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Transcript of interview with Bill Snyder by Claytee White, November 21, 2008
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Archival Collection
Description
In 1978 Bill Snyder came Las Vegas for a heavyweight championship fight between his homeboy, Larry Holmes and Ken Norton. During that visit, he saw cranes dotting the cityscape so he returned home and proposed that the family move across country and settle in the desert. His wife, Joy, gave him a year. And as they say, the rest is history. And what am amazing history it is. In this interview, Bill Snyder talks about his life from its beginning in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he discovered the challenge of architecture first by perusing books in the library and then by hands-on construction experience. But his love of art built the foundation to this treasured craft that has allowed him to design homes, office buildings, airport terminals and the McCaw School of Mines on the campus of McCaw Elementary School in Henderson, NV. The projects that Mr. Snyder seems to prize most are those that include the imagination of children. The people who shaped his life are introduced and the impact of his military training is wonderfully expressed. His connection with young people is paramount throughout the oral history that is beautifully documented with images of many of the projects that displayed children's art in an exciting way. Bill and Joy are the parents of two sons. Dana age 36, lives with his wife Christine in Hollywood, California, and works as a voice actor best known for his role as Master Shake on the cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Their younger son, Mike age 31, owns The Krate, a clothing, music, and art shop in Santa Cruz, California, where he lives with his wife Mandy and daughter Maya. A husband, father, sports car enthusiast, runner, thinker and lover of teaching and trusting young people, Bill Snyder is a brilliant architect and manager of people. He is dyslectic and never expected a school to be named in his honor but the William E. Snyder Elementary School was dedicated in 2001 with overwhelming community support. One of his current goals is to dream an architectural project that rivals the McCaw School of Mines for his own school. I trust that you will learn to love architecture in a different and very profound way as you read this interview just as I did during my conversation with Bill.
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Transcript of interview with Stephen Nasser by Barbara Tabach, January 17, 2018
Date
Archival Collection
Description
At the age of thirteen, the incredible life journey of Stephen “Pista” Nasser (b. 1931 - ) is preserved in his heart. His ordeal begins when his family are ripped from their home to be interred in a Nazi concentration camp in 1944. Fifty years later, he sits in his Las Vegas home and reflects on his calling to write and speak about his survival and losses. His ordeal is preserved in his book My Brother’s Voice (2013) and in his follow up stage production Not Now Pista. He is also the author of a companion memoir, Journey to Freedom. Stephen and his wife Francoise are tireless in their travels throughout the United States and the world. At the time of this 2018 oral history interview, Stephen had done over 1092 presentations about his harrowing life story to thousands of people of all ages and denominations. Each presentation fills a spot in his heart as he honors his brother and reminds listeners that such devastating episode in history should not be forgotten, and should never occur again. The timing of this interview also coincided with the premiere of a 20-minute documentary based on his writings and the play production. It was shown at the 2018 Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival. Note: the photo above of Stephen and Francoise Nasser was taken shortly after this interview on their next cruise. (2018)
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Endacott, Paul
Bio taken from Wiki Page: "Paul Endacott (July 13, 1902 – January 8, 1997) was a collegiate basketball player in the 1920s. The Lawrence, Kansas native attended the University of Kansas from 1919 to 1923. Playing under Hall of Fame coach Phog Allen, Endacott led the 1921–1922 Jayhawks and the 1922–1923 Jayhawks to consecutive Helms Athletic Foundation national championships. In 1936, the Helms Foundation retroactively named him to the 1922 and 1923 All-American teams.
Person
Simone, Ronald, 1935-
Ronald Simone was born on June 6, 1935 in New Haven, Connecticut to Florence and George Simone. Simone played trumpet in high school and went on to play piano for his profession. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with his friend, violinist Joe Mack in 1960. He played in the Riviera showroom for five and a half years, in the exclusive Monte Carlo Room in the Desert Inn where he played for stars such as Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. for five years, and for nineteen years for all the Casino de Paris shows, line numbers, and production numbers at the Dunes.
Person
Genovese, Robert
Robert Genovese was born and raised in Rochester, New York. He arrived to Las Vegas, Nevada for the first time in 1960 with two other musicians and were booked at the Fremont Hotel and Casino. They performed as a band opposite of Wayne and Jerry Newman for five years on a revolving stage at the Fremont. Over the years, Genovese’ music career flourished and he played showrooms in places like Caesar’s Palace Hotel and Casino, the Flamingo Hotel and Casino, and the Driftwood Lounge. He worked opposite of legends such as Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton.
Person
Vandersnick, Ralph, 1927-
Ralph Vandersnick was born March 16, 1927 in Annawan, Illinois, a small town that was 150 miles from Chicago, Illinois. His mother died when he was five, and his family moved to Atkinson, Illinois in 1934. He grew up in the Great Depression and was drafted into World War II when he was 17, missing high school graduation by a year.
Person
Schwartz, Priscilla, 1938-
Priscilla (Kahn) Schwartz was born to Hyman and Elizabeth Kahn, August 3, 1938 in Buffalo, New York. Schwartz became the first member of her family to graduate from college when she received her degree in nursing from the University of Michigan.
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