Alice Ward Boyer arrived in Las Vegas from Oklahoma in 1937. Her brother and former husband came earlier to escape the dustbowl depression and get settled. In the middle of the summer, just at dusk, she emerged from the train at Kingman, Arizona with her two small children to meet her family and drive through the darkness to her new home in Las Vegas. Although she missed the trees of the Plains, she soon became accustomed to her desert home. Her recollections revive the older Las Vegas when community life characterized the small town. At the heart of her story is the Mesquite Club. The non-partisan civic activities of the Mesquite Club are part of a national history of women’s club voluntarism in the nineteenth and twentieth century United States. Founded in 1911, this pioneer Las Vegas women's club played an essential role in the development of the growing town. When few cultural or social services existed, the club raised funds for the first public library, developed parks for the city, and provided services and funding for the aged and youth. The Mesquite Club, along with the Parent Teacher Association, scouts, and church activities formed a network of community relations commonly found in developing towns and cities, but not ususally associated with Las Vegas. Alice Boyer joined the Mesquite club in 1944. She first served as the chair of the Garden Committee, then "went right up through the chairs," and was elected President of the club for 1958-59. (See Table of Offices Held). Speaking about the Mesquite Club founders, Alice Boyer said, “They were very forward-looking women. They knew that the town would grow and they wanted the best for the town.” As one of the second generation of members, she has found the club to be a continuing source of congenial social life and civic community building. Born in rural Oklahoma, she spent her early years on a ranch. Her parents met there shortly after "the run to open Oklahoma" around 1892. They met, married and had twelve children, nine of which survived. Alice came right in the middle. She spent her early years riding horses, wearing “overalls," and spending as much time as possible outside. The family moved into Clinton, Oklahoma for better schools for their children when she was in the fifth grade. Alice graduated from high school just as the Great Depression began and worked briefly at a newspaper before marriage. At the time of the interview, Alice Boyer’s vivaciousness, gracious manner, and sharp memory belied her 82 years. This interview has been produced with the assistance of the Mesquite Club and the History Department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It is part of a series on women community builders in Las Vegas. The transcript has been edited only slightly for clarity while the syntax and style of the narrator were retained.

On February 18, 1979, Richard Fesler interviewed Jack W. Cornell (born 1918 in Manhattan, Nevada) about his experiences living in Nevada. The two first discuss historical buildings, including the Nye County Courthouse, and Cornell describes his family background and the different locations at which his ancestors lived. Cornell then talks about his experiences as an airplane mechanic for the Army Air Corps during World War II and the different countries he would visit during that time. The two also discuss the effects of the Depression, Cornell’s work in automotive body repair, and his recreational activities. Cornell also describes an experience in which he assisted an air escort for President Roosevelt, and he also describes when he witnessed one of the atomic tests. The interview concludes with Cornell’s thoughts on how the rural area in Manhattan has changed over time.

Jim Hodge describes an active and success filled life in this narrative. Born and raised in the South, Jim enlisted in the Navy at the young age of 17, just as World War II was winding down. His primary job was that of a cook. He became smitten with the life of an entertainer after participating in a play and headed for Hollywood in 1952. It was there that he auditioned for Donn Arden, who organized and directed Las Vegas shows. Though he didn't get the part, he did get hired to be a singer for a show featuring Betty Grable. Thus his career was launched and would span the heyday of Las Vegas entertainment from the 1950s to the 1970s. Jim talks about the people, shows and places that touched his life. He also offers thoughts about the changes in the Vegas entertainment scene as well as shares his relationship with his church over the past 40 years.

Interview with Greg Goussak by Barbara Tabach on May 19, 2015. In this interview Goussak discusses his upbringing in Las Vegas, including his education in the Clark County School District and his experience with bussing to Sixth Grade Centers as the school district attempted to desegregate. As a teenager, he became involved with the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization through Temple Beth Sholom. Goussak talks about his mother's involvement with the Albert Einstein Hebrew Day School, which later moved and became the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Educational Campus, and the kidnapping of Cary Sayegh. He then discusses finding his niche in accounting through taking an accounting course at UNLV as a high school student. Goussak talks about his education, career path as a controller in the gaming industry and public works projects, and becoming a professor.

Greg Goussak is a Las Vegas native, born January 1961, just after his parents moved to the city for his father's work as an accountant. His mother was a dedicated educator, who served throughout the city as a teacher and principal, including as the director of the Hebrew Day School in the 1970s. Greg's childhood was shaped by experiences with Las Vegas' sixth grade centers, challenges with scoliosis, and especially, involvement with B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO). In 1974, Greg helped start the city's new Aleph Zadik Aleph (AZA) chapter for BBYO, and his involvement with this youth organization became a formative part of his junior high and high school years. During this time, he became very involved with AZA at the regional, district and national levels, and made lifelong friends. As a high school student, Greg participated in UNLV's Early Studies Program, earning him college credit, and there he discovered his aptitude for accounting. He began tutoring fellow high school students in accounting, and thus, simultaneously discovered his passion for teaching. After earning his bachelor's degree in hospitality administration from UNLV in 1984, Greg got a job at Dunes Hotel and Casino, then under the leadership of Moe Shenker, working as an operations analyst. Over the next decade, Greg worked as a controller at several properties around town, including Nevada Palace, the Four Queens, Fitzgeralds, as well as a project on Boulder Highway. In 1992, seeking a reprieve from the gaming industry, Greg went back to UNLV to achieve his master's degree, in hotel administration. After graduating, he worked for Riviera Hotel and Casino, and established and oversaw their auditing department as well as box office. During this time, Greg met his wife Cynthia (Cindy) Riceberg, and the two were married in 1996. That same year, Greg took a position with Sigma Game, and soon after became Chief Financial Officer for Manpower Temporary Staffing. In 2002, deciding it was time to work for himself, he bought Haynes and Thomas Printers, which he owned and operated for the next eight years. Greg started teaching in 1989 as an adjunct professor in the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration at UNLV. In 2010, having finished his doctorate the year before, Greg assumed his first fulltime faculty position as an assistant professor at the University of Southern Nevada. The next year he was hired as an assistant professor at Ashford University, where he continues to teach today in the Forbes School of Business. Greg and Cindy have two daughters: Ariel, who is seventeen years old, and Alyssa, who is fourteen years old.