Oral history interview with Ffolliott "Fluff" LeCoque conducted by Betty Rosental on March 03, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Fluff LeCoque discusses the first time she worked with black entertainers which was at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino, the various black artists she worked with, segregation at the Las Vegas Strip, and her extensive career in the Las Vegas entertainment business.
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Oral history interview with Joan Adams Shoofey conducted by Claytee D. White on January 30, 2024 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Shoofey recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1955, where she became Miss Sahara Hotel Casino before becoming Miss Nevada. Born in Fresno, California, Shoofey moved to Tahoe the day following her high school graduation. She and her friend ran the Stateline Country Club for one season and then moved to Las Vegas. Once at the Sahara, she became the Entertainment Coordinator at the Flamingo and then at the International where she worked with Tom Jones.
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Oral history interview with James W. Watts Jr. conducted by Linda Musser on March 13, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Watts discusses arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1956, and describes working as a pit boss and card dealer at the Four Queens on Fremont Street. Watts then discusses the first female card dealers, cheating in casinos, and security inside gambling halls. Watts later explains the origins of the Nevada Gaming Commission and explains how it affected gambling throughout Nevada. Lastly, Watts talks about the responsibilities of a pit boss.
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Oral history interview with Jane Ann Morrison conducted by Claytee D. White on May 10, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Morrison discusses her early life in Fort Smith, Arkansas. She talks about her early interest in journalism, her employment at
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Oral history interview with Pamela Jones Brown conducted by Claytee D. White on June 12, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Brown discusses growing up in Nashville, Tennessee and meeting her husband, Joe W. Brown, while attending Sweer Briar College and married two months later. They moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in July 1968, where she taught English and French at Brinley Junior High School. She left teaching and joined PBS/Channel 10 as a scriptwriter. The Junior League of Las Vegas became her creative outlet with the "Crossroads of the West" project that documented the history of the town. These short documentaries were produced by the local PBS statio, and she discusses writing the scripts.
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Oral history interview with Charles Nur Fernald conducted by Claytee D. White on May 31, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview Charles Nur Fernald discusses permanently moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in January 1968 to perform with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino. He discusses auditioning for the Lido de Paris show at the Stardust Hotel and Casino. He talks about how he remained there for sixteen years and how he is the only male dancer who performed with Lido through five different consecutive productions. Fernald also discusses meeting his partner, Aquiles Garcia in 1969.
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Oral history interview with Cecia Alvarado conducted by Barbara Tabach on September 15, 2020 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Cecia describes her personal history, moving to the United States as a teen in the year 2000. She talks of immigration, education, and her work as the State Director of "Mi Familia Vota."
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Oral history interview with Irene Sprague Black conducted by Chari Horne on March 16, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. During this interview Black discusses early Las Vegas, Nevada, local schools, homes, friends, family life, and the Mormon Church. Black also discusses Mesquite, Nevada, Indian Reservations, Downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, the Hoover Dam, and Bunkerville, Nevada.
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Oral history interview with Sue Ann Porter conducted by Suzanne Becker on December 29, 2008 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. In this interview, Porter discusses her early life and growing up with her three siblings and parents. She mentions that she shares the house she lives in with her mother Ina Porter, in the John S. Park Neighborhood of Las Vegas, Nevada. Porter continues to explain the background of the John S. Park Neighborhood, including how she met new groups of people while attending church. She says that she experienced diversity throughout her life experiences. She also talks about how she changed from junior high school to high school and became a more social person.
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Oral history interview with Daisy Lee Miller conducted by Claytee D. White on March 22, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Miller discusses Las Vegas, Nevada’s education system and raising her children in the Westside community amidst the civil rights movement.
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