S. Charles Snavely, a long-time Las Vegas pediatrician, arrived in Nevada in 1965 with his wife, Ann, and two children courtesy of the United States Air Force. The family lived at Nellis Air Force Base while Charlie completed his Barry Plan commitment to the military. In separate interviews, Charlie and Ann discuss their arrival in Las Vegas, their first house in the Glen Heather area of Ward 1, and their current house in the Scotch 80s (pictured above). Charlie and Ann met at a small private hospital in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where Ann was working as a nurse. The two University of Pennsylvania graduates, now married 63 years, raised their children in their Scotch 80s house and so far have not been tempted to move elsewhere.

Cathie and Chris Millson moved to Las Vegas with their one-year-old daughter, Nicole, in 1984 following Chris’s completion of a cardio-thoracic anesthesiology fellowship in Atlanta, Georgia. Their two other children were born in Las Vegas. Shortly after they arrived they purchased the Rancho Bel Air house where they currently reside. Cathie talks about raising her children and living in Rancho Bel Air, a gated neighborhood of custom houses, which grew to maturity after the Millsons moved in. Cathie’s memories chronicle the growth of Las Vegas from small town to large city, how a certain segment of the population lived and entertained, and how downtown revitalization has brought young people back to Rancho Bel Air to raise their families.

Adelaide was born in Manhattan, New York to a father who was a pianist and arranger and a mother who was a dancer on Broadway. She grew up as an only child in the theater district where she was exposed to the arts from a young age. Her parents insisted she be well rounded. To that end, she began piano lessons at age six and was frequently taken to museums. Adelaide was always drawn to music and began working professionally by the age of 12. She attended the High School of Music and Art for four years along with others who went on to great fame. While in high school, she earned awards for composition. Her knowledge and abilities of the bass earned her a full scholarship to the Eastman School of Music. All of the jobs she had during high school and college were music related; playing gigs or teaching. While working towards a triple major at Eastman, she felt over-extended and eventually transferred to the Manhattan School of Music who was honored to have a transfer from Eastman. Also because of the extra credits from Eastman, she was able to obtain a master’s degree inside of a year. Adelaide went on the road with Buddy Rich’s band where they played in Chicago and Los Angeles before finding their way to Las Vegas. Adelaide was always the only woman in the band, and there were difficulties of being a woman in the field of mostly male musicians. The band found their way to Las Vegas in 1967. She never realized how well known she was until she arrived in Las Vegas. Adelaide came to Las Vegas on a trial run and ended up staying. The first job she had in Las Vegas was playing solo piano at Guys and Dolls before moving on to playing as a rehearsal pianist for a Broadway show. Over the years, Adelaide played many venues with many famous musicians. She is not hopeful for the future of musicians in Las Vegas, feeling the casino owners would rather replace live musicians with canned music. However, Adelaide’s career is not over as she is still performing for a variety of events. With her two degrees from very prominent music schools, Adelaide feels she may have gone further in career if she had stayed in New York, but she has no regrets about coming to Las Vegas.

Jane Greenspun Gale-actor, activist, writer, magazine publisher, philanthropist, and farmer- has filled her life with accomplishments such as the Animal Foundation and Springs Preserve. It has also been a life filled with adventure - from “looking for John Lennon” during her time living and studying acting in London to learning to raise chickens on the acres of the Gilcrease Farm she owns with husband and photographer Jeff Gale. Everyone calls her Janie. Born Jane in 1949, she is the third of four children born to community leaders Barbara and Hank Greenspun. In this oral history, Janie captures the fun of growing up in Las Vegas under the watching eye of Hank. As a teen she and her friends cruised Fremont Street. Several years later she wanted to be arrested protesting the Atomic Test Site, when Hank diverted her into reporting about the event instead. Her Jewish foundation was at Temple Beth Sholom, where her parents were among the founding members. As the Jewish population grew, the tastes in synagogues grew to reflect the change. When Janie’s children preferred the Reform approach at Congregation Ner Tamid, a new family tradition began. She is proud of her background and shares loving stories of time spent with her grandparents as a child and pride in the heroic and dramatic story behind the naming of Hank Greenspun Plaza in Israel. Even her love story with Jeff is a tale made for movies. It unfolds in this engaging oral history interview along with anecdotes that are plucked from her personal history and preserve a reflection of growing up in Las Vegas, one of the Greenspun family of local fame.

Kim Krantz arrived in Las Vegas in 1953. She came as a seasoned performer having danced in large productions in Chicago, Montreal, New York and Florida. Born Delores Kalcowski in Jersey City, New Jersey, she adopted the name Kim Perrin while working at New York’s Latin Quarter. She had always loved the West and jumped at the chance to take the Latin Quarter show from New York City to Las Vegas. She came for a two-week engagement at the Desert Inn Hotel. The show was held over at that property for three months, and then it moved to the Riviera Hotel and Casino. Bill Miller approached her to join a new production at the Dunes Hotel. He and Harold Minsky were preparing “Minsky’s Burlesque,” the first show to use women born in the United States in a nude show. She opened with the original cast and stayed for two years. Kim retired in 1957 after she married Danny Krantz, the Food and Beverage Manager for the Flamingo Hotel. She raised four children in Las Vegas, but never lost touch with th

On March 5, 1978, collector Wendy Christian interviewed truck driver Henry Clay Davis (born April 19, 1900 in Irondale, Virginia) in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers Henry Clay Davis’s personal life history as a resident of Las Vegas, which includes hunting and fishing. He also discusses employment, the railroad, old hotels, the Davis Dam, and Lake Mead. Additionally, he offers a detailed description of the Helldorado.

The first part of this Shakespearean quote perfectly describes the deep admiration and love that Richard Leigon has for his father, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) leader Ralph Leigon. The elder Leigon's major contributions include 39 various positions from the Nevada State American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), Nevada State Democratic Party, and the Southern Nevada Building Trades Council. Richard speaks upon the early years of Las Vegas with the allure of atomic testing, going to school with future community leaders Jerome Mack, Shelley (Levine) Berkeley, and Beth Molasky as well as the role of the union in building Las Vegas. After graduating from Las Vegas High School, he attended Somona State University and obtained a degree in humanistic psychology where he furthered his father’s influence on becoming a ‘we’ person. He came back to Las Vegas to start his 40-year career as an active member of Local 357 as executive