Dr. Robert Bruce Smith was born July 08, 1937 in Philadelphia, but considers California as home. His father’s career as a minister had taken them back to the east coast, and after his seminary training they returned to Los Angeles, California, followed by a five year stint in Oregon before returning to Vista, California. After graduating high school, Smith left home to attend Wheaton College in Illinois, a small Protestant school.
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Willard H. George (1889-1956) was a Los Angeles, California based furrier who designed, created, and supplied furs to movie studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood (1920s-1960s). George was the son of Sadie Kiel George, and great-grandson of early Las Vegas, Nevada settler Conrad Kiel, owner of the Kiel Ranch in North Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Carrie Townley Porter was born July 07, 1935 in Central Texas near present-day Fort Hood. Townley finished high school in Austin, Texas and attended the University of Texas in Austin for two years. She left college to get married, and she and her geologist husband lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. They had three children with no reliable child care so Townley became a housewife for a period. The Townleys lived a full and active life in Las Vegas, Nevada and Carrie Townley eventually got hired as a substitute teacher.
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Virginia Joyce Mooney was a dancer who performed in the Sands Hotel and Casino and the Tropicana Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. She changed her name to Virginia James when she began performing at the Sands.
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James Mitchell Fallman (1923-2002) was born in Lexington, Missouri to Mildred and Mitchell Fallman.
He graduated from Lexington High School and then attended Wentworth Military Academy, both located
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The mission of the Urban Chamber of Commerce is to create and foster an environment that promotes development of members and black owned businesses. The Nevada Black Chamber of Commerce was founded July 7, 1980, after the idea was planted by Katherine Joseph. Ms. Joseph met with members of the Oakland, California Chamber of Commerce during a visit there and was very impressed with their efforts. When Katherine returned home she shared the idea with members of the NAACP. She solicited the help of Sarann Knight-Preddy who formed a board consisting of Dr.
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Commencement program from University of Nevada, Las Vegas Commencement Programs and Graduation Lists (UA-00115).
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