Kay Dwyer was born August 30, 1934 to James and Eileen Crawford. Her father attained a job as an accountant with Basic Magnesium Incorporated in 1942. This meant that the family moved to Henderson, Nevada, which was a brand new community back in the early 1940's. The BMI plant, which manufactured magnesium for bombs and other war materials, is discussed throughout the interview. The interview begins with Kay reading a composition that she wrote entitled, "Our Summer of 1942 and More." In the reading she talks about the early years of her life when she first moved to southern Nevada. Kay gives remarkable details about the towns of Basic and Henderson (Basic became the town of Henderson) were like during this historic period. In 1952, she graduated from Basic High School and then moved to Los Angeles to attend Pepperdine University for two years. She moved back to the Las Vegas area and started a family with Stanly Hardy with whom she had three children. Sadly, at age 31 Stanly passed away from pancreatic cancer. After a break, Kay decided to go back to school and graduated from Nevada Southern University (now UNLV). Upon graduation, she immediately began teaching at Clark High School. In 1968, Kay married George Dwyer after being a widow for five years. Later, she taught at Las Vegas High School where she would go on to spend the next 25 years until 1995. This interview is an excellent resource for quality information pertaining to the early years of Southern Nevada. Kay Dwyer's extraordinary experiences provide us with a special look at the history of Las Vegas.
Oral history interview with Mayra Salinas-Menjivar conducted by Nathalie Martinez, Elsa Lopez, and Barbara Tabach on September 20, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Mayra Salinas-Menjivar is a lawyer in Southern Nevada and a graduate of William S. Boyd School of Law. She grew up in Las Vegas but describes her early years living with her maternal grandparents in El Salvador. She describes some of the aftermath she experienced regarding the Civil War in El Salvador, and recounts some testimony told to her by her mother about that particular time period. She details the differences in immigrating in the 1990s and speaks about being an undocumented student. While pursuing a business degree at UNLV she found herself working at a law firm which is where she first decided to pursue law as a career after graduation. She talks about her experiences during law school and her time helping with the law school's immigration clinic. Subjects discussed include: Salvadorian Civil War, Immigration Law, Education, DACA, William S. Boyd Law School.
Joyce Moore's family moved to Las Vegas from Chicago in 1953, when she was eight years old. She attended Rancho High School, married and had three daughters, and currently lives in Las Vegas. Joyce's father was in the gaming industry and her mother was a nurse. Growing up in Las Vegas meant going to shows with her mother, spending summer days in the pool at the Showboat Hotel, and riding horses to the Last Frontier. While a teenager at Rancho High school, Joyce worked at several movie theaters including the Huntridge, went to school dances and marched in the Hellodorado Parade. After her divorce, Joyce returned to work to support herself and her children, first at the Daily Fax then later on the Strip at the Aladdin and Circus, Circus doing a variety of office and accounting jobs. As a lark she and a friend applied to work as cocktail waitresses at the MGM; she was hired and spent the next five years in a job that was by turns interesting, exhausting, frustrating and fun. This interview covers several periods of Joyce's life - her childhood, teen years, and early adult life - and what it was like to grow up, live and work in Las Vegas in from the mid-1950s until the mid-1970s.
The now permanently closed Mermaids Casino sits at 32 Fremont Street at the Fremont Street Experience. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survery Data Sheet. Site address: 32 Fremont St Sign owner: Derek and Greg Stevens Sign details: Shutdown in 2016, opened briefly June 28th, 2017 for 8 hours to abide by gambling license law, was torn down shortly after. 2.76 acre lot, originally built in 1949. Sign condition: Signage was removed from building during deconstruction Sign form: Decorated shed Sign-specific description: Covering all the sides of the Mermaids facing Fremont street, gives the feel of New Orleans during Mardi Gras with its bright vibrant colors, drums, maracas, and other items. Skeleton neon was used to accentuate features of the sign like details in the drums, outlining the word "Mermaids", and a good portion of the sign was internally lit as well. Giant TV screen hung in the middle at the corner of the building, giant Sun shaped pinata thing above the TV screen adding more to the theme. Sign - type of display: Neon, LED screen Sign - media: Steel and fiberglass Sign - non-neon treatments: LED screen Sign animation: Animated with an LED TV screen and some neon would flash on and off Sign environment: Downtown on Fremont Street, part of the Experience. Surrounded by other casinos and gift stores. Sign - date of installation: c. 1999 Sign - date of redesign/move: Torn down Summer 2017 Sign - thematic influences: Southern party themed, Mardi Gras. Sign - artistic significance: American South and Mardi Gras. Survey - research locations: Vital Vegas, Assessor's website Surveyor: Danny Jacobs Survey - date completed: 2017-09-09 Sign keywords: Neon; Steel; Fiberglass; Flashing; Video screen; Sculptural
The Harrah’s Entertainment Corporate Archives (dating from 1811 to 2004 with the bulk of the materials dating from 1940 to 2000) contain the promotional and corporate files of Harrah’s Entertainment Inc. and its predecessors, as well as Bill Harrah’s personal papers and card game collection. The materials were compiled and developed as a corporate archive by Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.’s Corporate Communications Department. The collection is primarily comprised of casino and employee periodicals, reports, manuals, promotional files, ephemera, and newspaper articles that document Bill Harrah’s casinos in Reno, Nevada and Lake Tahoe as well as Harrah’s Inc., Holiday Inns, Inc., Holiday Corporation, the Promus Companies, and Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. Also included are photographs that document the construction of Harrah’s properties, business operations, the people who worked and performed at Harrah’s properties, and Bill Harrah’s automobile collection. The collection also contains Bill Harrah’s collection of playing cards and card games. Also included are photographs of the Harrah family.
Folder of materials from the Mabel Hoggard Papers (MS-00565) -- Personal papers file. This folder contains obituaries, newspaper clippings, cards, and programs.
Ken Hanlon was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1941. He attended 2nd grade through high school in Parkville schools. He took up his first instrument, the snare drum, at the age often, and by eighth grade had taken up baritone horn and trombone. His parents were very supportive of his interests. Ken developed a very strong work ethic early on, through the influence and example of his parents. He earned money in high school to pay for things he wanted by assisting on a paper route. He also took private lessons, which he paid for, and played in a dance band. After graduation, he attended Peabody Conservatory on a scholarship. He finished his last two years there with the principal of the Baltimore Symphony. He taught at Peabody Preparatory for seven years as undergraduate and graduate. He continued his Master's degree at Peabody Conservatory while working as a public school instrumental music teacher. He also played in the rock and roll band and worked in a city concert band. In 1968, Ken and his family moved to Las Vegas. He connected with the Si Zentner band and went on the road with him, then played in hotels up and down the Strip. Ken worked in bands that backed many famous headliners and has many anecdotes and memorable stories to share about those days. In 1970, Ken interviewed with Howard Chase, chair of the music department at UNLV. He was hired and his first UNLV job at the age of 29 was chair of the music department. He kept this position for 16 years, with one year off to establish residency for his doctorate. Dr. Hanlon has had a long and varied career, filled with people, places and events vital to the music industry. Today he continues to teach a graduate course, is currently Las Vegas president of the International Trombone Association, and runs the Arnold Shaw Popular Music Research Center.
On March 11, 1978, Ann K. Clark interviewed her step grandfather, tire repairman Walter Dane, (born August 10th, 1914 in West Barnett, Vermont) in her, the interviewer’s, home in North Las Vegas. Also present during the interview is the interviewer’s mother, Marie Dane. Walter relocated to Indian Springs in 1930 before settling in Las Vegas in 1943. In 1968 he moved to Utah, where he resided at the time of this interview. Well-traveled, Walter discusses his many moves over the years. Ultimately, this interview covers the growth and development of the Las Vegas and Indian Springs areas.