Dr. Blair Hale has been practicing dentistry in Las Vegas for over thirty years. He was born in Idaho in 1949, the third of four children born to Zendal McKay and Lenny Raymond Hale. His education includes semesters at BYU, El Camino City College, and a dental degree from Washington University. Dr. Hale recounts his experiences as an undergraduate at Washington University in Missouri, living in a dorm situation and signing for government loans. He also examines his early days in Las Vegas and the ease with which he obtained bank loans to start his business back in 1976. At that time there were relatively few dentists practicing in Las Vegas, and when he was the dentist society president in 1985, he knew most dentists by name. Blair explains his work with the Academy of LDS Dentists, which sends groups of dentists to Guatemala, Peru, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic to run week-long free clinics. The clinics not only treat the dental problems of the populace, but also serve as instructional seminars for local practitioners. In addition to running a practice and doing charitable work outside the country, Dr. Hale also teaches at UNLV's dental clinic one day per week. He describes the changes in technology, technique, and materials over the years, and the quality education future dentists receive at UNLV. He also delineates the differences dental work can make in a patient's life, not just aesthetically but emotionally and physically as well. Dr. Hale comments on the dynamics behind the large influx of dentists in the 90s, the future of health care in Las Vegas, and the impact of third-party carriers in the dental profession. He believes that dentistry is a wonderful profession and that students can receive an excellent education at any good dental school in the United States. His sons are contemplating following him into this field.

Ken Hanlon was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1941. He attended 2nd grade through high school in Parkville schools. He took up his first instrument, the snare drum, at the age often, and by eighth grade had taken up baritone horn and trombone. His parents were very supportive of his interests. Ken developed a very strong work ethic early on, through the influence and example of his parents. He earned money in high school to pay for things he wanted by assisting on a paper route. He also took private lessons, which he paid for, and played in a dance band. After graduation, he attended Peabody Conservatory on a scholarship. He finished his last two years there with the principal of the Baltimore Symphony. He taught at Peabody Preparatory for seven years as undergraduate and graduate. He continued his Master's degree at Peabody Conservatory while working as a public school instrumental music teacher. He also played in the rock and roll band and worked in a city concert band. In 1968, Ken and his family moved to Las Vegas. He connected with the Si Zentner band and went on the road with him, then played in hotels up and down the Strip. Ken worked in bands that backed many famous headliners and has many anecdotes and memorable stories to share about those days. In 1970, Ken interviewed with Howard Chase, chair of the music department at UNLV. He was hired and his first UNLV job at the age of 29 was chair of the music department. He kept this position for 16 years, with one year off to establish residency for his doctorate. Dr. Hanlon has had a long and varied career, filled with people, places and events vital to the music industry. Today he continues to teach a graduate course, is currently Las Vegas president of the International Trombone Association, and runs the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center.

Tim Harney begins his reminiscences with an overview of his Irish-Catholic upbringing in Duluth, Minnesota. He recalls being smitten with the sunny west and moving to Las Vegas in 1965 to take a teaching position at Rancho High School. By 1973, the Harney family was calling the John S. Park Neighborhood home. He describes the attraction to the green trees and sprawling lawns and to affordable home prices. It was a close knit neighborhood where everyone had the same gardener, knew the local policeman by name, and where his daughters worked at the Luv-It Frozen Custard shop. Around 1987, Tim decided to move out of the John S. Park Neighborhood. He sensed a change—having been broken into by the Hole-in-the-Wall Gang, watching drifters and homeless people sleeping in the yard, and seizing an opportunity to move to a new development. Nevertheless, Tim notes hopes for the neighborhood and reminds us that "It takes a village."

Carol Harter and her husband of 46 years started their married lives by running away from college in their sophomore year. They spent the 60's working toward their degrees. Carol earned her bachelor's in 1964 and her master's in 1967. One of her professors encouraged her to go for her PhD at a time when women simply did not aspire to such heights. Dr. Harter completed her PhD in 1970, and because her husband wanted to work on his doctorate, they moved to Athens, Ohio. She taught at Ohio University while he completed his courses. They lived and worked and raised their children there for 19 years. Carol held the positions of ombudsman (2 years), vice president and dean of students combined (6 years), and vice president at the university, and then accepted the position of president at SUNY Geneseo (in New York). Carol was nominated for the presidency at UNLV in 1994, and she accepted the job in 1995. Her career here has been phenomenal, as she saw the potential of this very young university and set about bringing in the faculty, the funding, the buildings, and the vision to create a first-rate research oriented facility. During her administration, the new library went up, the law school and dental school were built, and over 550 million in gifts and pledges were raised. This includes money raised for the "Invent the Future" campaign. Under Dr. Harter's guidance, women's sports were expanded, multiple graduate degrees were developed, more money for research and buildings was raised, and UNLV has become a major research university. Dr. Harter leaves behind a rich legacy, including her vision of the UNLV Midtown project, a cultural district where the university may one day interface with the community.

Larry Henley was born in Portland, Oregon, in 1957. The family spent one year in Wisconsin, and then moved to Las Vegas in 1973 when he was 15. His schooling was mostly in Oregon, though he graduated from Chaparral High School in Las Vegas in Larry enrolled at UNLV in 1975 and was a student there off and on until 1980, the year he earned his theater degree. It wasn't until around 2002 that he got his master's. Mr. Henley started working at the concert hall at UNLV around 1977, doing lighting design work, then moved to Colorado Springs for three years. He opened the Pike s Peak Center, acting as stage manager and lighting technician, and eventually joined the stagehands' union. While in Colorado Springs, he was married, and he and his wife had a son. The Henleys moved back to Las Vegas so they could be closer to family, and Larry began working part-time on the stage crew at UNLV. He was listed as a classified employee, and this segued into a professional staff position in 1988. Today, Larry is the director of artistic programming and production at the Performing Arts Center. He schedules all performances in the theaters. He also does contracting and billing, works on the Master Series, and recruits speakers for the Barrick Lecture Series. He has made a 20 year career out of bringing entertainment and culture to the Las Vegas scene, continuing a tradition started by other directors.

Dee Hicks was born in Damascus, Arkansas, in 1946. She was the tenth of 13 children born to Guy and Augusta Goff. Her father was a Baptist preacher and carpenter by trade, and her mother was a housewife. Dee's decision to become a nurse became a focal point in her life in the tenth grade. She joined the Future Nurses' Club and geared her high school classes toward nursing. Later Dee went to Oklahoma Baptist University and graduated with a bachelor of science in nursing. After marrying in 1969, Dee joined her husband in Las Vegas, who was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base. At the age of 22, she joined the staff at Sunrise Hospital. There were only 500 beds at that time, and over the course of her 35 years at that hospital, she saw it grow to 701 beds. Dee's career included starting out as staff nurse, then becoming charge nurse, house supervisor, director of adult critical care, assistant director of nurses, and finally director of nurses. She shares how she honed her skills in various workshops and courses, observed various surgeries, and witnessed the evolution of nurses' uniforms from formal whites to colorful scrubs. In addition to her nursing duties, Dee also served on the State Board of Health and on many nursing boards. She did volunteer work with Street Teens, helped pass a bill that allows LPNs to do IV interventions with patients, and took training to be a parish nurse so she could volunteer to help sick people in her congregation. She stands ready today to help her community in whatever way she can.

Nancy Claire Houssels, co-founder of Nevada Ballet Theater and board member of The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, the UNLV Foundation, International Women’s Forum, and the Women’s Leadership Council United Way, first arrived in Las Vegas in 1966 as a 31-year-old to dance in Frederic Apcar’s Casino de Paris show at the Dunes. After nearly two years in Las Vegas, she left and vowed to never return. However, Maynard Sloate, producer of the new Folies Bergère at the Tropicana came to New York to entice Nancy and her dance partner to return to Las Vegas in 1968 to open the show. Her relationship with Las Vegas took an unexpected turn after she had dinner with the man who signed her paycheck, hotel owner, J. Kell Houssels Jr., and his divorce lawyer. J. K. Houssels fired Nancy and they married in her home town of Piedmont, California, in 1970. Since that time the Houssels have lived in Ward 1’s Rancho Circle. Houssels shares the history of Rancho Circle, which began in the 1940s as a racially restricted area. Rancho Circle has its own security and homeowners draw water from the Rancho Circle Water Cooperative, but there are no CC&Rs because homeowners have not agreed on them. Formerly a volunteer at Childhaven Nancy co-founded the Nevada Dance Theater (now Nevada Ballet Theater) with Vassili Sulich in 1972. The group performed at the Judy Bayley Theatre and Artemus Ham Hall at UNLV but extensive community outreach and grants from Summa Corporation and the Don Reynolds Foundation earned the group a permanent home facility in Summerlin. See “Downtown Las Vegas Living: Tour Nancy and Kell Houssels estate!”