Oral history interview with Frances Ohman conducted by Claytee D. White on December 12, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Ohman begins the interview by discussing her family history and her father who escaped a Nazi concentration camp as a prisoner of war in World War II. She goes on to discuss her personal history, including her education and her experiences observing racial discrimination as a child in Kansas and during the 1960s in New Mexico. Ohman talks about visiting Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1960s and describes the casinos of the Las Vegas Strip and the entertainers she and her parents saw, including Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Elvis Presley. Lastly, Ohman describes how she came to work for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas libraries, her job duties there, and her history working in Albuquerque, New Mexico as a librarian.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Marjorie Barrick conducted by Mary Beth Nitzschke on March 13, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas.In this interview Barrick discusses the sociological view of Nevadans in the gaming industry. Barrick also discusses the beginnings of University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), Las Vegas history, founding Child Haven, a center for abused and neglected children, owning the Flamingo Hotel and Casino and the Fremont Hotel, and the lack of cultural activities in the 1950s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Francisco V. Aguilar conducted by Monserrath Hernández on April 19, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Aguilar discusses his early life in Tucson, Arizona. He recalls his educational experience, attending the University of Arizona, and his initial interests in law. Aguilar talks about lobbying the Arizona legislature for a second student regent on the Board of Regents, attending law school, and serving on the Catholic Charities Board, Opportunity 180 Board, and the Nevada Athletic Commission. He describes being nominated for the Bosch Fellowship, and being a founding chairman of the Cristo Rey St. Viator College Preparatory High School in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Later, Aguilar talks about the importance of prioritizing education in local communities, and his vision for Cristo Rey. Lastly, he shares his thoughts about the Latinx community in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with John Fudenberg conducted by Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White on May 3, 2018 and May 23, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, John Fudenberg, the coroner for Clark County in Las Vegas, Nevada, gives an account of his experience during the October 1, 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip and what his role was during the tumultuous days after the shooting. He explains how he and the staff of the coroner's office prepared for the large number of casualties as well as their arrival at the Route 91 Harvest festival venue. Fudenberg speaks of setting up the Family Assistance Center at the convention center and how it supported the community but also aided the coroner's office in gathering information about the deceased and identifying them. Fudenberg discusses the main job of the Coroner's Office during the first week after the shooting, which was to autopsy the bodies and communicate with the families, as well as the Police Department. He also talks about the emotional impact the shooting and its aftermath had on him and his staff members and the wellness program they implemented, of which trauma yoga and meditation had a large impact.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Krystal Ramirez conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Barbara Tabach on October 30, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project.
Krystal talks about her personal history growing up in Texas and spending summers with her family in Mexico. She shares her thoughts about how Las Vegas has changed and how she has contributed to the city's art scene as a staff photographer for Vegas Seven (a local magazine), the New York Times, and the Marjorie Barrick Museum.
Subjects discussed include: Texas; Chihuahua, Mexico; Latinx Identity; Vegas Seven; Beat Coffee House; Downtown Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ruby Duncan conducted by Claytee D. White on February 13, 2007 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Duncan discusses growing up and working in Las Vegas, Nevada. She also discusses how she became the leader of the Las Vegas Welfare Rights Movement by protesting the way Nevada cared for its poor families. Duncan then discusses instituting the first library on the Westside, lobbying the legislature, and traveling the world on behalf of women's rights.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Juanita Fain conducted by Claytee D. White on November 19, 2021 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: A Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Fain recalls her childhood in Newark, New Jersey and earning a doctorate degree in Higher Education administration from The Ohio State University. After she was hired by Carol Harter at Ohio State in 1980 as Director of Financial Aid, she came to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in 1996 as Dean of Enrollment and Management. After various positions, she became Vice President of Student Affairs and in 2021, Interim Chief Diversity Officer was added to her responsibilities. Fain will retire in 2023 after serving her final year as a Special Liaison to President Whitfield.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Geri Tomich conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 15, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Born and raised in the Philippines, Geraldine "Geri" Tomich recalls life in the city of Manila, where her father worked as an engineer and her mother as a stay-at-home mother. Tomich attended an American school, where she learned how to speak English from a young age, and her extracurricular activities included speedreading and writing letters to her friends. After her parents divorce, her mother took Tomich and her three siblings to the United States to live with their aunt. After a brief period in California, Tomich resumed her college career in a community college in Southern Nevada, getting an associate's degree in paralegal studies before transferring to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to earn her bachelor's degree in business management. During this time, Tomich recalls working her way up in a law firm, starting as a receptionist before moving up to a secretary and then later a paralegal. For law school, Tomich moved to Spokane, Washington, to attend Gonzaga University. Citing her family, she moved back to Las Vegas to practice law, first returning to the law firm where she got her start before moving to Marquis Aurbach in 2003. She also discusses the other organizations she is involved in, including the Nevada Community Foundation and the Baller Dream Foundation. Throughout the rest of the interview, Tomich discusses values, what it has been like balancing a family with a full-time job, and what parts of Filipino culture she has retained.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Frank Schreck conducted by Claytee D. White on April 10, 2007 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Frank Schreck discusses his upbringing in Henderson, Nevada in the 1940s, his education at Yale University and University of California Berkeley School of Law in the 1960s, and his return to Las Vegas, Nevada after graduation. Schreck shares stories of growing up conservative and becoming more liberal after attending college, including attending antiwar demonstrations. He talks about helping locals with welfare rights, standing up to housing discrimination against people of color, and his experiences working pro bono cases within the Las Vegas community. Schreck recalls the influence Mike O'Callaghan had on his life, both as an educator encouraging Schreck to become a lawyer and later as a mentor appointing him to the Nevada Gaming Commission. Finally, Schreck talks about his professional career as a corporate gaming lawyer and activism efforts within Henderson and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. Michael Green conducted by Michael Geeser on October 10, 2005 for the I Remember When: Recollections from Las Vegas Jewish Leaders Oral History Project. Green talks about the history of Jewish people in Las Vegas, their social clubs and religious temples, and their involvement in the running of casinos and in organized crime in Las Vegas. Dr. Green also answers questions from the audience.
Archival Collection