Rosemary Witt grew up in the very small town of Columbia, Iowa. She went to a two-room country school in Columbia and attended high school in Knoxville. Her nursing diploma was completed at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. She then worked in the operating room for a month or two and switched to pediatrics. When Rosemary's dad fell ill, she moved back to Knoxville to be closer to him and found employment at the VA psychiatric hospital. After five years there, first as staff and then as head nurse, she got the opportunity to attend a nursing program at the University of Iowa which paid tuition and a stipend. She completed her baccalaureate degree, and then worked as an assistant instructor. In the late '60s, Rosemary decided to further her education, and went to the University of Washington in Seattle for her master's in psychiatric nursing. She stayed for three years afterwards to teach on that faculty, and then attended a workshop in Las Vegas in 1971. Rosemary was attracted by the sunshine in Las Vegas, and called UNLV to see if there were any openings. She interviewed and was hired as a psychiatric nurse instructor. In '75 or '76, she decided to pursue her doctorate at the University of Texas in Austin, and persuaded her sister to move to Las Vegas to watch her house and pets while she was away at school. In the many years that she's been at UNLV, Rosemary had served as chair of the nursing program for over thirty of those years. She also served as interim director for a year while a search was conducted for a dean. Today she teaches classes and is involved in research. Rosemary recalls the early days when several disciplines were housed in Frazier Hall. Having spent over thirty years at UNLV, she has seen many changes in the campus and in the city. Today the nursing program has its own school and inhabits most of a large building. She and other instructors are involved in research which improves life for Las Vegans and patients everywhere. She is confident that the nursing school will continue to grow and offer more educational opportunities for students.

Dr. Richard V. Wyman was born in Painesville, Ohio, and lived there until he joined the navy in 1943 at the age of 17. His father got into real estate and insurance in Painesville. Richard's mother graduated from Ohio State with a degree in home economics, worked until she married, and then devoted her life to her family. In high school, Dick took college prep classes. A month before he graduated he joined the Navy and was sent to college part of the time. He got out of the Navy in 1946 and continued on in college with help from the 52-20 club, a type of GI bill. He studied geology in the night school division of Western Reserve. He met his future wife Anne during this time and they were both admitted to Michigan State grad school. After graduate school, Richard and his wife moved to South America where he had been offered a job. His wife eventually taught grade school there, K through 8. They moved back to Prescott, Arizona, where Dick was offered a job with New Jersey Zinc. Art Still then hired him to work for Western Gold and Uranium and the Golden Crown Mining Company, so Richard and Anne moved to St. George, Utah, with their son Bill. In 1959 Dick met with Don McGregor who hired him to build the Marshmallow Tunnel at the Nevada Test Site. He also built the Exchequer Tunnel for the Sunshine Mine in Idaho, and a tunnel in Merced, California. Eventually McGregor asked him to return to the Test Site to work on Project Pile Driver. In 1969 Herb Wells offered Richard a job at UNLV teaching in engineering. He taught statics, strength and materials, surveying, field mapping and geology. He later added engineering economics, engineering management, economic geology, field geology and mineralogy. Richard took a couple of terms as chair of science and engineering, sharing that responsibility with Herb Wells, Bob Skaggs, Ray Martinez, and John Tryon. The program eventually had three civil engineers and could apply to ABET for accreditation. Dick was chair at the time, motivating the faculty to gather everything they needed for the inspections. In the '80s, the Engineering Advisory Council helped the faculty develop a plan for a new engineering building. Faculty members worked with the architect to make sure those classrooms and labs had everything they needed. After moving into the new building, civil engineering forged ahead, creating a PhD program. Over the years, Dick saw the splitting up of the old College of Science, Math, and Engineering into separate disciplines and watched the number of graduates increase from 10 to between 30 and 50. After he retired from UNLV in 1992, Dick did ABET evaluations for about eight years.

In 1960, the same year the original Ocean’s Eleven was filmed at the Sands Hotel and Casino, Robert “Bob” Genovese moved to Las Vegas to pursue a career in music. Bob’s band, The Jets, quickly got a gig at the Fremont Hotel, working opposite Wayne and Jerry Newton. Seven years later, Bob met and married Ann. The couple spent much of their early years of marriage on the road for Bob’s work, with Las Vegas always as their home base. A few years later they bought a home in McNeil Estates, and ceased their nomadic life when their eldest son, Joseph, started school. Over the years, Bob’s music career flourished, and he played showrooms across the valley, including Caesars Palace, the Flamingo, and the Driftwood Lounge, working opposite legends like Duke Ellington and Lionel Hampton. Bob and Ann’s personal life also thrived, and they had three sons: Joseph “Joe” Genovese, Patrick Genovese, and David Genovese. By all accounts, the children enjoyed an ideal upbringing. Neighbors watched out for neighbors, and all the children were friends, and spent equal parts getting in and out of trouble. After her sons grew up, Ann used her skills to start and run a travel agency. Joe, Pat and David have all remained in Las Vegas, and live back in their childhood neighborhood in the heart of the city. Joe is a successful land developer; Patrick worked for the City of North Las Vegas’ Parks and Recreation Division for 12 years before joining Gibson Guitars; and David has spent his career working at the Station Casinos. Following in both their father and mother’s musical footsteps, the Genovese sons formed a band as young adults and continue to play together informally. Having lived in Las Vegas for several decades, the Genoveses all have a unique and informed perspective on the growth and development of Las Vegas. They have witnessed hotels and casinos being erected and being demolished; experienced schools being segregated and then integrated; and seen the city transition from mob-run to corporate-dominated. The family remains committed their community, and being a part of its renaissance to ensure that it is still a great place to be a local.

Kevin: Stories about the early Pinto Palomino neighborhood, work as a teenager, black-white relations, schooling including Bishop Gorman, and the move to Las Vegas. Barbara: Difference between Flintridge, CA, and Las Vegas in 1968 when the family arrived. Husband served as one of the doctors of Howard Hughes. Community participation and hotel-casino entertainment for young couples, rearing children in Las Vegas.

Steve grew up in Las Vegas in the water business, installed drinking water systems in new homes. Linda designed homes in the West Charleston, Ward 1 area.

The Gans family moved to Las Vegas in 1950 to help alleviate Jim’s mother’s sinus condition and to provide better opportunities for his father who was in the refrigeration and air conditioning field. Jim started in school at Bonanza Elementary, then to a new Hyde Park Junior High where he was part of the first class and on to Rancho High School. Jim was always a hard worker. His first jobs were mowing lawns, a paper route, and working at a dog boarding kennel for 25-cents an hour. He learned early on that hard work and saving money would always pay off. His interests were varied including becoming a certified instructor for the Red Cross and serving on their Safety Committee. He led the Sierra Club as their Outing Chairman and spent a lot of time hiking. After graduation from high school he attended Nevada Southern University on and off because he also had to work, it took him six years to graduate. During this time, he became a member of the IBEW Union and helped build the Science and Technology Building and the Dickinson Library on campus. He then went to work for the Environmental Agency, also on campus. After that, he worked for the Titanium Metal Corporation in Henderson, NV. Always interested in flying, he went to Reno and attended the Aviation academy, got his license and stayed on for a while as an instructor. He and his wife, who he met at NSU, came back to Las Vegas where he worked for Central Telephone Co. and then Southwest Gas Company. His career path took a positive turn when he was hired by the Las Vegas Valley Water district and then transferred to the Clark County Sanitation District. He headed up an environmental planning department that culminated in a new, advanced waste water treatment plan and management system. In 1982, Jim went back to UNLV and got a MA in public administration. He spent 25 years with the Sanitation Department, 20 of those years as the General Manager. In 1999, Jim’s good friend Manny Cortez convinced him he needed a change and offered him a job at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. He took the job and worked there until he retired. Jim spends many hours in various volunteer endeavors. One is PAYBAC (Professionals and Youth Building a Commitment) where he goes to various middle schools and talks to the students about the importance of education. For Jim Gans, retired is a relative term. The Gans family moved to Las Vegas in 1950 to help alleviate his mother’s sinus condition and also better opportunities for his father who was in the refrigeration and air conditioning field. Jim started in school at Bonanza Elementary, then to a new Hyde Park Junior High where he was part of the first class and on the Rancho High School. Jim was always a hard worker. His first jobs were mowing lawns, a paper route, and working at a dog boarding kennel for .25 an hour. He learned early on that hard work and saving money would always pay off. His interests were varied including becoming a certified instructor for the Red Cross and serving on their Safety Committee. He led the Sierra Club as their Outing Chairman and spent a lot of time hiking. After graduation from high school he attended Nevada Southern University on and off because he also had to work, it took him six years to graduate. During this time, he became a member of the IBEW Union and helped build the Science and Technology Building and the Dickinson Library on campus. He then went to work for the Environmental Agency also on campus. After that, he worked for the Titanium Metal Corporation in Henderson, NV. Always interested in flying, he went to Reno and attended the Aviation academy, got his license and stayed on for a while as an instructor. He and his wife, who he met at NSU, came back to Las Vegas where he worked for Central Telephone Co. and then Southwest Gas Company. His career path took a positive turn when he was hired by the Las Vegas Valley Water district and then transferred to the Clark County Sanitation District. He headed up an environmental planning department that culminated in a new, advanced waste water treatment plan and management system. In 1982, Jim went back to UNLV and got a MA in public administration. He spent 25 years with the Sanitation Department, 20 of those years as the General Manager. In 1999, Jim’s good friend Manny Cortez convinced him he needed a change and offered him a job at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. He took the job and worked there until he retired. Jim spends many hours in various volunteer endeavors. One is PAYBAC (Professionals and Youth Building a Commitment) where he goes to various middle schools and talks to the students about the importance of education. For Jim Gans, retired is a relative term.

Mary Laub and husband William “Bill” Laub first came to Las Vegas in 1954, eventually establishing permanent residency with their five children four years later. Bill’s work with his family’s business, Southwest Gas Corporation, brought the Laub’s to the city from their lifetime home of California. Unable to find a home adequate for their large family, the Laubs ordered a home, which was shipped to Las Vegas and built on their lot in Rancho Circle. Mary’s “claim to fame” is founding the Las Vegas Assistance League chapter in 1976, serving her community through this organization for decades after. Her concern for the viability of Assistance League led her to start a thrift store to finance organizational operations, as well as solicit donations from entities like the Reynolds Foundation and Andre Agassi Foundation. To this day, the Assistance League continues many of the programs Mary started, including providing clothing to local children and the thrift store. Mary still lives in the family’s Rancho Circle home, in a community to which her and her husband dedicated themselves. In addition to his successful career with Southwest Gas, Bill was appointed by then Governor Laxalt as chairman of the Nevada Equal Rights Commission, and he also served as a Republican National Committeeman for over a decade. Mary’s work with the Assistance League was so meaningful that it established an annual Mary Laub award for other enduring volunteers. She also served on the local library board of trustees, and was involved with the Junior League for many years.