Oral history interview with Laura Belle Kelch conducted by Claytee D. White on August 02, 2000 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Kelch discusses her various careers as a water colorist, an art teacher, a scout leader, and a volunteer in community organizations. She also discusses founding the first radio station in Las Vegas, Nevada, KENO, with her husband Maxwell Kelch.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gwyn and Quint Perkins conducted by Rosamond Kathleen Wright on February 28, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Gwyn Perkins discusses early life in Crystal, Nevada before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1940. She also describes her education and atomic bomb testing. Later, Quint Perkins details his early life in Overton, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Madeline Taylor Knighten conducted by Blanche Uehling on September 17, 1974 for American Association of University Women Boulder City Branch and the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Knighten discusses her life in Boulder City, Nevada in the 1930s and the construction of Hoover Dam. She remembers the Six Companies, Inc. housing, stores, and Boulder City manager Sims Ely. Lastly, Knighten talks about early businesses and the first church in Boulder City.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Arlene Matthews Smith conducted by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick on March 26, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Smith discusses living in Caliente, Nevada and recalls her family history. Smith also discusses going to high school in Panaca, Nevada, construction of Boulder (Hoover) dam, prohibition, and the growth of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. Jean Serum conducted by Barry Bosacker on June 16, 2006 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Dr. Serum reflects upon her career as a teacher and administrator with Nevada’s Clark County School District. She discusses the process by which she became a teacher at J. D. Smith Middle School, an administrative assistant, and then a principal. She discusses her approach to education, and provides her opinion on standardized testing practices and charter schools. She also offers advice for individuals pursuing school administration, and describes what she believes makes an effective school administrator.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Therese Courture Thomas conducted by Roberta F. Zaplatilek on February 29, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Thomas discusses her family history and arriving to Boulder City, Nevada in 1930. Thomas describes housing in Boulder City and explains that people needed to build their own homes in the 1930s. She then discusses prostitution becoming illegal in Nevada, the Helldorado Parade, and the construction of Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam). Lastly, Thomas recalls how her musical career began and entertainment in casinos.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Patricia Ann Ross conducted by Judy Harrell on March 19, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods--an Oral History Project of Ward 1. Ross discusses mob-dominated gambling, Mormonism, the Helldorado Rodeo, medical advances, and Clark County School District’s Sixth Grade Centers within Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Harold M. Ayers III conducted by Nancy Neuteboone on March 05, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Ayers III discusses his career as a blackjack dealer, religion, gaming, and atomic testing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dr. Lucius Blanchard conducted by Claytee D. White on October 3, 2003 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Lucius Blanchard discusses his career as a surgeon who worked in a practice with Dr. Harold Boyer in Las Vegas, Nevada. He discusses his specialization in skin cancer surgery. Dr. Blanchard also discusses his activism in community and civic affairs, including the Rotary Club and a skin cancer education program.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Richard L. Francis conducted by Connie Degernes on March 4, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Richard Francis discusses the construction of the Hoover Dam and his various occupations he has held since relocating to Nevada.
Archival Collection