Oral history interview with Isabella Jessie Curtis conducted by Andrew B. Levy on February 15, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Curtis first talks about her career in waitressing at several restaurants and casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada. She also discusses her involvement in politics, her early recreational activities, and the atomic testing. Curtis then describes living in Sandy Valley, Nevada, and some of her first memories of the Union Pacific train depot in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Helen Anderson Toland conducted by Claytee D. White on February 21, 2007 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Toland discusses her childhood in Missouri and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada where her husband, who was a civil rights worker, lived. She also discusses her careers as a speech therapist and the first African American female principal in the Clark County School District. She then talks about her activism in the Las Vegas African American community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sue and Leo Borns conducted by Claytee D. White on March 21, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods--an Oral History Project. Leo Borns discusses working for various architectural firms before developing his own identity as an architect and designing buildings for state public works. Borns and his wife, Sue, then discusses buying a house on Strong Drive in the McNeil Estates Neighborhood, and being active in social and philanthropic organizations, including the development of the Kiwanis Water Conservation Park.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Patsy and Marshal Taylor conducted by Claytee D. White on December 17, 2018 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Patsy discusses her upbringing in Lovelock, Nevada and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1963. She remembers the city at the time and attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Marshal talks about his employment at the Nevada Test Site, and joining the City of North Las Vegas as a park planner and grant writer. Lastly, Patsy and Marshal describe early movie theaters, curfews for teenagers, and early ambulance services.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Geraldine Kirk-Hughes conducted by Larry Sampson on November 28, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview Kirk-Hughes relates her birth and upbringing in Simmersport, Louisiana, becoming a teen mother, earning a GED and earning her first college degree before marrying and moving to Greece and Dubai. She then explains how she returned to the United States to earn her masters degree before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978. She discusses her second marriage, her decision to attend law school, and her decision to go into private practice instead of working for a law firm. She talks about cases she worked on, people in the community she knew, and the effects of discrimination on her work and career. She ends by talking about her third marriage and sharing thoughts on how the Las Vegas African American community has lost some of the cohesiveness and unity of earlier decades.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Sandra Blake Toles conducted by Claytee D. White on November 13, 2018 and November 28, 2018 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In the first interview, Toles discusses her early life in Enid, Oklahoma and growing up in a family of ten children. She talks about her father being an ordained bishop in the Pentecostal Church, the significance of religion in her family, and the religious community she grew up in. Toles remembers her husband’s service in the United States Air Force, being stationed at Nellis Air force Base in 1966, and purchasing their first home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Later, Toles describes the Westside community during the 1970s, and her involvement with the Las Vegas City government. In the final interview, Toles discusses local initiative programs that work towards alleviating crime, assist mothers on welfare, housing assistance, and develop employment training and opportunities for community members.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ffolliott "Fluff" LeCoque conducted by Claytee D. White on September 24, 2012 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. LeCoque talks about working with the first line of black dancers in a Las Vegas, Nevada Strip production at the MGM Hotel (currently Bally’s Hotel and Casino).
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary Ellen Campbell conducted by Ronald Robinson on March 06, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. During the interview Campbell talks about her parents’ move to the United States from England and her own life growing up in Panaca, Nevada. She also talks about living in Pioche, Nevada and the conditions of living in two small towns.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gregory and Jessica Brown conducted by Claytee D. White on March 1, 2009 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park neighborhood. Both Gregory and Jessica discuss their experiences on a range of topics regarding Las Vegas, Nevada including: local politics and redevelopment, the importance of Mid-Century Modern architecture, neighborhood beautification, First Fridays, and safety efforts.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Della Mae Rostine conducted by Irene Rostine on October 31, 1991 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Rostine opens her interview discussing working at the Basic Magnesium, Inc. Plant in Henderson, Nevada. She then goes on to discuss conditions of working at the plant and rationing of food and other products during World War II. Rostine describes her family being one of the first to establish the Henderson community after the end of World War II.
Archival Collection