Oral history interview with Joe Friedman conducted by David Schwartz on May 26, 2015 for the Table Games Management Oral History Project. In this interview, Friedman discusses his career working in Nevada casinos including Sahara Tahoe, Hard Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Wynn, Palms, and MGM Grand.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Orville Farmer conducted by Louis (unknown last name) on September 24, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Farmer discusses the ruins in Overton, Nevada and working at the Nevada Test Site as a welder.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Frank Watts conducted by Franklin Conn on April 01, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Watts discusses his personal history and Las Vegas, Nevada history. Watts describes working at the El Rancho Hotel and Casino as a comptroller and the development of other casinos in Las Vegas. Watts goes on to describe the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he was a professor during the 1960s and 1970s. He also talks about working at the Riviera, organized crime in Las Vegas, and the growth of the city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kenny Bayless conducted by Eric Billington on November 20, 2014 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Bayless begins the interview by talking about his childhood in California and his religious upbringing. He then discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1972 in order to pursue a career in teaching and coaching track. Bayless discusses his views of Las Vegas upon his arrival, namely the perceptions towards black people in the area. He then details his life as a teacher for the Clark County School District (CCSD), and teaching at the juvenile detention center after his retirement from CCSD. Bayless also discusses the night life in Las Vegas from the 1970s to the present, he talks about the exclusion of black people from certain establishments and the Moulin Rouge Hotel as a respite for black night life in West Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jim Henderson conducted by Joyce Moore on July 16, 2006 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Henderson discusses his employment at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and remembers the fire in 1980. He talks about the reconstruction of the hotel, becoming a cocktail server, and the community of casino and hotel workers in Las Vegas during the 1980s and 1990s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Peter Michel conducted by Claytee D. White on March 10, 2021 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
Peter Michel is Acting Director of University of Nevada, Las Vegas Lied Library's Special Collections and Archives. This interview was conducted in part for the 20th year celebration of Lied Library. He discusses the construction of Lied Library and his time working in Special Collections and Archives. Peter also talks of his early life, university studies, and professional career that led him to Las Vegas, along with his thoughts on what the future holds for UNLV's Special Collections and Archives.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lisa Hank conducted by Barbara Tabach on May 31, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project.
Lisa discusses her move to Las Vegas in the early 1990s from California for a job with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, and her current position as head of the Police Employee Assistance Program (PEAP). Lisa talks about the night of October 1 and the aftermath of the shooting, both in her work and personal life. She is the wife of Charles Hank III, police officer and another interviewee for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project.
Subjects discussed include: well-being in aftermath of 1 October; PEAP preparation; healing.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Diane Guinn conducted by Claytee D. White on February 12, 2016 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In the interview, Guinn explains growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s, and describes her education, friends, and local neighborhood near the intersection of Fremont Street and Stewart Avenue. Guinn describes working in the State of Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, and recalls events and campaigns for welfare rights that took place during the 1970s and 1980s. She also recalls working with Ruby Duncan in the development of Operation Life, a nonprofit organization that promoted welfare reform in West Las Vegas. Lastly, Guinn talks about urban development, residential living conditions, and politicians in Las Vegas during the 1970s and 1980s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Iona Thompson conducted by Lisa C. Krueger on March 08, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Thompson discusses different aspects of life in Las Vegas, Nevada during World War II. Thompson describes the rationing of food and fuel, as well as the increased military presence in Las Vegas and how that affected the city. Thompson also describes how Las Vegas has changed since the 1940s, prominent locations in the city such as Lorenzi Park and McCarran Field, and pollution caused by the chemical and metal plants in Henderson, Nevada. Lastly, she talks about flight and bombing trainings in Las Vegas and working at the Las Vegas Army Gunnery School.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Gabriel Garcia conducted by Monserrath Hernandez and Barbara Tabach on November 13, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Garcia discusses his early life in Arizona and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1984. He remembers attending a sixth grade center, the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) explosion, and attending Las Vegas High School. Garcia talks about Mexican culture in Las Vegas, car clubs, and becoming a graphic designer. Lastly, Garcia discusses his involvement with the Association of Latino Professionals for America, and the idea of diversifying the professional workplace.
Archival Collection