Oral history interviews with Victor Wei conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 23, 2022 and June 06, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In the first interview, Wei recalls his early childhood, moving around China, and being part of a large family. Wei's life took a sudden turn when he moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, and then to California where he had a difficult time navigating life as a Chinese individual. Wei and his family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where he continued his business consulting work and partnered with UNLV President Marta Meana on the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. In the second interview, Wei discusses the importance of one's own narrative, and talks about how he perceives his race, community help, and the greater world. Wei also touches on how discrimination existed before the COVID-19 pandemic and how there must be a balance between retaining one's heritage and assimilation. Lastly, Wei discusses his spirituality, war, and human nature.
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Oral history interview with Heather Victorson conducted by Nancy Hardy on June 26, 2003 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Victorson discusses her early life in Nairobi, Kenya and London, England. She remembers being enrolled into the Royal Ballet School, and her experience dancing in show productions for the Royal Ballet Company. Victorson talks about winning a dancing audition that required her to move to Las Vegas, Nevada, dancing in the
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Oral history interview with Lovell Gaines conducted by Claytee D. White on July 01, 2009 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview Lovell Gaines discusses his involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), becoming president for the Las Vegas, Nevada chapter in 1980, segregation, Freedom Fund banquets, national conventions, police brutality, and housing issues in Las Vegas.
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Oral history interview with Chelsy Carter conducted by Jerwin Tiu and Stefani Evans on October 17, 2022 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Chelsy Carter recalls her childhood growing up on a Norfolk, North Virginia military base in a predominately white community. Carter recounts becoming pregnant and getting married at a young age, and later divorcing and moving back with family. After moving back with her parents, Carter began working as a piano instructor, and as Carter gained a bit more flexibility she moved in the technical industry for small company in the Navy. After obtaining a masters degree in Humanities, Carter went on to work for the first digital weather website companies, and eventually became Vice President of Services and Support and Knowledge Management at Gannett. Carter discusses encountering both discrimination as someone with Filipino heritage and as a woman in her industry. After retirement, Carter and her husband moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where they now volunteer in many organizations, including the Jazz Outreach Initiative and Three Square.
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Oral history interview with Lidia Bonilla conducted by Maribel Estrada Calderón, Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez, and Barbara Tabach on February 19, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Bonilla begins the interview by discussing her and her family's early life in Panama. Bonilla shares her feelings on the United States' involvement in Panamanian politics as she grew up. She moved to the United States in 1976 and immigrated after her marriage to a United States citizen. While married, she traveled with her husband to his various military postings, including Spain. Bonilla discusses her experiences as the spouse of a military member and her experiences raising children in a military household. In 1991, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she began work for the Luxor Hotel and Casino. She discusses founding the Comunidad Panameña Las Vegas, a cultural group for Panamanians in Las Vegas, as well as her other civic engagements.
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Oral history interview with Don Trippy conducted by Claytee D. White on October 21, 2015 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Trippy begins by describing his upbringing in Denver, Colorado and his early interests in art, which eventually lead him to study at the Colorado Institute of Art while working as an illustrator for the military in Fort Carson, Colorado. He discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1976 to work as an artist at Nellis Air Force Base creating paintings, and he explains how he made a bronze eagle sculpture as a memorial to fallen fighter pilots. Trippy talks about being a part of the Desert Sculptors group, which was a collective of local artists and sculptors who were briefly based in Lorenzi Park, where they also made the bust of David G. Lorenzi. Trippy also discusses constructing his own personal studio, taking art classes at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and specific artists he worked with or was friends with.
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Oral history interviews with Sally MacEachern conducted by Dennis McBride on February 24 and March 11, 2002 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. MacEachern opens her interview discussing her birth and upbringing with her twin sister in Wisconsin during the 1940s. She then describes her family history, her life as a twin, and what it was like to be part of a military family. MacEachern then talks about her first lesbian sexual encounters and meeting other lesbians for the first time. She discusses joining the military and efforts within the organization to remove lesbians from the service that eventually lead to her termination. MacEachern then recalls going to college in the 1960s, meeting other lesbians, and moving in with her first girlfriend. She describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada for graduate school, joining the gay community, and frequenting local gay businesses including Maxine's and Camp David. She then discusses the lesbian separatists movement, the different struggles gay men face compared to lesbian women, and the local community response to the AIDS crisis.
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Oral history interview with Mabel Stone conducted by S. A. Ulsamer on August 29, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Stone begins by discussing her move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1942 and her career as a waitress in several different casinos, including the El Rancho Hotel and Casino and the Nevada Biltmore Hotel. She describes the development of the Las Vegas Strip and her interactions with Howard Hughes. Stone also discusses her recreational activities, nuclear weapons tests, and how Las Vegas has changed.
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Oral history interview with Victor Chicas conducted by Elsa Lopez on February 15, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Victor Chicas describes his childhood in El Salvador, sharing what it was like to grow up before and during the Salvadoran Civil War. Victor was very involved in the politics at the time, and was frequently caught up in dangerous protests against the Salvadoran police forces. Chicas talks about his experiences protesting at his university and about the riots that happened there. Victor recounts his story of immigration, and moving to Los Angeles, California as a young man. Victor talks about the different states his family has lived in and compares them to the quality of life he has found in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chicas discusses his time working at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and recalls his experiences working the night of the 1 October mass shooting. He shares his views on the importance of social justice and political activism, citing the shooting and his experiences as his primary reason for being an activist.
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Oral history interview with Walter Mason conducted by Claytee D. White on February 17, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Mason discusses his early life and describes living through the Harlem Renaissance in New York during the 1930s. Mason talks about arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada while producing shows with Sammy Davis Jr. in the 1960s. He highlights his career in theatrical acting, stage production, and as an entertainment director at venues at the Sands, Caesars Palace, and Las Vegas Hilton. Mason then recalls the West Las Vegas community and it's increase of arts programs for children. Lastly, Mason discusses the future for African American youth in the Westside and the growth of the community.
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