Search Results
Kenneth W. Fong oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Kenneth W. Fong conducted by Lois Goodall on February 22, 2014 for the West Charleston Neighborhoods--an Oral History Project of Ward 1. Fong discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and being the son of two successful and philanthropic community members, Wing and Lilly Fong. Fong also discusses his father starting a grocery store and later in 1955, Fong’s Garden. He then discusses real estate development, Nevada State Bank development, as well as contributing to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the Chinatown evolution.
Archival Collection
Juan Saa oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Juan Saa conducted by David G. Schwartz on November 21, 2016 for the Slot Operations Oral History Project. Saa discusses his start in the technical side and his eventual move into an operational role in the casino industry. He talks about his experience as a director, specifically the responsibilities involved, and the type of staff being supervised. Saa then describes what he believes are the biggest changes in the slot industry, specifically with ticket-in, ticket-out (TITO); and slot analysis.
Archival Collection
Will Provance oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Will Provance conducted by David Schwartz on July 14, 2016 for the Slot Operations Oral History Project. Provance discusses his various roles in the gaming industry the difference between managing slot machines in his earlier positions and video lottery terminals (VLTs) in his current position in Ohio. He also discusses what he believes makes a good slot floor and how slot operations has changed since he started in the industry.
Archival Collection
Christie Young oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Christie Young conducted by Dennis McBride on October 18, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In the interview, Young talks about her early life in Reno, Nevada and her experiences with race and sexuality during this time. She then describes attending University of Nevada, Reno in 1974, getting pregnant, having an abortion, and the social implications of abortions. Young recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979 to study anthropology at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, learning about gay culture, and attending the Metropolitan Community Church. She then explains joining gay rights organizations as a straight woman, gay rights activism in the 1980s and 1990s, and stories of individuals within the Las Vegas gay community.
Archival Collection
Christine Szukala oral history interview: transcript
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Christine Szukala conducted by Bridgette Foote on November 12, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Christine shares her family history and the story of her Thai mother and American Air Force father who met in Thailand and married before moving to the United States in 1970. She talks about her upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada near Nellis Air Force base with her six siblings. Christine discusses her beliefs of how her newly immigrated mother adapted to American life, including altering her recipes to fit her husband's taste and reducing her visits to nearby Buddhist temples.
Text
Miguel Villarba oral history interview: transcript
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Miguel Villarba conducted by David Islas on December 6, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Miguel Villarba shares his family's history growing up in Manila, Philippines and immigrating to the United States in 2016. He talks about first living in Chattanooga, Tennessee before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada to be near family when Miguel was in high school. Miguel Villarba shares stories of his grandfather's farm in Pangasinan, Philippines, the differences in city and town life across Manila, Chattanooga, and Las Vegas, and his educational plans. He also talks about Filipino culture and traditions, and racial discrimination.
Text
Sarah Serna oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Sarah Serna conducted by Dennis McBride on December 04, 1998 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. Serna opens her interview by discussing her move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1993, and her first assignment as a Methodist minister to a small congregation in North Las Vegas. Serna then explains how she became involved in LGBT social justice issues after witnessing expressions of homophobia and prejudice within her church. She discusses her involvement with the Las Vegas LGBT community and the development of a pastoral care outreach program, the development of the World AIDS Day prayer vigil, and the foundation of the Community Counseling Center, later renamed Lighthouse Ministry. Serna then talks about her decision to transition from the Methodist Church to the Episcopalian Church and becoming the first Episcopalian priest in Las Vegas to bless same-sex marriages. She also discusses the development of a transitional housing program, changes in the LGBT community in Las Vegas, and many individuals involved in LGBT social justice programs in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Claytee D. White oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with Claytee D. White conducted by Stefani Evans on November 2, 2023 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Claytee D. White, founding directory of the Oral History Research Center at UNLV Libraries, celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the OHRC by contributing her oral history to the collection.
She begins by explaining how the system of sharecropping worked in her family near rural Ahoskie, North Carolina, and she talks about the field work involved in raising cotton, tobacco, corn, and peanuts. The fifth of eight children and the first daughter, she shares memories of going into town with her mother, of admiring her women teachers, and of attending North Carolina Central College (now University) for two years before moving to Washington, D.C., and working for the telephone company.
After recalling her two years in D.C. and 22 years in Los Angeles, California, she describes "running away" to Las Vegas, Nevada in the early 1990s. Here, at the History department at UNLV, she recalls learning to conduct oral histories. White shares memories of her first interviews with Hazel and Jimmy Gay and Lucille Bryant. She talks of matriculating to the College of William and Mary for her PhD and of returning to Bertie County to live with her mother and administer the office of The Shaw University Center for Alternative Programs in Education (CAPE). She describes how she was offered the position of OHRC founding director, why it matters that she was an "opportunity hire," and how it feels to be the only Black person in a room.
Archival Collection
David Parks oral history interviews
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interviews with David Parks conducted by Dennis McBride on February 16 and 21, 2000 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In the interviews, Parks talks about his early life in Boston, Massachusetts, his education, and his service with the United States Air Force, where he was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1967. Parks then recalls understanding his sexuality during his military service and policies regarding gay military personnel. He remembers coming out as gay in 1972, when he attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and worked for the City of Las Vegas as a computer operator. He then talks about getting involved with politics, his involvement with gay support organizations including Aid for AIDS of Nevada, and his experiences running as the first openly gay Nevada State Assemblyman in 1996. Lastly, Parks discusses same sex rights legislation that was brought forward during his time in office.
Archival Collection