Oral history interview with Ralph E. Donerly conducted by Patricia van Betten on June 30, 2006 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Donerly, born in New Jersey, discusses his evolution as a musician. He spent his youth learning from prominent musicians in New Jersey and New York, until he moved to Los Angeles, California in his twenties. Eventually, Donerly moved to Blue Diamond, Nevada along with his mother and wife in order to pursue a musical career with big bands that performed at Las Vegas, Nevada hotels and casinos.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kenneth Ousley conducted by Patricia van Betten on October 02, 2009 for the History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Ousley discusses his personal history and moving to Blue Diamond, Nevada with his family. He talks about the work his father did as a miner at the Blue Diamond Mine and describes life in the village during the 1930s. Ousley recalls his visits to Las Vegas, Nevada and the construction of Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam). Lastly, Ousley talks about Cottonwood Ranch and the Blue Diamond school.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Brad Nelson conducted by Stefani Evans on October 30, 2017 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. Nelson recalls planning various parcels, the village of Silver Springs, the village of Fox Ridge, the Fountains, and the Green Valley Athletic Club. He discusses the Green Valley ethos of planning for a good quality of family life by making space for churches, schools, and parks; providing a variety of housing price points, public art, working with homeowners' associations, and Single Point Urban Interchanges (SPUIs).
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jim Gans conducted by Claytee D. White on January 30, 2013 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Gans discusses working as an electrician and attending the Aviation Academy in Reno, Nevada and then as a flight instructor there. He also discusses working in measuring radioactivity from nuclear testing, working at the Clark County Sanitation, and at the Las Vegas, Nevada Convention and Visitors Authority as a vice president there.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Robert Maheu conducted by K. J. Evans on April 19, 1999 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal First 100 Oral History Project. In this interview, Maheu discusses Howard Hughes and attempts by Bill Gay and associates to take Hughes' business. Maheu then discusses his career in the FBI and CIA before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada. Finally, Maheu talks about working for Hughes.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Gail S. McQuary conducted by Joanne L. Goodwin on April 14, 1997, April 25, 1997 and May 28, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. McQuary opens her interviews with a discussion of her childhood and her introduction to dance in California. McQuary then talks about getting recruited to perform in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Sahara Hotel and Casino while performing at a fair. McQuary goes on to describe her dance career in Las Vegas and the other casinos where she worked. McQuary also talks about how dancing and shows in Las Vegas changed throughout the years.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jerry Herbst conducted by Stefani Evans on August 16, 2016 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Herbst discusses his early life in Chicago, Illinois, and his father’s chain of service stations, Terrible Herbst. He remembers moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1959, taking ownership of his father’s company, and expanding the business to California and Arizona. Herbst recalls a shortage of fuel during the early 1970s, how service station owners dealt with the shortage, and converting service stations to be self-serve. Lastly, Herbst discusses the ideal location for service stations, and adjusting fuel prices.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with John Gubler conducted by Suzanne Becker on December 29, 2008 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. Gubler discusses his parents moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1936 and growing up in the John S. Park Neighborhood. He then discusses becoming a lawyer and moving back to Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Nafeesa Sallee conducted by John Grygo on March 21, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Sallee discusses arriving in Las Vegas, Nevada, education in Clark County School District, and the challenges that West Las Vegas had with banking.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Rachel Coleman conducted by Claytee White on July 24, 1996 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Rachel Coleman discusses her move to Las Vegas, Nevada and her first job in town, washing glasses at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino. She continues speaking about her work experience including how she was promoted to executive housekeeper at the Hacienda Resort Hotel and Casino in 1969. She then talks about how she became a representative for the Culinary Union Local 226 in 1973, how she became department head of the Union in 1981, and her experience running for Union president in 1987. Finally, Coleman recalls the atmosphere of Las Vegas from the 1960s through the 1980s.
Archival Collection