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Kirkland, Barbara Bates (1934)
Barbara Bates Kirkland was born 1934 in Shreveport, Louisiana. On a sunny day in 1946, Kirkland and her mother stepped off the train from Shreveport and onto the Western street of Fremont in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Kirkland’s mother, Atha Toliver, found employment as a maid. Toliver, who was determined that her daughter would get an education and a finer future, saw this as her opportunity to achieve this for her daughter. Later, she opened Eva’s Flower Basket, a floral shop that Kirkland would operate after retiring from teaching.
Person
McGhie, Margaret, 1922-
Margaret McGhie was born on May 18, 1922 and grew up in western Nevada, where her grandparents were ranchers. She attended a business college in Reno, Nevada and eventually moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. She worked for Basic Magnesium (BMI) in Gabbs, Nevada and for a remanufacturing company where she verified rocket measurements.
Person
Miller, Daisy Lee
Daisy Lee Miller was born August 13, 1935 in Transylvania, Louisiana. She moved to Las Vegas in her 20s. For a time, Miller worked in the powder room at the California Club, but she realized she wanted something better for herself and her kids. She began attending the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and got her degree at the same time that her daughter graduated from high school. While going to school, Miller worked at the Economic Opportunity Board in the family planning program.
Person
Miranda, Tony
Dr. Tony Miranda grew up in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara, California. His father was a chef at the Santa Maria Inn, and the rest of the family spent summers picking strawberries in the surrounding fields.
Person
Mlynarczyk, Flo
Flo Mlynarczyk was born in Fort Morgan, Colorado. Her parents divorced and she moved with her mother first to Loveland, Colorado and eventually to Los Angeles, California. Upon graduation from high school in 1943, Mlynarczyk moved to Kodiak, Alaska, to live with friends.
Person
Toston, Roosevelt
Roosevelt Toston was born May 7, 1942 and raised in Epps, Louisiana, He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 15 to live with his brother after his father's death. He graduated from Las Vegas High School and the first jobs he held were at the Fremont Hotel and the Nevada Test Site.
Person
Phipps, Christopher, 1959-
Chris Phipps was born November 1, 1959 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was homeschooled until the age of 12, when he went to boarding school in New England. After graduating high school in 1977, he moved to California and came out as gay. Phipps stopped attending college for a few years to regain his social life, but he returned and received his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Utah in 1986.
Person
Rosencrantz, Arne, 1947-
Arne Rosencrantz was born on September 27, 1947 in Longview, Washington. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952 and graduated from Las Vegas High School. He grew up in the dense Mormon population of the John S. Park Neighborhood. Rosencrantz attended Nevada Southern University, now known as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). In 1967, Rosencrantz began working at Garrett's Furniture and in 1979, he purchased the company and became its president.
Person
Vandersnick, Ralph, 1927-
Ralph Vandersnick was born March 16, 1927 in Annawan, Illinois, a small town that was 150 miles from Chicago, Illinois. His mother died when he was five, and his family moved to Atkinson, Illinois in 1934. He grew up in the Great Depression and was drafted into World War II when he was 17, missing high school graduation by a year.
Person