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Gregory T. H. Lee oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03718

Abstract

Oral history interview with Gregory T. H. Lee conducted by Stefani Evans, Ayrton Yamaguchi, Cecilia Winchell, and Kristel Marie Peralta on December 1, 2020 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.

Gregory discusses his birth in Honolulu, Hawai'i, his upbringing in San Francisco, California, his education from Harvard University, and his moving to Las Vegas in 1988 with his family. He shares how his parents, Doris Shoong Lee and Ted Lee, purchased a casino on East Sahara Avenue and renamed it the Eureka before Gregory left Las Vegas to earn his Juris Doctorate degree from USC Gould School of Law. He talks about his employment history related to law and the joint venture with his parents to open Eureka's sister property in Mesquite, Nevada. Gregory also discusses his Chinese and Japanese heritage, the Hawaiian culture, and his current affairs as well as his take on current events and discrimination in the United States, with particular regard to Black Lives Matter and COVID-19.

Subjects discussed include: Kyushu, Japan and "China virus."

Archival Collection

Chuck Johnson oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03811

Abstract

Oral history interview with Chuck Johnson conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 17, 2021, December 15, 2021, and January 14, 2022 for the Veterans Oral History Project of Southern Nevada.

Chuck discusses his enlistment in the Army at the age of 16 and his tours of duty during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He shares stories from his 21 year military career and talks about post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), his injuries, and how the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (G.I. Bill) helped him to settle in Nevada.

During his second interview session, Chuck reflects on his time spent in Korea and how he came to establish the Korean War Memorial in Boulder City, Nevada. He shares more stories from his service in Vietnam and Germany. Chuck also talks about his family's history and his mother's family tree.

During his third interview session, Chuck shares more memories of serving in Korea and Vietnam, especially the Tet Offensive attacks during the Vietnam War. He recalls stories from his childhood, including leading his high school's ROTC Color Guard for President John F. Kennedy hours before the President's assassination.

Subjects discussed include: MASH; Agent Orange

Archival Collection

Vida Chan Lin oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03766

Abstract

Oral history interview with Vida Chan Lin conducted by Kristel Peralta, Cecilia Winchell, and Vanessa Concepcion on May 17, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.

Vida Chan Lin discusses her childhood growing up in San Francisco and her parents' immigration from China to the United States through Chile. She talks about working in her parents' Chinese restaurant throughout her youth and her later move to Las Vegas to assist her sister and brother-in-law. She recalls becoming an insurance agency owner and how she worked to help the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community after the 2008 housing crisis. Lin shares her decades-long mission to find community within Las Vegas, joining every AAPI group the city had to offer until later developing her own; Lin created the Asian Community Development Council (ACDC) in 2015 and was also formerly President of the Asian Chamber of Commerce. The ACDC was developed to provide community support and assistance with voter registrations in Las Vegas. Lin discusses the additional services the ACDC has undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic, including helping with the census, distributing food, volunteering at vaccine clinics, and purchasing laptops for Clark County School District students to assist with in-home learning efforts.

Archival Collection

Sanje Sedera oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03761

Abstract

Oral history interview with Sanje Sedera conducted by Kristel Peralta, Cecilia Winchell, Ayrton Yamaguchi, and Stefani Evans on April 16, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.

Sanje Sedera discusses growing up in Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, with his family. He shares his educational history, moving from Sri Lanka to Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia as a high schooler to learn English before immigrating to the United States to attend Idaho State University. Sedera discusses the political unrest and civil war that took place in Sri Lanka between the Tamil and Sinhalese people, and how he grew to appreciate political activism instilled in him by his paternal grandparents. Sedera shares his employment history working as a manager for K-Mart, an opportunity that brought him to Las Vegas, as well as his entrepreneurial pursuits of owning a mortgage business and becoming a realtor. He talks about the financial crisis of 2008 that led to losing his business, his attempts to run for public office, and how he helped to form Nevada's Asian American Democratic Caucus. Sedera concludes with a discussion of his Buddhist practice and how these philosophies have shaped his life.

Archival Collection

Catherine Cortez Masto oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03458

Abstract

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.

Archival Collection

Dr. John Fildes oral history interviews

Identifier

OH-03777

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Dr. John Fildes conducted by Claytee D. White on June 10, 2021 and April 12, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Dr. John Fildes is Professor and Inaugural Chair of the Department of Surgery at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). Fildes graduated from the University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Medicine and Surgery in Manila, Philippines in 1982. Upon returning to the United States, he completed his residency in General Surgery at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in the South Bronx and a fellowship in Trauma, Burns, and Surgical Critical Care in Cook County. In 1995, Fildes was hired to come to Las Vegas, Nevada by Dr. Dale Harrison. Fildes instituted policies and procedures that proved to be effective when the 1 October shooting occured in 2017. All those alive upon arrival to University Medical Center (UMC) survived. Dr. Fildes and his team used all their skills, strategies, and medical acumen to ensure those results. In the second interview, Dr. Fildes continues his history by shared thoughts about the COVID-19 pandemic and his experiences with various governmental and military assignments, including the military tradition of passing the challenge coins as a token of admiration. Finally, Fildes concludes his interviews by noting that COVID was all-consuming and tested the balance between individual rights and public health.

Archival Collection

Patricia Vazquez oral history interviews

Identifier

OH-03514

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Patricia Vazquez conducted by Marcela Rodriguez-Campo, Monserrath Hernandez, and Rodrigo Vazquez on November 14, 2018 and June 14, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In these interviews, Vazquez discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada before moving to Mexico. She talks about the transition of moving back to the United States from Mexico in 1970. Vazquez then describes how she was selected for special education in elementary school because she did not speak English, her education experience in the Clark County School District, and later being placed into Advanced Placement classes. She then shares coming out as a lesbian, her family dynamics after announcing her sexuality, and talks about what it is like to come out in the Latinx community. Vazquez describes her art and explains that her paintings depict moments in her life that defined her as a person. Later, Vazquez describes her involvement in queer activism in Las Vegas through the Latino Youth Leadership Conference and Planned Parenthood. Lastly, Vazquez discusses her involvement in diverse hiring committees for the College of Southern Nevada (CSN), which is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), and teaching literature courses at CSN.

Archival Collection

Geri Tomich oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03897

Abstract

Oral history interview with Geri Tomich conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 15, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Born and raised in the Philippines, Geraldine "Geri" Tomich recalls life in the city of Manila, where her father worked as an engineer and her mother as a stay-at-home mother. Tomich attended an American school, where she learned how to speak English from a young age, and her extracurricular activities included speedreading and writing letters to her friends. After her parents divorce, her mother took Tomich and her three siblings to the United States to live with their aunt. After a brief period in California, Tomich resumed her college career in a community college in Southern Nevada, getting an associate's degree in paralegal studies before transferring to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) to earn her bachelor's degree in business management. During this time, Tomich recalls working her way up in a law firm, starting as a receptionist before moving up to a secretary and then later a paralegal. For law school, Tomich moved to Spokane, Washington, to attend Gonzaga University. Citing her family, she moved back to Las Vegas to practice law, first returning to the law firm where she got her start before moving to Marquis Aurbach in 2003. She also discusses the other organizations she is involved in, including the Nevada Community Foundation and the Baller Dream Foundation. Throughout the rest of the interview, Tomich discusses values, what it has been like balancing a family with a full-time job, and what parts of Filipino culture she has retained.

Archival Collection

Charles Scott Emerson oral history interview

Identifier

OH-03371

Abstract

Oral history interview with Charles Scott Emerson conducted by Claytee D. White on December 21, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Charles Scott Emerson discusses his work with the American Red Cross and the disaster relief the organization provided during the aftermath of the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview begins with a discussion on Emerson's early life and career in Missouri and how he moved to Las Vegas in 2004. Emerson talks about the American Red Cross response plans and coordinated operations that are in place for when the community is faced with a disaster, going into specific detail on the community-wide response to the October 1, 2017 shooting. He gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how relief work is organized, using this interview as a chance to praise the hidden heroes of the October 2017 tragedy, including the people at the Family Assistance Center, the Attorney General's Office, the Driver's License Bureau, and the Coroner's Office, as well as mental health providers, child care workers, blood donors, and more. Throughout the interview, Emerson puts special emphasis on the importance of community in order to offer support in the aftermath of a tragedy as well as to prevent a man-made tragedy from occurring again.

Archival Collection

Dorothy Eisenberg oral history interviews

Identifier

OH-02667

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Dorothy Eisenberg conducted by Caryll Batt Dziediak on February 16, 2001, November 14, 2006, November 21, 2006, March 02, 2007, and July 11, 2007 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Eisenberg begins her interviews with a history of her family and discussion of her Jewish heritage and its influence on her life. Eisenberg continues her interview by covering her life events in chronological order, including her education, the birth of her children, and her husband's plane crash and death. Eisenberg then discusses rebuilding her life and her political activism in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jewish community. Eisenberg lastly discusses her move to Las Vegas, Nevada and her involvement in many community organizations and issue, such as the League of Women Voters, Women's Democratic Club, welfare rights, school integration, and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Archival Collection