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Spurr, Josiah Edward, 1870-1950
Josiah Edward Spurr (1870-1950) was born into a family of fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He received his Master's degree in geology from Harvard University in 1894 and was appointed to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) the same year. In 1896, Spurr was sent, with two other USGS geologists, to survey the Alaskan interior. This historically important expedition was followed in 1898 by an equally important journey down the 702 mile-long Kuskokwim River, surveying previously uncharted mountains, lakes, volcanoes and glaciers.
Person
Amie-Pilot, Ruby, 1932-
Ruby Amie-Pilot was born April 03, 1932 and raised in Karnack, Texas. In 1952, Amie-Pilot boarded a train with her two young sons, Curtis Rufus Jr. and Herbert, to join her high school sweetheart and husband, Curtis Amie, in Las Vegas, Nevada. His family had moved to Las Vegas in the 1940s, seeking better job opportunities. Upon arriving, however, Amie-Pilot found the living conditions quite appalling.
Person
Weiss, Walter
Walter Weiss (1935- ) is a former boxer and casino professional in Las Vegas, Nevada. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Weiss started his boxing career at 16 years old and moved to New York City in 1953 to train professionally. His aptitude for boxing led him to be a sparring partner in New York City’s famous Stillman’s Gym, where he worked with some of the greatest fighters of the era including Rocky Marciano and Jack Dempsey. In 1958, Weiss moved to Las Vegas to find work with a local bookmaker, Elliott Price.
Person
Rivera, Erma Linda, 1952-
Erma Linda Rivera was born in Morenci, Arizona, in 1952. In the Las Vegas Valley, where Linda has lived for over twenty years, she has promoted educational opportunities for youth, particularly in the Hispanic community. Both she and her husband moved from Montana, where her husband worked as a power plant operator on Yellowtail Dam, to southern Nevada to work on Hoover Dam in 1986. Linda was put in charge of the affirmative employment plan for her branch of the Bureau of Reclamation.
Person
Leung, Cynthia, 1967-
Born and raised in Palm Desert, California, Cynthia Leung is the first Chinese-American woman elected as Las Vegas Municipal Court Judge; she was the only Asian child in her elementary school, and she grew up surrounded by the arts. She was the younger daughter of a Chinese brush artist mother and an architect father, and her older sister went to The Julliard School to study piano.
Person
DiTondo, Michelle, 1967-
Michelle DiTondo talks about her parent's experiences living in Osaka, Japan during the war. Father died after the war from tuberculosis. Her mother worked as a seamstress/tailor on the Air force base at the NCO club where she met Michelle's father. Michelle had moved from Tucson to Okinawa and then to Nellis in 1972. She would spend most of her childhood in North Las Vegas for more than 30 years. She speaks on her experience being in an air force family and moving from base to base as well as her fond memories of Las Vegas before casinos were built.
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