The Nevada Desert Experience Records (1951-2009) are comprised of files from the anti-nuclear organization, the Nevada Desert Experience (NDE), as well as its predecessor, the Sagebrush Alliance, and those of earlier unincorporated protests at the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Materials include board of directors meeting minutes, financial records, scrapbooks, personnel records, event speeches, correspondence, newspaper clippings, cartoons and other artwork, newsletters, brochures, fliers, research files on nuclear issues and other anti-nuclear organizations, and congressional testimony. The records also contain audiovisual materials, photographic prints and slides, screenplays, manuscripts, and newspapers related to the NDE's media efforts.
Archival Collection
In 1948 in Las Vegas, Nevada, a camera-girl-turned-cocktail-waitress and a casino credit manager welcomed the birth of their son, Darrin Bush. After attaining his education at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Bishop Gorman High School, Bush earned his Bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. Bush credits his love for photography to his mother’s influence and his study of journalism. Bush’s first job after college as a room service waiter at the Sahara Hotel eventually grew into the coveted position of room service swing captain. His swing shift duties included the entertainers' dressing rooms, which meant taking care of the entertainers, getting them what they needed, and stocking their favorite foods and drinks nightly. Through his work, Bush eventually formed close friendships with several celebrities of the day. He enjoyed his work, but he never stopped honing his skills as an amateur photographer. In the mid-1980s, Bush left the Strip to become a professional photographer for the Las Vegas News Bureau. Throughout his News Bureau career, Bush photographed the casino buildings made famous by Las Vegas-the construction and the architecture of Southern Nevada’s gaming palaces-as well as iconic events in Las Vegas history. Darrin retired from the News Bureau in about 2014, but his work recording the building of and events of Las Vegas lives on in the News Bureau archives. He continues to be an avid photographer.
Text
Collection is comprised primarily of newspaper clippings on various topics related to Las Vegas, Nevada and Southern Nevada spanning from 1909 to 2007. The files were gathered and organized by the Las Vegas Library and include topics such as ghost towns in the Southwest and Western region of the United States, politics and government, education, gaming, and religious life in Las Vegas and Nevada. The files document topics of interest to the residents of Nevada. The files also contain biographical information on prominent individuals associated with Las Vegas and Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jerome Countess conducted by Dorothy Eisenberg on October 28, 2014 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Countess discusses coming to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1976 to take a job with what became the Jewish Federation. He then talks about starting the local Jewish Reporter, a newspaper, and creating a community among fellow Jews in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
The hotel records series (1953-1978) includes papers, contracts, correspondence, publicity, and newspaper clippings. There are show cost breakdowns and commissions, program order forms, a list of engagements, and income tax records. The Associated Guild of Variety Actors (AGVA) is represented through correspondence, retroactive pay to employees, labor agreements, welfare fund, rules and regulations and a lawsuit against the Nevada Resort Association from 1972. Also included are payroll sheets from the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas and the Condado Beach Hotel in Puerto Rico from 1969 to 1973, and a dictionary titled The Language of Show Biz, and corresponding contracts.
Archival Component
The Pacifica Hotel Collection (1981-1985) contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, and contracts on the Pacifica Hotel, the first resort geared specifically towards the LGBTQIA+ community in Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection also includes one optical disc with a compilation of Las Vegas television news stories from the summer of 1985 about the Pacifica Hotel project.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Hank Greenspun conducted by Tony Bleeker in 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview Hank Greenspun discusses politics in Las Vegas, Nevada, the numerous changes and growth that the city has experiences, and his newspaper, the Las Vegas Sun.
Archival Collection