Oral history interview with Rex Bell, Jr. conducted by Claytee D. White on March 02, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Bell Jr. discusses growing up on the Walking Box Ranch, as the son of movie stars Rex Bell and Clara Bow, and attending law school. He also discusses working in Las Vegas, Nevada with his own law practice and race relations in the city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with John M. Belville conducted by George Braver on March 11, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Braver discusses his move to Nevada in 1926, his personal history, and early banking in Nevada leading up to modernized banking. Belville also discusses his personal experience in the banking business, working in Hollywood as a singer, and key moments of his life in Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Brian Block conducted by Diane Spero on February 27, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Block discusses the construction business, community planning, architectural design, and his personal feelings in regard to the development of the Las Vegas, Nevada area. Block also discusses legalized gambling, politics, mass transit problems, and other social and environmental changes in Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elmore B. Curtis conducted by Judy L. Curtis on March 1, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Fire department captain, Elmore B. Curtis covers life in Southern Nevada since 1942, including his personal history, and the early development of the Nevada Test Site. During the interview, Curtis also discusses early tourism and socio-economic progress in Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ruby C. Leavitt conducted by her grandson, Patton Alberti, on November 30, 1986 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Leavitt describes her early childhood in Genoa, Nevada, and then discusses moving to different towns in northern Nevada while working as a teacher. Leavitt also discusses the expansion of Reno, Nevada and her time attending University of Nevada, Reno in the 1920s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Al Levy conducted by Cheryl Caples and Martha Zehnder on February 23, 1979 and March 8, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Levy discusses Las Vegas, Nevada history, notably Jewish discrimination in the city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sandy Croteau conducted by Claytee D. White on January 18, 2024 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Croteau discusses the history of Tule Springs area, which covers over 13,000 acres and how she became involved in turning the area into Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument. Croteau is a retired real estate professional and a National Parks volunteer. She recalls growing up in Los Angeles and Downey, California and engaging in outdoor activities with her father and brothers, which paved the way for her work on Tule Springs.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Peter Fabbi conducted by unnamed interviewer in approximately 1974 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Fabbi shares that he was born and raised in Carrara, Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1896. After working as a stone cutter in New York and Connecticut, he moved to Tonopah, Nevada. He eventually became the manager of the Merchant's Hotel in Tonopah before opening a bakery in that city. Fabbi speaks at length on a variety of subjects, including stories about his businesses, the Great Depression, politics, fraternal organizations, and his family and friends.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Helen Smith conducted by Claytee D. White on February 20, 2007 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Smith discusses her personal history and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1956. She then talks about her employment at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital and the change to University Medical Center (UMC). Smith recalls an air conditioning business she co-owned with her husband at the time, and the activities she did as a member of Daughters of the Nile, a women's community service organization. Lastly, she discusses education and the general changes in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Grant M. Bowler conducted by David N. Cunningham on February 20, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. During this interview, Bowler discusses his personal family history in relation to Nevada, education, employment, and his thirty seven years of experience as a principal in Moapa Valley, Nevada.
Archival Collection