Oral history interviews with Eddie Eliscu conducted by Arnold Shaw between approximately 1986-1987 for the Arnold Shaw Oral History Project on Las Vegas Entertainers. In these interviews, Eliscu reflects upon his career in entertainment, from serving as a social director at Camp Copake, New York to songwriting for stage and film. He describes his upbringing in a non-musical family, his first performances, and the more prominent professional developments of his career.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Vivian "Viv" Frehner conducted by Gregg Carter on July 20, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Frehner talks about his upbringing in St. Thomas, Nevada, his marriage, his early work as a sheriff's deputy, a rancher, farmer, and road maintenance worker. He recalls going to the movies for twenty cents as a child, catching wild horses to ride in rodeos as a teenager, and the heat of Las Vegas, Nevada summers after he moved there for work as a young man for work. He remembers seeing dozens of artisan wells in Las Vegas well into the 1940s, the opening of Flamingo Hotel and Casino, the death of actress Carole Lombard in a 1941 plane crash outside Las Vegas, and the 1950s above-ground nuclear testing by the U. S. government.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Brittney Erickson conducted by Claytee D. White on August 14, 2015 for the Building a Las Vegas Tech Culture oral history project. In this interview, Erickson talks about growing up in Henderson in a household that pursued the family-owned business, her education and work as a teacher, and "The Spirit Project", a web-based software tool that links government agencies to people with social challenges.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ruthe Deskin conducted by Anthony Ferri on April 17, 2000 for the Communication and Community in Las Vegas research study. In this interview, Deskin talks about her upbringing in Yerington, Nevada, her degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and her permanent move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1945. She discusses her early jobs working for KENO and KLAS radio stations as an advertising and continuity editor, her public relations work for the Last Frontier Hotel, and then starting what would become her life work with Hank Greenspun's Las Vegas Sun newspaper in 1954. Later, she talks about her column "Memo to Hank" and Greenspun's "Where I Stand" column, about how Las Vegas changed over her fifty year tenure at the newspaper, politicians, racial inequality, and highlights of her career.
Archival Collection
The Las Vegas Fiber Arts (LVFA) Guild oral history project interviews (2020-2023) consist of interviews conducted by the LVFA Guild of their membership. The interviews cover a wide range of topics, and members discuss their individual history of weaving and the fiber arts, preferred methods, and different types of fibers. Interviewees also discuss mentors within the craft, their level of involvement with the guild, and the different events that the LVFA Guild organizes in Las Vegas, Nevada. Digital audio and transcripts available.
Archival Collection
The Shoah Survivors Project Oral History Interviews (2020 October) consist of four oral history interviews conducted in October 2020 and a project video created for the Shoah Survivors Project led by Roberta Sabbath and Shahab Zargari. The project interviewed four Holocaust survivors now living in Las Vegas, Nevada: Alexander Keuchel, Sabina Wagschal Callwood, Stephen Nasser, and Henry Kronberg. The collection also contains brief notes and partial transcripts for the video oral history interviews.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sarah Bartlett conducted by Sydney Bartlett on December 10, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Sarah recalls immigrating from Quezon City, Philippines as a young woman to Toronto, Canada. She recalls her childhood being full of rich cultural traditions, lots of family bonding time, and working to help support her family. Despite not having a college education, she secured a career as a title officer at Chicago Title, a position which she has held for twenty-five years. Sarah eventually met her husband, who shared a Filipino ancestry, and moved from Canada to Las Vegas, Nevada. Here they built their own life together, and despite hardships throughout her life, Sarah cherishes the unique experiences she has had living in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Erica Mosca conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on February 3, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Mosca reflects on her life journey from a low-income Asian American to a current serving Nevada State Assemblywoman. She recalls that most of her childhood was in Palm Springs, California where she enjoyed a diverse community of students within her education system. It was not until she moved to Navato, California where she first experienced the economic and resource gap between economically diverse areas. Mosca went on to be involved in a college readiness program and received a scholarship to Boston University. After college, Mosca went on to work for Teach for America where she was stationed on the east side of Las Vegas at Goldfarb Elementary School where she grew a passion for leadership. She eventually returned to school and graduated from Harvard University, returning to Las Vegas to start her nonprofit "Leaders in Training." Mosca hopes to inspire change in her communities by enacting legislation and initiatives targeted towards the communities she was and continutes to be a part of.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Casiano Corpus Jr. conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on February 14, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Corpus Jr. details a difficult childhood in the Philippines, where society is highly socioeconomically stratified. He recalls his parents working a number of jobs to support their large family, and as soon as he finished his primary schooling, he also started working in construction. When his father was finally petitioned by his uncle to move to the United States, Corpus was at first reluctant to go, since he had a familiar life in the Philippines, but has come to love the United States and the life he created for himself. Immediately after moving to the United States, their family landed in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Corpus began working a number of jobs. He started out as a busboy at a Chinese restaurant before deciding that he wanted to work in a casino and moved to Union Plaza. His current job is as a porter at Palace Station, where he has been for the past 31 years. He has also been working to unionize Palace Station and Station casinos with the Culinary Union for the past twelve years. He talks about the hunger strike he organized, why he organizes with no fear, and what he hopes to see out of his efforts throughout the interview.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ernest Oon conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on February 16, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Oon recalls his childhood in Singapore, where his father worked on the Health and Sports Council for the Singaporean Government and his mother worked as a television assistant producer. Growing up, Oon recalls being very active, participating in everything from soccer to Tae Kwon Do. In an effort to continue his education without being being interrupted by Singapore's civil service program, Oon applied to college in the United States and ended up attending California State University. Although he was on the medicine track in Singapore, he switched to finance. After a series of jobs within credit banking, he is now a chief credit officer for Bank of Nevada. Throughout the interview, Oon reflects on the changes in his life living in different places, the street food from Singapore, and his unique tennis game.
Archival Collection