Oral history interview with Stanley Mallin conducted by David G. Schwartz on January 29, 2008 for the Remembering Jay Sarno Oral History Project. In this interview, Mallin discusses his personal history and meeting Jay Sarno in 1940 at the University of Missouri. He describes moving to Atlanta, Georgia with Sarno in the late 1940s to start a tile business. He then talks about their other business building apartment complexes in Atlanta and eventually building the motel Atlanta Cabana in 1958. Later, Mallin discusses selling their business and opening Circus Circus Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and describes the success it had during its first months of operation. Mallin then talks about eventually selling Circus Circus Hotel and Casino to William Bennett and William Pennington. Lastly, Mallin recalls opening Caesars Palace and his last business ventures with Sarno.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Frances Ohman conducted by Claytee D. White on December 12, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Ohman begins the interview by discussing her family history and her father who escaped a Nazi concentration camp as a prisoner of war in World War II. She goes on to discuss her personal history, including her education and her experiences observing racial discrimination as a child in Kansas and during the 1960s in New Mexico. Ohman talks about visiting Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1960s and describes the casinos of the Las Vegas Strip and the entertainers she and her parents saw, including Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Elvis Presley. Lastly, Ohman describes how she came to work for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas libraries, her job duties there, and her history working in Albuquerque, New Mexico as a librarian.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Arturo Amaya conducted by Laurents Banuleos-Benitez, Barbara Tabach and Genoveva Yuli Amaya on December 05, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Arturo Amaya discusses his early life in Peru, sharing stories of his family history and early life. He recalls his education and law school in Peru, as well as his legal career. Amaya was elected into to district attorney, and he discusses his experiences working in the criminal justice field in Peru. After visiting his brother in Las Vegas, Nevada, Amaya decided to immigrate with his family to Las Vegas in 2003. In Las Vegas, Amaya is a painter by trade, but was instrumental in establishing the Peruvian Association in Las Vegas. Genoveva Yuli Amaya also participates in the interview. Genoveva shares more of the Amaya family history from her point of view. She also shares her knowledge of Peruvian cultural traditions.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jahaira Farias conducted by Monserrath Hernández on April 12, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Farias discusses her family’s background in Mexico and growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. She recalls attending Western High School, joining their ROTC program, and commanding the armed drill team. Farias talks about her decision to enlist to the United States Marine Corps and describes the type of work she did while serving. She describes her deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, post-traumatic stress disorder within in the Marine Corps, and her experiences as a woman in the military. Later, Farias discusses being president of the Women Marines Association (WMA) and the organization's involvement in Las Vegas high schools. Lastly, Farias talks about the term Latinx and her evolving feelings around identity.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Abraham Gomez conducted by Elsa Lopez on December 06, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Gomez discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and explains why his parents decided to settle in Las Vegas. He talks about attending Saint Christopher Catholic School, Bishop Gorman High School, and College of Southern Nevada (CSN). Gomez recalls transferring to the University of Nevada, Reno, becoming an ambassador for the GEAR UP program at Nevada State College (NSC), and explains the importance of programs like GEAR UP for first generation low-income students. Later, Gomez describes his involvement with the Nevada Partnership of Homeless Youth (NPHY) and his work as a member of the Men of Color subcommittee at NSC. Lastly, Gomez talks about his position as College Navigator for the Nevada Treasurer’s Office.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Maria Moore conducted by Elsa Lopez on August 02, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Moore discusses her early life in Belize. She describes the the diversity of its citizens, being able to speak Belizean Creole, and compares differences between northern and southern Belize. Moore talks about the political and economic instability of Belize, immigrating to the United States in 1979, and attending California State University, Fullerton. Later, Moore discusses her interests in senior issues, obtaining an internship in hospice care, and her experiences volunteering at a nursing home. She talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1994, and her employment with Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada and the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Lastly, Moore describes the priorities for AARP and current events surrounding healthcare.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Randy Garcia conducted by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez on November 27, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Garcia discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s and 1960s. He talks about attending Saint Anne’s Catholic School and Bishop Gorman High School, his experience as a Latino in Las Vegas, and facing discrimination because of his race. Garcia recalls graduating from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), studying business administration and accounting, and his first job in a stock brokerage firm. Later, Garcia discusses opening his own firm, the Investment Counsel Company, in 1987 and how he manages it. Lastly, Garcia talks about his involvement in the UNLV Foundation Board of Trustees, the Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the Latin Chamber of Commerce, and Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Joe W. Brown conducted by Claytee D. White on November 19, 2018, January 11, 2019, February 06, 2019, and June 18, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In these interviews, Brown discusses his early life and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1968. He remembers becoming a District Court law clerk, and being appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the State Justice Institute and the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States. Brown talks about his involvement with charitable organizations, being a commissioner for the Nevada Gaming Commission, and founding the Nevada Military Support Alliance. Lastly, Brown discusses the development of his law firms in Las Vegas, being awarded an Honorary Doctor of Law degree by the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and receiving the Outstanding Alumnus Award by the Washington and Lee University School of Law.
Archival Collection
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.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Jimmy Wilkins conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres on May 30, 2008 and September 15, 2008 for the All That Jazz Oral History Project. In these interviews, Wilkins discusses his career as a jazz trombonist. He begins by talking about his upbringing in St. Louis, Missouri, his early interest in being a musician, learning to play the trombone in high school, and later enlisting in the United States Navy to play in Navy bands. Wilkins describes leaving the Navy after World War II ended and continuing his musical career by joining jazz bands in the St. Louis area, playing across the United States with traveling bands, and eventually moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1994. He talks about playing jazz in casinos such as the Four Queens and the Riviera, the current jazz culture in Las Vegas, and his retirement.
Archival Collection