Oral history interview with Catherine Cortez Masto conducted by Claytee D. White on August 10, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Catherine Cortez Masto grew up in Las Vegas near where the town ended and the desert began, which at that time was near Decatur and Pennwood. She grew up playing in the streets and riding horses and motor bikes with girlfriends and cousins. Her father, Manny Cortez, began as a valet at the Dunes before entering politics. He served 16 years on the County Commission and then 13 years as the chief of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As the head of the LVCVA, Manny oversaw campaigns to increase tourism, enlarge McCarran International Airport, improve taxicab service, and served as a visionary for the entire region. Catherine followed in her father's footsteps while being her own woman and making her own mark on the region. She attended college at UNR and law school at Gonzaga University School of Law. After a clerkship, she worked for a small local Las Vegas firm for 4 - 5 years, then moved to the governor's and then served two terms as Nevada's Attorney General. Currently she's in the US Senate with committee assignments that include Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Energy and Natural Resources; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Rules and Administration; Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Aging. Subjects discussed include: Dunes, Manny Cortez, County Commission, LVCVA, Judge Carl Christensen, Judge Mendoza, Taxi Authority, Tourism, and Mike O'Callaghan.
Oral history interview with Francis Oh Allen-Palenske conducted by Stefani Evans on June 30, 2022 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Francis describes her childhood growing up in Lousiana with a white father and Korean mother. She recalls the family relocating to Reno, Nevada in 1983 where Francis obtained her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1999. She describes serving as a staffer in Washington, D.C. for Representative Jim Gibbons (R-NV) before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her Korean mother, maternal grandmother, and maternal aunts as strong, smart, business-minded women. Throughout the interview, she discusses Korean traditions, celebrations, clothing, and foods, as well as Korean cosmetics and views about skin color.
The Florence McClure Photograph Collection (approximately 1985-1997) consists of color photographic prints. Images show McClure and members of the Las Vegas, Nevada Community Action Against Rape (CAAR) organization that she co-founded with Sandi Petta in 1973. Also included are images of Nevada public figures and several travel images from China.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Architecture Records (1980-2011) include marketing material, curriculum development material, student letters to the Nevada legislative counsel, journals, newspaper clippings, and architectural drawing sets for the school building's construction.
The collection contains material collected by Barbara Tabach to document the final days of the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada (2007). Included are brief oral history audio recordings and transcripts for approximately 50 individuals wo worked at or were customers of the New Frontier, as well as over 650 digital photographs of the people and the building. Also included is a digital video of the November 2007 implosion and a Las Vegas Sun newspaper clipping from September 1961 on the New Frontier.
The Richard B. Taylor Papers (1920-1993) document Richard Taylor's career and interests as a longtime Las Vegas, Nevada businessman and local historian, including his work as an executive at the Hacienda Hotel and Casino. The materials also include maps, development plans, and local publications for the Nevada communities of Laughlin and Mount Charleston, as well as publicity and promotional materials for these projects. As an amateur historian, Taylor also collected information on Las Vegas, Laughlin, and Mount Charleston.