Oral history interview with Wayne Rowe conducted by Claytee D. White on November 10, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Rowe discusses his early life and growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks about his employment at Bally’s Las Vegas Hotel and Casino as a utility porter and joining the United States Army in 1966. Later, Rowe recalls going through the citizenship process, working as a bellman at Bally’s, and the opening of MGM Grand Hotel in 1973. Lastly, Rowe discusses Las Vegas nightlife and the development of the Strip.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Sig Rogich conducted by Linda McSweeney on September 30, 2014 and November 07, 2014 and by Claytee D. White on May 24, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Rogich opens his interview by briefly discussing his Icelandic background and his family's move to Henderson, Nevada in 1954. He then discusses doing odd jobs as a child and his life as a youth in Henderson. He talks about his college education and working at the Lake Tahoe Hotel after college. Rogich then discusses getting into political campaign management, and how Las Vegas, Nevada has changed over time. In his second interview, Rogich describes his efforts to improve the community through the Academic Foundation, an organization he founded, and their various campaign initiatives including preserving Lake Tahoe and supporting Opportunity Village. In the third interview, Rogich discusses his background in politics, as well as his efforts to give back to the Las Vegas community. He has served on executive and advisory boards for Opportunity Village, Public Education Foundation, Board of Trustees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Board of Governors of Valley Health System, to name a few. He closes the interview with recalling his proudest moment in 2000 when the Sig Rogich Middle School opened in Summerlin.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Nick Perrone conducted by Claytee D. White on March 08, 2018 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Perrone discusses his family background and growing up in Worcester, Massachusetts. Perrone talks about working in a country club as a golf caddy, joining the United Stated Navy, and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1961. He recalls his employment for the Sands Hotel, becoming a bellman, and the influence of organized crime within the casino industry. Perrone describes transferring to Caesars Palace, working closely with celebrities, and changes in the casino industry. Lastly, Perrone discusses the October 1 shooting.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Ralph Denton conducted by Donalene V. Ravitch on February 24, 1980 and March 16, 1980 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In these interviews, Denton recalls growing up in Caliente, Nevada. He talks about aspects and events in the community both during his life and before his birth, including the school system, housing, mining, the importance of the railroad, the stagecoach, the advent of legal gambling, farming, and the periodic flooding. He also discusses Caliente's population and the increase in ethnic minorities and Mormons in the area, the importance of politics, Franklin Delano Roosevelt's whistlestop visit to the town, and the economy during the depression.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ken Frejlach conducted by Chuck Williams on January 21, 2015 for the Friends of Red Rock Canyon in Nevada Oral History Project. Frejlach begins the interview by talking about his family life and how they started working on Oliver Ranch near Blue Diamond, Nevada. He describes their duties while working and the Carole Lombard plane crash site. Frejlach also talks about his mother's medical illness. He talks about his move the town of Blue Diamond, and describes his time there attending school. Lastly, he speaks more about the Oliver Ranch property.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jon Vogel conducted by Carol A. Fitzgerald on March 29, 1976 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Vogel discusses his personal history in Las Vegas, Nevada. Vogel describes moving to Las Vegas as a child in 1943 and growing up in the city. He talks about his cement and landscaping business and the projects he has worked on for the city of Las Vegas. Vogel's wife, Tootie Vogel, later joins the interview, and together they discuss musicians and entertainment in Las Vegas. Lastly, they describe how Las Vegas has changed since the 1940s.
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 Leon Green conducted by Claytee D. White on May 15, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Green discusses his personal history and growing up in West Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks about the African American community on the Westside, his educational experiences, and being involved in various church activities. Green describes the significance of spirituality in the African American community and how the Westside was deeply spiritual. He then talks about Westside community leaders Bishop C. C. Cox and Reverend Bennett, rioting on the Westside, and the community response to the changing racial climate. Lastly, Green discusses the growth and increase of businesses on the Westside.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Cindy Funkhouser conducted by Claytee White on January 14, 2010 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. Funkhouser discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1980 and working as a cocktail waitress and a bartender at the Four Queens Hotel and Casino. She then discusses owning an antique shop and being one of the forces behind First Friday and the Las Vegas art movement that is rooted in the John S. Park Neighborhood's sense of community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Erma O. Godbey conducted by Dennis McBride on November 07, 1986 and November 08, 1986 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. In these interviews, Godbey discusses her move from Oatman, Arizona to Needles, Nevada in 1931. She remembers the economic depression at the time, life in the desert before air conditioning or refrigerators, and her husband’s employment as a road paver. Godbey talks about living in the tent-city Ragtown (Williamsville) and moving to Boulder City, Nevada. Godbey describes early housing, the first school in Boulder City, and the money printed by Six Companies to use at their stores. Lastly, Godbey discusses the Boulder City 31ers and preserving the history of Boulder City.
Archival Collection