Oral history interview with Betsy Rhodes conducted by Melinda McGeorge Thompson on February 24, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
Betsy Rhodes shares a brief personal history before discussing her move to Las Vegas with her husband Leonard in 1958. She talks about her husband's dental profession, her children, and life in the early 1960s in Las Vegas. Rhodes shares details of her volunteering work with the Junior League and Assistance League of Las Vegas, detailing the groups' evolving missions, member counts, and trials faced to raise funds.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Joy Snyder conducted by Lisa Gioia-Acres on December 17, 2008 for the Heart to Heart Oral History Project. Snyder comments on many aspects of her career, including the informal approach to health care, the effects of desert climate on mothers and newborns, and the changes she has seen at Sunrise Hospital. She also comments on adoption practices in Las Vegas, Nevada; drug-addicted babies, and cultural attitudes that appear during the birthing process.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sally Halko conducted by Roberta Farmer on March 11, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Halko first talks about her family background, education, traveling, and church membership. She later talks about the development of Las Vegas, Nevada casinos, racial minorities, housing growth, Lake Mead, and the first theaters.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Neil H. Holmes conducted by James Greene on January 14, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Holmes discusses the Boulder City, Nevada education system, family life, employment opportunities, housing, and the building of Boulder (Hoover) Dam.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Harold C. Flint conducted by Patricia McFadden on February 15, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Flint discusses unions in the casinos, prostitution, minority groups’ populations, the Nevada Atomic Test Site, education, and entertainers’ residencies.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Luther Pennington conducted by Greg Decker on February 27, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Pennington discusses working on the trains for the Union Pacific Railroad Company starting in 1927 and explains the various jobs he held on the train. Pennington then describes his position as locomotive engineer and recalls his experiences. Later, he discusses train routes, stations, and the dangers of working aboard a train.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Arte Nathan conducted by Claytee D. White on December 11, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Nathan discusses working in human relations for Wynn Resorts and opening all of Steve Wynn's properties around the world starting with the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. He also discusses how the casino industry evolved to allow management and labor to work for the interests of both.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Bill Sheehan conducted by Claytee D. White on July 01, 2009 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Sheehan discusses growing up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, serving in the United States Marine Corps in the 1940s, becoming a certified public accountant, and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1962. He then talks about starting his own accounting firm in 1971 and retiring in 1997.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Don Payne conducted by Mara E. Vernon on March 19, 1997 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this interview, Payne discusses his career with the Las Vegas News Bureau. He talks about his role as Head of the Bureau and his work in promoting Las Vegas through media outlets. Payne remembers the Bureau’s partnership with the Union Pacific Railroad and the beginning of corporate ownership in Las Vegas hotels and casinos.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Richard L. Starr conducted by Barrie S. Eddy on March 19, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Starr begins by discussing his career as an optical technician in Las Vegas, Nevada before transitioning into the service and repair industry for laundromats, and air conditioning. Starr describes how Las Vegas has changed, its population boom, and his hobby of prospecting. He also talks about flooding in Southern Nevada and housing development in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection