James Earl "Jim" Rogers was born on on September 15, 1938 and moved with his family to Las Vegas, Nevada from Los Alamos, New Mexico in 1953. Rogers graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1956 and eventually went on to earn degrees from the University of Arizona in accounting and law, a masters of law from the University of Southern California in 1963, and his doctorate of law from the University of Arizona in 1998.

Anna Dean Kepper was Curator of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Library Department of Special Collections from 1973 until her death in 1983. After attaining degrees in museology and American folk culture from the State University of New York in Oneonta, New York, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973. Kepper was active in various university affairs and served on numerous committees including budget and planning, procedures and policy, public relations, the Museum of Natural History, and beautification.

Musician John (Johnnie) Alvin Ray was born on January 10, 1927 in Hopewell, Oregon and spent his childhood on a farm before moving to Portland, Oregon as a teenager. He became deaf in his right ear at the age of thirteen due to an accident while on a trip with his Boy Scout Troop.

Walter Varah Long (1899-1986) was an educator in Southern Nevada for 48 years and was active in local, state, and national efforts to improve education. Long was born in Pioche, Lincoln County, Nevada on August 21, 1899. He was raised in the farming community of Panaca, Nevada and graduated from Lincoln County High School. After teaching in Panaca for two years, he furthered his education, ultimately earning his Bachelor of Science degree in School Administration from the University of Utah.

Lance Burton delights in talking about his magic craft and the joyful memories of his early and swift rise to become a master magician. This oral history includes memories of his rise to fame from youthful phenomenon to an over-thirty year Las Vegas career that began in 1981. He believes in the extraordinary value of magic and shares a poignant anecdote of a young autistic boy’s reaction to his magic show.