Oral history interview with Ruby Gordon conducted by Claytee D. White on October 29, 2004 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Gordon talks about her birth and early upbringing in Pine Bluff, Arkansas and Las Vegas, Nevada, where her parents moved when she was seven years old. She discusses her parent's decision to move for better opportunities and the kind of work they did, then speaks extensively about her education through high school, her early marriage, and raising six children. She also talks about the difficulties that mothers faced while trying to work and raise children, especially those with health issues. Later she talks about her involvement with the Elks fraternal organization and explains that there were different lodges for whites and Blacks, based primarily on location, the lodges regularly interacted and worked together on civic and charity programs. Finally, she expands on her own work history in early childhood education, working for the state, and for Child Haven.
Carrie Townley Porter was born July 07, 1935 in Central Texas near present-day Fort Hood. Townley finished high school in Austin, Texas and attended the University of Texas in Austin for two years. She left college to get married, and she and her geologist husband lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. They had three children with no reliable child care so Townley became a housewife for a period. The Townleys lived a full and active life in Las Vegas, Nevada and Carrie Townley eventually got hired as a substitute teacher.
Anna Bailey was born May 14, 1921 in Savannah, Georgia. Bailey arrived in Las Vegas in 1955 to perform as a dancer for the opening of the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino. Six months later the Rouge closed, leaving both Anna and her husband, Bob, without work, since Bob had been the house singer and emcee at the Hotel. Nevertheless, Anna and Bob decided to make Las Vegas their home, convinced in the growth potential of the city.
Dr. Joseph Rojas, born December 09, 1933 in Alexandria, Louisiana, was the son of Joseph Edward and Carroll Rojas. He graduated high school at age 16 and entered Loyola University of the South. Two years later, he was accepted at Louisiana State University School of Medicine, graduating with a medical degree in 1957. He interned at Charity Hospital and then completed his Obstetrics- Gynecology (OB-GYN) residency at Tulane University.