Oral history interview with September Sarno conducted by David Schwartz on October 06, 2007 for the Remembering Jay Sarno Oral History Project. In this interview, Sarno discusses her early life and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of five. She remembers living at her father’s hotels growing up, the lifestyle she was born into, and the final months before the passing of Jay Sarno. Lastly, Sarno talks about the impact that her father has had in Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Freddie Sarno conducted by David Schwartz on February 09, 2010 for the Remembering Jay Sarno Oral History Project. In this interview, Sarno discusses his earliest recollections in Las Vegas, Nevada and the lifestyle he had growing up. He talks about the divorce of his parents, living in a Circus Circus Hotel and Casino suite, and the initial planning for The Grandissimo. Lastly, Sarno describes his father’s legacy in Las Vegas and his passing in 1984.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Vernon S. Caples conducted by Cheryl Caples on February 25, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Vernon S. Caples (born August 7th, 1891 in St. Johns, Oregon) discusses the history of Las Vegas, Nevada. Vernon describes what Las Vegas was like in the early days, from the Red Light District to the Nellis Air Force Base. He also mentions the implementation of a government program that was set in place to aid senior citizens living in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with James Deacon conducted by Mary K. Keiser on August 24, 2006 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. In this interview James Deacon discusses interviewing with Dean Bill Carson in the summer of 1960 for a job at the University of Nevada, Southern Regional Division (currently University of Nevada, Las Vegas). He also talks about moving to Reno, Nevada with his family and teaching at the University of Nevada, Reno for two summers, then promptly returning to UNLV. Deacon then discusses how he was instrumental in organizing the Department of Environmental Studies and in helping to develop a masters and Ph.D. program in biology at UNLV.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Donald Brinkerhoff conducted by by Stefani Evans on September 30, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. He describes organizing the signature tree for The Mirage, building the Mirage volcano, taking the idea for Bellagio’s conservatory from the DuPont family’s Longwood Gardens, creating faux banyans in the Mirage atrium, creating the model for the Las Vegas Strip median, and building the mountain on Las Vegas Boulevard in front of Wynn Las Vegas to conceal the Cloud at the Fashion Show Mall.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ethlyn Barneby conducted by Claytee White on October 16, 2002 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. During this interview Barneby discusses her experiences as a resident of Boulder City, Nevada during the 1940s. Barneby also discusses life with her husband, a member of the National Guard, and her husband’s employment as an operator for the City of Los Angeles, California during the construction of the Hoover Dam. She also describes their experiences moving back and forth between Boulder City and Los Angeles as well as the growth of Boulder City in relation to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Hugh McAllister conducted by A. D. Hopkins on January 15, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In the interview, McAllister discusses his early life working as a miner in Colorado and Nevada, his time in Lathrop Wells, Nevada, and his eventual move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1936. McAllister also discusses his work as a bread truck driver, highway construction worker, and a machine shop worker for Basic Magnesium, Inc.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Juan Chacon conducted by Claytee White on August 28, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Chacon discusses his upbringing, early life in Mexico and the United States, his education, segregation, anti-communism, becoming a U. S. citizen, his military career, and his work in Las Vegas, Nevada since retirement.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gloria Dixon conducted by Claytee D. White on May 2, 2022 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: A Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Dixon recalls her childhood growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dixon attended St. Christopher and Bishop Gorman High School, and recalls her parents' involvement in the New Jerusalem Church. Dixon discusses writing grants to help with community education programs, and using her experience as a hospice nurse for the last thirty years to help communicate information about public health crises. Throughout the interview, Dixon shares information about the businesses in the Las Vegas Black community on Jackson Street.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Laura Sussman conducted by Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White on March 15, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Laura Sussman, co-owner of Kraft-Sussman Funeral & Cremation Services, discusses the funeral home's role during the aftermath of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas, Nevada mass shooting. She talks about the collaborated efforts of the funeral home and the coroner's office to care for the deceased, giving some details on the role of a coroner and the specific cases the funeral home was in charge of. Along with the victims, she discusses the potential cremation they were asked to do of the shooter. Throughout the interview, Sussman emphasizes the funeral home's goal of providing support to the families of the deceased.
Archival Collection