Oral history interview with Jelindo A. Tiberti II conducted by Stefani Evans and Claytee D. White on April 18, 2017 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. Tiberti explains the ubiquity of fencing and shares his experience of taking over Tiberti Fence Company, of retiring and selling the company, and of starting over with Red Star Fence Company. Tiberti also discusses struggling with dyslexia in college.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kevin Chung conducted by Cecelia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on December 18, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Kevin Chung discusses his upbringing in Southern Vietnam and how he and his family were forced to leave the country during the Vietnam War. Chung talks about his family's migration to Minnesota and how they adapted to American culture. He shares his educational background, his professional pursuits as a teacher, and the reasons he and his wife decided to move to Las Vegas. Chung reflects on the importance of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) in education with an emphasis on the arts and shares his teaching philosophy. He also gives details of his family's lives and talks about the importance of bringing together his Vietnamese and American cultures to connect the different generations of his family.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Robert Allen Jr. conducted by Carlton Kelley on March 20, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Robert Allen discusses his career in acting and his role in the entertainment business in Las Vegas, Nevada. Allen then discusses the growth of Las Vegas, the role of mining in Southern Nevada, and the work of instrumental political figures. Allen also discusses the role of the gaming industry, the availability of recreational activities, the modes of transportation available to locals, television and movie productions in which he was involved, and dining options for Las Vegas locals.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Yorgo Kagafas conducted by Claytee White on January 14, 2010 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Projects. Kagafas discusses becoming an urban planner for the City of Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999 and implementing the neighborhood planning process.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Linda Vasquez conducted by Patricia van Betten on February 18, 2005 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. Vasquez discusses her childhood in Norwich, Connecticut and her first trip to Blue Diamond, Nevada in 1966 as a high school graduation gift. She describes the early Blue Diamond community, and her eventual move to Nevada around 1975. She details her husband Simon Vasquez's childhood in Blue Diamond, from his education at the first school in Blue Diamond to his commute to Las Vegas High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. She then discusses her husband's roles at the Blue Diamond Mine, from the time he was eighteen years old until his death. Vasquez then details the health care in Blue Diamond, as well as the schools, the post service, and the telephone and electricity services.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Joseph Wilcock conducted by Claytee D. White on April 17, 2014; April 18, 2014, and April 30, 2014. for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Wilcock recalls working in Bal Harbour, Florida, and coming to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the School of Hotel Management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Wilcock explains gaming terminology and the process of dealing and cheating the casino. He discusses the relationship between Caesars in Atlantic City and Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and between operating a gaming company in New Jersey and Nevada. He also recalls opening day at the Mirage, opening the Treasure Island, and how Wynn hotels hired and promoted from within, but instituted a minority recruitment and training program to diversify the workforce.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Tancy and Richard Leonard conducted by Barbara Tabach on September 18, 2012 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, the Leonards discuss their respective parents' employment at the Nevada Test Site. Frances’ father, John Elmgren, was the liaison between Reynolds Electric and the Atomic Energy Commission. Tancy describes the difficulties that came with having a parent working at the test site, the Huntridge Movie Theater, Vegas Village, and living in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s and 1960s. Later in the interview, Richard discusses his father’s employment at the test site, observing the detonation of bombs, and the secrecy surrounding his father’s work. Lastly, the two describe the Westside and the historical significance of that area.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Todd Jones conducted by Claytee White on January 07, 2010 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park neighborhood Oral History Project. Jones discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1991 to become a professor of philosophy at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and buying a home in the John S. Park Neighborhood.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Rozita Lee conducted by Stefani Evans, Cecilia Winchell, Kristel Peralta, Vanessa Concepcion, Jerwin Tiu, and Su Kim Chung on June 1, 2021, April 12, 2022, and May 18, 2023 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Rozita shares her experiences growing up on a sugar plantation with her family in Hawaii. She talks about the benefits her family received and the "privileged" life she led with her father as the plantation boss, allowing her household to have electricity, plumbing, and a telephone. Rozita discusses her use of Pidgin English amongst her peers and "good English" in her household, and the roles and responsibilities her parents had working on the plantation. She shares what life was like day to day and what she remembers growing up during World War II including hearing air raid sirens and hanging blackout curtains in her home. Rozita also talks about meeting her husband, Clifford Lee, in high school, their marriage in 1979, and how the couple came to move to Las Vegas. In the second interview, Lee discusses pursuing a bachelor's degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), working with Governor Miller and Bob Bailey, and her involvement in a Polynesian show at Imperial Palace for eighteen years.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Norma Morrow Zuckerman conducted by Barbara Tabach on April 18, 2016 and March 13, 2017 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Zuckerman discusses growing up in the Los Angeles, California Jewish community and finding a profession in acting. She also talks about co-founding the Jewish Repertory Theatre of Nevada, the numerous plays that she has directed and performed in, and being a fashion designer.
Archival Collection
