Oral history interview with Harrie Fox Hess conducted by Scot Siegel on February 26, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Hess discusses how he felt as a young adult moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, his contributions to Nevada through his work as a psychologist, and the first law to be drafted on psychology certification in Nevada. Hess then describes the Wildcat Lair as an important site of social recreation for early Las Vegas youth. He also discusses how workers from the Great Depression paved the way for industrial success in gambling due to their employment on the Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ruth and Jake Dieleman conducted by James M. Greene on November 15, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project. The Dielemans discuss their life in Southern Nevada. Ruth first talks about growing up in Searchlight, Nevada, and her experiences as an educator. Jake discusses immigrating to the United States and working in construction rigging at the Hoover Dam. He also discusses his work in various Las Vegas, Nevada casinos and in the state legislature.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Maria Paloma Galvan conducted by Claytee D. White on October 30, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Galvan discusses the evening of October 1 as a Lyft driver. She recalls hearing gunfire while at the Luxor Hotel and Casino driveway and driving people away from the area. Galvan describes driving a wounded man to Sunrise Hospital and the scene there. Lastly, Galvan discusses the Las Vegas community after the tragedy, and her attitude on gun laws.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. Linda K. Miller conducted by Claytee D. White on July 10, 2019 for Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Miller discusses her early life in Kansas City, Kansas and arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2002. She talks about Helen J. Stewart, the Old Mormon Fort, and the significance of that area. Later, Dr. Miller explains the importance of teaching local history to people in Las Vegas. Lastly, Dr. Miller discusses the process of writing a book about Helen J. Stewart.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Irene Porter conducted by Angela Moor on November 06, 2009, November 20, 2009, and January 29, 2010 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Porter begins her interview discussing her childhood in North Dakota in the 1940s including her experiences growing up on military bases and her father's military career. Porter then discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1959 and her experiences at Rancho High School. Porter describes her classes, social activities, and community. Porter then talks about her career and experiences at the Clark County Planning Department including the activities the Department was responsible for, learning to write grants, the glass ceiling, and how she eventually became Director. Porter goes on to discuss working for the City of North Las Vegas and lobbying for the state of Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dorothy Eisenberg conducted by Barbara Tabach on October 23, 2014 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Eisenberg discusses her childhood in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania during the Great Depression, her religious upbringing, and attending Hebrew school. She talks about her early passion for civic involvement, attending Temple University, and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1964. Eisenberg then discusses Temple Beth Sholom Las Vegas, receiving a teaching certificate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and her involvement with the League of Women Voters. Lastly, Eisenberg recalls her participation with school desegregation, her involvement with the Public Education Foundation, and having a school named in her honor.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Earle Frost Eglington conducted by Anna Dean Kepper on October 30, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Frost Eglington discusses life on the Stewart Ranch and Mormon Fort, Nevada, and what made his family move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1911.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jerry LeFors conducted by an unknown interviewer between approximately 2000-2008 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, LeFors talks at length about his experiences as an Army Air Corps pilot during World War II. He describes his education, upbringing, music education, and early interest in aviation. He then discusses his military flight training and assignment as a co-pilot on a B-17 bomber crew headed for Europe. He also talks about his subsequent civilian career as a contractor in California and his efforts to break into the music business in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as his continued interest in recording music since his retirement to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Robert Francis Bergin conducted by Paula Morey on March 05, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. During the interview Bergin discusses his personal history, the opening of the Desert Inn Hotel and other casinos, the gambling industry, his visits to Cuba, Wilbur Clark, Howard Hughes, and women in gaming. Digital audio and transcript available.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Pat Feaster conducted by Claytee D. White on July 1, 1996 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Feaster relates how her mother made the decision to leave Fordyce, Arkansas for better economic opportunity and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1942. She describes travelling across the country, living in a one-room structure in the Westside of Las Vegas, and attending the Westside School. She discusses her mother's employment at the Red Rooster Restaurant and then at the Algiers Hotel. She talks at length about her own educational journey after leaving school at fifteen, then returning for her GED and later, a college degree after the birth of her fifth child. She discusses how the decision to improve her education helped her develop a twenty-six year career at the Clark County Health District. She also discusses the Fordyce Club and many important personalities in Las Vegas' Black community.
Archival Collection