Oral history interview with Wendell Bunker on October of 1971 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Wendell Bunker (b. 1911 in St. Thomas, Nevada), discusses early Las Vegas, Nevada and the socio-economic changes that have taken place in the Valley. Bunker talks about the Boulder (Hoover) Dam and religion and education in Nevada. He also describes working for the Union Pacific Railroad and the importance of the railroad to the economic development of Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Russel Howard conducted by James W. Howard on January 10, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Howard recalls being transferred to Las Vegas, Nevada for work in 1947 and how impressed he was by the number of celebrities from the movie and entertainment industry that frequented Las Vegas in the early 1950s. He also discusses the expansion of the Las Vegas Strip and how rapidly the number of hotels grew.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jon Cobain conducted by Claytee D. White on March 4, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Cobain describes his childhood growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and living in a trailer while his father built the family's home. Cobain is the first graduate from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), as he walked across the stage first, thus becoming the first to receive a degree from UNLV. After graduating with a bachelor's degree in business, Cobain attended Northwestern for graduate school. He discusses time spent working in Venezuela, and the value of learning other cultures and building international relationships. At the time of the interview, Cobain is matching gifts to the Jon Cobain Lee Business School at UNLV up to $2.3 million to help first-generation scholars. Other subjects discussed include the Nevada Test Site, Frank Sinatra, and Hoover Dam.
Archival Collection
Sound
Oral history interview with Rachel Gibson conducted by Kay Long and Caryll Batt Dziedziak on August 25, 1998, September 01, 1998, September 14, 1998, and April 07, 1999 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Gibson opens her interview discussing her family's migration history, living in Yerington, Nevada, and her immediate family. Gibson then describes her life in Tonopah, Nevada. She talks about education in the area, the social clubs, and recreation activities available. Gibson then discusses her elementary school teaching career and ends her interviews describing her family life and life in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1940s and 1950s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ida M. Harris conducted by Claytee D. White on March 25, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Harris discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada as a young women in 1920. She talks about parties she attended, her employment in retail and accounting, the Rose Bowl Parade, Helldorado, the construction of Hoover Dam and Boulder City, Nevada, and riding events she participated in as a member of the women's riding group The Lariettes. She also mentions local sights, the outdoor movie theatre, the early casinos, and the Las Vegas Jockey Club racetrack. She also identifies numerous individuals in photographs.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with John Mance conducted by Claytee D. White on February 27, 1998 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Mance discusses his introduction to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), forming a local branch in California in 1955, and his continued involvement with the executive committee of the national organization since that date. He explains the heirarchy and make-up of the NAACP, from the national convention to the local branches and their rights and responsibilities. He continues talking about the officers, who are all volunteers, and the numbers of paid administrative staff. He explains his involvement in the various local branches and his forty-two years as a national board member.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Caryl Suzuki conducted by Linda Haido on June 3, 1999. In this interview, Suzuki discusses her background and family history from the 1920s, growing up in California, and the differences between her mother's and father's families. She talks about her grandparent's internment during World War II and the impact that had on the family's fortunes, socially and economically. She explains that after the war many Japanese-American families distanced themselves from their Japanese roots with a subsequent loss of traditional culture in the younger generations. This cultural loss did not begin to see a reversal until the 1960s, when teenagers expressed a greater interest in their cultural traditions.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Hank Kovell conducted by Patrick F. Smith on September 26, 1973 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In the interview, Kovell briefly discusses his life in Northern California before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in July 1956, where he would open and run a Las Vegas, Nevada advertisement agency, Kovell Inc., between 1964 and 1969. He then discusses his company's publications of political campaigns, Las Vegas casino publicity, and his work as a public relations director in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elbert Edwards conducted by Layne Covington on October 16, 1986 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Edwards first talks about his family background before talking about what it was like to live in Panaca, Nevada. Edwards later talks about his wife’s and his political involvement, and his involvement in education. He then discusses Hoover (Boulder) Dam, his job as a registrar in the Selective Service, and the effects that the World War II years had on Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection