Throughout his career, former Clark County School District Superintendent (1989–2000) Brian Cram took his father's words to heart. He heard them repeatedly over the years as he watched and later, helped, his father clean classrooms at Robert E. Lake Elementary School: this place—the classroom—this is the most important place. Cram was born in Caliente, where his father worked on the railroad. In 1939, when Cram was a toddler, the family moved to Las Vegas and his father found work first as a sanitation engineer at a hospital, and then at CCSD as a custodian. The elder Cram, who spent his formative years in the Great Depression, prided himself on doing "good, honorable work" as a custodian, because the work—the classroom—mattered. Even so, he wanted more for his son. Cram largely ignored his father's advice during his four years at Las Vegas High School, where he ran with The Trimmers car club, wore a duck tail and a leather jacket, and copped an attitude. Cram's swagger, though, d
Interviewed by Barbara Tabach. Monserrath Hernández and Maribel Estrada Calderón also participate in the questioning. Born in Mexico, came to live in Las Vegas in 1985. Graduate of UNLV in Journalism and a reporter of Public Safety for the Las Vegas Sun. Ricardo covered the 1 October shooting, the killing of two police officers and other traumatic news of the community.
From the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas collection OH-01063. On February 26, 1980, Nancy Bright interviewed school teacher, Patricia Lappin (born April 14th, 1924 in Denver, Colorado) at Robert L. Taylor Elementary School in Henderson, Nevada. The interview covers Boulder City, Nevada around Hoover Dam. The two discuss the different gambling habits between Southern Nevada locals and Las Vegas tourists. During the latter half of the interview, the two speak at length about the impact of nuclear waste on Nevada. Lappin explains the unique issues that Southern Nevada faces as one of three states to accept nuclear waste.
On March 8, 1980, Gary Wood interviewed Carl Ciliax (born 1941 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about his experiences living in Nevada. Ciliax first describes his family history, his early interests in wildlife, and his background and education in artwork. Ciliax then discusses his early experiences in hunting and his eventual interest in conservationism and preservation, including his involvement with organizations that sought the protection of desert bighorn sheep and the protection of wildlife in general. The two talk more about wildlife, the early development of Las Vegas, and the effects of the atomic testing. The interview concludes with Ciliax’s recollection of recreational activities and some of his thoughts on conservationism.