Interviewed by Claytee White. Mario and his six siblings were reared by a single mother who taught him all of the family recipes. Moving to Las Vegas at four years of age Mario remembers moving into a black neighborhood where the family was not welcomed. All windows in their home were broken into the first night. The family moved the next day. Though the new house was still in an African American neighborhood, they were protected by Vera, their black babysitter. Mario developed the intense work ethic of his mother, and after working in several strip casinos, found his home at the Horseshoe, today's Binion's. He has been there for 33 years; first as a busboy and then becoming a waiter. He is a Culinary Union trained shop student who picketed his beloved work place for ten months during a 1980's labor dispute. His work in life and union benefits have made his a very good life.
The Chip Chat Newsletters and Catalogues date from 1994 to 2011 and contain Chip Chat issues 1, 2, and 4 through 49. Chip Chat was a newsletter produced by Douglas Saito and circulated throughout the gambling chip collectors' community. The newsletters were self-published by Saito. Generally three copies were produced a year, in some years there was more content, in others less. The newsletters focused on selling chips between collectors, tips for becoming a sucessful collector, the history of chips, and the state of the hobby.
Joseph Thiriot is a longtime Las Vegas resident who served the community as an educator. He was born in 1906 in Provo, Utah; one of five sons bom to George W. and Elvira Thiriot. He has vivid memories of moving about, including living in Idaho where his father sold a typing machine , a forerunner to the typewriter. Eventually the family moved to a ranch in Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, where the limits of educational opportunities compelled his paients to send him back to Provo to finish his education while living with family there. Gaining a teaching certificate enabled Joseph to teach in rural Nevada. He completed his degree at the University of Utah and after meeting Las Vegas Superintendent Maude Frazier he relocated to Las Vegas to become a teacher. He reminisces about his life and the changes that have occurred over the years in Las Vegas.
Arby L. Hambric's book entitled, "To Thee I See: From picking in the fields of Texas to cooking for dignitaries on U.S. Navy ships, a journey I wouldn't change," describes his profound journey from working in the cotton fields as a child to being drafted into the U.S. Navy, before completing high school. During this interview, he recalls the significant achievements of the "Red Tails" and the Tuskegee Airmen. Beginning his 20 year Navy career before military integration, Arby describes the racial tensions that plagued the U.S. Navy in the 1940s, and discusses how he was able to successfully navigate that racist environment for two decades and three war eras. Arby enrolled in San Diego State College after leaving the U.S. Navy. He also worked as maintenance personnel for Sears and Roebuck and started a catering business with his wife. He became a member of the Southern Nevada Enterprise Community, SNEC Board upon moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, after his wife died. With a family legacy he can be proud of, Arby highlights the achievements of his great grandson Taquan Mizzell, a Virginia Cavaliers running back at the University of Virginia. As a Navy veteran, Arby often volunteered his time and resources to help others in need. He recalls driving the sick and elderly back and forth from the Westside community to Valley Hospital or University Medical Center, UMC. He also discusses government enforced road closures and a wall that was built to block Blacks from entering the new downtown. This interview sheds new light on military integration and offers key strategies for overcoming environmental racism. Arby mentions a documentary about the closing of the wall and offers his predictions on the future of the Westside.