A resident of Southern Nevada from the age of three, Susan Watson shares her memories of growing up and living in Las Vegas. After a year in Boulder City, Susan's father bought an old army barrack and converted it to a home in North Las Vegas; Susan remembers playing in the desert with her siblings and attending elementary and middle school before starting at Rancho High. Watching her mother design costumes for Strip performers and beautiful dresses for her own high school dances no doubt helped Susan develop her own sense of taste and style - something that she would put to good use over many years as an interior designer. Before that though, Susan shares her memories of what life was like in the Las Vegas of the 1950s and 1960s: cruising Fremont Street; movie nights; after-school work; favorite teachers; lunches on the lawn; and dance club. All combine to paint a vivid picture of a smaller town and a simpler time in the Las Vegas valley.
Joy Snyder, born and raised in Pennsylvania, is the daughter of Jean Dasinto and stepdaughter of Ray Hunt. Though she was raised thinking she was an only child, she shares that as an adult, she was contacted by an aunt who gave her information about an Austrian half-sister. The half-sister had tracked the family through WWII records on her biological father! Joy was raised in a very large extended Italian family (her maternal grandmother was first-generation Italian) and became the first in her family to attend college. She had decided early on that she wanted to be a nurse and chose to attend Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia. She recounts memories of her earliest work there, which began the first week of school. After graduation from nursing school, Joy married her childhood sweetheart, William (Bill) Snyder. They made the move to Las Vegas in 1978 and Joy found work right away at Desert Springs Hospital. She worked there about six months and then took maternity leave after the birth of their second son. When she returned to work, it was at Sunrise Hospital (early 1979) in the newborn nursery. Joy comments on many aspects of her career, including the informal approach to health care, the effects of desert climate on mothers and newborns, and the changes she has seen at Sunrise Hospital. She also comments on adoption practices in Las Vegas, drug-addicted babies, and cultural attitudes that appear during the birthing process. Today Joy is retired and her husband Bill is close to retiring. They feel a strong connection to Las Vegas (Bill has a school named after him), but maintain a second home in New York for their trips back East to visit friends and family. They also keep up with various community activities, including book clubs and running clubs for the children at William Snyder Elementary School.
Oral history interview with Kaity Webber conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 16, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Kaity Webber describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada and earning her degree in psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Webber discusses the excitement she had going to the Route 91 Harvest festival with a friend on the weekend of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas shooting. She talks about her experiences from that night, including how she found shelter in the Thomas & Mack Center with countless others, as well as her process of healing from the traumatic event.
On July 3, 1975, Robin Wright interviewed Doctor Nancy Leveque (b. 1933 in Oak Park, Illinois) about her time living in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview covers, among many wide-ranging topics, Leveque’s move to and away from Las Vegas, her career as a veterinarian, and the practice she and her then-husband built. Leveque also discusses how the city of Las Vegas has changed-environmentally and socially-, special interest groups and social activities, as well as natural phenomena. Throughout the course of the interview, Leveque provides anecdotes about prominent figures and old Las Vegas traditions, such as Helldorado.