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
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 Amber Diskin conducted by Barbara Tabach on January 5, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Amber Diskin discusses her experience at the Route 91 Harvest music festival during the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. Diskin talks about finding her way home after escaping the crowds and letting her family and friends know she was not hurt. She speaks of the aftermath of the shooting, including how her children were affected, the post-traumatic stress disorder she developed, and how the shooting has affected her love of concerts. As a native Nevadan, she shares her views of Las Vegas and how her sense of community deepened after this event. Diskin ends the interview by discussing her appreciation for the first responders and the gift baskets she helped distribute to hospitals, police stations, and the fire department.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Don Triolo conducted by Chuck Williams on May 14, 2013 for the Friends of Red Rock Canyon in Nevada Oral History Project. Triolo begins the interview talking about other families that had lived in Calico Basin, Nevada. He speaks about how he met Vera Krupp and Buster Wilson. Triolo describes his time in Calico Basin and briefly mentions living in Alaska in 1952. Lastly, he talks about horses and George Heyer.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with September Sarno conducted by David Schwartz on October 06, 2007 for the Remembering Jay Sarno Oral History Project. In this interview, Sarno discusses her early life and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of five. She remembers living at her father’s hotels growing up, the lifestyle she was born into, and the final months before the passing of Jay Sarno. Lastly, Sarno talks about the impact that her father has had in Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Freddie Sarno conducted by David Schwartz on February 09, 2010 for the Remembering Jay Sarno Oral History Project. In this interview, Sarno discusses his earliest recollections in Las Vegas, Nevada and the lifestyle he had growing up. He talks about the divorce of his parents, living in a Circus Circus Hotel and Casino suite, and the initial planning for The Grandissimo. Lastly, Sarno describes his father’s legacy in Las Vegas and his passing in 1984.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with James Deacon conducted by Mary K. Keiser on August 24, 2006 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. In this interview James Deacon discusses interviewing with Dean Bill Carson in the summer of 1960 for a job at the University of Nevada, Southern Regional Division (currently University of Nevada, Las Vegas). He also talks about moving to Reno, Nevada with his family and teaching at the University of Nevada, Reno for two summers, then promptly returning to UNLV. Deacon then discusses how he was instrumental in organizing the Department of Environmental Studies and in helping to develop a masters and Ph.D. program in biology at UNLV.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ethlyn Barneby conducted by Claytee White on October 16, 2002 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. During this interview Barneby discusses her experiences as a resident of Boulder City, Nevada during the 1940s. Barneby also discusses life with her husband, a member of the National Guard, and her husband’s employment as an operator for the City of Los Angeles, California during the construction of the Hoover Dam. She also describes their experiences moving back and forth between Boulder City and Los Angeles as well as the growth of Boulder City in relation to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
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