Oral history interview with Bernice Reid conducted by Brenda Sawyer on March 12, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Reid describes life in Nevada after moving there in 1926 and the challenges she and her ex-husband faced trying to breed chinchillas on their ranch on Mount Charleston. Reid also discusses the development of Las Vegas, Nevada, seeing President Hoover speak at the Hoover (Boulder) Dam, and the nuclear weapons tests.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gertrude Toston conducted by Claytee D. White on July 21, 2006 for the UNLV @ 50 Oral History Project. Toston discusses attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) in the 1960s. She also discusses working as a customer service representative for Western Airlines for 27 years before going back to UNLV to work on her master's degree in special education. She then talks about working as a graduate teaching assistant and student teacher advisor at UNLV and as a teacher at Brinley Junior High.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Helen M. Clark conducted by Danny Winegar on March 05, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Helen Clark speaks about her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada and working as a secretary. She then discusses the beginning of tract home building, gambling, and the building of the Hoover Dam. She also mentions life during the Great Depression, prostitution in Block 16, and the Helldorado celebration. Clark then talks about the first hotels and casinos that were built on the Las Vegas Strip and the mob's influence over those hotels.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Eva Futch conducted by Claytee D. White on November 02, 2010 and November 10, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Futch begins by discussing her personal history in Sweden, describing her early life, education, and what life was like in Sweden. She continues by describing her involvement in the boxing industry through her husband, Eddie Futch, who was a prominent boxing trainer. Futch provides insight into various aspects of boxing, how her husband trained fighters, and provides details on how the industry operates and the athletes she met. Futch describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1995 and the boxing events she was involved with in the city. She also goes through a series of photographs and memorabilia of her husband and explains their history and significance.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ann Lynch conducted by Emily Powers on May 27, 2008 for the Heart to Heart Oral History Project. In this interview Ann Lynch discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1959, being camp director for the Girl Scout program at Mount Charleston, and being highly involved with the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), not only at the local level, but at the state level as well. She also discusses being elected as Nevada PTA President, being one of the founding members of the Sunrise Hospital Children's Foundation and the Public Education Foundation, and lobbying in the Nevada State Legislature and in Washington, D.C.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lilly Fong conducted by Lisa Fremont on May 06, 1995 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Fong discusses her family background and their immigration story to the United States in the early 1910s. She talks about her husband’s interest in the restaurant business and the opening of their restaurant, Fong’s Garden, in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1955. Fong remembers being elected as Regent for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), the increase of students attending the College of Southern Nevada, and advocating to keep UNLV’s Tonopah Hall as a dormitory building for students. Fong talks about completing a master’s degree from UNLV in 1982, state university funding, and her involvement with the Chinese community in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Robert O. Cannon conducted by Julia Bragg on March 11, 1973 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Cannon talks about the El Rancho Hotel and Casino, Carole Lombard’s plane accident, living in Boulder City, Nevada during World War II, segregation of African Americans from a white person’s perspective, and the creation of a course in hotel administration at the University of Southern Nevada (now known as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas).
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Linh Fee conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on February 4, 2022 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Linh Fee talks about her family life growing up in Oahu, Hawaii, how her parents met in Vietnam, and memories of her childhood with her six siblings. She shares how she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to find work after graduating from college at the University of Hawaii and her brief time working in the hospitality industry as a cocktail server. Fee discusses her career change to become a dental hygienist and life with her husband and three children.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lorne Lomprey conducted by Mitzi Cox on February 25, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In the interview, Lomprey discusses his childhood and education in Henderson, Nevada. He also discusses his work as an arson investigator and police officer. Lomprey also discusses other topics including atomic testing, politics, the first police officers in Henderson, Nevada, and early firefighters in Henderson, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Oran Gragson conducted by Perry Kaufman on December 25, 1972 for the UNLV Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Gragson discusses his employment at Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) and Basic Magnesium Plant, and eventually opening his own business in 1967. He then describes changes in Las Vegas, Nevada and recalls his involvement with politics. Gragson then discusses his time as the mayor of Las Vegas and explains the challenges he faced as mayor. Lastly, Gragson describes the difference between county government and city government.
Archival Collection