Elmer Curley is known simply as Curley. He came to Las Vegas to work in the area of public service for the UNLV library in August 1967. Thus he launched a lifelong move from a smaller community north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Las Vegas. He only imagined it would be a four to five year move. To his amazement he continue to live here and retired shortly before this interview after a successful career at the library. During this narrative he talks about moving into the University Park Apartments, working with a small budget in the earlier years of the "round building" library, and the humor of receiving book donations that could result in multiple copies of a title. Over the years since 1967, Curley worked with a long list of the various directors observed many changes to the city and experienced the inspiring growth of UNLV.
Charles Malkowski interviews Ralph Daly (born in Texas in 1903) about his experience of moving to Las Vegas during its early growth. Daly talks specifically about Block 16 and the Arizona Club and the extent of gambling and prostitution that took place there in the early 1900s. Daly, who worked in oil fields but became paralyzed due to an injury, also talks about moving to Las Vegas to make his living on gambling after becoming disabled. He also describes how the construction of Boulder Dam attracted many migrant workers and how, after World War II, Las Vegas attracted tourists and became more of a gambling town as more casinos were built and worldwide advertising for those casinos started. Daly also discusses the end of prostitution in Las Vegas, certain famous gamblers he met, and the forms of cooling used before air conditioning was introduced.
Las Vegas history 1953-1980. Migration to Las Vegas from Louisiana. Personal history: family, occupation(s), and education. Westside. Development of race relations in Las Vegas. Residential segregation. Discrimination of blacks: no better than the South. Inequality of employment opportunities. Development of the Strip. Black entertainers.
On March 11, 1981, Melvin Thompson interviewed Richard F. Caldwell Sr. (b. 1919 in New Orleans, Louisiana) about his experiences living in Las Vegas, Nevada for over 49 years. The interview begins with Caldwell discussing his family and what brought him to Las Vegas. He then talks about working at the Nevada Test Site, the hotels and casinos that were built on the Strip, his experience working at some of those properties, and the way of life in Las Vegas in the 1940s and 1950s. The two also discuss politics, religion, and recreational gambling in the city. The interview finalizes with Caldwell’s account of the Westside of Las Vegas, African American entertainers who came to town to perform, and a brief mention of many specific historical sites in the city.
General Las Vegas history, Sahara and Charleston, when UNLV was first built, personal awards, Lorenzi Park, Newspapers. City Sanitation, power, and telephone. Church and religion, personal and family history.(Interview on tape inaudible).
(Folder contains very good photos) Family and personal history focusing on growing up in Ely, NV, including leisure activities. Living through the Depression: banks closing; unemployment. Agricultural Extension Service. Cattle and drought in northern Nevada during the 1930s. Witness to the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games. Description of journey from Ely to Norway. Employment history. Gaming Control Board and the Black Book Occupations whilst in Las Vegas. [File includes personal photographs and news clippings]
Narrator b.1891. Las Vegas history from 1942 to 1979. Las Vegas airfield (Nellis). Prostitution. Hoover (Boulder) Dam: two anecdotes. Effect of WWII on Las Vegas. Hotel/casinos during the 1940s and 1950s. Leisure activities. Eldorado Festival. Lorenzi Park. BMI Plant. Retirement in Las Vegas.
James Cardle is from Brainerd, a small town in central Minnesota. He grew up in a rural area with emphasis on outdoor fun. He attended Catholic grade school in Brainerd and a boarding high school in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. James earned an undergraduate degree at Holy Cross in western Massachusetts, and a Ph D in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He did research (physical experiments and numerical modeling) at St. Anthony Falls Hydraulic Laboratory, created a computer program that was used in the design of many large storm sewer systems around the country, and did consulting work on the side. Dr. Cardle came to UNLV in August of 1985 and began teaching a class on wastewater treatment. He was one of a small group of professors who worked hard to prepare for ABET accreditation. James was a member of the curriculum committee, did research on the Yucca Mountain project, and also worked on setting up a master's program. He wrote a proposal for the Ph.D. program in civil engineering which ended up being approved. James left UNLV to pursue a law degree at University of Notre Dame. Today he works as a patent attorney in Minneapolis-St. Paul. In 2006, he began acting as intellectual property counsel to UNLV on a part-time basis, giving him an opportunity to come back to Las Vegas and the university a couple of times each year.
On March 19, 1980, Alice Brown interviewed Dr. William Carlson (born 1914 in Sandstone, Minnesota) about his experience working at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Carlson, who joined UNLV in 1957, provides his accounts on the history of the university library. The first part of the interview involves a discussion of the beginnings of the library from the location of Las Vegas High School to Maude Frazier Hall and its eventual move to Archie Grant Hall. Carlson also talks about some of the first librarians who were a part of the library, the funding and donations used to build and develop it, and the eventual construction and architecture of the James R. Dickinson Library. The two also discuss the first graduation of the university, the work it took to get students registered for classes in early days, and some of the overall changes over the years at the university.
James D. Campbell interviews Las Vegas native, Marianne Carpenter (born in 1929) at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office, located at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. During the interview Marianne recalls the crash of Carol Lombard’s plane, the early above ground atomic tests, pollution and other social and environmental occurrences that have taken place in Las Vegas. Marianne also discusses the Helldorado Parade, the Downtown area and the Mesquite Club. Lastly, she offers an overview of her experience working for Nellis Air Force Base and her current job at the EPA