Oral history interview with Connie Hill Sheldon conducted by Claytee D. White on February 11, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Sheldon talks about military life in New York City, New York, her driving a school bus in Havelock, North Carolina, being a preschool teacher in Mission Viejo, California, and her jobs at the Huntridge Theater, the Nevada Test Site, and at Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company, Inc.
Archival Collection
Oral history interivew with Victor Juarez Rivera conducted by Barbara Tabach on January 29, 2021 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project.
Victor recounts his personal history growing up in Mexico City before moving to Las Vegas in 1988. He discusses his family life and occupation as a cook at the Circus Circus and shop steward for the Culinary Workers Union Local 226.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Geraldine Kirk-Hughes conducted by Claytee D. White on April 28, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
In this interview, Geraldine Kirk-Hughes discusses her educational background, previous occupations, and her decision to attend law school in Reno, Nevada in 1984. Kirk-Hughes shares details of passing the bar exam in 1988, opening her one-woman law firm shortly thereafter, and her affiliation with the National Bar Association (NBA). She recalls how she met Charles Kellar, various cases she represented, and her experiences with racism both directed at herself and her clients of color.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Rita Deanin Abbey conducted by Claytee White on November 29, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. The artist and UNLV Emeritus Professor of Art discusses her early education and training in art that led her to work in sculpture, painting, stained glass, and other mediums. She also talks about her pieces created for the Jewish community in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Willis Clark Evans conducted by Bernard Timberg on February 5, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Evans discusses his father, Native American archaeologist Willis Lyman Evans, his mother, Jessie Dave Evans, his uncle, Henry "Hank" Dave as he recounts his upbringing and family history. He shares memories of family trips around the United States, hunting trips, learning traditional crafts from his father, finding artifacts, and visiting Richard "Chick" Perkins at the Lost City Museum. He also recounts stories about his mother and her Shoshone family, including stories about his uncle's experiences as a ranch worker in Northern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Berna Rhodes-Ford conducted by Claytee D. White on September 25, 2018 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Rhodes-Ford discusses her early life in Terrell, Texas. She talks about the significance of education in her life, attending Southern Methodist University, and going to law school at the University of Texas at Austin. Rhodes-Ford recalls arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2000, working as a judicial clerk for Judge Johnnie Rawlinson, and establishing her own law firm. Rhodes-Ford remembers joining The Links, Incorporated, and Jack and Jill of America. Lastly, Rhodes-Ford discusses her role as President of the Las Vegas Chapter of Jack and Jill of America.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Billie Mae Polson conducted by Claytee D. White on November 01, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Polson begins the interview by discussing her upbringing during the Great Depression in Kansas City, Missouri before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with her family in 1948. She describes what Las Vegas was like at that time and attending the University of Nevada, Reno during the 1950s. Polson then describes her career working for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas libraries, first in the early libraries located in the Frazier and Grant Halls, and later in the James R. Dickinson Library. She concludes by describing some of the history of the university, and how working in the library changed as technology advanced.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Philip St. Marie conducted by H. Keith Beall on July 28, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, St. Marie discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952 and his career as a real estate agent. St. Marie describes how Las Vegas has changed and how the local real estate market has evolved. He also talks about President John F. Kennedy visiting Las Vegas, nuclear weapons testing, natural disasters, and segregation in the city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lyla Joy Ford conducted by Anne Cope on March 12, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Ford discusses social life in Las Vegas, Nevada in the early days. She discusses how the railroad, Hoover Dam, and the Basic Magnesium Plant brought money into Las Vegas. She recalls Sammy David Jr. performing at the El Rancho Casino, the Helldorado Parade being a big western celebration, atomic tests, and witnessing the city’s transformation from a small farming town to a major gambling city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gwen Weekes Rahner conducted by Gail M. Lehtinen on September 28, 1973 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Rahner discusses her role in getting people from the African American community to go out and vote. She also talks about her experience with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She also discusses atomic testing, infrastructure, and the local legislature.
Archival Collection