In the 1950s and 1960s, the Copa Room at the Sands Hotel and Casino featured glamorous showgirls. For a few years, the Houston Chronicle sponsored a contest that added the Texas Copa Girls to the line. In 1958, one of the winners was 17-year-old Judith Lee Johnson. For the "wild" but "naive" Judy, the experience was a period of funfilled freedom, followed by relentless encouragement of others to attend college, which she reluctantly did. To her surprise, she embraced the college life, took her studies seriously, and received an education degree. She also became Miss Houston. Four years later she returned to Las Vegas and the Sands. As she stepped into her role as a showgirl this second time, she was no longer the newbie. She experiences the lifestyle with more maturity. She talks about the celebrities she met, the lasting friendships she formed, performing in the Elvis movie Viva Las Vegas, and her trip around the world, a trip that included her personal dream of going to Paris. Judy shares details of her family heritage and she wonders to what extent she might have been living her mother's dream. Though her love of performance and theatre is keen, Judy channeled her passions into a 29-year career as an educator. She married a Marine in 1965, raised their children, moved with his career. She and her husband, Walter F. Jones, live in Virginia.
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The Alan Copeland Music Scores are original handwritten music scores arranged by American composer Alan Copeland from approximately 1936 to 2004. Copeland worked with various musicians and groups, such as Les Brown, the Modernaires, and Sarah Vaughn.
Archival Collection
The UNLV Libraries Collection of Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel and Casino Promotional and Press Materials includes clippings, press kits, press releases, and promotional materials dating from 1963 to 2004 for Binion’s Horseshoe Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
UNLV Libraries Collection of Peppermill Casinos Incorporated Promotional and Press Materials includes clippings and promotional materials for Peppermill Casinos Incorporated properties in Reno, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, and Mesquite, Nevada, dating from 1984 to 2007.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Phillip L. Cook conducted by Richard Strahan on March 3, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Cook first talks about his parents' move to Nevada and discusses how the school system has changed over time. He then describes the first businesses that opened up in the Downtown and Strip areas of Las Vegas, Nevada before discussing prostitution, Block 16, and recreational activities available to youth. Cook also talks about the first television sets and telephone systems made available, and he moves on to talk about the prices of things such as movies and haircuts when he was younger. The interview then moves to discussions on the Old Ranch, racial discrimination, school integration, the crime rate, and the school system in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas Arboretum Project Records are comprised of documents, brochures, and photographs dating from 1976 to 2012 documenting both the creation and operations of the Arboretum at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). The collection includes photographs of planning the Arboretum, the opening ceremony, and aerial photos of the UNLV campus. The brochures include guides to the Arboretum, lists of types of plants grown, and information on the Xeric Garden.
Archival Collection
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