Oral history interview with Dr. Javier A. Rodríguez conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on December 19, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project.
Dr. Javier Rodríguez, Biology Professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, talks of his personal and educational history that led him to UNLV. He discusses his migration from Puerto Rico to California where he received his PhD from the University of California Berkley and became a biological museum curator for various animal specimens. He later moved to Las Vegas to teach at UNLV where he has now been for nearly two decades; Dr. Rodríguez shares how UNLV has changed since he first started working here, including the university's increased interest in faculty research to become a Top Tier institution. Subjects discussed include: Puerto Rico; University of California Berkley; University funding; Tier 1 research institutions.
Oral history interview with Charles Seals conducted by Claytee D. White on July 14, 2017 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Seals discusses his upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada and growing up on the Westside. He recalls attending Madison Elementary School, being involved in church activities, and his initial interests in religious ministry. Seals talks about working in the funeral industry, and starting a church in the mid-1980s. Seals recalls the African American church leaders in the Westside and other community leaders at the time. He describes businesses on Jackson Street and recreational activities he participated in. Later, Seals discusses his mother, Rosie Seals, and her involvement in the Welfare Rights movement, being a founding member of the Clark County Welfare Rights Organization (CCWRO), and starting Operation Life. Lastly, Seals talks about the issue of substance abuse, organized crime, and the lack of financial investment into the Westside.
Oral history interview with Eric Mendoza conducted by Holly O'Donnell on November 29, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
In this interview, Eric Mendoza shares his family's chain migration history from Manila, Philippines to the United States and his difficult immigration and naturalization process once arriving in America in 1996. He talks about what brought him to live in Las Vegas, Nevada, his education and professional pursuits, what his life is like in the United States compared to that of the Philippines, and the lives of his eight siblings. Eric Mendoza discusses the historical past of the Philippines, the infrastructure in place there, and government corruption. He also speaks to Filipino traditions and festivals, food and customs, his cultural identity, and assimilating to American culture.
Alan Clancy grew up in Sydney, Australia, the second son of famous ballroom-dancing parents. He recalls that he had incredible energy as a child, and, therefore, his parents enrolled him in the Shirley de Paul Studio to learn gymnastics, tap, ballet, and jazz. He also became a soprano singer. This training did well for him for as he went through high school he won trophies in sports and participated in musical productions. Eventually, because of a neighboring friend, Kay Dickerson, Alan moved to the Rudas Acrobatic Studio where he received further training and eventually contracted with Tibor Rudas to participate in an entertainment group called “The Las Vegas Dancers”. He was only seventeen when the group boarded a ship for Hong Kong in an enterprise which would eventually allow the dancers to entertain around the world for approximately two and a half years. When the group returned, Alan auditioned for the Tommy Leonetti television show and then for Les Girls in Sydney. Eventually Tibor Rudas appeared with a contract for Alan, when he had just turned twenty-one, to fly to Las Vegas to work in the Folies Bergere at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. When he arrived in Las Vegas, he was surprised at the size of the city and the hotels but was overly impressed by the neon signs, the showrooms with their nude dancers, the costuming, magnificent sets, the choreography, and the dress of the patrons. He remembers his first night performing in the Folies and the amount of stars in the audience, for example, Elvis Presley, Liberace, and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Alan goes on to describe the many people that he met in Las Vegas, working in various shows, and the many friendships made over the years. However, he eventually became interested in opening his own vintage clothing store, Vintage Madness, near the Strip. He talks about his many customers, the stores around him, his creative ways of acquiring items to sell and the success that was made. Unfortunately, during the middle of one night the store burned to the ground which left Alan devastated. Eventually, however, he purchased three buildings on Fourth Street and opened an art gallery, a coffee shop, and a small stage. His mercantile interest allowed him to leave show business and briefly open a store in Laguna Beach, Southern California. It wasn’t long until Barclay Shaw asked him to work in “Splash” at the Riviera Hotel in Vegas and, therefore, he returned to show business. However, Shaw, his friend, died and so did his mother and he lost interest in his stores, renting them out. Consequently, he returned to live in California and began working with Aids patients. Alan returned to Las Vegas for the reunion of the cast of Folies Bergere and noticed the many changes made in Las Vegas from when he first arrived to perform at the Tropicana Hotel.
On March 26, 1981, Matthew A. Carr interviewed Morgan Mills (b. July 27, 1914 in Grand Junction, Colorado) about his life in Boulder City, Nevada and his work at the Boulder (Hoover) Dam site. Mills speaks primarily about his time working on the dam as a mechanic with the United States Bureau of Reclamation, as a tourist guide with the Boulder City Tourist Bureau and as a musician in local bands. Moreover, Mills speaks about attending the University of Nevada, Reno and playing music there. Lastly, he talks about the Great Depression, how it affected Las Vegas and Boulder City, the development of different infrastructure and the speakeasies in Boulder City during the Prohibition era.
On March 25, 1978, Kim Geary interviewed Joan Johnson (born 1911 in Oklahoma) in her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two discuss Joan Johnson’s personal history and her reasons for originally moving to Las Vegas. Johnson recalls early Las Vegas entertainment, as well as the development of businesses and their unions.
Mark Mangiaracina interviews Eugene Brandise, born in Denver, Colorado, in his home about Nevada’s growth over time. Brandise discusses his experience as a construction worker and construction business owner as a resident of Las Vegas for over 25 years. He also discusses changes in the gaming industry over time, specifically how hotels and casinos treat their patrons.