Robert “Bob” Agonia (1938- ) was born in Garden Grove, California on a migrant camp made up of Filipino and Mexican-American workers. Agonia’s father was a farmer on a 70 acre farm owned by the Beggs family. Agonia did not spend much time living on the migrant camp, as his father moved the family to a private residence when Agonia was four. Agonia attended school, during an era of school desegregation in Garden Grove. He recalls that his mother dealt with segregation during her schooling, being forced to attend a school miles down the road from her home despite living across the street from another school. Agonia recalls his community being very diverse with families sharing Filipino and Mexican-American heritage and his neighbors being Japanese Americans. Agonia participated in a multicultural Boy Scout troop. After high school, Agonia joined the Peace Corps and served in El Salvador. While there, Agonia worked in an agricultural research center in Santa Tecla where he helped local farmers select the proper insecticide for their crops. After the Peace Corps, Agonia had his choice of government jobs, ultimately selecting to work for the Internal Revenue Service. Agonia’s work with the IRS is what eventually brought him from California to Las Vegas. He quickly realized that the type of IRS cases he would be handling in Las Vegas were completely different from the work he was accustomed to in California. One of those unique cases required him to close the doors of a downtown casino. Since moving to Las Vegas, Agonia was critical in establishing a Las Vegas LULAC chapter, an American GI Forum, an EEO council, and the UNLV Engineering school.
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On February 24, 1975, Kathleen Kasmir interviewed Marion Brooks (born 1913 in Santa Ana, California) about his life in Southern Nevada and his work as a mining engineer. Brooks first talks about his background before talking extensively about his early work in mining. Brooks also mentions some of the professional mining societies of which he was a part, and the two then move on to discuss gambling, recreational activities, and the atomic testing. Other topics covered during the interview include the price of groceries and food, the El Rancho Vegas, social changes, population growth, and environmental changes. The end of the interview then shifts back to Brooks’ work in mining at Blue Diamond and then a discussion on the possible locations of three lost mines.
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Oral history interview with Amy Bush Herzer conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 14, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Herzer begins the interview discussing her early life, education, and her current job as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) women's golf coach. She speaks about her family's history with golf, her personal history, and life with her husband, Kendall Herzer. After, she recalls where she was on the day of the October 1 shooting, and how she found out about the event, and recalls her husband reported to the main fire station as an Emergency Manager for the State of Nevada. She recalls keeping track of her athletes' whereabouts and letting their families know. Herzer describes how people reacted when she had brought a therapy dog, Apollo, in for the people donating blood and how the community came together to support each other and share resources as a community.
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The Fayle Family Papers (1895-1998) document the family's personal and business interests in Goodsprings, Nevada and Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection contains mining documents, business records, and photographs from Leonard Fayle’s work with the Las Vegas Valley Water District, where he documented reservoirs, dams, and both abandoned and functioning mines. The photographs also include family members, vacations, and Southern Nevada fraternal organization pictures.
Archival Collection
When Mr. Elmer Hilsinger arrived from the Los Angeles area in 1942, to work as a Refractory Inspector in the Engineering Department at Basic Magnesium Incorporated (BMI), little did he know the town site would grow to be known as Henderson, Nevadain a few short decades. Mr. Hilsinger’s oral history provides a glimpse of the work being done by women at BMI, including women working as chemists, truck drivers, and secretaries. His words attest to the strong work ethic demonstrated by women at the plant during the “war work” period. Through Mr. Hilsinger’s story, we are also provided with an account of what daily life was like for a married couple, including Mr. Hilsinger’s life with his wife who worked as a waitress at Anderson Camp. In addition, Mr. Hilsinger’s oral history touches on the evolution of safety rules within the plant, the transition from the American Federation of Labor Union to the Congress of Industrial Organizations Union, and the role prostitution played during the tim
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On February 26, 1980, collector Ward Murashige interviewed Nancy Horden (born February 7th, 1921 in Las Vegas, Nevada) in James Dickenson Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The interview covers Nancy’s family background, and life in Nevada, including home life, recreation, and hobbies. During this interview, Nancy also discusses local development, and the social and environmental changes that have occurred over the span of her lifetime in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Brief history of water in Las Vegas and overview of the water situation
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