Oral history interview with Allycia B. Murphy conducted by Stefani Evans on June 30, 2023 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, attorney Allycia B. Murphy shares how she learned recently who her biological father was and how it has changed her life. She talks about connecting with half-siblings, her biological father, and learning about her father's Samoan, Japanese, and German family history. Murphy discusses growing up in southeast North Carolina, being enrolled with her mother's family as Lumbee Tribal Citizens, and learning to code switch. She talks about playing sports in middle and high school, majoring in African American studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and attending law school at North Carolina Central University. She recalls becoming a prosecutor with the North Carolina First Prosecutorial District, and meeting her husband. Murphy discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2017, getting married, and the loss of her first child, and subsequent children since her first pregnancy. She closes her interview discussing being hired by the City of Las Vegas as a Deputy City Attorney, Office of the City Attorney, Criminal Division, a position she continues to hold at the time of the interview.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Marie McMillan conducted by Kelli Luchs on September 15, 2009, September 23, 2009 October 01, 2009, and November 24, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Marie McMillan discusses life during the Great Depression and World War II. She then talks about marrying Duke Daly, raising a family with him, Daly passing away, moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1961, and working at the Nevada Test Site. She then discusses being a single mother, marrying James McMillan, and her great passion for aviation. She also talks about her role as a leader in the African American community and her flying records.
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Oral history interview with Christy McGirl conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 21, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Christy McGirl discusses attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival on October 1, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada with a few friends and leaving shortly before the mass shooting had occurred. She talks about how she found out about the tragedy and how her friends who were there during the shooting have been affected. McGirl also discusses the reaction of people to the traumatic event on social media and how it was used to offer support.
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Oral history interview with Helen Yu conducted by Andrew Yu on December 1, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Helen Yu discusses her upbringing in Seoul, South Korea, her grandfather's immigration to the United States in the late 1970s, and her family's decision to follow him to Portland, Oregon in 1984. She shares her family's history and their experiences during the Korean War, including what life was like both in North and South Korea at that time. Helen Yu discusses her undergraduate education at the University of Oregon studying graphic design and her graduate education at Ewha Womans University College of Art and Design in South Korea. She shares her thoughts having both a Korean American and Asian American identity, her marriage and two wedding ceremonies to her Korean husband, and her family's move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001. Helen Yu concludes with a discussion of her event planning work which led to her current role as the Operations Manager at the Emerald at Queensridge in Las Vegas.
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Oral history interview with Jaime Cruz conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez on July 03, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Cruz discusses growing up in Lima, Peru and immigrating to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1987. Cruz describes his first impressions of the city, attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and explains the importance of education for his children. He talks about his employment as a dishwasher at Vineyard Restaurant, food server at The Mirage, and being recruited by Treasure Island as a banquet waiter. Lastly, Cruz describes the Peruvian community in Las Vegas, instilling Peruvian culture in his children, and how he became the Executive Director of Workforce Connections.
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Oral history interview with Marlena Shaw conducted by Claytee D. White on December 12, 2017 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Shaw discusses her early life in New Rochelle, New York and growing up in a musical family. She talks about her initial interest in singing, her career as a jazz singer, and performing with Count Basie in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shaw recalls recording her first studio album, and the discrimination she faced as an African American musician. Shaw describes performing at the Sands Hotel and Casino, touring around the world, and working with multiple recording labels. Later, Shaw remembers performing with Sammy Davis Jr. Lastly, Shaw discusses the significance of spirituality in her life, and her first time performing with a symphony orchestra.
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Oral history interviews with Bernice Jaeger conducted by Joanne L. Goodwin on July 25, 1997, July 30, 1997 and February 03, 1998 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Jaeger begins the interviews by discussing her introduction to the hotel industry while attending Clark County Community College in the 1970s. Jaeger discusses working at the Rivera Hotel and Casino, Aladdin Hotel and Casino, and Continental Hotel and Casino, her experiences at these properties, and the important people associated with them. Jaeger describes how the increase in availability of hotel management programs at universities in the 1980s opened up the industry to women. Jaeger also talks about how many people in the Las Vegas, Nevada hotel and gaming industry came from Kentucky, where the gaming industry was only partially legal. Finally, Jaeger discusses her family life and raising her children.
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Oral history interview with John Entsminger conducted by Stefani Evans on May 31, 2017 for the Building Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Entsminger discusses his early life in Colorado. He talks about going to law school at the University of Colorado, arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1999, and his employment for the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s (SNWA) legal team. Entsminger describes the infrastructure projects that the SNWA has been involved in, negotiating multi-jurisdictional regional and international contract agreements, and protecting the future water supply. Entsminger explains water banking, water rights, and aquifers in Lake Mead. Lastly, Entsminger talks about water conservation, the SNWA’s water conservation plan, and drought that Nevada is experiencing.
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Oral history interview with Bob Colucci conducted by David Schwartz on April 29, 2005 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Colucci discusses his early life in Brooklyn, New York and first job in the newspaper delivery business, his military career, and his return to work for the New York Herald Tribune newspaper. He continues talking about the newspaper business, his advancement, and his work with the union. He then begins talking about his interest in boxing and how this interest led to his involvement in the sport as a trainer and manager.
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Oral history interview with Marlin Robison conducted by Claytee D. White on July 02, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Robison discusses his upbringing in Cedar City, Utah and in Overton, Nevada. He remembers growing up in poverty, the abusive relationship with his stepfather, and the various jobs he held throughout his youth. Robison talks about moving to Henderson, Nevada in 1950 and working as a counselor with the Juvenile Justice System. Lastly, Marlin discusses the growth of Henderson and the redevelopment of the Water Street District.
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