Sharon Walker is a real estate investor, retired stockbroker and former loan officer. She was born on December 8, 1949 in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Las Vegas with her family in 1963, where they started Walker Furniture, a store which they later sold to the Alterwitz family. Sharon's father, Julius Walker, was also in the casino business, becoming an owner of the El Cortez Hotel and Casino with Jackie Gaughan. Her mother, Anne Walker was a founding member of the first local Hadassah, The Women?s Zionist Organization. Sharon continues the family tradition of being active in Hadassah as well as being a Board Member of Jewish Family Service Agency. In November 2014 she was an honoree of Hadassah Leadership. In this interview, Sharon describes her adolescence in Las Vegas and the differences in culture as compared to her childhood in Toledo, Ohio. She also recalls the Walker Furniture business, her father?s careers, and her uncles Ed ?E? Walker and Lou ?Paddock? Walker.

As we go about our days, running errands and getting things for our households, we often don’t think too much of the story behind the commercial real estate and retail stores we frequent. Only when those stores aren’t there and the neighborhood demographic changes do we embrace the nostalgia that goes into the story of the neighborhoods where we live and shop. Hank Gordon is the man behind those memories of those shopping centers we frequent not only in the Las Vegas Valley, but in Washington, Oregon, Montana, California and Alaska as well. Gordon was raised in Los Angeles and graduated from USC in 1956, when he went to work for a home builder in the San Fernando Valley selling his houses to make some extra weekend money. It was during this time he fell in love with real estate and had to break the news to his parents that he no longer was going to be a doctor. Feeling the urge of leadership he told his mentor that he didn’t want to sell houses-he wanted to develop homes instead. Shortly after that he bought a subdivision of lots in Van Nuys and started building 7-11 and Goodyear stores in the early 1960s. In this interview, Gordon talks about building his first shopping center in 1967 and moving to the Pacific Northwest. He moved to Las Vegas in 1988, when he bought 23 new national retailers to the Valley. He was responsible for bring Home Depot in 1999 and Costco and Best Buy to some of Las Vegas’s longest-standing shopping centers; Best of the Boulevard on Maryland Parkway and Best of the West on Rainbow Boulevard. He speaks of the changes to the market after the Great Recession, how retailers are having a hard time keeping afloat because of online shopping, and his days on the planning commission for the City of Las Vegas during the 1990s, when Jan Jones was mayor. It is without a doubt that Hank Gordon is one of the best in the business and there isn’t a lot of competition at the top.

It's been live, love, and laugh ever since we met. We've been married now thirty-three years. Even for a ninety-three-year-old man, thirty-three years is a long time. For Gil Schwartz, thirty-three years is nearly one-third of his life. The former real estate broker, who was raised in Rye, New York, learned the business by working with his father and then forming his own property management company in Manhattan. In 1959, with two children in tow, Gil moved to Las Vegas, where he soon took temporary quarters at Twin Lakes Lodge and he and his children learned to ride horses. In this interview, Schwartz recalls how horseback riding gave him an instant network of friends through working on the annual Helldorado Days and joining the Sheriff's Mounted Posse. He talks about Sahara Realty, the real estate brokerage he founded in 1964 and sold in 1983, and he shares his experiences 1967–68 in negotiating options to buy about one hundred parcels of unimproved land for Herb Nall, who represe

In recalling his career in the public sector, Boulder City native Jacob Snow credits fellow Nevadans Robert Broadbent and Bruce Woodbury as two mentors who helped shape his world view. After attending Boulder City schools and serving a religious mission in Hong Kong, earning his Bachelor's and Master's degrees at Brigham Young University, and working as community development planner for the City of Provo, Utah, 1987-1989, Snow has lived and worked in Clark County. Snow's degrees in geography and urban planning and his experience in transportation directly benefited Clark County residents from 1989 through 2015; we continue to derive indirect advantage of his knowledge through his current consulting business. In this interview, he speaks to the ways infrastructure accommodated Southern Nevada's growth. He discusses McCarran's Terminal Three, the Las Vegas Monorail, UNLV's football stadium, the Bruce Woodbury Beltway, and the Fremont Street Experience. He explains the ethos of McCarran Airport; why the Monorail will likely never go to McCarran Airport; how Clark County financed the CC-2015 Bruce Woodbury Beltway, and why we see the concept of "complete streets" applied more in the City of Las Vegas and the City of Henderson than in Clark County. Snow discusses his work under Clark County director of aviation Broadbent as assistant director of aviation for planning at McCarran International Airport; his career as general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission, where he worked with Clark County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury, and his three years as city manager for the City of Henderson. In speaking of all three roles, Snow draws upon his knowledge of transportation as it grew and was shaped by his previous positions. And in all three roles, Snow exemplifies the lesson Broadbent impressed upon him early in his airport career: "[Y]ou've got to be able to bury the hatchet and build bridges.

On February 26, 1980, collector Russell Oakes interviewed beautician, Myrtle Hancock (born January 1st, 1921 in Craig, Colorado) in her residence in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers the narrator’s occupational experience as a wardrobe dresser in the entertainment industry in Las Vegas. She also discusses family life, life on a ranch, Downtown Las Vegas, Helldorado, and Nevada’s hot weather. The interview concludes with a discussion on the development of Las Vegas and the projected future growth.

On March 4, 1981, collector Marlene L. Larson interviewed Chester Albert Hodson, Jr. (born December 21st, 1948 in Las Vegas, Nevada) at the Sizzler restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Mr. Hodson speaks about working in the restaurant industry in Las Vegas, as well as his father’s experience working in the industry. He also talks about living in Las Vegas and the changes he has seen throughout his life.

On February 23, 1980, Susan Korzennik interviewed construction worker John Erb (born on July 16th, 1932 in Denver, Colorado) in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers John’s construction work in the Las Vegas area in addition to family life in Nevada and local social, religious, and community activities. He also discusses being a member of the Elks Club and the Clark County Gentlemen’s Club.