Mary Dale Deacon was born in El Paso, Texas, and grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Her father was a Presbyterian minister who had been called to Las Cruces before she was born. She and her older sister and younger brother loved to read and spent a great deal of time in the public library. They all attended grade school and high school in Las Cruces. Mary earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and also took some graduate courses in history. When she transferred to the University of Denver to work on her librarian degree, she was able to use the history credits as her minor. After graduating, she interviewed for a position at the University of British Columbia, requesting government publications as her field of interest, and worked there for the next three years. During this time, she met and married a Canadian who was also a librarian. In 1969, Mary and her husband interviewed at the University of Arizona library, and her husband received a job offer. Mary became a research associate on a book which was published, and also had a research paper published. She was eventually hired as head of government documents at the university, and later took a position as assistant librarian in charge of public services. Mary was recommended for director of libraries at UNLV in 1982. She accepted the job, with all its many challenges, and worked there until she retired in 1992. During those ten years, she was responsible for increasing the book collection and the funding, changing to an integrated automated program, instigating staff development and developing new positions, and finally getting a new library as the number one building project for the university system.

Barbara Cloud was born in Tulare, California. Her father's job kept the family on the move for the first seven years of her life. They eventually settled in Idaho Falls, Idaho, where Barbara attended grade school and high school. After graduation, Barbara applied to three universities and was accepted at all three. She chose Stanford and decided to major in journalism. It was while at Stanford that she also met and married her husband Stan. Stan and Barbara moved to California, where Barbara got a job working on a weekly Sunday supplement. After a year and a half, they returned to Oregon and Barbara decided to get her master's in journalism. She was given a graduate assistantship at the University of Oregon, and completed the degree in two years. In 1969, Stan agreed to accept a post doctoral assignment in Australia, and Barbara found a job with an advertising agency. After six years, the couple returned to Oregon, and Barbara decided to apply to the University of Washington for a PH.D. in journalism. She was admitted, given a graduate assistantship, and completed the work in three years. In 1978, Barbara applied for a journalism position at UNLV. She was hired, and she and Stan moved to Las Vegas in 1979. She built up the journalism program and continued with her research. In 1983, she became department chair, a position she was elected to each year for the next six years. She was the editor of "Journalism History", published her own book, and was associate provost for academic affairs. Barbara is retired today, though still connected with the School of Journalism. She is planning to teach a distance education course.

With roots in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, John J. Delibos epitomizes a true Las Vegan. At the age of eight, his family moved from Wisconsin to Las Vegas to take advantage of emerging employment opportunities. Raised in a devout Catholic household, his mother and father demonstrated a strong work ethic that John would emulate. After graduating from Cornell University, John returns to Las Vegas. Over the course of his young adulthood, John meets many of Las Vegas' key developers, including the McKellars, the Boyds, and the Thomases. He works in various capacities, in various casinos around town. Eventually, John retires from gaming and works full-time as an interior designer, a skill he cultivated since childhood. Throughout the interview, John recollects, with meticulous detail, the development of Las Vegas since the 1960s, neighborhood by neighborhood, street by street, property by property. John now lives at Turnberry, overlooking a very different Las Vegas than that which he first saw as a child living at The DeVille.