Oral history interview with Jack Schofield conducted by Suzanne Becker on January 13, 2009 for Voices of the Historic John S. Park neighborhood. Schofield highlights his service as a fighter pilot in both World War II and the Korea conflict, his family genealogy, and his devotion to being an excellent educator, businessman, family man, and politician. Schofield describes his affection for the John S. Park Neighborhood and some of the changes that have occurred.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Emmanuel Ortega conducted by Monserrath Hernandez, Maribel Estrada Calderon, Elsa Lopez, Barbara Tabach, and Laurents Bañuelos Benitez on 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Emmanuel Ortega was born in Artesia, California and was raised in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico before moving to El Paso, Texas with his family at the age of thirteen. In 1998 his family relocated once again from El Paso to Las Vegas, Nevada where his father joined the Carpenters Union. They settled in Green Valley and he began attending a hybrid community college and high school program allowing him to obtain college credits. He continued at the College of Southern Nevada for two more years where he was a photography major and later transferred to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) where he studied art history. He moved back to Las Vegas in 2011 where he began teaching at UNLV and received a PhD in Ibero-American colonial art history from the University of New Mexico in 2017. He is the co-host of the podcast "Latinos Who Lunch" where hosts discuss pop culture, art, and issues of race, sex, and gender in the Latinx community.
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Oral history interview with Hattie Canty conducted by Claytee White on February 27 and June 17, 1998 for the Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. In this interview, Hattie Canty recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in the late 1960s and working as a maid for the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino and later the Maxim Hotel and Casino. Canty discusses her tenure as the Culinary Union Local 226 President during which she faced several labor challenges and went to jail at least six times while striking. Hattie also recalls how she influenced contract negotiations for the downtown hotels, improved race relations among workers, involved more members in union operations, and implemented the Culinary Training School.
Archival Collection
Oral history with Nympha Comacchio conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on May 09, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Comacchio recalls her childhood in the Philippines and growing up in a large family. After attending elementary school, Comacchio immediately went to work on her father's lumber farm, performing manual labor until she was seventeen. Later, she recalls finding employment as a seamstress in Manila, where she met her first husband when she left to work in Saudi Arabia for better pay. Comacchio describes how she was able to receive a student visa to finally immigrate to the United States, where she first arrived in California. Eventually, after meeting her second husband and hearing about housing prices in Las Vegas, Nevada, they purchased a house in the city in 2000. After briefly working for the New Frontier, Comacchio began working for the Wynn and Encore, where she found out about the Culinary Workers Union and became more active in that organization. Throughout the rest of the interview, Comacchio touches on the responsibilities of being a housekeeper, the current challenges they face, and how she feels about the growing AAPI population in southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ralph Cadwallader conducted by Jane Kurakazu on October 15, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In the interview, Cadwallader discusses his family and upbringing in Massachusetts. He then discusses how he came to Las Vegas, Nevada in the late 1960s to teach at Garside Junior High School. He discusses his appointment as assistant principal at Western High School and Basic High School during the 1970s before being appointed as Associate Superintendent of the Clark County School District in 1978. He discusses his duties as Associate Superintendent and changes that he implemented at Valley High School, Clark High School, Bonanza High School, and Chaparral High School. He also discusses his philosophy as a school administrator, and how this philosophy influenced his interactions with educators and students. He briefly discusses his role as Associate Superintendent in Tempe, Arizona, but then discusses his 1999 return to Las Vegas as part of the Nevada Association of School Administrators.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Florence McClure conducted by Joanne Goodwin on January 24, 1996 and February 06, 1996 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. McClure begins her interviews by discussing her family experiences growing up during the Great Depression. McClure then describes her early career working for the Illinios Department of Public Welfare, her travels around the country with her husband, and eventual settling in Las Vegas, Nevada. McClure then talks about the League of Women Voters, the fight for passage of the Equal Rights Amendment, and her experience lobbying. McClure also discusses one of her most well known achievements: the creation of the Community Action Against Rape (Rape Crisis Center) and the process of founding the center.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Carolyn Freeman conducted on January 30, 2006 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Freeman begins by discussing her upbringing, her father, who was the president of the Japanese American Citizens League, and her early interest in dancing. She also details her experiences as a Japanese American during World War II and being relocated by the federal government. Freeman then describes how she began her career as a dancer after getting a role in a Broadway play in New York City, New York, and her later experiences dancing in productions in Reno, Nevada and San Francisco, California during the 1950s and 1960s. Lastly, Freeman discusses the differences between living in Las Vegas, Nevada compared to California and being offered the chance to dance in a Frank Sinatra show by himself and Sammy Davis Jr.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jill Roberts conducted by Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White on March 20, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Jill Roberts discusses her position as the CEO of the Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) of Southern Nevada. She also delves into her part-time work at the coroner's office as a death investigator and discusses her personal background in Las Vegas, Nevada after she moved to the city in 1977. She describes the role TIP had during the aftermath of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting, where well-trained volunteers were dispatched to hotels, hospitals, and anywhere else the survivors reached in order to provide emotional and practical support. Throughout the interview, Roberts emphasizes that the assistance provided to those in a traumatic event depends on each individual's needs. She shares a few examples of what the TIP volunteers had helped with after the shooting, including listening to the survivors' stories as well as providing information on the situation, helping separated loved ones find each other, arranging travel for some survivors to go back to their homes, and procuring clothes and shoes for those who needed them. Roberts also discusses the gratitude TIP had received after the shooting, including the thank you cards sent by Sandy Hook High School.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Mando Rueda conducted by David Schwartz on September 02, 2003, September 04, 2003, September 09, 2003, September 12, 2003, September 25, 2003, October 02, 2003, October 09, 2003, October 23, 2003, and November 20, 2003 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In these interviews, Rueda discusses his career in the gaming industry. He talks about serving in the United States military during the 1950s and becoming a slot machine repair manager for Harrah’s properties in Reno, Nevada and in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Rueda recalls his relationship with Bill Harrah, being promoted to shift manager in 1970, and the methods of surveillance used before security cameras. Later, Rueda discusses the impact on casino operations after the passing of Bill Harrah in 1978, and becoming director of gaming. He remembers obtaining a gaming license to operate in New Jersey, and the opening of Harrah’s Marina in Atlantic City. Lastly, Rueda talks about the gaming industry in Las Vegas, Nevada and compares casino operations from the 1970s to the late 1990s.
Archival Collection