Part of an interview with Marzette Lewis by Claytee White on October 30, 2012. Lewis discusses community involvement in the movement for equality in elementary schools to stop bussing children to schools in different neighborhoods.
On March 17, 1977, collector Cecilia Branch interviewed LeMoyne Legere (born in 1935) at her residence in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Mrs. Legere discusses various differences in Las Vegas from the time she was growing up to the date of the interview. She also discusses her involvement in high school and what people do for recreation.
On March 5th, 1978, Karen Croteau interviewed Don Perry (b. 1928 in Clarksburg, West Virginia) about Paiute Indians and life on a reservation. Perry begins by mentioning his own Indian heritage with a Cherokee mother and his wife’s Paiute heritage. Perry focuses on his conversations with his wife’s grandmother, who lived on the Paiute reservation since birth, from who he learned about the reservations history. He particularly delves into the traditions of Indian burials, governing on the reservation, and the difference between an Indian reservation and an Indian colony. Additionally, he talks about recreation on the reservations, education of Paiute Indians, and how reservations have changed. Throughout the interview, Perry gives personal anecdotes about his life in connection to the Paiute people and his experiences with their traditions and belief systems. Perry ends by discussing governing politics of the Paiute reservation and the start of Las Vegas as a gambling town.
On February 27, 1979, Cindy Gaylor interviewed engineering aid accountant, Laura Kelly (born December 31st, 1928 in Silverton, Colorado) in her home in Boulder City, Nevada. The two discuss Kelly’s reasons for moving, as well as her early life in Boulder City. They also discuss Nellis Air Force Base, as well as local politics. The interview concludes with a discussion of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in Southern Nevada, during the Great Depression.
Oral history interview with Maria Benítez conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Maribel Estrada Calderón on June 21, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Maria Benítez is the image of a hardworking and determined Salvadoran woman. After facing adversity amidst the Salvadorian Civil War she talks about her journey as a nurse in El Salvador and migrating to the United States. Here in Las Vegas, she has worked as a cook on the Strip, been an active member of her church, and supported the education of her children selling pupusas. Subjects discussed include: El Salvador, Salvadorian Civil War, Migration, US Citizenship Documentation, and Judaism.
On February 10, 1979, collector Tom Mattingly interviewed his neighbor, professional engineer geologist and registered surveyor, Ernest Henry Clary (born May 21st, 1906 in Lincoln, Nebraska) in the collector’s home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview covers Mr. Clary’s personal and professional life and the history of Nevada, including, the early above-ground atomic tests, presidential visits and the crash of Carole Lombard’s plane. All persons present during the interview, include: Tom Mattingly, Ernest Clary, Mary Mattingly, and Matt Mattingly.
On March 3, 1975, Kamal Wilhelm interviewed Eldon G. Cooper (born 1922 in Overton, Nevada) about his experiences in Southern Nevada. Also present are Cooper’s wife and several unnamed adults in the background. Cooper first talks about his background and his eventual move to Las Vegas before describing the recreational activities in which he and his family took part. He later describes the atomic testing, environmental changes, modes of transportation, social changes, and tourism in Las Vegas. Cooper also discusses the Stewart Ranch, and his wife describes the setting of multiple photographs taken of properties in the Downtown Las Vegas area.
Joseph Thiriot is a longtime Las Vegas resident who served the community as an educator. He was born in 1906 in Provo, Utah; one of five sons bom to George W. and Elvira Thiriot. He has vivid memories of moving about, including living in Idaho where his father sold a typing machine , a forerunner to the typewriter. Eventually the family moved to a ranch in Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, where the limits of educational opportunities compelled his paients to send him back to Provo to finish his education while living with family there. Gaining a teaching certificate enabled Joseph to teach in rural Nevada. He completed his degree at the University of Utah and after meeting Las Vegas Superintendent Maude Frazier he relocated to Las Vegas to become a teacher. He reminisces about his life and the changes that have occurred over the years in Las Vegas.
Jacqueline "Jackie" Tilman MacFarlane was born in her grandmother's Las Vegas home at H Street and Clark Ave. Her father John Franklin Tilman was a construction worker at Boulder Dam (now Hoover) in early 1930s. Jackie recalls her family having to move several times the Great Depression and living in rural Nevada. Eventually the family came back to reside in Las Vegas. After graduating from high school, she took a waitress job at the Spot Cafe (Main & Charleston) and then at the Askew Drive-In. It was there that she met her future husband, David MacFarlane, an Air Force cadet. David continued to work at Nellis Air force Base as a civilian until he retired in 1987. Jackie describes raising her children in Fair Circle neighborhood during the 1950s and 1960s; a time when Las Vegas was just a "small town of 50,000." She felt safe and always found work in the casinos. Her work career included being a change girl at the Mint of Fremont St. and working as the front office cashier at the Desert Inn and then working at the Sands Hotel and Casino. Eventually she became a night auditor at Sands Hotel and Casino and then at Sahara Hotel and Casino from 1970-1977. She remembers working nightshift, coming home to get the kids and husband off to school and work. After leaving Sahara, she began selling Vanda cosmetics as a home business, something she still does today.