Oral history interview with Susan and Irwin Molasky conducted by Michael Geeser on May 15, 2006 for the I Remember When: Recollections from Las Vegas Jewish Leaders Oral History Project. They talk about the founding of the Nathan Adelson Hospice and about the Jewish community in Las Vegas, Nevada. Irwin talks about building the first high-rise condominium and the first high-rise office building in Las Vegas, about building Sunrise Hospital and Boulevard Mall, about the future of Las Vegas, light rail in the city, and the Las Vegas downtown and its future. They also discuss the water supply in southern Nevada and the possibility of a high-speed railroad from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Maria Banks conducted by Barbara Hoyt on September 23, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Banks discusses her experiences managing a jukebox company, owning and operating two restaurants, and working for a music company. She also discusses her Mormon religion and the relationship she had with her late husband. Banks also discusses the change in climate over time, specifically the increasing humidity.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Albert Datke conducted by Joe Toscano on Octocber 2, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. He discusses atomic testing, economic and environmental changes, and getting to shake hands with President Eisenhower when he visited Las Vegas, Nevada. A Mormon and a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Mr. Datke discussed having an active church and religious life, including serving as financial clerk and historian clerk for the church.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Nery Martinez conducted by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez on December 06, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Martinez discusses his upbringing in Zacatecoluca, La Paz, El Salvador. He describes growing up around organized crime, the Salvadoran Civil War, and the hardship that came with earning an education. Martinez talks about his immigration story to the United States, and his first impressions of Las Vegas, Nevada. He recalls training to be a bartender, becoming a member of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, and the aid that the Union provides for the immigrant community. Later, Martinez discusses his experience applying for a Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and the Salvadoran community in Las Vegas. Lastly, Martinez talks about starting a family in Las Vegas, and sharing his Salvadoran culture with his children.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Irene Cepeda conducted by Monserrath Hernández, Nathalie Martinez, and Rodrigo Vázquez on April 24, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Cepeda discusses her Nicaraguan background and growing up in North Las Vegas, Nevada. She talks about her educational experience, and her involvement with the Latino Youth Leadership Conference (LYLC). Cepeda remembers attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), running for the Clark County School District (CCSD) Board of Trustees, and explains the challenges that CCSD faces. She describes the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 strikes, and issues with funding CCSD schools. Lastly, Cepeda discusses the discrimination that English Language Learners (ELL) students face, and Latinx representation in elected positions.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary Ann and Carl Merrill conducted by Dennis McBride on June 24, 1986 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. In this interview, Carl Merrill discusses working for Anderson Brothers Dairy at the dam construction site and his experiences as a worker and resident in Boulder City, Nevada. Mary Ann Merrill talks about moving with her parents and brother to Boulder City and finding work, as a teenager, in the town. They both discuss their marriage and subsequent life in Boulder City, commenting on the environment, social conditions, and growth in Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with John F. O'Reilly conducted by Judy Herrell on June 06, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods: an Oral History Project of Ward 1. O'Reilly begins by talking about his family and unbringing in St. Louis, Missouri, meeting and marrying his wife, Rene Lee O'Reilly, and starting a family while attending university. He continues discussing his military career as a lawyer and deciding to settle in Las Vegas, Nevada after completing his military assignment at Nellis Air Force Base. He recounts some of his high-profile legal cases, including the Nevada Power Company and the MGM Grand fire, as well as his appointment to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. He then talks about his children and their careers and his wife's civic volunteerism that led to her recognition as Nevada Mother of the Year. He closes by discussing her death and memorial service in 2012.
Archival Collection
Roundtable oral history interview moderated by Claytee D. White on November 1, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods: an Oral History Project of Ward 1. Participants include Nancy Johnson, Naomi Lytle Gibbs, Deborah Faye Bond Origer, Kacey Santelman Brooks, Olivia Brooks, Helen Dawson, Rollie Gibbs, Judy Lee Snyder Santelman, and Gary Gibson. They discuss growing up in the Pinto-Palomino neighborhood north of West Charleston between Campbell Drive and Rancho Drive, the focus on horses and horseback riding, the Helldorado Days parades, and serving as Rodeo Queens. They also talk about the culture and personality of the neighborhood, famous residents including Wayne Newton, coming back to live in the neighborhood after moving away, and forming the neighborhood association.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Bruce Eaton conducted by James Maxon on March 6, 1985 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. The topic of the interview is the incorporation of Boulder City, Nevada as a self-governing municipality and the role that Eaton played in the eight-year process between 1951 and 1959. Eaton discusses the establishment of an advisory council that served as an interim government, the first Boulder City Act of 1953 in Congress, and long-reaching issues over who should take economic responsibility for costs associated with incorporation. Eaton then talks about the non-binding resolution of 1956 that highlighted the divide between the citizens of Boulder City and its business community, and the work of Eaton, Senator Alan Bible, and others to present a plan that met with wide approval.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mary Eaton conducted by Dennis McBride on November 15, 1986 for the Boulder City Library Oral History Project. Eaton joined her husband Bruce in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1932, soon after he found work at the Hoover Dam building site. Within months of her arrival, the couple welcomed their first child and moved to Boulder City, Nevada. In this interview, Eaton recalls the early community formed by the wives of the dam workers, the establishment of the Grace Community Church and the death of the church's first pastor, "Parson Tom" Stevenson. She discusses the beginning of the school system in Boulder City and her career as an educator, as well as her involvement in numberous community projects and groups including the hospital and the Rainbow Club for young women.
Archival Collection