Oral history interview with Bruce Woodbury conducted by Claytee D. White on February 25, 2009 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. In this interview, Woodbury discusses his personal history in Las Vegas, Nevada and his experiences living in the John S. Park neighborhood since the 1940s. He describes the homes in that area and the relationship that the neighborhood has to the Las Vegas Strip. Later, Woodbury discusses participating in the Helldorado Parade and talks of its significance to the city. He then recalls Fremont Street and the development of the Las Vegas Strip. Lastly, Woodbury discusses his career as a lawyer and politician, as well as his appointment to the Clark County Commission in 1980.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kathie Clinesmith conducted by Salme Armijo on October 30, 2010 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. Clinesmith opens her interview by explaining that she was born and raised in San Gabriel, California, completing her Bachelor degree in English at a local university and then finishing a Master of Library Science degree at the University of Hawaii around 1970. She then talks about accepting a position with the Clark County, Nevada library district in Las Vegas, Nevada. She discusses her marriage and subsequent move from Las Vegas to the Spring Mountain Ranch State Park where her husband served as park ranger, and their final move to Blue Diamond Village. Lastly, she talks about her involvement in Village activities and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) purchase of the Oliver Ranch near the Village.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Cristina Alano conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on September 9, 2022 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Alano recalls a happy childhood in Pampanga, Philippines. After attending college for a banking and finance degree, she briefly worked at a bank before marrying her husband and immigrating to the United States. She would go on to move to Colorado where she lived for seven years, and finally moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2003. Alano recalls her first jobs in Las Vegas, including Walmart, SEI Electronics, a cashier at the Riviera, and finally the airport where works as a supervisor at Hudson as well as an assistant manager at Brighton. She discusses what she has done at each job and how she ended up getting involved with the Culinary Union in 2016. Since joining the union, she has done everything from being a shop steward to canvassing, most recently flying down to Georgia to help campaign for Senator Warnock. Throughout the rest of the interview, she discusses everything from food, to festivals, and her family.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with John Pocock conducted by Jeffrey J. Wild on March 08, 1976 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Pocock describes his history as an Irish immigrant, his move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1950, and life in the city during the 1950s. He discusses housing availability in Las Vegas and the development of the city, including the construction of casinos which he claims encouraged the growth of Las Vegas. He talks about working in a casino that eventually became the Sands Hotel and Casino, organized crime in Las Vegas, and the future of the city. Pocock concludes by discussing how Las Vegas and the quality of its customer service in casinos has changed, his recreational activities, and nuclear weapons testing.
Archival Collection
Oral history with Marclem Hernandez conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Claytee D. White on June 30, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Hernandez begins the interview by describing the lengthy immigration process throughout his childhood that separated him from his mother for five years, as they lived in both the Manila, Philippines and Las Vegas, Nevada. After switching schools several times while living in Las Vegas, Hernandez graduated from Southwest Career and Technical Academy before attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) for a degree in criminal justice. After graduating UNLV, Hernandez describes attending Georgia Southern University for a master's degree in higher education. He discusses his experience living in southern Georgia, embracing certain parts of the culture, and what switching to virtual education was like during the COVID-19 pandemic. After finishing his degree online in Las Vegas, Hernandez became President Keith Whitfield's assistant at UNLV. He discusses the close relationship he has developed with the president, including how they shaped his own aspirations.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Pierre Bezard conducted by Su Kim Chung on September 7, 2018 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
Pierre Bezard shares stories of his time as a stage director of Vive Les Girls! and Casino de Paris at the Dunes Hotel. He discusses working with producer Frederic Apcar and his time directing the Lido de Paris cabaret show and Ballet de Roland Petit in France.
Pierre's wife, Nadine Bezard, and friend, Ginnie Palone Mollner, also participate in the interview.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Eleanor Walker conducted by Claytee D. White on June 03, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Eleanor Walker discusses serving as President of the Las Vegas, Nevada Chapter of the NAACP in the early 1970s and holding several jobs throughout her lifetime, being among the first black individuals to hold a position in many of the companies for which she worked. She also talks about how she was a pioneer as a black woman in the Las Vegas community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Daryl Privott conducted by Claytee D. White on March 16, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project.
Daryl Privott was previously the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries' Facilities Manager during the move from Dickerson Library into Lied Library. It was during this time that he pursued advanced education, earning his PhD from UNLV before moving to Lexington, Kentucky. Privott discusses his professional and family life as well as his personal philosophies.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Joanne Ullman conducted by Jerwin Tiu, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on April 21, 2023 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Ullman describes her childhood in a close-knit family in New Jersey. She discusses having a balance of Filipino culture at home, while also experiencing the impact of growing up in both an ethnic and socioeconomic minority. Ullman discusses studing molecular biology at Montclair State University, and upon graduating, researching at a science museum under a breast surgeon, where she also met her husband. Shortly after, she began consulting work and relocated with her family to Las Vegas, Nevada. Ullman went on to pursue a masters degree in data analysis at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and then eventually her Ph.D. in psychology. Currently, she spends her time as a full-time professor at UNLV teaching statistics. Throughout the interview, Ullman reflects on her career with fondness, having achieved many feats in research, publishing, and is proud of the way she has raised her family.
Archival Collection