Oral history interview with Meli Calvo Pulido conducted by Laurents Banuelos on November 13, 2018 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Pulido discusses her early life in Tijuana, Mexico and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in the mid-1970s. She talks about the challenges she faced as an English as a Second Language (ESL) student, and assisting her parents who did not speak English fluently. Lastly, Pulido describes volunteering for the non-profit organization Project 150, the work the organization does for homeless youth in Las Vegas, and assisting underprivileged students.
The Union Pacific Railroad Collection (1828-1986) is comprised of the original corporate records of the Union Pacific Railroad's operations in Southern Nevada, Utah, and Southern California, particularly focusing on Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The collection documents the purchase of Stewart ranch and the construction of the original depot and town which became modern Las Vegas. The collection also contains the records of the Las Vegas Land & Water Company (LVL&W), a subsidiary of the railroad formed in 1905 to handle the railroad's land transactions. The collection contains office files, correspondence, reports, leases, various legal, governmental and financial document, the collection contains large and small format maps, architectural and engineering drawings, published technical reports, railroad operational manuals, bound legal briefs, ledgers, and payroll and receipt books. The collection also includes the personal files of Walter Bracken, the Union Pacific's special representative in Nevada and vice president of the Las Vegas Land and Water Company, and a paper index of the collection materials.
Oral history interview with Amy Bush Herzer conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 14, 2019 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Herzer begins the interview discussing her early life, education, and her current job as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) women's golf coach. She speaks about her family's history with golf, her personal history, and life with her husband, Kendall Herzer. After, she recalls where she was on the day of the October 1 shooting, and how she found out about the event, and recalls her husband reported to the main fire station as an Emergency Manager for the State of Nevada. She recalls keeping track of her athletes' whereabouts and letting their families know. Herzer describes how people reacted when she had brought a therapy dog, Apollo, in for the people donating blood and how the community came together to support each other and share resources as a community.
Oral history interview with Charles Scott Emerson conducted by Claytee D. White on December 21, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Charles Scott Emerson discusses his work with the American Red Cross and the disaster relief the organization provided during the aftermath of the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview begins with a discussion on Emerson's early life and career in Missouri and how he moved to Las Vegas in 2004. Emerson talks about the American Red Cross response plans and coordinated operations that are in place for when the community is faced with a disaster, going into specific detail on the community-wide response to the October 1, 2017 shooting. He gives a behind-the-scenes glimpse into how relief work is organized, using this interview as a chance to praise the hidden heroes of the October 2017 tragedy, including the people at the Family Assistance Center, the Attorney General's Office, the Driver's License Bureau, and the Coroner's Office, as well as mental health providers, child care workers, blood donors, and more. Throughout the interview, Emerson puts special emphasis on the importance of community in order to offer support in the aftermath of a tragedy as well as to prevent a man-made tragedy from occurring again.
On March 7, 1981, Vicente C. Camacho interviewed accounting clerk, Juanita Kilburg (born September 25th, 1923 in Los Angeles, California) on the second floor of the UNLV Dickinson Library. Kilburg explains how her family first moved to Southern Nevada and her father’s ties to the railroad. She then goes on to explain the growth of the military and Nellis Air Force Base. The interview concludes with a discussion on her work with the American Legion service organization.
General Las Vegas history, Sahara and Charleston, when UNLV was first built, personal awards, Lorenzi Park, Newspapers. City Sanitation, power, and telephone. Church and religion, personal and family history.(Interview on tape inaudible).
Known for “raising hell and making a difference” in the Las Vegas Valley, Thomas Rodriguez has dedicated more than four decades of his life to the political, educational, and social advancement of the Latinx community. Tom was born in 1940 to Jennie Gomez and Joseph Rodriguez in a Topeka, Kansas neighborhood its residents called The Bottoms. Mexicans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, African Americans, among other peoples lived in this diverse and beloved community. In 1956, the Urban Renewal Program, a program funded by the Federal Government that sought to raze neighborhoods the city considered to be “slums,” forced The Bottoms’ residents to abandon their homes. Rodriguez recalled the effects that this event had on his family and on his educational career. Despite his family’s relocation, he graduated from a high school located in a nearby neighborhood in 1958. Years later, the activism and ideology of the Chicano Movement of the 1960s taught Rodriguez that to overcome the injus