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Displaying results 821741 - 821750 of 830805

Jan Jones oral history interview

Identifier

OH-00970

Abstract

Oral history interview with Jan Jones conducted by Dennis McBride on March 26, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Jones discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1981 and describes the car dealership commercials she was involved in with Kenny Kerr in the 1980s. Jones recalls the No Hate rallies that were organized in Nevada to support gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. She then talks about the backlash she received as Mayor of Las Vegas because of her support for the gay community.

Archival Collection

Barbara and Norman Kaye oral history interviews

Identifier

OH-00989

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Barbara and Norman Kaye conducted by Claytee D. White on February 24, 2010, March 09, 2010, and December 06, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Barbara Kaye begins the interview by discussing her career as a showgirl and moving to Reno, Nevada in 1955 to work as a dancer in a show at the Mapes Hotel in 1955. She then talks about later moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to dance at the Riviera Hotel & Casino. She also describes living briefly in Hawaii with her husband, Norman Kaye, his career as a musician, and the life of a Las Vegas showgirl. Norman Kaye discusses his career as a musician in the Mary Kaye Trio with his sister, Mary Kaye. He recalls when they performed at the El Rancho Hotel and Casino, Tropicana Hotel, and Sahara Hotel and Casino, as well as his songwriting outside of the group and being named the poet laureate of Nevada by Governor Grant Sawyer. Lastly, he talks about his career in real estate and his company, Norman Kaye Real Estate.

Archival Collection

Kevin M. Kelly oral history interviews

Identifier

OH-01003

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Kevin M. Kelly conducted by Dennis McBride on September 08 and 22; and November 10, 2000 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. In the interviews, Kelly talks about his family and early life in Boston, Massachusetts with a focus on his Catholic upbringing. He recalls his law education, serving in the United States Army during the Vietnam War for eleven years, and discovering his sexuality in 1966 while working in the Boston City Hospital. Kelly then describes being discharged from the military due to allegations of being gay, and his family's reaction. He then recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978, where he was involved in a robbery and shooting incident with a male sex worker in 1982. Kelly goes on to recall the trial that proceed the incident and how it publicly outed him. He details how he was charged with felony sodomy and ultimately lost his job as a result of the trial. Finally, he talks about serving on a task force to investigate bias in Nevada's court system in 1992 and being honored in 1994 by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada for his work.

Archival Collection

Diane C. Kneeland oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01034

Abstract

Oral history interview with Diane C. Kneeland conducted by Claytee D. White on May 19, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Kneeland discusses the history of Las Vegas, Nevada and how the city has developed. Kneeland discusses her husband, William Coulthard, a former state assemblyman; the casinos she would visit on the Las Vegas Strip; and volunteering in the Junior League. Lastly, she describes life in Las Vegas during the 1950s, the entertainment available in Las Vegas, and nuclear weapons tests.

Archival Collection

Richard Kunkel oral history interviews

Identifier

OH-01048

Abstract

Oral history interviews with Richard Kunkel conducted by Patrick Carlton on October 11, 2002 and November 06, 2002 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Kunkel opens his interview by explaining his higher education career in the 1970s throughout the Midwest. He then discusses being hired as Dean in 1978 for the in the College of Education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He then describes the faculty at UNLV at the time, his leadership style, and the different administrations at the Nevada Department of Education. Kunkel then talks about serving on the Land Grant Deans Association and some personal conflicts he had with fellow deans from the association. He recalls being an active voice in the local community while at UNLV, and creating the School of Physical Education within the College of Education. Lastly, Kunkel describes the administration staff at UNLV during the 1980s, and how different administrations impacted the image of the university.

Archival Collection

Valda and Esper Esau oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01058

Abstract

Oral history interview with Valda and Esper Esau conducted by Su Kim Chung on February 20, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, the Espers discuss their careers in entertainment. Valda Esper begins by describing her upbringing in Australia, learning to dance, and later going on to perform in various productions in Paris, France, as well as other European countries, before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1958 to perform as a showgirl at the Stardust Resort and Casino. Esper Esau then describes his personal history, how he developed stage hand experience, moving to Las Vegas in 1954, and working shows with prominent performers, such as Liberace, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Esper continues, describing his specific job duties and why he transferred to the Stardust from the Sands Hotel & Casino. Valda discusses the life of a Las Vegas showgirl, the amount of work the position required, and how they were required to present themselves in public. The Espers recall how they met, life in Las Vegas during the 1960s, and opening a bed and breakfast after retiring from show business.

Archival Collection

Helen E. La Plant oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01061

Abstract

Oral history interview with Helen E. La Plant conducted by Claytee D. White on October 08, 2003 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. La Plant begins by discussing her early life in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1920s and 1930s and joining the United States Army at the age of twenty-one. La Plant then describes serving in Okinawa, Japan after World War II as a photographer for the Signal Corps. La Plant describes her return from Japan and decision to attend photography school in New York City, New York. La Plant then chronicles her experiences moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in the late 1950s to work at the Nevada Test Site as a photographer. She then recounts the shift from aboveground atomic testing to underground testing and her role as head of the photography department at the Nevada Test Site. Lastly, La Plant talks about entertainment during the 1960s in Las Vegas.

Archival Collection

William Laub Sr. oral history interviews

Identifier

OH-01066

Abstract

Oral history interviews with William Laub Sr. conducted by Claytee D. White on October 20 and 28, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Laub opens the interview discussing his service in the United States Navy in the Pacific Theater in World War II. He also talks about his education in Van Nuys, California, his time in law school, and gaining Basic Magnesium Inc. as a client for his California law firm. He discusses coordinating the construction of the gas pipeline from Henderson, Nevada into Las Vegas, Nevada. He recalls being injured in a gas explosion, that forced him to rehabilitate in Las Vegas, and inevitably move his family to the area in 1956. He describes the construction changes that occurred on the Las Vegas Strip from the 1950s onward. Laub also explains why the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino was a political epicenter, and recounts meeting Nevada Lieutenant Governor Clifford Jones and other political candidates.

Archival Collection

Anna June Layton oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01073

Archival Collection

Calvin Leavitt oral history interview

Identifier

OH-01075

Abstract

Oral history interview with Calvin Leavitt conducted by Patricia van Betten on March 09, 2007 for the History of the Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project. Leavitt discusses his birth in Mesquite, Nevada at his family's dairy farm, and goes into detail about his schooling in Mesquite. Leavitt describes his family's dairy farm and their conversion from a Grade B to a Grade A farm. He then details his summers spent working odd jobs at the Blue Diamond mine in the summers of 1950 and 1951. Leavitt primarily discusses his outdoor hobbies, namely hunting, fishing, trapping, and rockhounding. He also describes his reasons for moving to Blue Diamond in 1995.

Archival Collection