Walter P. Casey Jr. was born in Plandora, California, which is located in the Imperial Valley at the Southeastern tip of the California Mexico border. Walter grew up living on the farm where his father grew crops like wheat and alfalfa. In 1942 Walter graduated from the University of California Brawly, and then went on to attend Berkeley for four years. Upon completion, he went on to become a flight navigator for Pan American World Airways during World War II. During the war, the U.S. Navy contracted flight navigators for transporting services. Once Walter was finished with the Navy, he went on to work for United Airlines where he was to find business for their air freight service. In 1951, after doing that for a few years, Walter decided to move his family to Las Vegas. Walter describes Las Vegas back when there were only 50,000 people. He tells of the vibrant environment in the valley and describes some of the casinos that were around in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954 Walter started his own business with a $6,000 loan from the Bank of Las Vegas. He personally ran the water softening business for almost forty-five years before handing it down to his son. Walter also talks about his involvement in politics. He was the chair of the Republican Party in the state of Nevada, and he also did some lobbying for the National Association of Manufactures. Towards the end of the interview Walter reflects on his marvelous life in Las Vegas and comments on the water situation in the valley today.

From the Clark County Economic Opportunity Board Records -- Series I. Administrative. This folder contains financial memos and reports of the Clark County Economic Opportunity Board in 1966. 

Kay Dwyer was born August 30, 1934 to James and Eileen Crawford. Her father attained a job as an accountant with Basic Magnesium Incorporated in 1942. This meant that the family moved to Henderson, Nevada, which was a brand new community back in the early 1940's. The BMI plant, which manufactured magnesium for bombs and other war materials, is discussed throughout the interview. The interview begins with Kay reading a composition that she wrote entitled, "Our Summer of 1942 and More." In the reading she talks about the early years of her life when she first moved to southern Nevada. Kay gives remarkable details about the towns of Basic and Henderson (Basic became the town of Henderson) were like during this historic period. In 1952, she graduated from Basic High School and then moved to Los Angeles to attend Pepperdine University for two years. She moved back to the Las Vegas area and started a family with Stanly Hardy with whom she had three children. Sadly, at age 31 Stanly passed away from pancreatic cancer. After a break, Kay decided to go back to school and graduated from Nevada Southern University (now UNLV). Upon graduation, she immediately began teaching at Clark High School. In 1968, Kay married George Dwyer after being a widow for five years. Later, she taught at Las Vegas High School where she would go on to spend the next 25 years until 1995. This interview is an excellent resource for quality information pertaining to the early years of Southern Nevada. Kay Dwyer's extraordinary experiences provide us with a special look at the history of Las Vegas.