Interviewed by Joanne L. Goodwin. Stella Butterfield's family, the Goldbergs, was Jewish, and she was born in the Bronx. During World War II she worked for the Coast Guard in the steno pool in Washington, D.C. Stella moved to Santa Monica a few years later while the war was still going on and worked briefly as a riveter for Douglas Aircraft and then as a teletype operator for the Air Force but at Douglas Aircraft. Because she had a hard time getting a job because of antisemitism, she changed her name to Gilbert. In December of 1948 she went to the Canal Zone in Panama to be the secretary of the commanding officer of the Panama Supply Depot. Stella was also a law reporter for court martials. She met Frank Butterfield, who was stationed there, and married him in 1952. He was transferred back to the United States, and they lived in Massachusetts. Then they moved to Los Angeles, and in 1953 they moved to Las Vegas, where she was a court reporter at Nellis Air Force Base. Then they moved to Mexico City, then back to California where she worked as a legal secretary. In early 1955 they moved back to Las Vegas, and Stella worked as a federal court reporter for Judge Roger T. Foley.

The Champo family, Jacinta and Manuel Champo and their daughter Stella came from Italy to Las Vegas in 1912. They lived in a room at the Union Hotel, which was located at Main and Bridger. In 1917, the Champo family bought a small ranch located about three miles south of what is Henderson today. Manuel grew fruits and vegetables at the ranch and sold them in town door to door. Stella began her education at Las Vegas Grammar School at Fourth and Bridger in 1918 and started babysitting for many of the local women when she was only ten years old. Jacinta’s death in 1927 was hard on both Stella and Manuel. Stella decided not to finish her education. Maude Frazier, who was the principal at the High School, tried to persuade Stella to stay at school. However, Stella had no more interest in school and at eighteen years old she started her career as a waitress. Her first job was at a small Italian restaurant at the Union Hotel where she learned the business. She worked as a waitress and cashier and when P.O. Silvagni opened the Apache Hotel at Second and Fremont she went to work there. Stella continued to work at the Apache until she moved to Los Angeles where she worked as a waitress for eighteen years. Stella had married John Iaconis in 1953 and they moved back to Las Vegas. Both John and Stella went to work at the Sahara Hotel. Stella was a showroom waitress and John was a tailor with his own valet shop in the Sahara Hotel. Stella worked in a showroom at Sahara for three years because it was physically demanding work. Stella went to work at Larry’s where she stayed for twenty years. Stella continued to live in Las Vegas until her death on January 18, 1998 . She was happily retired and always remembered the past and the lessons she learned from her hard work. Stella was a very optimistic and totally self-reliant woman.

Born in 1936, architect Joel Bergman spent his childhood in Venice, California, the son of Edythe Klein and Harry Bergman, a baker who later turned to dealing in scrap metal. The award-winning designer of such Las Vegas projects as the International Hotel, the MGM Grand Hotel (later Bally's), additions to the Riviera Hotel and the Golden Nugget downtown, the Mirage, Treasure Island, Paris Casino Resort, Caesars Palace, Trump International Hotel and Tower, the Signature at MGM Grand, Rhumbar, Gilley's at Treasure Island, and the Tropicana Hotel and Casino first arrived in Las Vegas in 1968 to work on the International Hotel. In this interview, Bergman discusses his architectural career, which began with his graduation in architecture from the University of Southern California; he also discusses his work with Martin Stern, his sixteen years with Steve Wynn, and the formation of his own architectural firm, Bergman Walls and Associates. Throughout, he pays tribute to the three mentors who had the greatest influence on his work—USC architecture professor Carleton Winslow, architect Berton Severson, and client Steve Wynn—and the ways they visualized people moving through space. He acknowledges other professionals whose work he admired and talks about his wives Marlene Federman, Terrie Colston, Maria Nicolini, and Valentina Bogdanova as well as his children and stepchildren. Joel David Bergman passed away August 24, 2016, three weeks after he gave this interview.

Las Vegas has been home to Irene Fisher (1940 - ) since the early 1970s. It felt like home as she connected with the Jewish community, including a dear friendship with Roberta ‘Bobbie’ Gang, who sits with her during this interview. During their oral history conversation, the seemingly common concerns of any mother are touched upon. In their case they were young Jewish women looking out for the well-being of their children. They cover a range of topics, from b’nai mitzvahs to Hanukkah to shopping in those years of raising children, being active in the community, and maintaining career paths. Irene begins by describing her ancestral background that includes parents who emigrated from Poland to New York. In New York she met and married a young doctor who she followed to Nellis Air Force Base. Irene was a recent graduate of Brooklyn Law School. In Las Vegas, though Irene did not practice law here, she immersed herself into civic contributions. Chief among those was with the Clark County

Patricia Mulroy served Las Vegas as the general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District from 1989 to 2014. She served the state of Nevada as the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority from 1993 to 2014. Patricia helped to build the Authority, and saw the state through the devastating drought of the Colorado River. Patricia was born in Frankfurt, Germany on February 24, 1953. As a young girl, she lived in several different countries, but always felt that the United States was her home. Her experiences abroad led her to develop a fascination with government work and state service. She arrived in Nevada in 1974 to attend UNLV. In 1989, Patricia became the general manager of the Las Vegas Valley Water District. She entered the field at a tumultuous time, facing the drought of the Colorado River and tension within the districts. She pioneered the Water Authority, which revolutionized southern Nevada’s water rights system and allowed the districts to deal with the is

In the interviews, Tilman discusses his birth in Gooding, Idaho in 1913, his early life, and his arrival to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1931. Tilman then talks about his experiences mining, milling, and ranching before moving to Las Vegas. While in Las Vegas, Tilman was involved with construction of Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) and labor issues. Later, Tilman describes fishing and boating in the Colorado River, working at a duplex mine in Searchlight, Nevada, and working at the Las Vegas Ice House. Lastly, Tilman talks about influential Boulder City residents he knew, his children, and the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino.

Rancho High School. Moved to Las Vegas in 1957 when she was thirteen. Ruth graduated from Rancho High School and worked with a variety of unions and casinos on their insurance claims