Martin Dean Dupalo was born February 20, 1967. His parents were Eva Auge, a German citizen, and Milton Dupalo. Martin shares many stories and anecdotes concerning his family background, his father's 21 year military career, his mother's tribulations in WWII Berlin, and the many sites the family visited all over the world. Martin gives a wealth of details regarding Las Vegas and UNLV in the seventies and eighties. He lists the schools he attended in Clark County and recalls some of the friends and professors his father knew while attending UNLV. Martin graduated from Eldorado High in 1985, attended UNLV, and was selected for a Truman Congressional Scholarship at Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He describes the house and surrounding area in which he and his father and brother, Michael Dean, lived. He also includes comments and anecdotes regarding entertainment in the Vegas Valley. After a stint as a fire fighter, four years in the Air Force and Air Force Reserve, and a brief marriage, Martin began teaching at UNLV in 2003. He discusses race relations as he has experienced them in his family, the military, Las Vegas, and at UNLV. His closing comments are in regard to war, world population, and the possibility of peace.
Dr. Dave Emerson was born in Littleton, Massachusetts. His father, a mining engineer, moved the family to Mexico twice, once when Dave was one year old and again when he was seven. In 1938, his father retired to work on his apple orchard in Littleton. Dave helped with pruning, spraying and dusting for insects, and hauling apples to the cider mill. Dr. Emerson graduated from high school in Littleton in 1945 and joined the army. Because he was only 17, the army sent him to Norwich University in Vermont until he turned 18. He then went on active duty until December, 1947. After he mustered out, Dartmouth College accepted his credits and he completed courses through his junior year. He was then called back to active duty in the Korean conflict, and was assigned to the Army Chemical Center in Maryland. After his army stint, Dr. Emerson worked a summer for Dow Chemical as a research engineer, and then returned to Michigan to pursue a Master's degree. He met and married his wife during this time. After completing his doctorate, Dave went to work for Shell Oil Company. Dave spent six years with Shell and decided to turn to teaching. He took a job at a branch of the University of Michigan. He worked there 17 years, doing research, teaching, and even spending a little time as chairman of the Division of Art, Sciences, and Letters. He was then notified of an opening at UNLV for dean of the College of Science, Math, and Engineering. In 1981, Dr. Emerson and his wife moved to Las Vegas, and he began teaching chemistry classes. He was instrumental in building up the engineering department through distance education for students who needed credits in math, computer skills, or electrical engineering. He also helped put together and sell the idea of a strong engineering school at UNLV, and then worked to gain accreditation for civil, mechanical, electrical and other areas of engineering. After retiring in 1998, Dr. Emerson worked on the self-study for the year 2000 accreditation. He still does research at UNLV on a volunteer basis. He and his wife continue to enjoy their home here in Vegas as well as their travels around the country.
Aaron Williams moved to Las Vegas in 1960 and worked at the Nevada Test Site before serving as North Las Vegas councilman, County Commissioner and community activist. Williams sponsored youth baseball teams in North Las Vegas.
Terry Miller-Newcomb was born at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her grandparents on both sides were Nevada residents, and her mother and father were born in Reno and McGill, respectively. Her younger sister Linda was born at Sunrise Hospital shortly after it opened. Terry vividly remembers the way Vegas was in the '50s, '60s, and '70s. Las Vegas was very small in the '50s, and one of the town's boundaries was Tropicana Avenue. Beyond that was dirt road and desert. Terry and her sister and friends rode horses out in that area. Terry's father, Chub Drakulich, taught drafting and Phys Ed and coached the basketball team at Rancho High School from 1955 to 1958. Her mother, Theresa Drakulich, was hired at the new Ruby S. Thomas Elementary School to teach kindergarten. Terry attended kindergarten through second grades at Tom Williams, and from third grade on went to Ruby Thomas E.S. Her junior high school years were spent at Orr Middle School, and she attended Valley High School through graduation. "Chub" Drakulich was hired at Southern Nevada University (now UNLV) in 1958 to start the Phys Ed program there. Terry remembers Frazier Hall and the old gym where she played on the gymnastics equipment while her father conducted basketball practice. Her parents would host a party every Christmas as part of the basketball Holiday Classic program. Terry chose to attend UNR after she graduated high school in 1974. She was hired at R&R Advertising in the summer of '78 and worked at the Reno office for two years. She then transferred to the Las Vegas office to work as account executive. She oversaw all advertising for Democrat and Republican campaigns, including road signs, radio and TV spots, and billboards. Between 1984 and 1987 Terry made several major changes in her life. She started a master's program in a totally new area, worked as a church administrator for an income, and was remarried. She finished her master's in 1987 and opened a private practice in marriage and family therapy in 1988, which she continues with today. Her oldest daughter is currently enrolled at UNLV on the Millennium Scholarship.
Martha Gould and Joan Kerschner have been instrumental in most phases of library development in Nevada - from the branch to the state library. Their stories are fascinating and cover the techniques of moving a physical library to installing massive computer systems. They became librarians as young women and worked their entire careers in the field. Their memories add depth and profound meaning to the work of librarians. Gould grew up in a small mill town on the Sugar River and attended the University of Michigan. A librarian at Dartmouth College gave her a job and then insisted that she return to school for a master's degree. She earned her MS in Library Science from Simmons College. Kerschner hails from the Midwest, growing up in Abe Lincoln country. As a young girl, she went into their little Carnegie Library to rest and to view photographs on the stereograph while in town shopping with her family. She attended college across the river at Kentucky Wesleyan College and then earned a master's in library science at Indiana University. Martha and Joan have lobbied and testified before assembly committees to help bring libraries in Nevada to their current standing. This interview is about serious work told by two women, one who became state librarian, who look back over their many accomplishments with laughter and great joy.