The Bob Coffin Political Papers (approximately 1861-2021) document the political career of independent Democrat Bob Coffin who served in the Nevada Assembly, State Senate, and Las Vegas City Council from 1983 to 2019. Collection materials primarily consist of legislative research files associated with Coffin's committee assignments. City Council records in this collection include budget files, constituent concerns, and city project files. The collection also includes election materials used for Coffin's political campaigns and include posters, mailers, as well as newspaper clippings and information on Coffin's opponents.
The Robert Lang Professional Papers (1976-2020) mainly contain urban planning research and reports from former University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) professor and public policy expert Robert Lang. Materials represent different public policy related projects and issues Lang worked on when he was employed with the Fannie Mae Foundation in Washington, D.C., and Brookings Mountain West and the Lincy Institute at UNLV. Materials also include Lang's teaching files which include course syllabi, class presentation slides, and course readers. Research, notes, and drafts of Lang's books including Boomburbs: The Rise of America's Accidental Cities, Edgeless Cities: Exploring the Elusive Metropolis, and Blue Metros, Red States: The Shifting Urban-Rural Divide in America's Swing States are also represented in the collection. The collection also includes documentation for invited conferences and events documenting different conferences and events, copies of Black's Guide for commercial real estate in the United States.
On March 2, 1977, Sam Copeland interviewed Carol Forsythe about her experience living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Carol first describes the details with which she was familiar about her husband’s career as a firefighter, specifically facts about the growth of the Clark County Fire Department. Forsythe later talks about the development of the town when she first arrived in Las Vegas, and she later describes the different residences at which she and her family lived. She also describes the different changes in building and development over time in Las Vegas, and she mentions the early use of swamp coolers before air conditioning. The narration concludes with Forsythe’s description of the Helldorado tradition and its changes as well as her family’s Episcopalian faith and the churches they attended.
On March 2, 1975, Marilyn Swanson interviewed her neighbor Perle Garrett (born April 27, 1905 in Overbrook, Kansas) in her home in Boulder City, Nevada. This interview covers Boulder City during the 1930s, with special focus on the building of Boulder Dam. Mrs. Garrett relocated to Boulder City because her husband Theodore Garrett was one of the workers at the dam. She also discusses Six Companies houses, family life, the weather, churches in Las Vegas and recreational activities for local children. Her husband is also present during the interview.