Oral history interview with Maria Benítez conducted by Monserrath Hernández and Maribel Estrada Calderón on June 21, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Maria Benítez is the image of a hardworking and determined Salvadoran woman. After facing adversity amidst the Salvadorian Civil War she talks about her journey as a nurse in El Salvador and migrating to the United States. Here in Las Vegas, she has worked as a cook on the Strip, been an active member of her church, and supported the education of her children selling pupusas. Subjects discussed include: El Salvador, Salvadorian Civil War, Migration, US Citizenship Documentation, and Judaism.
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The orientation manual of the Jewish Family Service Agency provides guidance for the duties of the board of directors, the operation of the agency, the organization chart, and staff listing. It also outlines the role of volunteers in the agency.
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Oral history interview with Gabriel Garcia conducted by Monserrath Hernandez and Barbara Tabach on November 13, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Garcia discusses his early life in Arizona and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1984. He remembers attending a sixth grade center, the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) explosion, and attending Las Vegas High School. Garcia talks about Mexican culture in Las Vegas, car clubs, and becoming a graphic designer. Lastly, Garcia discusses his involvement with the Association of Latino Professionals for America, and the idea of diversifying the professional workplace.
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Santo was born in the Bronx, New York in 1937. Santo’s family includes his father who was a butcher, and his mother who mostly stayed at home to raise the children, as well as a brother who currently lives with Santo. Santo recalls that it was great growing up in the Bronx, and he spent most of his life there until he joined the Air Force when he was 17. Santo’s immediate family was not musically oriented, but he learned to play the drums from a cousin. Music came easy for Santo, and he started getting paid for playing when he was 12. At 17, Santo joined the Air Force with a group of friends. He auditioned for and was accepted into the Air Force band where he played drums for four years. Santo was married with a child and another child on the way when he ended his military career and moved to California. After jobs working as a security guard and on an assembly line, Santo knew he just wanted to play and came to Las Vegas in 1960 to play with a band. It took several years before Santo was able to get on with a permanent band. Once Santo broke into the scene in Las Vegas, he played for six years at the Flamingo. Following that he was on the road for a couple of years with Paul Anka. Upon returning to Las Vegas, Santo worked for 14 years at the Sahara. Santo talks about when “the boys” had the hotels before the corporations came in and how everything changed. Currently, Santo does a lot of work with trumpet player Carl Saunders, frequently traveling to Los Angeles to do recordings together.
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The John Wittwer Collection on Agriculture in Nevada (1898-1972) contains the professional papers and records of John Wittwer in his capacity as an Agricultural Extension agent for the University of Nevada from 1921 to 1954. The records are primarily annual reports containing text, photographs, newspaper clippings, and charts that provide a rich chronicle of the conditions of agriculture and ranching in southern Nevada from 1898 to 1972, with the bulk of the material dating from 1929 to 1955. These conditions span water issues, such as flood control and irrigation, to the general difficulties of sustaining agriculture and viable food production in a desert environment. The reports come from the Agricultural Experiment Stations in Clark and Lincoln counties and most contain both a statistical report and a narrative summary.
Archival Collection
The Jamey Stillings Photograph Collection (2009-2019) is primarily comprised of photographs taken by professional photographer, Jamey Stillings, of the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and the Hoover Dam project, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System project, and the Crescent Dunes Solar project. The Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge and the Hoover Dam project depict the construction of the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge from 2009 to 2012. The Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System project depict aerial views of Ivanpah Solar in the Mojave Desert of California from 2010 to 2014. The Crescent Dunes Solar project consists of a range of aerial and ground-based work documenting SolarReserve's Crescent Dunes Solar, a 110MW concentrated solar plant with molten salt storage near Tonopah, Nevada, from 2014 to 2015.
Archival Collection
The Mabel Hoggard Papers (1903-2011) contain materials related to Hoggard's career as a Las Vegas, Nevada elementary school teacher, her research and civic interests in Las Vegas's predominantly African American Westside communities, and her engagement with civil rights issues. The collection also contains materials about Hoggard's life, including biographical newspaper articles about her childhood, education, work, and family. The collection includes lesson plans, scrapbooks, awards, correspondence, photographs, and physical objects such as a vinyl record and political pins. The bulk of the collection focuses on her life in Las Vegas from approximately 1946-1989.
Archival Collection