Oral history interview with William K. Moore conducted by Jana Smart and Wendy Modglin on July 20, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Moore reflects upon his more than 30-year career as a teacher and administrator in both Nebraska and Nevada. He discusses the process by which he went from being a teacher to a principal in Nebraska, and eventually became a principal in Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD). He discusses his experience as principal of J. T. McWilliams Elementary School, challenges that he faced as an administrator, and his involvement with the Parent Teacher Association. He also offers suggestions for individuals interested in pursuing school administration, and comments on having a school named after him.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gary Giddens conducted by Claytee D. White on December 13, 2018 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Giddens discusses his upbringing and arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978. He talks about becoming a firefighter, his employment with the North Las Vegas Fire Department, and working with ambulance companies. Giddens recalls Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training, the increase of firefighters becoming EMTs, and the MGM Grand fire. Lastly, Giddens talks about leaving the North Las Vegas Fire Department.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Robert Forbuss conducted by Suzanne Becker on February 12, 2009 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. In this interview, Forbuss discusses Las Vegas, Nevada history while sharing childhood memories of the neighborhood. He also discusses his mother buying a home in 1944 in the Huntridge development, adjacent to the John S. Park Neighborhood and living there for the rest of her life. He then mentions her owning a dry cleaning business, which he later owned.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sonny Thomas conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 28, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Thomas discusses getting his first funeral home job at the age of 16, moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, his series of hotel jobs, and being part of the opening staff of MGM Grand Hotel. Thomas later talks about getting into the funeral industry and the various corporate buyouts of local funeral homes. He later discusses the tradition of African American funerals and his thoughts about segregation in Las Vegas during the 1960s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Donna L. Miller conducted by Claytee D. White on July 15, 2015 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Miller begins by describing her early upbringing on her family's potato farm in Oregon before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses attending Las Vegas High School, joining the Rhythmettes, the school's female dance group, and her experiences in the Rhythmettes, including where she performed and the team's coach, Evelyn Stuckey. Miller also briefly discusses working as a secretary at the Sahara Hotel and Casino and real estate in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Vassili Sulich conducted by Gerald A. Villa on March 23 and May 4, 2002 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In these interviews, Sulich recalls his upbringing and his experiences as a child during World War II, his study of ballet, and the beginning of his professional life with several ballet companies in France. He then recounts his move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1964 to produce the Folies Bergere (Las Vegas) at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino, a position he held for nine years. In 1972 he began teaching ballet at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and formed the Nevada Ballet Theatre. He continues talking about his philosophy of dance, the changing perspective of male ballet dancers, and the process of working as the artictic director of a ballet company, and the extreme toll constant practice and performance have on the physical and emotional state of dancers. Finally, he discusses his resignation from the Nevada Dance Theatre and a ballet he choreographed in his mother's memory.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jack Cathcart conducted by Debbie Pfefferkorn on March 01, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Cathcart’s interview focuses on the transformations in the entertainment industry in Las Vegas, Nevada during World War II. He discusses the varying entertainment in hotel lounges, different dance styles, and the changes in customer service within these hotels.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Roscoe Wilkes conducted by Claytee D. White on March 19, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Roscoe Wilkes discusses moving to Pioche, Nevada, being a PBX operation, working as a lead zinc miner, and teaching grade school. He also talks about enlisting into World War II, during which he was a prisoner of war in Romania. He then discusses enrolling in the University of Southern California School of Law, becoming a district attorney, and then a judge.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Edith Fernandez conducted by Marcela Rodriguez-Campo and Claytee D. White on September 27, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Fernandez discusses her upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada and growing up in the Charleston Heights neighborhood. She recalls living in a predominantly white community, and the growth of Latinx families in that area. Fernandez talks about her educational experience in the city, her father’s involvement with Culinary Worker Union Local 226, and identifying as a Chicana American. Later, Fernandez remembers her involvement with opening the Cambridge Center, working with the Latino Youth Leadership Conference (LVLC), and becoming the District Director for Representative Steven Horsford. Lastly, Fernandez discusses her role as the Associate Vice President at Nevada State College (NSC).
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Frank Hawkins conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on August 09, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Hawkins discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks about his educational experience in Las Vegas, attending the University of Nevada, Reno, and playing in their football program. Hawkins recalls being drafted into the National Football League (NFL), playing for the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders), and the controversy behind the construction of Allegiant Stadium. Later, Hawkins talks about his career in construction, starting a construction company, and explains how he names the buildings he constructs. Lastly, Hawkins discusses the legalization of medical marijuana in Nevada, and becoming the first African American to own a dispensary in Nevada.
Archival Collection