series there are research files, articles, speeches, correspondence, interviews, multimedia, workshops, and conference materials. Also included are files on graffiti, symbolism, ethnic and regional speech differences, language usage, and National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) material. Additional materials include colleague publications and cassette tapes of interviews from students in courses Clark taught at UNLV.
Archival Collection
The Nevada Test Site Oral History Project Records (approximately 1950-2008) consist of oral histories collected by University of Nevada, Las Vegas Department of History for the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project. The collection includes digital audio recordings of interviews, print and digital transcripts, and a small selection of digital video recordings. Some interviews have also been supplemented with photographs, letters, scientific articles, brochures, news clippings and ephemera about the Nevada Test Site.
Archival Collection
The Hotel Last Frontier Photograph Collection contains photographic prints, negatives, and slides depicting scenes inside and outside the Hotel Last Frontier in Las Vegas, Nevada between approximately 1940 and 1969. The collection also includes photographs under its alternate names: the Last Frontier and the New Frontier Hotel and Casino.
Archival Collection
The Toni and Wilbur Clark Photographs depict Las Vegas, Nevada casino owner and land developer Wilbur Clark and his wife Toni from 1910 to 1975. The photographs primarily document Wilbur and Toni Clark at the Desert Inn, the hotel and casino Wilbur co-owned. The photographs also depict him with politicians and entertainers, and Wilbur and Toni Clark’s house in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
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Chemist, mathematician, and health physicist Billy Paul Smith donates time to tutor young people in hopes of attracting more youth into the fields of math and science. Born in 1942 and schooled in segregated black schools in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Texarkana, Texas, he graduated from high school at age fifteen and enrolled at Prairie View A&M University, where he trained with the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and earned his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and in 1964 his Master’s degrees in chemistry and math. Most young U.S. Army officers in 1964 went to Vietnam, but Billy’s math and science background steered him to the Army Chemical Corps, where he was quickly selected to join a new team. The team was to develop responses to nuclear weapon accidents and worked under the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the same time, Billy completed the Weapons Ordinance Army course on classified information relating to the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. In this interview, Billy talks about his service with DASA and his subsequent twenty-seven years working at the Nevada Test Site in a variety of positions with Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company, Inc. (REECo), a company that had “percentagewise more blacks in management positions than any other [Las Vegas] company.” He experienced the quiet racism of Las Vegas residential segregation when he tried to purchase a house in a neighborhood he liked and the unexpected kindness of the REECo general manager, Ron Keen, who made sure the Smith family could live where they wanted to live. He talks about Area 51 and explains underground testing activity and offers the scientific and ecological reasons why scientists deemed Yucca Mountain safe to store nuclear waste. After retiring at fifty-two, Billy and a colleague formed an independent instrumentation company, which, from 1995–2005 provided and calibrated radiological measurement and detection instruments for the decommissioning and closure of the Rocky Flats nuclear plant in Golden, Colorado. During that time, Billy rented an apartment in Boulder, but he and Jackie maintained their Las Vegas home, where they still reside. Billy shares memories of places he and his wife used to enjoy on the Westside and tells of their longtime friends in the black community. He also talks about developing his philosophy of philanthropy through Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and discusses becoming a member of the Knowledge Fund Advisory Council for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and the advisory council for the Nevada System of Higher Education.
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Oral history interview with Daniel Tafoya conducted by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez and Barbara Tabach on December 12, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Tafoya discusses his early life in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He talks about his father's life story, his educational experience with learning disabilities, and joining the United States Air Force. Tafoya describes his career in the military, and being stationed at Nellis Airforce Base. Lastly, Tafoya discusses with involvement with the Clark County School District (CCSD) and with the Latin Chamber of Commerce.
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