It was spring vacation 1971 when Mary Hausch arrived in Las Vegas with four girlfriends. As a Ohio University senior, the closing of college campuses due to anti-Vietnam War protests had given her a reprieve from final tests and papers. The spontaneity of the trip and her enjoyment of the weather resulted in her applying for, and getting, a reporter position at the Las Vegas Review-Journal. For the next nineteen years, she worked her way up the newspaper ladder, covered local education issues that included desegregation, a groundbreaking series of POW-MIA war stories, and the Nevada legislature. She became the first woman city editor and managing editor of the newspaper. Her career journey was not always smooth. It was an era of cultural roadblocks and emerging feminism. Eventually, Mary was passed over for the ultimate appointment of R-J editor and was placated with a short-lived "associate editor" position. She describes the ensuing civil rights complaints and how she segued into teaching at UNLV. During her robust journalism career, Mary's personal life also hit some rocky times, but ended happily when she met and married Bob Coffin, a then reporter for the newspaper. [Bob is interviewed separately for this John S. Park neighborhood series.] The couple bought the Gubler House in John S. Park and Mary describes the charm of the house as well as the neighborhood, historically and currently. Mary was a tireless participant in the efforts to have John S. Park designated a historic neighborhood. This two-part interview paints a picture of a community that has weathered various phases from what she calls the "widow phase" to the "homeless" to the rebirth stirred by new residents. She also offers advice and thoughts for those looking to achieve the historic designation for their neighborhood.

Dr. Thomas Holder grew up in San Diego, completed graduate work at the University of Washington, and then spent a year in Europe painting. Upon returning to the States, he checked out job opportunities in Las Vegas and San Diego. The chance to build a program from scratch appealed to him and he settled at UNLV in 1971. Tom has seen many changes in the university, the art program, and the city itself. He has encouraged students to show their work in various venues around Las Vegas and is always searching out new places to exhibit. In addition to staying current with his own work, Tom supports First Friday and a visiting artist program. To ensure quality education for Nevada students and to encourage enrollment at UNLV, he oversees a new project called "August in the Schools". Faculty members go out into the area high schools to speak about the art program and invite the students to attend Today, Dr. Holder is chairing the art department, works on a self-study of the department for the purpose of accreditation with the Nat'l Association of Schools of Art and Design, and continues with his own artistic endeavors. He plans to travel with his family as well.

Debra March was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1953. She is one of eight siblings all of whom attended Catholic school as children and eventually went on to professional careers. Debra's father worked for the city of Detroit, then moved to Las Vegas and was hired by the Clark County School District. He ultimately retired from there. Debra came to Las Vegas for the first time in 1973. Though she left for a couple of years, she eventually settled here and attended UNLV, earning an undergraduate degree in anthropology and biology. She then served a little over six years as a park ranger in Red Rock and Lake Tahoe. While at Lake Tahoe, Debra got her real estate license. She followed her husband to Ely, where she became a social worker. She ran the welfare division for rural Nevada in several counties and also kept her real estate license active. In 1989, Debra applied for the position of administrator of the Nevada Real Estate Division in Las Vegas. In her capacity as deputy administrator, Debra oversaw the activities of individuals who sold real estate. She and others in the division also monitored land sales time-shares, campground memberships and appraisers. She served in that position for four and a half years. In 1996, Debra was hired at UNLV. Many of the faculty members in the real estate school today are the ones who were there when she was hired, such as Mike Clauretie, Dick Hoyt, and Bob Aalberts. The Lied Institute, which she directs, supports an academic program in real estate and finance. It also conducts research, addresses community issues such as affordable housing, and offers adult and executive education programs. Debra is very involved in addressing many of the problems of housing and transportation that affect everyone living in the valley. In addition to heading the Lied Institute, she is also a Henderson planning commissioner, serves on the National Board of the American Planning Association, and is vice chairman of the board of the Urban Land Institute. She is proud of having established a real estate mentoring program that matches students with industry professionals, and she works closely with students to help them with their career goals.