Oral history interview with Kaity Webber conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 16, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Kaity Webber describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada and earning her degree in psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Webber discusses the excitement she had going to the Route 91 Harvest festival with a friend on the weekend of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas shooting. She talks about her experiences from that night, including how she found shelter in the Thomas & Mack Center with countless others, as well as her process of healing from the traumatic event.
Oral history interview with Kelly Benavidez conducted by Maribel Estrada Calderón on January 29, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez also participates in the questioning. Kelly Benavidez is originally from San Francisco, California. Benavidez arrived in Las Vegas after her family spent two years in Mexico so her and her brother could learn Spanish. Benavidez and her family have remained in Las Vegas ever since. Kelly attended Area Technical Trade School for hotel management, and was then recruited by Mesa State College in Colorado. She currently works for Commissioner Lawrence Weekly. Her list of community involvement is extensive: Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Board, the Fernando Vargas Foundation, Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce, Hispanics in Politics, Latina Network, among others. Subjects discussed include: Las Vegas, Commissioner Weekly, New York New York construction accident, and Spanish Language.
Oral history interview with Gene Noboru Nakanishi conducted by Ayrton Yamaguchi, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on April 2, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Gene Nakanishi shares his detailed family history from both his father's and his mother's families. He discusses his paternal grandfather's work on the Union Pacific Railroad, the family's internment in Wyoming during World War II, and his father's release from the camp by joining the United States Army Signal Corps. Nakanishi also talks of his maternal grandfather who was of the Bushido ("warrior") class in Osaka, Japan, and his grandfather's work with Christian missionaries. He shares details of his mother's restaurant employment in Los Angeles and her opening of Osaka Japanese Bistro in Las Vegas in 1969. Nakanishi also talks about being born and raised in Las Vegas, his musical schooling at Berklee College of Music in Boston, and his graduate education at Harvard University. He discusses his work as a band teacher for the Clark County School District, his involvement in the Idyllwild Arts Summer Program band camp, and his interests in jazz music.
Oral history interview with Lily Teo conducted by Stefani Evans on February 7, 2022 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Lily Teo discusses her upbringing in Singapore, her education, her religious beliefs, and converting from Buddhism to Catholicism. She talks about her husband, her early married years, and what life was like as a young mother of three children. Teo shares how she started a catering business to feed construction workers and was responsible for shopping for ingredients, preparing all meals and tea, and cooking the food on site in her temporary kitchen. She talks about her children, the faiths they practice and languages they speak including English, Malay, and Mandarin, and the customs and traditions they practice, such as celebrating Lunar New Year and other holidays. Lily's daughter, Stella, sits in on the interview and expands on her mother's recollections.
Oral history interview with Joy Rineer conducted by Claytee D. White on December 07, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Rineer discusses her upbringing in Las Vegas, Nevada. She describes her career as an architect, designing the Resilience Center for those affected by the 1 October shooting, and the city’s response to the shooting. Later, Rineer describes helping the grief-stricken city through architecture, establishing the Leadership Las Vegas program, and organizing blood drives. Lastly, Rineer discusses the changes in Las Vegas after the tragedy.
Oral history interview with Joseph Ostunio conducted by Claytee D. White on December 20, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Joseph Ostunio discusses his early childhood in Las Vegas, Nevada and how he grew to love country music. He talks about the Route 91 Harvest music festival, which he attended with his friend in 2017. He describes the events of that weekend and the shooting on that Sunday, October 1, 2017, during which his friend was shot. Ostunio ends the interview with his feelings regarding Las Vegas and what he has learned about himself from this experience.
Oral history interview with Katrina Sandigo conducted by Nathalie Martinez and Barbara Tabach on August 28, 2020 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Katrina talks about her family's history and her grandfather's immigration to the United States from Nicaragua. She discusses her education and her time spent studying at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) and her work with the Clark County School District (CCSD). She is currently the Education Director for Nevada's Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Katrina also shares her religious faith and how she is active in the Jewish community of Las Vegas.
Oral history interview with Lisa Song Sutton conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Vanessa Concepcion, and Stefani Evans on November 19, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Lisa shares her personal history and childhood memories moving from Seoul, South Korea to Sierra Vista, Arizona at the age of five. She discusses her educational and professional pursuits in business litigation, bankruptcy law, entrepreneurship, modeling, and her time in the pageant circuit winning Miss Vegas and Miss Nevada in 2013. Lisa also talks about her activism and community engagement efforts to empower women within Las Vegas. She concludes her interview with insight into her Korean heritage, traditional celebrations, and religion.
Oral history interview with Elena Newman conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on April 11, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Newman discusses her childhood in Dagupan, Pangasinan, Philippines. At the age of eighteen, she moved to Singapore for better work opportunities to help support her family. After meeting her husband, the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada. Since moving to Las Vegas, Newman has spent her time working as both a guest room attendant and shop steward at Mandalay Bay. She is also a part of the Culinary Workers Union, and she discusses how helpful the union is to the livelihoods of the many workers in the casino industry.
Oral history interview with Cristina Alano conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on September 9, 2022 for the Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Alano recalls a happy childhood in Pampanga, Philippines. After attending college for a banking and finance degree, she briefly worked at a bank before marrying her husband and immigrating to the United States. She would go on to move to Colorado where she lived for seven years, and finally moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2003. Alano recalls her first jobs in Las Vegas, including Walmart, SEI Electronics, a cashier at the Riviera, and finally the airport where works as a supervisor at Hudson as well as an assistant manager at Brighton. She discusses what she has done at each job and how she ended up getting involved with the Culinary Union in 2016. Since joining the union, she has done everything from being a shop steward to canvassing, most recently flying down to Georgia to help campaign for Senator Warnock. Throughout the rest of the interview, she discusses everything from food, to festivals, and her family.