Oral history interview with Ralph Vandersnick conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1997 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Vandersnick discusses growing up on a farm with his family in Illinois, owning a gay bar called the Studio Club in California, and owning another gay bar called Snick's Place when he moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1976.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Christie Young conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In the interview, Young talks about her early life in Reno, Nevada and her experiences with race and sexuality during this time. She then describes attending University of Nevada, Reno in 1974, getting pregnant, having an abortion, and the social implications of abortions. Young recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979 to study anthropology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, learning about gay culture, and attending the Metropolitan Community Church. She then explains joining gay rights organizations as a straight woman, gay rights activism in the 1980s and 1990s, and stories of individuals within the Las Vegas gay community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Stormy Caldwell conducted by Dennis McBride on March 26, 2005 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Caldwell discusses the gay community in Lake Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. She talks about her involvement with Stonewell Park, an idea of a separated gay community during the 1980s. Caldwell then discusses buying land on Thunder Mountain, Nevada and the possibility of Stonewell Park being built in that area.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Pamela Dallas conducted by Dennis McBride on February 07, 2004 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Dallas discusses working alongside gay activist Fred Schoonmaker and her involvement with Stonewall Park, an idea of a separated gay community during the 1980s. She talks about fundraising for Stonewall Park and the homophobia that the community of Silver Springs, Nevada had towards the construction of Stonewall Park.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with David Parks conducted by Dennis McBride on February 16 and 21, 2000 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In the interviews, Parks talks about his early life in Boston, Massachusetts, his education, and his service with the United States Air Force, where he was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967. Parks then recalls understanding his sexuality during his military service and policies regarding gay military personnel. He remembers coming out as gay in 1972, when he attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and worked for the City of Las Vegas as a computer operator. He then talks about getting involved with politics, his involvement with gay support organizations including Aid for AIDS of Nevada, and his experiences running as the first openly gay Nevada State Assemblyman in 1996. Lastly, Parks discusses same sex rights legislation that was brought forward during his time in office.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Hanford Searl conducted by Dennis McBride on November 02, 1996 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Searl discusses being gay and the struggles he faced in religion and university before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kirk Silvernail conducted by Claytee D. White and Stefani Evans on January 22, 2025 for the UNLV Remembers: an Oral History of the 6 December 2023 Shootings project. In this interview, Assistant Professor-in-Residence, Lee Business School Kirk Silvernail, recalls the events of the day and about other traumas he experienced leading up to December 6, including the unexpected death of his mother in May 2023 as she sought to complete the Camino de Santiago trail in Spain. He recalls December 6--his birthday--beginning with a student presentation, and hearing an odd sound when another student opened the door, alerting them to the shooter. He recalls his colleague and friend, Jerry Chang, and speaks of economics professor Daraboth “Bot” Rith, who was shot multiple times. He describes leading students out the back door of the building to the parking lot, seeing police enter Beam Hall, and hearing a volley of gunshots. After a few hours, his wife picked him up, he went home and played catch with his older son, a friend delivered cookies, and the family quietly celebrated his birthday. A few hours after he fell asleep, he awakened with the realization that he and his students were fellow survivors of a mass shooting. In the aftermath of the shooting, he changed some habits, like always carrying his car keys on his person and never teaching in a room that cannot lock and unlock from the inside. He also changed the day he celebrates his birthday. Digital audio available; no transcript available.
Archival Component
Oral history interview with Chris Phipps conducted by Dennis McBride on November 16, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Phipps talks about coming to terms being a gay man in California, being involved with the Apollo Spa and Health center, and becoming a lawyer.
Archival Collection
Archival Component
Oral history interview with Wes Davis conducted by Dennis McBride on July 13, 2008 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Davis discusses the AIDS epidemic in the United States in 1981 and the effect it had on the gay community. Davis then talks about Aid for AIDS of Nevada (AFAN) in 1984, Golden Rainbow in 1986, and the Nevada Aids Project in 1987, and describes their efforts to deal with the disease. Lastly, he describes the implementation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and explains why people were afraid to find out if they were positive for the disease.
Archival Collection