Oral history interview with Allin Chandler conducted by Claytee D. White on December 9, 2002 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Allin Chandler discusses his education and career history, including being a teacher and educational administrator in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1968-1990 as well as being a part of the Clark County Association of School Administrators (CCASA). Chandler also discusses the instructional philosophy that he follows and the originators of it. Other topics discussed are developments in education, personal writing and public speaking skills, instructional leadership, school administration, and parental responsibilities.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Agnes and Emory Lockette conducted by Claytee D. White on March 11, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Agnes and Emory discuss their early lives and their experience living in Boulder City, Nevada since the early 1950s. Emory talks about his education as an engineer, his employment with the United States Bureau of Reclamation, and race relations in Boulder City at the time. Agnes recalls her career in education and teaching at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Lastly, Emory discusses water resource management in the southwest region of the United States.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Jill DeStefano conducted by Stefani Evans on January 19, 2024 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, DeStefano describes growing up in Long Beach, California and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2006 with her husband. DeStefano became interested in helping protect the 13,000 acres of land near her home of Aliente, and became a member of the founding board of "Protectors of Tule Springs." In this interview, she talks about the role the recession had on their work; engaging the public in the project; the stakeholders with whom they negotiated; the tours they conducted; and the legislation passed through Title 30 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in December of 2014 creating the Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alda May and George Williams conducted by Jay Brewer on April 09, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Alda and George discuss the history of Boulder City, Nevada. Alda describes arriving to Boulder City in 1931 and recalls moving into one of the first homes built there. George then talks about working on the Boulder (Hoover) Dam and describes the various jobs he had at the dam. The two then discuss social life in Boulder City and how it changed as the population increased. Lastly, Alda and George describe their frequent visits to Las Vegas, Nevada and recall the entertainment that the city offered.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sarann Knight Preddy conducted by Yvonne R. Hunter on July 16, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Knight discusses her bar (The Lincoln Bar) in Hawthorne, Nevada and how she built it for the African American community because of limited access to venues due to segregation. Knight then talks about working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the influence that gambling had on the community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mabel and David Hoggard conducted by Perry Kaufman on February 23, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. David first discusses working at Nellis Air Force Base, how the armed forces weren’t segregated, and that segregation was not as big as it was outside of the base. David then explains the hostility between the civilian black community and the military black community. Mabel discusses education in West Las Vegas, Nevada, working with the American Red Cross, Teachers Local, and her membership with the National Education Association.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Samuel E. Wright conducted by Claytee D. White on October 08, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Wright discusses Stokely Carmichael, the black power philosophy, and his remorse in the Washington riots. Wright also discusses job opportunities in Las Vegas, Nevada and the lack of commissioner support to build a public mass transit system. Wright then shares stories about the Westside neighborhood and other black neighborhoods of the 1980s. He talks about the closing of F Street and resulting protests in 2008 and 2009, and the creation of Symphony Park.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Harry Mortenson conducted by Claytee D. White on April 08, 2014, April 22, 2014, and May 06, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In the first interview, Mortenson discusses his personal background, working at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and arriving to Nevada to work as a nuclear physicist at the Nevada Test Site. Mortenson describes his work and recalls anecdotes from his employment. He then talks about his company, Sigma Scientific, and explains the different projects where he worked as a consultant. In the second interview, Mortenson discusses the methods of transportation used to arrive to the Nevada Test Site, his involvement with different organizations, and his tenure in the Nevada State Legislature. In the final interview, Mortenson discusses the device he built to take photographs of the nuclear reactor cores at Las Alamos National Laboratory, and explains how that device worked.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with James Dean Leavitt conducted by Claytee D. White on September 27 and October 4, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Leavitt recalls his role in establishing a medical school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), now known as Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. Leavitt was elected to the Board of Regents in 2004 while Jim Rogers was interim Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), and he suggested the creation of an ad hoc committee Health Science Center Committee. In 2009, Leavitt became Chairman of the Board of Regents, Dan Klaich became Chancellor, and in the following year, Dr. Mark Doubrava joined the board. In May 2014, the planning dean was hired, Dr. Barbara Atkinson, and the UNLV School of Medicine was officially established on August 22, 2014.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Robert W. Maichle conducted by Jeff van Ee on April 17, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
In this interview, Robert Maichle shares details of his childhood growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada, the openness of the valley before major city development, and the animals and flora that inhabited the region. He talks briefly about his education at Nevada Southern University (now the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) in the early 1960s and his accolades and environmental engagements in Las Vegas serving the Resource Advisory Council to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Southern Nevada Conservation Council, and the Nevada Wildlife Federation, among other organizations. Maichle discusses how he helped draft the first map outlining public lands for sale, his involvement in establishing wilderness protection for Las Vegas lands, and his work to keep the MX Missile System out of the state of Nevada.
Archival Collection