Oral history interview with Rose Miztri and Rachel Parker conducted by Claytee D. White on March 07, 2016 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Miztri discusses growing up in La Puente, California and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978. She describes her experiences in the United States Army and talks about being involved in a motorcycle accident. Parker talks about her upbringing and describes her experience being transgender while attending high school in Chicago, Illinois. Parker then recalls her first impressions of Las Vegas, Nevada in 1990 and why she was unable to get a job because of her sexuality. Later, Miztri and Parker discuss assisting transgender youth with housing, employment, and becoming comfortable in a society where tolerance and understanding of different sexual identities are constantly evolving. Lastly, both explain their involvement with Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), an international educational organization aimed to bring awareness on sexual identities.
Ralph Vandersnick was interviewed on October 18, 1997. Ralph owns Snick's Place, the longest-operating gay bar in Las Vegas and whether he'd agree or not, he's one of the most respected members of the Las Vegas gay community.
Established in 1982 in Las Vegas, the queer Satyricon Motorcycle Club hosted an annual run they called Hell on Heels, which was attended by queer motorcycle clubs from throughout the Western United States. Celebrated over two or three days, the run included a fundraising stage production featuring musical numbers and lip-synched drag performances by club members. This video records the 12th annual Hell on Heels stage production, titled, Comedy Tonight, which includes Las Vegas lesbian activist and Satyricons member Lisa Hernandez. This tape also records the Hell on Heels registration at the Buffalo bar on April 30, 1993, as well as footage filmed inside the Buffalo; a bus tour of the Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Garden on May 1, 1993; and club members in other, unidentified locations in Las Vegas and/or Henderson, Nevada. The Buffalo bar was the Satyricons' "home bar," owned by Howard Thompson, who also owned the Backstreet Bar and Grill. See "Satyricons Ready for Annual Show and Anniversary Party" [Las Vegas Bugle, April/May 1993, 4]. [00:00:00 - 02:53:39]
Archival Collection
Las Vegas, Nevada LGBTQ Collection
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Collection Number: MS-00251 Collection Name: Las Vegas, Nevada LGBTQ Collection Box/Folder: Box 19, Digital File 00
Memorial for Queer Rhyolite Papers (2019-2020) contains documentation about the temporary monument installed for the inaugural Bullfrog Biennial at the Goldwell Open Air Museum in Rhyolite, Nevada in 2019. Materials include an information pamphlet about the exhibit as well as a small aluminum-cast monument with an inscribed dedication. Digital files in this collection include photographs of the monument during and after installation, images of Budd's sketchbook, and documents about the monument including exhibit proposals and articles written by Budd. The collection also includes archived versions of Budd's personal website and two online articles written by Budd published on the Nevada Humanities website and Engaging Collections online art journal.
Jon Sparer is an architect in Las Vegas, Nevada who has worked on numerous hotels and casinos. He moved to Las Vegas in July 1981 and worked for the architecture firm Rissman and Rissman before joining Marnell Corrao. After briefly retiring in 1999, Sparer opened his own architecture firm and was contacted by Congregation Ner Tamid (of which he was a casual member) to design their new temple in Green Valley. He was also the architect for the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada (“The Center”) in Las Vegas.