Oral history interview with Donald Brinkerhoff conducted by by Stefani Evans on September 30, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. He describes organizing the signature tree for The Mirage, building the Mirage volcano, taking the idea for Bellagio’s conservatory from the DuPont family’s Longwood Gardens, creating faux banyans in the Mirage atrium, creating the model for the Las Vegas Strip median, and building the mountain on Las Vegas Boulevard in front of Wynn Las Vegas to conceal the Cloud at the Fashion Show Mall.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Cleophis Williams conducted by Claytee D. White on April 27, 2010 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview Cleophis Williams discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, marrying her husband Tom Williams, having nine children, and family life in the historic Las Vegas neighborhood the Westside.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Vincent Merialdo conducted by Louis Kalish on January 26, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Merialdo discusses being a part of the legalization of gambling in Las Vegas, Nevada. Merialdo also talks about the growth of gambling and how it was good for the economy at the time. He later shares what the Las Vegas Strip was like before it became what it was at the time of the interview.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alfred Hurtado conducted by Chuck Williams on May 13, 2013 for the Friends of Red Rock Canyon in Nevada Oral History Project. Hurtado begins the interview by talking about his early family life. He recalls that he parents lived on Morgan Ranch, before the property was bought and renamed Oliver Ranch. He briefly talks about the town of Blue Diamond and life on Oliver Ranch.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Xniea L. Baird conducted by Larry Holcomb on April 04, 1976 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Baird discusses her early life and growing up in Goldfield, Nevada. She talks about the devastating Goldfield fire of 1923, flooding in the area, and mineral mining. Baird describes Esmeralda County, Nevada when it was mostly tent houses, and the increase of population in Goldfield at the time.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ruth Poirier conducted by Joanne Goodwin on February 05, 2003 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Poirier opens her interview by discussing her partner Doris Pressler, who had passed away before the interview. She describes Doris' upbringing, her role in the first band at the Roseland Ballroom in New York, and explains how an all-women band in the 1930s and 1940s was a phenomenon. Poirier then discusses her own history, including how she became involved in music and all-women bands, and how she met Doris. Poirier describes in detail the importance of music to her family, the types of music she played, and what it was like to be a musician during the Depression. She talks about her relationship with Doris and recalls early interactions with other gay youths. Poirer ends her interview explaining why she and Doris decided to settle in Las Vegas, Nevada, and describes their impressions and involvement with the local LGBTQ+ community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Toshiyuki “George” Goto conducted by Christina Oda on February 26, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Goto first talks about his move to Nevada in 1951 before talking about his family, church activities, politics, and recreational activities. He then discusses the building, economic, and environmental changes in Las Vegas, Nevada. Goto later talks about his profession in landscaping, including the work he completed for some of the hotels and resorts built on the Las Vegas Strip. The latter part of the interview includes discussion about Goto’s Japanese ancestry and his perceptions as a minority when first moving to and living in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gerry Gauthier conducted by an unknown interviewer on June 23, 2004 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Gauthier talks at length about his experiences as an Army infantryman in the Philippines and as a survivor of the Bataan Death March and subsequent internment at camps in the Philippines and Japan. He first describes his upbringing and education in Michigan and his desire to enlist in the Army in 1940. He then describes his experiences of war, capture, and internment and his release after three years and five months of captivity. He also talks about his life after the war, from the extensive period of hospitalization and rehabilitation to his marriage and thirty-five year career in the U. S. Postal Service. Finally, he discusses his retirement and move to Henderson, Nevada in 1997.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Carrie McCoy conducted by Claytee D. White in Fordyce, Arkansas, approximately 1995 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, McCoy explains how she and her husband left Fordyce for Las Vegas, Nevada in 1942, seeking better economic prospects. After several years, McCoy returned to Fordyce to raise their four children and work as a housekeeper for several white families. After her oldest children were grown she returned to Las Vegas in 1961, first finding work at a small motel and then spending nine years working in housekeeping at the Flamingo Hilton Hotel. Finally, she returned to Fordyce in 1972. She ends the interview talking about comparative race relations between Fordyce and Las Vegas, differences in work practices, union activities, and church involvement.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Harold Minsky conducted by an unidentified interviewer on August 15, 1973 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Minsky discusses his upbringing, education, and early work history in the entertainment business. He talks about his desire to join the family business despite his father's encouragement to study law. He speaks at length about how his father, Abe, and his three uncles started their burlesque business in a building owned by his grandfather. He explains what caused the split between his father and uncles and explains that the only bad advice his father gave him was to stay in New York City, New York. He also discusses his take-over of the business and many of the dancers that worked in burlesque.
Archival Collection