Interviewed by Joanne L. Goodwin. Gail Spaulding (Jaros) was born on October 16, 1937, in Cicero, Illinois. a suburb of Chicago. Both of her parents were in show business. Gail began tap and ballet lessons when she was five years old. She signed as a dancer with Moro-Landis Productions in 1956, and she worked for that company at the Sahara Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, the Riverside Hotel and Casino in Reno, and the Beverly Hills Country Club in Covington, Kentucky. Gail was promoted to line captain and did choreography at the Beverly Hills Country Club. She stopped dancing shortly before her daughter was born and worked as a cocktail waitress at the Riverside Hotel and Casino and at the Mapes Hotel in Reno. In 1964 she moved back to Las Vegas, trained in real estate, became general sales manager and corporate broker for Realty Executives in Las Vegas and later worked as an associate with Dyson and Dyson Real Estate in Indian Wells, California.
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Interviewed by Joanne L. Goodwin. Stella Butterfield's family, the Goldbergs, was Jewish, and she was born in the Bronx. During World War II she worked for the Coast Guard in the steno pool in Washington, D.C. Stella moved to Santa Monica a few years later while the war was still going on and worked briefly as a riveter for Douglas Aircraft and then as a teletype operator for the Air Force but at Douglas Aircraft. Because she had a hard time getting a job because of antisemitism, she changed her name to Gilbert. In December of 1948 she went to the Canal Zone in Panama to be the secretary of the commanding officer of the Panama Supply Depot. Stella was also a law reporter for court martials. She met Frank Butterfield, who was stationed there, and married him in 1952. He was transferred back to the United States, and they lived in Massachusetts. Then they moved to Los Angeles, and in 1953 they moved to Las Vegas, where she was a court reporter at Nellis Air Force Base. Then they moved to Mexico City, then back to California where she worked as a legal secretary. In early 1955 they moved back to Las Vegas, and Stella worked as a federal court reporter for Judge Roger T. Foley.
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Interviewed by Catherine Bellver. Velma Haselton was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1914. She worked as an assistant bookkeeper for Hart, Schaffner and Marx and rose to Assistant Credit Manager. Velma worked at various jobs after she married for the second time and her son was born. She also represented the San Francisco CPA firm Lybrand, Ross Brothers and Montgomery (now Coopers Lybrand) in various capacities, both in California and St. Louis, eventually attaining the position of controller. Velma moved to Las Vegas for the first time in the 1950s, where she and her husband Don ran a coffee shop at the Park Lane Motel on South Fifth Street. Family requirements necessitated a move back to California. In 1971, Velma and her third husband, Charles Haselton, "retired" to Las Vegas. Velma immediately went to work as a cost accountant for United Pipeline, and later as an accountant for Kafoury Armstrong, a CPA firm. She eventually ran her own accounting business. Velma also held memberships and offices in various women's service groups.
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Hughie and Greta Mills spent their childhoods in Charlestown, West Virginia. Fate would bring them together years later in New York City. They married in 1954. Both Hughie and Greta talk about achieving a better life through education and perseverance. He became an educator and she a librarian. In 1989, the couple relocated to Las Vegas, seeing the weather and retirement lifestyle here to their liking. During this interview they describe their lives, individually and as a couple, and how they embraced life and living in Las Vegas as a retired, African- American couple.
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On March 19, 1978, collector Bill Young interviewed Rena Lees (born October 15th, 1934 in Las Vegas, Nevada) at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Rena Lees talks about growing up in Las Vegas and the activities she was involved in as a teenager. She also discusses her family and her career working at Sunrise Hospital.
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On March 5, 1981, collector Kathy Ricks interviewed Mary Carol Melton (b. April 4th, 1900 in Rockville, Missouri) about her life in Nevada and the development of the United Methodist Church in Las Vegas. Melton speaks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada because of her husband’s health, her time working with attorney offices and in the Las Vegas Courthouse, and the different homes in which her family lived. Moreover, Melton talks extensively about starting the first Sunday school in North Las Vegas in a garage as well as the church she and her husband built. Melton discusses the programs and minstrels performed in the church, the crafts sold to make money for the church and the organ they purchased. Lastly, Melton talks about going to the Hoover Dam nearly every week to see new developments, her participation in the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), and watching the above ground atomic tests.
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On March 7, 1980, John Everett interviewed his father, cab driver Dale Everett (born January 29, 1924 in Danville, Illinois) at their family home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers past local historical data. During the interview, Mr. Everett discusses the weather, wildlife, and hunting. He also shares his views on prostitution and gambling in Las Vegas.
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On March 1, 1987, Hank Baran interviewed John Graves (born February 21st, 1938 in San Diego, California). This interview covers the gaming industry overall, and also highlights, women in gaming, more specifically. Mr. Graves also discusses the hotels on the Las Vegas Strip, McCarran Airfield, and golfing in Southern Nevada.
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On March 31, 1977, Patricia Holland interviewed Celia Rivero Grenfell (born 1926 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about her life in Southern Nevada. Grenfell first talks about her family background in Mexico and later describes her family’s restaurant business. She also describes her education, recreational activities, Downtown Las Vegas, and Helldorado. The two also discuss racial segregation and prejudice, the El Rancho Vegas, Lorenzi Park, early churches, environmental changes, early air conditioning, and Grenfell’s early work in a laundry business.
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On November 24, 1975, collector P. Kohlman interviewed housewife, Ethel S. Hatch (born April 11th, 1914 in Valentine, Texas) in her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers the history of Las Vegas from 1939 to 1975. Mrs. Hatch also talks about ranching in Nevada, Rex Bell, development on the Strip, the first hotels, and early local shopping culture. She refers to Block Sixteen as Block Thirteen when discussing the Red Light District. The interview concludes with discussion surrounding tree-lined streets, the Helldorado Club, and Fremont Street.
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