Oral history interview with J. D. Smith conducted by Albert Hewitt on October 31, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Smith begins by discussing his move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1927 after buying an office for his dental practice. He describes life in Las Vegas at the time, how the city has expanded and changed, and his career as a dentist. Smith also talks about his time as president of the Nevada State Board of Education. He concludes by elaborating on other aspects of Las Vegas history, such as the crash of Carole Lombard's plane, the Helldorado Parades, and nuclear weapons testing.
On a sunny day in 1946, the train from Shreveport, Louisiana, stopped at The Plaza hotel in downtown Las Vegas like it always did. But on this particular day, Atha Toliver and her only child, twelve-year-old Barbara, stepped off the train and onto the dusty Western street of Fremont. Narrator Barbara Bates Kirkland recalls that event and living in Las Vegas for most of the next seven decades during this 2004 interview. Like many others who migrated from the South, Barbara Kirkland’s mother would find employment as a maid. A friend who already lived in Las Vegas had told her of the good paying jobs as private maid. So Atha who was determined that her daughter would get an education and a finer future saw this as her opportunity to achieve this for her daughter. Later, the entrepreneurial and creative mother opened Eva’s Flower Basket, a floral shop that Barbara operates in her retirement from teaching. Barbara returned to Louisiana for her senior year in high school, attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, and then returned to Las Vegas to teach first grade at Westside School. Barbara was active in the community, was a founding member of Les Femmes Douze, involved with Zion United Methodist Church and was friends with many of the early African American community leaders at the time. She talks about these, describes various neighborhoods where she lived and about raising her own two children in Las Vegas. Barbara was a founding member of Les Femmes Douze. AKA/Akateens.
Jeff Kennedy interviews gaming industry professional John Brooks (b. 1937) at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. During the interview Brooks discusses gaming, education, the early above ground atomic blasts, Boulder Dam, and social and environmental changes in Nevada. Brooks also discusses the Old Ranch, economic changes, religion, politics, family life, the Navy, sports, the railroad, Fremont Street and the hotels on the Strip in Las Vegas.
Marzette Lewis is an outspoken community activist, especially in the area of local education. She is the founder of the WAAK-UP group. The interview took place over two sessions, session 1 was recorded October 30, 2012 and session 2 was recorded November 14, 2012.
On April 5, 1976, collector Broderick T. Ackerman interviewed Michael Miller who has lived in Nevada since 1910. In this interview, Mister Miller speaks about his time working on ranches and as a trapper in Northern Nevada. He also speaks about his time running nightclubs in Las Vegas, Nevada, as well as seeing much growth throughout his time living in Las Vegas.
Charles Chesnutt interviews Barbara Barnett (b. 1936) at Chesnutt’s home. The two discuss Barnett’s experiences as a nurse in different units within several of early hospitals in Las Vegas, with specific focus on how patients were cared for and how the profession has evolved. Barnett also briefly talks about her time at the Hacienda and what it was like working in a casino. The two also discuss how the city has grown, specifically on social changes, climate change regarding the increase in humidity, and the casino additions to the Strip and Downtown areas.
Dennis Chamberland interviews Thomas Barbarite (b. 1932) in his home about his time in Las Vegas and his experiences in the casino industry. Barbarite discusses his time at the Four Queens and the Dunes as a dealer as well as his work as a pit boss at the Flamingo, the Aladdin, and Caesars Palace. Chamberland also asks Barbarite about the changes over time on the Strip, including the disappearance of lounge shows and expansion of larger shows on the Strip. Barbarite also discusses the involvement of the mob in Las Vegas, particularly the influence of Bugsy Siegel in the operation of various properties.
Oral history interview with Cathrine Abrigo conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on July 20, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Abrigo describes her early life in the Philippines, where she attended Catholic school and briefly studied medical technology in college. She describes immigrating to Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband and the difficulty of leaving her immediate family behind. She discusses working for the Cosmopolitan in 2011 and becoming deeply involved with the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. Throughout the interview, Abrigo talks about religion, food, and her activism with the Culinary Union.
Interviewed by Barbara Tabach. Publisher of Las Vegas Sun, child of Hank and Barbara Green. Part 1 Subjects: Las Vegas Sun, Greenspun family, Israel gun running; Part 2 subjects: Journalism importance, Las Vegas Sun, Watergate tie-in with Hank's safe, October 1 shootings reflections; Part 3 subjects: Hank and Barabara Greenspun. Talks about Jewish visionaries of Las Vegas that includes Art Marshall, Jack Entratter, Sheldon Adelson, Nate Mack; Part 4: Interviewed by Barbara Tabach. Las Vegas Sun newspaper publisher and native Las Vegan talk about events and people from Las Vegas' years of him growing up. From watching pink smoke from test site to hanging out with friends in the John S. Park neighborhood to racial riot of 1969 to playing golf as a kid.