A traditionally dressed Mexican girl tries to break a swinging pinata filled with candy and other goodies at a fiesta in Las Vegas. She is being cheered on by her friends.
Image
Oral history interview with Jerry Lockhart conducted by O’Sheyon Rollins on April 17, 2015 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Lockhart discusses his personal history and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1965 after transferring to Nevada Southern University (now University of Nevada, Las Vegas). He talks of his impressions of the city at the time, his first accounting job at Southwest Gas Corporation, and his employment with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) in the 1970s. Lockhart then recalls being the first African American Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in Nevada in 1977 and being appointed to the Nevada Gaming Commission in 1983. Later, Lockhart discusses the process to qualify for employment as a CPA and owning a CPA firm in the 1980s. Lastly, he describes West Las Vegas businesses and shares his thoughts on the growth of the Westside.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with F. Lorin Ronnow conducted by Mindy Braver on March 11, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Ronnow discusses his personal history in Las Vegas, Nevada after being hired by the Union Pacific Railroad to play for their baseball team in 1928. Ronnow discusses being a hoisting engineer during the construction of the Hoover Dam, the economic benefit of the dam during the Great Depression, and his own business ventures in Las Vegas. Ronnow describes his career in banking, how Las Vegas has changed, and prominent celebrities coming to Nevada to divorce. Ronnow also discusses occupational discrimination against African Americans and women.
Archival Collection