Oral history interview with Carl Mortensen conducted by Carloyn Grattan on March 03, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Mortensen discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1951. Mortensen discusses the Boulder (Hoover) Dam as well as the growth of Las Vegas. Mortensen also discusses atomic testing.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Paul A. Beach conducted by William Gekakis on February 17, 1976 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. During this interview, Beach discusses housing, physical boundaries of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, the airport, church, and transportation. Beach also discusses tourist recreation, the economy, Nellis Air Force Base, the Las Vegas Strip, industries, presidential visits, the Korean War, atomic tests, and the educational system.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Betty Francisco conducted by Joanne Goodwin on August 12, 2002 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Francisco opens her interview by discussing her early life in Arizona and California. Francisco then talks about her dance career in Las Vegas, Nevada, starting with her work at the Dunes Hotel. Francisco also discusses working for choreographer Harold Minsky. Finally, Francisco describes common dancer experiences, such as getting injured or sick.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Stanley Hyman conducted by Eleanor G. Doble on March 10, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Hyman discusses population growth in Las Vegas, Nevada and its transition into a metropolitan city. Hyman also discusses the kind of influence that Howard Hughes had in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hyman later discusses the first major convention held at the convention hall in Las Vegas, Nevada and his business in home insurance.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Clifford R. Clayton conducted by Mechia Sydnor on November 11, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Clayton begins the interview talking about his childhood in Virginia, and his subsequent move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1960 in order to pursue a career in the military at Nellis Air Force Base. He then discusses working on the Strip in Las Vegas, as well as the influence of organized crime on casino operations. He then details the desegregation movement in Las Vegas throughout the 1960s and 1970s, as well as the notable leaders in the community. He also describes the night life in West Las Vegas, on the Strip, and on Fremont Street.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with James Walker conducted by Larmaya Kilgore on November 14, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Walker discusses his personal history and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1940s. He talks about his employment at the Fremont Hotel in 1966 and working on the Las Vegas Strip the following year. Walker recalls the African American experience working on casino floors, facing discrimination, and the process of integration in schools. He then describes the jobs given to African Americans at the casinos, being unable to live in certain areas of the city, and the increase of African American workers in construction. Lastly, Walker discusses his ownership of the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino, casino licensing, and the increase of businesses in West Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Mary Laub oral history interview conducted by Wendy Starkweather on December 2, 2013 for West Charleston Neighborhoods-- An Oral History Project of Ward 1. Mary Laub discussed her move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1954, her home in Rancho Circle, and career, including her work as founder of the Las Vegas Assistance League.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mike Markoff conducted by an unidentified collector on an unknown date in the 1970s for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Markoff discusses the Boulder (Hoover) Dam from a construction worker's perspective. Markoff then discusses the negative environmental effects that casinos and other buildings had on Las Vegas, Nevada. Markoff later discusses hunting around the Las Vegas, Nevada area.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jacqueline Barker conducted by Claytee D. White on February 14, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Barker discusses her upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada and growing up in the Westside. She talks about the importance of the church in the Westside and the significance of education in her family. Barker remembers her father’s involvement with school integration in Las Vegas, the sixth grade centers, and the racism she experienced while attending the University of Nevada, Reno during the 1970s. Later, Barker compares her experience in higher education to that of her mother’s, and the race riots in 1969. Lastly, Barker discusses the history of African Americans in unions, her career in education, and the social and psychological impacts that African Americans faced in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Frank Cuti conducted by Hans Kohls on February 25, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Frank Cuti discusses his experiences in the gaming industry in Nevada, such as his work as a floor man and a dealer in properties such as the Frontier Club during the 1940s. He then describes the changes in casinos like the El Rancho Hotel, Club Bingo, and the Flamingo Hotel. Other topics discussed include the nature of competition between properties, cheaters, the mob, the involvement of unions, and Howard Hughes’ influence on the development of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection