I've known Christie Young for many years and was grateful she agreed to be interviewed for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. Not only is she frank in what she says, but her background as a researcher in sexual issues and as a straight woman involved in the gay community give her a unique perspective. Ancillary to her donation of this interview transcript to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Christie has generously donated her personal journals which detail more than a decade of her life including the years she worked with Las Vegas's gay community . Christie shares the project's concern that documentation of the gay community is ephemeral and vanishes rapidly; her determination that her contribution to that community be preserved greatly enriches our knowledge and will benefit future scholars.
Gordon Smith was born in Utah, but moved with his family to Babbitt, Nevada in 1947. His father, a barber, moved the family to Las Vegas in 1955. In this interview, Gordon recalls school and after-school pursuits; changes in the town; summer jobs; and college. He also talks about his military service and returning to Las Vegas to take up the razor himself - starting a successful barbering business of over 30 years.
Hailing from Indiana and California, Donna Guiffre Martin and Tom Martin came to Las Vegas in the early 1950s as their parents sought new opportunities. Donna's father, Gus Guiffre, quickly established himself as a local television personality, while Tom's father took on a variety of entrepreneurial opportunities. Like many of the young people in Las Vegas, Donna and Tom enjoyed riding around town; horse-back riding; football games; Helldorado - and, of course, Rancho High School. This interview covers both Donna and Tom's early years before their moves to Las Vegas, as well as their memories of first homes, childhood experiences, early adulthood and their current lives.
Oral history interview with Kathleen Kinley conducted by Jamie Quashnock on December 13, 2007 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Kinley reflects upon her 34-year career in education, with 14 years as a teacher and 20 years as an administrator in the Clark County School District. She discusses her job duties as teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent, and how the positions compare with each other. She also discusses the importance of self-care and leisure time as a balance to the demanding workload.
On August 9, 1984, collector Elizabeth N. Patrick recorded an address by local long time educator, Harvey N. Dondero (born November 12, 1909 in Hawthorne, Nevada) before the Kiwanis Club at the Fremont Hotel in Las Vegas. This address includes Dondero’s observations on the growth of the school system in Las Vegas, Nevada. After the address, Dondero receives a Distinguished Service Award, from the Kiwanis Club of Uptown Las Vegas, as a token of appreciation for his fifty-three years of dedication to children and youth education in Nevada. Dondero also answers questions posed by audience members, regarding the future of Nevada’s education system.