Interviewed by Monserrath Hernández and Barbara Tabach. Jahaira Farias is a graduate of Western High School, a Marine Corps veteran, and a founder of a local chapter of the Women Marines Association. At the time of this oral history, Jahaira worked for US Congresswoman Susie Lee. Jahaira Farias was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, and grew up on the west side of town. She has summertime memories of her travels to Mexico, where she was able to connect with her family's heritage and language. During her years at Western High School, she participated in varsity sports and was the armed drill team commander. After graduation, Jahaira enlisted into the Marine Corps, where she specialized as a transport operator and hazardous material transporter and served two deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her transition to civilian life included work in security at Caesars Palace. When she took a position with as district representative for Congresswoman Susie Lee, her focus was to assist veterans and immigrants. She helped Rep. Lee develop community outreach towards the Latinx community and Veterans. Jahaira is the president of the Las Vegas NV-3 Sagebrush Marines chapter of the Women Marines Association, an organization she helped establish and rebuild. The WMA helps veterans find their footing again through mentoring and support, and conducts community engagement by fostering the same camaraderie found in the Corps. After surviving a motorcycle accident, Jahaira's recovery is nothing short of miraculous, going from being in a wheelchair to competing in Tough Mudder. Now extremely active, Jahaira is an avid hiker and certified yoga instructor, specializing in trauma recovery. A polyglot, Jahaira formally studied Arabic and Russian, and speaks English, Spanish, and Pashto, and received an associate degree in Russian from the College of Southern Nevada.
Dennis Ortwein arrived in Las Vegas in 1956. He shares many details about growing up in Montana, his parents and siblings, his education, and the moment in time when he was offered an opportunity to work in Las Vegas. He also lays out the path his singing career took, starting with school plays, duets with his sister, and high school quartets. Once in Las Vegas, Dennis taught for a while, served as principal, and was involved in creating programs that helped integrate schools. He also talks about his church choir work, entertainment in early Las Vegas, above-ground testing at the Nevada Test Site, and anti-nuclear protests. Dennis served as lab school and student teaching coordinator in Nigeria. He offers several anecdotes and stories about the time he and his family spent there. After retiring early (age 53), Dennis acted as consultant to the Esmeralda County school board, executive director for the National Conference of Christians and Jews, and wrote a book. He is currently enjoying his singing career by appearing at conventions, in musicals, and at weddings and memorials.
LVL&WC executives had been called to a meeting with the Utilities Commission about water shortages, and W. H. Comstock was seeing if they could quickly increase capacity before the meeting.
Information about the Capri Motel sign that sits at 325 Fremont St. Site address: 325 Fremont St Sign owner: Nemo Motel LLC Sign details: This motel was originally constructed in 1958. Their sign states "New Rooms, Daily and Weekly", so it is unclear if they renovated or if they have new rooms daily since this has been on their sign since 2007. Sign condition: 2- Has a lot of weathering and the paint is very faded and some neon tubing is broken Sign form: Pylon Sign-specific description: This pylon has a red steel base. On the top there is a rusty-red rectangle with "MOTEL" spelt out horizontally in a painted white block letter font (looks as though it had skeletal neon with most of it broken on each side). Below this is a rusty-red rectangular blade sign box that has a white plastic sign in it that states "CAPRI" vertically in Red block font letters. The base behind this sign box does look like it has holes in it every few inches as a part of its design. Below this is another rusty-red sign box that has a white plastic sign that says, "New Rooms, Daily and Weekly, Free Phone- Wifi Internet-Cable T.V.- Movies" In a mid-century modern paint effect font. This sign box looks as though there once was incandescents surrounding it but are now mostly missing. Sign - type of display: Neon and incandescent remains Sign - media: Steel and plastic Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic backlit portion of sign Sign environment: Down on the East side of Fremont, this location has two car sales lots on either side of it and has other Motels nearby. Sign - date of installation: Has been up since at least 2007 Sign - thematic influences: The font they use on the bottom portion listing what this location offers has that thick paintbrush effect that you would see on older signs. With this it shows that many signs were hand painted (though we do not know if this one was or not). Survey - research locations: Asessor's Page and Google map roadside view Survey - other remarks: Next to the Flamingo there was a motel called the Flamingo Capri Motel which is a very similar name http://vintagelasvegas.com/post/116515472029/flamingo-capri- motel-las- vegas-c1960- this. Surveyor: Emily Fellmer Survey - date completed: 2017-09-14 Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Plastic; Backlit; Pole sign