Oral history interview with James Whitney conducted by Anna Huddleston on January 24, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Whitney discusses his involvement with the beverage and restaurant industry in Las Vegas, Nevada and life in the city during the 1960s. Whitney describes working as an alcohol distributor and salesman and driving around rural Nevada and the surrounding states selling liquor. Whitney talks about prominent locations and eateries in the Las Vegas area, and what he likes about living in the desert compared to his former residence in Chicago, Illinois. Whitney also discusses the presence of organized crime in Las Vegas and his associations with the mob through his family and his business.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Linda Faiss conducted by Claytee D. White on July 13, 2015 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Faiss begins by describing her upbringing in Carson City, Nevada before attending the University of Nevada, Reno to study journalism, later working at the
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Russell Harvey conducted by Claytee D. White on May 20, 2016 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Harvey discusses his upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada and growing up in the Westside community. He talks about recreation activities he participated in, the discrimination he experienced, and integration in Las Vegas in 1960. Harvey remembers attending Nevada Southern University (now University of Nevada, Las Vegas), working stage production for shows on the Strip, and being a member of the Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local Union 720. Lastly, Harvey discusses his involvement with the Nevada Minority Purchasing Council.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Monteria Hightower conducted by Claytee D. White on February 28, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Hightower discusses her career as a librarian who has worked across the United States. She begins by talking about her upbringing in Texas and the multiple universities she has attended to study library science. Hightower describes her experiences with racial discrimination as an African American woman and how racism affected her personal and professional life. Hightower also discusses her time as the Nevada State Librarian from 1998 to 2001 and living in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Waldemar Jackson conducted by Claytee White on May 06, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Jackson discusses topics such as working at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, drugs in the community, and the tragedy caused by them among generations. He also talks about the task of pulling lives back from the brink of succumbing to addiction.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Emma Oliver conducted by Jan Marshall on March 19, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Oliver discusses her personal history and the history of Las Vegas, Nevada. Oliver discusses how Las Vegas has changed, casinos in Las Vegas, the Mormon Church, and the race riots at a shopping center in North Las Vegas in 1968. Oliver also discusses race relations between white and African American children in schools.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kit Waldman conducted by Claytee D. White on October 09, 2000 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Waldman begins by describing her early life in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during the Great Depression, which forced her family to move to Las Vegas, Nevada due to financial reasons. She discusses life in Las Vegas during the 1930s and 1940s and how the city has changed since then. Waldman also talks about her career working as an assistant at her brother's law firm and being a member in the Jewish community of Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Austin R. Wardle conducted by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick on August 05, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Wardle discusses the history of Tonopah, Nevada, a town in which he first arrived in 1902. Wardle discusses theaters in Tonopah, Jewish families that lived in Tonopah, and the prominent immigrant population that worked in the mines. He continues talking about other families that have lived in Tonopah and life in the town. Wardle also discusses how Tonopah has changed, housing in Tonopah, and the mining industry of the town.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Herbert Wells conducted by Patricia van Betten February 24, 2005 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Wells discusses his personal history and being drafted to the United States military in 1945. He describes military life, his education in mining, and his career mining in Blue Diamond, Nevada. Wells discusses managing shifts for the miners that lived in the Blue Diamond village and describes the infrastructure at the village. Later, Wells talks about his employment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas as a civil and environmental engineer professor.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mirna Preciado conducted by Claytee D. White on September 11, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Preciado discusses migrating from Mexico to Las Vegas, Nevada, being recruited into the Culinary Union Local 226, the Frontier Hotel Strike, and working 15 years as an organizer in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection