Oral history interview with Darrel Waldthausen conducted by Gretchen Schroeder on May 10, 2008 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Waldthausen discusses his personal history and arriving to Blue Diamond, Nevada in 1946. He describes living in the Blue Diamond village and attending the Blue Diamond school. Waldthausen then talks about the operations that were done at the mines and recalls the separate village near the mines. Lastly, he discusses moving to Guatemala in 1972 after buying real estate and building a home.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Betty West conducted by Claytee D. White on May 10, 2008 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, West discusses growing up in Blue Diamond, Nevada. She describes the work her father, Mark West, did at the mines and recalls the Village where mine workers and their families lived in the 1950s. West discusses her employment at the Sahara Hotel in the 1960s as a slot girl and later as a cocktail waitress. Lastly, West talks about the changes in Blue Diamond, and eventually moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.
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
Oral history interview with Boyo Warner conducted by Gene M. Freerksen on February 13, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Warner discusses the life of his father, Matt Warner, who lived as an outlaw and later as a lawman in the Old West during the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Warner tells several anecdotes of his father's experiences, robberies, and encounters, as well as detailing his involvement with other outlaws, including Butch Cassidy and Tom McCarthy. Warner's sister, Joyce Warner, is also present, providing additional comments about their father and helping to provide an overview of life in the Old West.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Louis Conner conducted by John Grygo on March 22, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Conner discusses his personal history and growing up in Tallulah, Louisiana. He talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with his family for job opportunities in the late 1950s. Conner describes his employment at the Stardust Hotel, segregation, and living in West Las Vegas. He then talks about integration in the mid-1960s, Jackson Street entertainment, and the changing demographic of the Westside. Lastly, Conner discusses the development of Las Vegas, families moving out of the Westside, and new businesses in the area.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Augusta Massey conducted by Steve Hayes on November 14, 2011 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Massey discusses her early life in Nigeria, moving to Memphis, Tennessee, and then relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008. She talks about her educational experience in Memphis and compares social life in the South and the West. Massey describes her career in law, working in various law firms in Las Vegas, and starting mentoring programs for new attorneys. Lastly, Massey discusses the importance of scholarships for students in law school, her involvement with the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association (LVNBA), and why it is important for lawyers to be active in the LVNBA.
Archival Collection