Oral history interview with Helen Yu conducted by Andrew Yu on December 1, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Helen Yu discusses her upbringing in Seoul, South Korea, her grandfather's immigration to the United States in the late 1970s, and her family's decision to follow him to Portland, Oregon in 1984. She shares her family's history and their experiences during the Korean War, including what life was like both in North and South Korea at that time. Helen Yu discusses her undergraduate education at the University of Oregon studying graphic design and her graduate education at Ewha Womans University College of Art and Design in South Korea. She shares her thoughts having both a Korean American and Asian American identity, her marriage and two wedding ceremonies to her Korean husband, and her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001. Helen Yu concludes with a discussion of her event planning work which led to her current role as the Operations Manager at the Emerald at Queensridge in Las Vegas.
The North Las Vegas Bicentennial Committee Photographs and Drawings of Kiel Ranch document the buildings on Kiel (Kyle) Ranch in 1974. As part of the commemoration of the United States bicentennial, the North Las Vegas City Council elected to restore Kiel Ranch, which was one of the first non-indigenous settlements in the Las Vegas Valley. The materials include black-and-white photographs of Kiel Ranch as it was in 1974 as well as architectural drawings of planned renovations to the main house, the Brown House, the foreman's house, and the ranch hands' house.
The Florence Lee Jones Cahlan Photographs depict locations and events in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1909 to 1980. The photographs primarily depict historical locations, including the Las Vegas Mormon Fort, the Kiel Ranch, and plaques commemorating Las Vegas’s 75th anniversary. The photographs also depict celebrations, including the Diamond Jubilee festivities held to celebrate Las Vegas’s 75th anniversary, plaque dedications, building dedications, and the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the first mail planes in Las Vegas. The photographs include the Kennecott Copper Corporation’s facilities in McGill, Nevada, Western Airlines planes and pilots, and Union Pacific Railroad locomotives.
The Art Wolf Professional Papers (1988-2018) document the career of museum professional and consultant Art Wolf who specialized in supporting cultural heritage of indigenous communities, particularly in the Southwest and Las Vegas, Nevada. Materials document Wolf's work with the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) as a board member, in conference planning, and as a Study Leader for Smithsonian Associates Study Tours. Also included are materials that represent Wolf's involvement as an alumni of the Leadership Las Vegas program and director of the Nevada State Museum. The collection includes some ephemera and invitations to different events held in Las Vegas, Nevada that Wolf was invited to. The collection also includes examples of unsuccessful bids for consultancy jobs through WOLF Consulting and his files as a master's thesis adviser for the Museum Studies program at Harvard Extension School.
The Eileen Brookman Photographs depict Nevada Assemblywoman Eileen Brookman from 1959 to 1989. The photographs primarily depict Brookman with other Nevada politicians, including U.S. Senators Harry Reid, Alan Bible, Eugene McCarty, and Howard Cannon, and Nevada Governors Paul Laxalt, Mike O’Callaghan, Richard Bryan, and Grant Sawyer. The photographs also depict Brookman at political events with the Nevada National Guard, bill-signing ceremonies, and at events in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Bill Willard Photograph Collection depicts Las Vegas, Nevada, hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Valley, and Laughlin, Nevada from 1905 to 1919 and from 1940 to 1999. The photographs primarily depict hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, including the Sahara Hotel, Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, MGM Grand Las Vegas Hotel and Casino, Caesars Palace, Flamingo Hotel, and the Aladdin Hotel. The photographs also depict students at Nevada Southern University (predecessor of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas), the city of Las Vegas, industrial plants in Henderson and Apex, Nevada, and events in Laughlin, Nevada.