James A. Gay III was born March 6th, 1916 in Fordyce, Arkansas. Arriving in 1946, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.
Person
Kerin Rodgers owned a retail fashion store and modeling agency with a friend in Santa Monica, California. She came to Las Vegas in 1966 to work at The Broadway department store. She bought a home in the John S. Park Neighborhood in 1974. Popular radio personality; active in local and national politics.
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The Terry Wilsey Papers on the Las Vegas, Nevada LGBT Community (1979-2002) are comprised of records from the Las Vegas Gay Switchboard, the Nevadans for Human Rights, and other LGBT community groups based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection contains newsletters, agendas and meeting minutes, informational pamphlets, as well as photographs, programs, and a VHS recording of local theatre productions.
Archival Collection
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The Robert L. Forbuss papers (1945-2011) are comprised of the personal papers of Las Vegas, Nevada educator and businessman, Robert L. "Bob" Forbuss. The collection materials include photographs of Forbuss throughout his life, including his early childhood, as well as some photographs of his mother, Marjorie Forbuss, during the 1940s and 1950s. The collection documents Forbuss's early childhood through adulthood and includes materials such as personal correspondence and Forbuss's baby book. There are also papers documenting Forbuss's professional life including his involvement with local politics and businesses. The collection includes records for J&B Strategic Alliances, LLC., a consulting company that he co-founded with former Las Vegas mayor, Jan Jones.
Archival Collection
The Cave Nightclub Records (1992-1994) are comprised of materials generated during the planning and construction of the Cave Nightclub in Las Vegas, Nevada. It opened in 1992 as a straight nightclub. It changed ownership in 1993, and reopened on September 3, 1993 as a gay nightclub and closed early in 1995. The collection contains policy documents, building plans, and promotional and publicity materials, as well as artifacts, including waiter uniforms from the nightclub.
Archival Collection
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Michael Loewy was the founder of Desert Mountain States Lesbian and Gay Conference and the Lesbian and Gay Academic Union at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Loewy moved to California in 1987, but remained involved with the gay community in Las Vegas. In 2002 he graduated with a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2003 he won a Foundation Award, "Honoring the Pioneers of Gay Las Vegas."
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