Dr. Catherine Bellver is a woman with tenacity. How else could one describe her drive to create the Women's Studies Program spanning fifteen years? As a faculty member in the Department of Foreign Languages, Dr. Bellver first joined the Women's Studies steering committee in 1979. In the following decade, the committee oversaw the formation of the Women's Studies Program, including: procuring administrative and faculty support, creating bylaws and course criteria, critiquing proposed cross-listed courses, and selecting course offerings. During that period she also worked with a volunteer group to create and staff the first Women's Center on campus. In the early Nineties, she played an instrumental role in the presentation of four public colloquia that addressed key issues pertaining to women. Dr. Bellver acted as interim director of the Women's Studies Program while overseeing the search for a permanent director. She continued to remain involved with the Women's Studies program, serving as faculty member on several committees. She has also worked in the Women's Caucus on the regional and national levels of the Modem Languages Association Dr. Bellver is currently Distinguished Professor of Spanish in the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has appeared in journals such as Anales de la Literature Espanola Contemporanea, Hispanic Review, Hispanofila, Insula, Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, Monographic Review/Revista Monografica, Revista de Estudios Modernos, Revista Hispanica Moderna, Romance Notes and Romanic Review. Dr. Bellver's participation in the creation of the Women's Studies Program illustrates how critical institutional and social progress can result from the commitment of a determined group of individuals. Her decades of involvement in creating an academic arena for the study of women and gender issues underscores the significance of women's contributions to the history of Las Vegas. In addition to the history of the Women's Studies Program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas this interview contains information regarding the creation of the first Women's Center on campus.
Interview with Stanley Schwartz by Carol Schwartz on March 1, 1980. Stanley talks about coming to Las Vegas in 1951 to open a clothing business on Main Street, Schwartz Brothers Clothing. He compares the business district of the 1950s to the district in 1980, and advertising opportunities in the newspapers and on the radio. Schwartz talks about suit styles and changing preferences of buyers, and moving the store to Second Street, then Fremont Street, then to Maryland Square Shopping Center. In 1970, he changed the focus of the clothing store to "big and tall" and talks about the importance of customer service in retaining customers. He mentions Al Benedict and Herb Tobman as people he admired.
Oral history interview with Wayne Tanaka conducted by Ayrton Yamaguchi, Vanessa Concepcion, Kristel Peralta, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on March 12, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Wayne shares his family's heritage and history as Japanese Hawaiians and discusses his father's internment during World War II. He shares his background growing up in Lahaina, Maui, Hawai'i and how he came to live in Las Vegas. Wayne discusses his career as an educator for the Clark County School District and talks about his life in Las Vegas with his wife and daughters. Subjects discussed include: Las Vegas Buddhist Sangha; Executive Order 9066; Sunset High School; Boulder Dam Area Council.
Oral history interview with Diane Meireis conducted by Claytee D. White on November 06, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Meireis discusses her experience at the 1 October shooting. She remembers hearing gunfire, the confusion in the crowd, and finding a safe place to hide. Meireis describes the collaboration of strangers, and feeling guilt for not being able to help others as she escaped the venue. Lastly, Meireis discusses her opinions of firearms.
Oral history interview with Catherine Cortez Masto conducted by Claytee D. White on August 10, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Catherine Cortez Masto grew up in Las Vegas near where the town ended and the desert began, which at that time was near Decatur and Pennwood. She grew up playing in the streets and riding horses and motor bikes with girlfriends and cousins. Her father, Manny Cortez, began as a valet at the Dunes before entering politics. He served 16 years on the County Commission and then 13 years as the chief of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. As the head of the LVCVA, Manny oversaw campaigns to increase tourism, enlarge McCarran International Airport, improve taxicab service, and served as a visionary for the entire region. Catherine followed in her father's footsteps while being her own woman and making her own mark on the region. She attended college at UNR and law school at Gonzaga University School of Law. After a clerkship, she worked for a small local Las Vegas firm for 4 - 5 years, then moved to the governor's and then served two terms as Nevada's Attorney General. Currently she's in the US Senate with committee assignments that include Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Energy and Natural Resources; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Rules and Administration; Indian Affairs, and the Committee on Aging. Subjects discussed include: Dunes, Manny Cortez, County Commission, LVCVA, Judge Carl Christensen, Judge Mendoza, Taxi Authority, Tourism, and Mike O'Callaghan.