Oral history interview with Hanford Searl conducted by Dennis McBride on November 02, 1996 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Searl discusses being gay and the struggles he faced in religion and university before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Al Levy conducted by Cheryl Caples and Martha Zehnder on February 23, 1979 and March 8, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Levy discusses Las Vegas, Nevada history, notably Jewish discrimination in the city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alice Key conducted by Claytee D. White, with Joyce Moore and two unidentified individuals on November 11, 2004 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: A Collaborative Oral History Project. In this informal interview, Key talks about her early education, sharing anecdotes along with more serious comments. She continues talking about her early activism, beginning with housing discrimination in Los Angeles, California, the work of President Lyndon Johnson on equal rights, her work on the Clark County Nevada Economic Opportunity Board, and the issue of hiring Black front-of-house employees at the casinos and hotels. She continues chatting about families who own or owned casinos in Las Vegas, different church leaders in the city, and ends talking about early Black entertainers, including Dorothy Dandridge and the Barry Brothers and her own experiences as a dancer.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Margaret Crabbe, conducted by Patricia van Betten on January 14 and January 19, 2004 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Margaret Crabbe discusses her upbringing in California, her education as a schoolteacher and her move to Blue Diamond, Nevada in 1949. She briefly talks about her husband, Lester, and his work as facilities manager for both the Blue Diamond Mine and Blue Diamond Village. She then discusses her work as a teacher in Blue Diamond and the school children's participation in the dedication of the Blue Diamond Post Office in the 1950s. She also comments on problems with spring flooding in the town and surrounding areas and some of the wild animals that would come into the town. Finally, she talks about her grandfather John W. Bain, who established the first Methodist church in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Richard Kunkel conducted by Patrick Carlton on October 11, 2002 and November 06, 2002 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Kunkel opens his interview by explaining his higher education career in the 1970s throughout the Midwest. He then discusses being hired as Dean in 1978 for the in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He then describes the faculty at UNLV at the time, his leadership style, and the different administrations at the Nevada Department of Education. Kunkel then talks about serving on the Land Grant Deans Association and some personal conflicts he had with fellow deans from the association. He recalls being an active voice in the local community while at UNLV, and creating the School of Physical Education within the College of Education. Lastly, Kunkel describes the administration staff at UNLV during the 1980s, and how different administrations impacted the image of the university.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Carolyn Freeman conducted on January 30, 2006 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Freeman begins by discussing her upbringing, her father, who was the president of the Japanese American Citizens League, and her early interest in dancing. She also details her experiences as a Japanese American during World War II and being relocated by the federal government. Freeman then describes how she began her career as a dancer after getting a role in a Broadway play in New York City, New York, and her later experiences dancing in productions in Reno, Nevada and San Francisco, California during the 1950s and 1960s. Lastly, Freeman discusses the differences between living in Las Vegas, Nevada compared to California and being offered the chance to dance in a Frank Sinatra show by himself and Sammy Davis Jr.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Su Kim conducted by Ashley Brooke Fuentes on November 21, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Su Kim discusses her family and life in Seoul, Korea. She talks about immigrating alone to the United States to study in Provo, Utah and later transferring to the College of Southern Nevada. Su Kim talks about her immigration experience, the culture shock of coming to America, and the discrimination and racism she has seen since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Su shares how she met her husband, details of her employment as an office manager, and her plans to pursue a degree in hospitality from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Text
Oral history interview with Jack Bullock conducted by Julie Domonkos on March 15, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Bullock talks about his occupations in the gaming industry, including being a dealer both in Las Vegas, Nevada and other cities. Bullock also describes how Las Vegas has changed over the years since the 1940s, including working in casinos prior to corporations entering the gaming industry, and the changes in the entertainment industry.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with John Cahlan conducted by James Weslowski on April 10, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Cahlan discusses his memory of the beginning of Nellis Air Force Base, originally named the Las Vegas Aerial Gunnery School for the Army Air Corps. He also discusses the role of the city commissioners in establishing Nellis as a permanent airbase, as well as the role of Western Air Express, a commercial air company which eventually became Western Airlines.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Al McDaniels conducted by Rodney Goosby on February 28, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. McDaniels discusses his personal history and his education at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). McDaniels later discusses the significance that sports had throughout his life and his job as a sports coach at UNLV. McDaniel then recalls the changes in social structure throughout Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection