Dr. Joseph "Andy" Fry is currently a professor of history at UNLV. He was born and grew up in West Virginia, the only child of an insurance salesman and a public school teacher. His parents met in Ronceverte, West Virginia, and lived for a while in his grandmother's boarding house. He had an idyllic childhood in this small town of 2500 people. Andy received an excellent high school education, including learning eighth grade English and 2 years of Latin from his mother. After graduation, he was interested in playing college basketball and ended up at Davis and Elkins College in east central West Virginia. Undecided on a major at first, he tried math and then chemistry, but he found his niche when he began studying the history of western civilization. During his undergraduate years, Andy met his wife-to-be, Sandra Schwitzer, and they were married in 1969 in the summer after their senior year. He was accepted at graduate school in history at the University of Virginia, so he and his bride moved to Charlottesville. After that, he worked for 2 years at Virginia Tech. In 1975, Dr. Fry was offered a job at UNLV, so he and his family packed up and moved to Las Vegas. He was welcomed to the history department by such notables as Roman "Jay" Zom, Ralph Rosky, and Tom Wright. In addition to teaching, he has had the opportunity to do research, write 4 books, and edit a series of diplomatic biographies. Andy was department chair in the mid 80s and again from 1999 to 2002. He also served for three years as executive assistant to Dr. Carol Harter (president of UNLV for 11 years), but prefers teaching over administrative work. His plans for the future are to finish a fifth book and continue teaching to at least age 66.

Cindy Funkhouser grew up in the Midwest where she developed an early interest in "old stuff' as she refers to it. Her self-education in antiques spawned her business, Funk House, which she opened in 2001. Cindy is one of the forces behind the Downtown's arts movement and the development of First Friday, which was inspired by her observations of a similar event in Portland, OR. Cindy moved to Las Vegas around 1980. Her parents had moved to the valley in the late 1970s. When not working as a cocktail waitress at the Four Queens—a downtown casino where she was employed for 14 years—she pursued her interest in vintage items as a part-time business. Today others look to Cindy as a motivator for First Friday and the Las Vegas art movement that is deeply rooted in the John S. Park Neighborhood's sense of community.

Judge Lloyd D. George was born on February 22, 1930, in Montpelier, Idaho. He attended grade school and high school in Las Vegas, Nevada, and earned his B.S. degree from Brigham Young University in 1955. Later that same year, He entered the United States Air Force and worked as a fighter pilot in the Strategic Air Command. In 1958, he concluded his military service as a captain. And in 1961, George earned his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Judge George was admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1961 and began practice in Las Vegas. After 11 years in practice, he began on the path to Chief Judge: In 1974, he was appointed by the Ninth Circuit to preside over the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Nevada for a term of fourteen years. In 1980, Lloyd became a member of the Ninth Circuit Bankruptcy Appellate Panels and in 1984, President Ronald Reagan appointed him to the United States District Court for the District of Nevada. On July 15,1992, George was elevated to Chief Judge of the Nevada District. During his tenure on the bench, Chief Judge George held a variety of distinguished memberships. He was a board member on the Federal Judicial Center, a member of the National Bankruptcy Conference, the Chair of the Judicial Advisory for Bankruptcy Rules, the Chair of the Judicial Committee on Administration of Bankruptcy System, a Fellow at the American College of Bankruptcy, and a member of the Judicial Committee on International Judicial Relations. Judge Lloyd George is a highly respected figure in Southern Nevada and has given us a truly intriguing interview.

Darwin Gidel, born in 1924, grew up in Rockwell City, Iowa. He describes his childhood activities, schooling, and the jobs he held as a teenager. After graduating from high school in June of '42, Darwin immediately joined the military. His basic training took him from Minneapolis to Missouri, after which he was stationed in Nebraska, California, Florida, and South Carolina for further training. As he recalls his early military training, Darwin also evokes the patriotic fervor that gripped the country. He shares stories about the kindnesses he and many other enlistees received from individuals and families, ranging from rides to dinners to overnights. Darwin's overseas assignment was in London, England, beginning in November of 1943. He vividly recalls the bombing raids he flew and describes them from beginning to end. His B-l 7 was shot down over Belgium in March of 1944, and he and eight other crew members were held as POWs for eleven months. Much of Darwin's incarceration was in a Luftwaffe Hospital in Brussels, where his injured leg was removed. His memories include hospital personnel, solitary confinement, interrogation, and later being moved around to many different prisons in Germany. He clearly recalls relationships among prisoners, the configuration of German prisons, types of food served to inmates, and finally his repatriation from Annenberg Castle in Germany. After the war, Darwin earned a degree in accounting on the Gl Bill, which eventually led to general administration work in Sacramento. Along the way he married and had four children. After his wife passed away in the late seventies. Darwin eventually relocated to Las Vegas and remarried. He describes the city, recalls the small town atmosphere, and compares the impersonal bottom-line attitude of modem casinos to the folksy, welcoming feel of those establishments in the early eighties.

Barbara Givens was born in California, grew up in Reno, Nevada, and moved to Las Vegas in 1952 with her family when she was 14 years old. Her father ran a small construction business here in Vegas until he retired about 15 years ago. Her brother Steve and his children live in Vegas also. Barbara graduated from Las Vegas High School and enrolled in the first matriculated teacher's program at the Southern Regional Division of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas (now known as UNLV). Barbara was involved in organizing the first "Rebel Yell", school dances in Las Vegas, and other collegiate activities in Reno. In her senior year, she returned to Las Vegas High to complete her student teaching. After graduation, Barbara was assigned to Rancho High School to teach biology. She left after a year and a half because she had married and was expecting her first child. At that point in time, Clark County School District did not allow pregnant women to remain in the classroom. Fifteen years later she returned to the classroom, this time at Chaparral High. Concurrently, Barbara entered the Master's in Education program at UNLV, and graduated in 1980. Barbara has always loved to travel and has experienced many wonderful trips to exotic places around the world. In retirement, she assists with special events at Hamm Hall and Judy Bailey Theater, goes on-line to offer her services as a biology tutor to high school students, and continues to plan exciting trips abroad. She also indulges in her favorite hobby - attending Star Trek conventions and collecting Star Trek memorabilia.

Dr Leonard Goodall, former president of UNLV, comes from a unique educational background. He was born in Warrensburg, Missouri, a small town of only 6,000 souls, and received 12 years of education in the same building. After high school, he attended Central Missouri State College, which was only about 2 miles from his home. Dr. Goodall earned his master's degree at the University of Missouri, and attended the University of Illinois for his doctorate in political science. He went right into academic life, accepting a job at Arizona State in Tempe on the basis of a phone call. For five years he taught in the department of Political Science and conducted research at the institute. He subsequently moved to the University of Illinois Chicago as instructor and then chancellor (four years), and from there to the University of Michigan Dearborn as chancellor (eight years). In 1979, Leonard accepted a position as president of UNLV. He oversaw the development of the College of Engineering, helped create the UNLV Foundation, and made a number of appointments, such as athletic director, any number of deanships, and academic vice president of student affairs. After his presidency, Dr. Goodall returned to his professorship in public administration and served on many campus committees. He phased his retirement over several years, and was completely out in 2002. Today, Leonard continues to serve on graduate committees for UNLV, and works on the search committee to find a new president.

Robert Gore first came to Las Vegas in 1973 as a public affairs officer with the Air Force. He returned to West Virginia to go into the family business in 1976 and four years later was offered a job with Summa Corporation. Back in Las Vegas, he also served as director of the Air Force Association. At a dinner meeting of the Association, Retired General Bill Becker suggested that an engineering school was needed at UNLV. Bob and the Air Force Association put together a group called FORGE, whose primary purpose was to promote a school of engineering. Bob Gore, Dave Broxterman, John Heilman and others began researching the idea of building an engineering school. They drew the interest of people at the Test Site, Nellis Air Force Base, and PEPCON, and put together a slide show and a binder full of research data. Bob and Dave presented their information to the Nevada Development Authority and Nevada legislators, and started a grassroots campaign to enlist the support of the people of Nevada. Bob gives details on the efforts that FORGE and many other individuals made on behalf of the engineering school. He takes readers into the myriad meetings that were held and the important associations that were forged with people like Tom Beam Lawrence Livermore Laboratories, the DOE, Jim Cashman, Mary Hausch of the Las Vegas Review Journal, Channel 3, Bob Thomas, and numerous others. The interviewer, Dr. David Emerson, was involved in this effort as well, and shares anecdotes concerning donations from a mining company and Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company. Today Bob is working with a real estate company in Las Vegas. Twenty-some years later, he still recalls the hard work and dedication of people like Benet Stout, on loan from Senator Chic Hecht's staff, the legislators who unanimously cosponsored the bill initiating the building project, and the original FORGE group who gave their all to the idea of a school of engineering at UNLV.