Oral history interviews with Christopher and Greg Ramirez conducted by Wendy Starkweather on October 02, 2013 and January 13, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods--an Oral History Project of Ward 1. In the first interview Chris Ramirez discusses his grandparents' emigration from Mexico to the United States, growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, his career in film, and the growth of Las Vegas. In the second interview, Greg Ramirez discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, working at various Las Vegas hotels and casinos, his social life, opening his restaurant Viva Zapatas, and the fact that it was named one of the best Mexican restaurants in the U.S. in 1984.
Oral history interview with Myoung-ja Lee Kwon conducted by Claytee D. White on September 03, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Kwon discusses moving to the United States from Seoul, Korea after graduating from Seoul National University. She also discusses beginning her career as a librarian at multiple universities, retiring in 2001 and taking the position of dean of libraries at the Hayward campus of California State University, East Bay, retiring from there in 2008.
Charles T. "Blackie" Hunt, born in Pottstown, Pennsylvania in 1930, started accordion lessons at age five. He recounts learning from experienced musicians, then teaching others at age twelve because his teacher was drafted. He attended West Chester State Teachers College where, among other accomplishments, he put together a group with Nick Carlino as tenor sax player. Blackie shares detailed memories of the many musicians with whom he worked and toured. They played in venues that included Harrisburg, Toronto, and Montreal, and eventually were offered a booking at the Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas. The group that Blackie worked with in Las Vegas, Tahoe, and Reno came up with the name "The Characters" (backward 'e'), and the show featured comedy and music. It was during this time that he met Lorraine (stage name Lauri Perry), who had her own group. They were married after a couple of years and Lauri joined The Characters. Blackie and Lorraine Hunt opened Blackie's Bar on Tropicana and Eastern Avenues in the seventies. He talks about the jazz sessions that took place and the musicians who sat in on them, and how he and Lorraine eventually decided to bow out of show business themselves. The Hunts went on to open the Bootlegger, a restaurant/piano bar on Las Vegas Boulevard. They started a little comedy/music session called "Off the Cuff', in which local or touring musicians, comedians, and singers often participate. Blackie and Lorraine have been part of the vibrant history of Las Vegas and the state of Nevada for many years, and continue to make their home here.
Oral history interview with Audrey Wickman conducted by Joanne L. Goodwin on June 24, 1996 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Wickman opens her interview by discussing her upbringing in Kentucky, and her young adult life in Colorado. Wickman then talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with her husband during the Depression to look for employment. She then describes the Mesquite Club in detail, including its members and the club's activities from the 1930s to 1950s. Audrey Swenson, Wickman's daughter, joins the interview at the end. She discusses what the Mesquite Club was like in the 1950s through 1970s, and being raised in Las Vegas as a child.
Oral history interview with Edelweiss Solano conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on August 25, 2022 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Solano discusses her childhood in the Philippines and later studying business administration in college to help her family's business. Solano met and married her husband, and the couple moved to the United States for work opportunities. In addition to volunteering for a number of organizations, Solano works for the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Throughout the interview, Solano touches on cultural celebrations, the immigration process, her parents, and the biggest issue facing the AAPI community today.
Oral history interviews with Barbara Agonia conducted by Suzanne Becker on September 17, 2007, September 25, 2007, and October 02, 2007 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Agonia's interviews begin with an overview of her early life, including her education and study abroad experiences in England during college. During the interview Agonia also discusses attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the 1950s for graduate school. Agonia talks about her community activism with Soroptimist International of Las Vegas, Friends of the Nevada Wildnerness, and Clark County Community College. Lastly, Agonia discusses advocacy initiatives for Great Basin National Park and rape crisis education.
An artist's color rendering of Lookout Point at Hoover Dam. Text printed on back of postcard: "Lookout Point has been the popular vantage point where thousands of sightseers have viewed with amaxed and intense interest, the progress and development in the building of this spectacular and enormous project. The view from the Nevada side, shows the downstream face of the Dam, the rugged cliffs in Arizona, and Fortification Mountain in the distance."
From the Sister Klaryta Antoszewska Photograph Collection (PH-00352). The presentation slide reads, "Nevada Operations office off-site follow-up studies project scope. Collect & organize historical documents. Publish/make available previously unreleased or classified data. Make comprehensive assessment of radiation dose. Compile operating on/off site for each event."
Oral history interview with Gene Collins conducted by Claytee White on August 31, 2000 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview Gene Collins speaks about how his family lived in West Las Vegas, Nevada, which at the time was a thriving community where African Americans owned their own businesses. Gene talked about how the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. led to a riot and how it inspired him to run for state assemblyman where he was instrumental in getting the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday bill to pass. He spoke about his time as the president of the Las Vegas National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) where he addressed the lack of African Americans in the gaming industry in addition to filing the largest equal employment opportunity commission suit filed in the state of Nevada against the Mirage Hotel and Casino.