Oral history interview with Emilia Marquez conducted by Maribel Estrada Calderón on July 5, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Claytee D. White and Emily Lucile are also present during the interview. Emilia Marquez was born in the United Stated and raised in Alexandria, Virginia, where her father worked as a bricklayer, until the age of twelve, when her father decided to move the family back to Uruguay. She describes acclimating to her new life in middle school and her shift from being perceived as an outsider in Uruguay to accepting Uruguay as home. She describes life in Uruguay and the positions that her family held while living there. After meeting and marrying her husband they trained to work in a casino. She trained as a slot machine operator, and her husband trained as a dealer. This eventually led them to leave Uruguay for the U.S. After the encouragement of her father and mother, she moved with her mother to Las Vegas to work in the casino industry. She describes working as a change person at the Luxor before moving to the newly opened Palms, where she worked until she left it to work at the Wynn. She ends the interview talking about various Uruguayan dishes and traditions, and a brief history of Uruguay. Subjects discussed in this interview: Uruguay, immigration, Las Vegas Strip, Latinx, Luxor.
From the Clark County Economic Opportunity Board Records -- Series I. Administrative. This folder contains memos, agendas and minutes from meetings of the Clark County Economic Opportunity Board from January 1968 through June 1968.
Dr. Harold Boyer recalled with great clarity his childhood in Arkansas. Born in 1916 in Hartman, he attended a two-story school which went to eighth grade, fished in a nearby stream, and earned money from the age of six selling newspapers. He remembered that his father wore many hats, including that of town physician, president of the school board, and mayor. He also operated the movie theater and would drive around town announcing upcoming film features through a megaphone. Harold gave details of living through the Great Depression and completing his high school and college education. Dr. Boyer recited many details of his life in the Marine Corps as a medic, serving on active duty in the Pacific arena in WWII, going into medical practice in Oklahoma City and Enid, Oklahoma, and being called back to serve in Korea. In 1952, while checking out practices in several Southwest locations, he came to Las Vegas and interviewed with Dr. Carver Coffman. Harold painted a picture of Las Vegas in the sixties and described his practice and the many organizations in which he participated. He described how certain entities contributed significantly to the growth in the Vegas Valley, including the Convention Bureau, the Elks Club, Rotary Club, Shriners, the Mormon Church, the Mesquite Club, the university, and the gaming industry. He also gave a very positive view of the cultural activities that were/are available to the people of Las Vegas. Comments by Dr. Boyer on race relations recalled the sixties when integration in area schools, hotels, and neighborhoods became a reality under strong black leadership. He also talked about the relationship between casino operators and the civic organizations previously mentioned, and included an anecdote concerning one of his patients and A1 Capone. Helldorado, a unique community celebration, began in 1937 and was designed to draw positive attention to Las Vegas and pull people together. Dr. Boyer described the parades, dances, games, and barbecues that made it so much fun, and listed the founders who made it possible. This list includes people like the Von Tobels, Bob Squires, Bill Ferret, and the Ronzoni family. He related that Helldorado gradually faded out as corporations took over the gaming industry and the population grew to hundreds of thousands. Howard Hughes, the Greenbaums, and Bugsy Siegel are some of the people Dr. Boyer recalled as part of the fabulous tapestry that makes Las Vegas special. He talked about those who had a positive influence on the town, like Ed Von Tobel, Jess Abbott, and Jackie Gaughan. He has wonderful ideas for creating a park near the downtown area that would rival Central Park in New York, Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, or Audubon Park in New Orleans. His closing comments reflect on special projects conducted by the Rotary Club and the future of Las Vegas as an international air travel transportation hub.