Oral history interview with Gary Sternberg conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 12, 2015, April 07 2015, and October 20, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Gary Sternberg discusses how his family came to live in the United States. He also discusses his wife Noreen in 1957, moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, his repair business, and his importing business with his wife. Sternberg also discusses his entrepreneurial nature and his ownership of three patents.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Evelyn Miller McDonald conducted by Maylene C. Cabatingan on February 26, 1980 and February 27, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. McDonald discusses her occupational history and how her father started the first car garage in Las Vegas, Nevada. She talks about the Great Depression, Boulder (Hoover) Dam, and the appeal that Las Vegas, Nevada had to tourists and divorcees. McDonald later discusses how prostitution was accepted by the Las Vegas, Nevada community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with James A. Gay III (Jimmy Gay) conducted by Perry Kaufman on April 12, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Gay discusses becoming the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas, Nevada and his work improving race relations, social, economic, and civic issues.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with William Owen Nitz conducted by his daughter, Ashley Nitz, on March 12, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Nitz discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada while in the U.S. Air Force. He discusses his career at the Nellis Air Force Base as well as the growth of the Las Vegas Strip. Nitz also discusses studying law in Colorado and later moving back to Las Vegas. Lastly, Nitz discusses the legal community in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Billie Mae Polson conducted by Eva Diane Head on March 08, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Polson discusses arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947. She also describes her employment at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) James R. Dickinson Library (now Lied Library) and recalls the construction of the Library's upper floors. Later, Polson discusses the Library's switch to an automated circulation system.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Robert Bruce Smith conducted by Dr. David Emerson on June 13, 2006 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. Smith discusses teaching chemistry at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, being chair of the Department of Physical Sciences, and the dean of the College of Science and Mathematics. He also discusses serving as Academic Vice President and later Provost at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah, from 1980 until his retirement in 1998.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Edwin "Tony" Wuehle conducted by David Schwartz on December 21, 2006 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Wuehle discusses his early life in Hettinger, North Dakota and his career as an educator. He recalls his first experiences playing poker, participating in home poker games while living in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and using a pseudonym as a player. Wuehle then talks about writing a book, founding the Gamblers Book Club Press in Las Vegas, Nevada, and writing for religious publications. Later, Wuehle explains the tension between participating in religion and playing poker. He describes Las Vegas poker rooms during the 1960s and 1970s and shares his thoughts on online poker. Lastly, Wuehle discusses why casinos use prop players and his efforts to organize a poker tournament to raise funds for Bay de Noc Community College in Michigan.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kerin Rodgers conducted by Suzanne Becker and Claytee D. White on February 17, 2009; August 11, 2011; and August 16, 2011 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park neighborhood. Rodgers shares her story of arriving in Las Vegas, Nevada as part of a retail job with The Broadway stores in 1966. Rodgers speaks about her involvement with the Focus Youth House, First Fridays and art, and gives a perspective of police, criminal behaviors, and changes in the neighborhood over the years.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Eva and Roberta Martin conducted by Claytee D. White on August 30, 2018 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Eva and Roberta discuss their family’s background and upbringing in Chicago, Illinois. Eva talks about her employment for Eastman Kodak, opening up a dry cleaning business, and buying a McDonald's franchise with her husband. Roberta recalls attending Tuskegee University, going to law school, and becoming a public defender. Eva talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, opening three McDonald's franchises, and becoming a franchise operator with help of the National Black McDonald's Operators Association (NBMOA). Lastly, they discuss their involvement with the Jim Martin Family Trust, Ronald McDonald House, Shade Tree, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Foundation Advisory Board.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with George Ullum II conducted by Gerald Brooks on September 28, 1986 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Ullum discusses his upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1910s. He describes life in the city during the early twentieth century and how the city changed and expanded, including construction of various buildings, casinos, and roads. Ullum goes on to discuss the careers he held, such as officer with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, district manager and safety engineer for the Nevada Industrial Commission, and city manager for the City of Las Vegas. He also talks about his family, political involvements, and the areas of Las Vegas he has lived in.
Archival Collection