Most Las Vegas residents like living in Southern Nevada, but few make the leap of faith that Ron M. Portaro did in 1994. The business and development consultant gave up a "tenure-track, full time, full-benefits, kids-could-go-to-college-for free job" to keep his family in Las Vegas. He had no local job, so he commuted twice a month to the Cleveland and Toledo areas for two years to complete the consulting assignments that fed his young family. As the Ohio native discusses the dysfunctional family into which he was born and was raised, he also talks about forging his own path as an overachiever, about going to college at Penn State at Altoona on a mining engineering co-op program with Morton Salt, working six months out of the year in the salt mines and attending classes the other six months. After transferring to the University of Toledo, he formed his own painting business to pay his tuition and graduated in management in 1978 and earned his JD and MBA in 1981. His mentor at University of Toledo asked him to teach labor management. While teaching labor relations he also began representing athletes as a player agent in the National Football League and the United States Football League back in the day and the Canadian Football League. From there, he became associate director for the Northwest Ohio Center for Labor Management Cooperation at the University of Toledo and later with the Cleveland State Labor Management Center. It was with the latter that he learned the benefits of the BUILT-RITE model of business relations to promote cooperation between and among the building trades, contractors, and owners. In this interview, Portaro speaks to the BUILT-RITE model for cooperation, his 1993 move to Las Vegas and fortuitous meetings of Pastor Paul Goulet of the International Church of Las Vegas, City of Las Vegas councilman Arnie Adamsen, and Charlie Kajkowski of the Las Vegas Public Works Department. He reveals how these connections eventually not only shaped Portaro's life in Southern Nevada; they also enabled him to turn his life experiences, education, and skill set to benefit his church, his family, and his adopted community. The commitment Portaro made in 1994 to remain in Las Vegas has benefitted Southern Nevada tourists, residents, and business owners in countless ways we can appreciate only when we stop to think about how many people had to cooperate and communicate to make our large infrastructure projects come to fruition.

Dayvid Figler (1967 - ) is the quiet boy who became an insightful and creative contributor to the local culture of Las Vegas. The oldest of Barbara and Meyer Figler?s three children, he was four years old when the family station wagon reached Las Vegas in 1971. They moved in with Uncle Izzy (aka Big Irish) Figler for a few months. Having the ?juice,? Dayvid?s father soon became a Pan dealer on the Strip. As the family grew, Barbara eventually immersed her energies in her children?s activities, Hadassah and Temple Beth Sholom. In this oral history, Dayvid also recalls his awkward, but incredibly interesting youth, his bar mitzvah at Temple Beth Sholom, and path to a successful career as a criminal defense attorney. He also talks about embracing Las Vegas as his home, owning a home in John S. Park neighborhood and mentions a number of literary depictions of Las Vegas that he admires. Dayvid describes growing up a ?casino kid? who lived in an apartment near the Riviera Hotel. This, in addition to his slight stature and academic brilliance, may have set him apart from many of his childhood peers. He graduated from Valley High School at the age of 16 and by the age of 23 he was a rising star in the legal world. He looks back with appreciation to his list of mentors who encouraged him along the way. Dayvid is also a local favorite as an essayist and poet. For a number of years he could be heard on KNPR/NPR. He has been a performer in hundreds of productions that featured his comic wit and writings, from Lollapalooza to Tom and Jerry?s on Maryland Parkway.

On November 24, 1975, collector P. Kohlman interviewed housewife, Ethel S. Hatch (born April 11th, 1914 in Valentine, Texas) in her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers the history of Las Vegas from 1939 to 1975. Mrs. Hatch also talks about ranching in Nevada, Rex Bell, development on the Strip, the first hotels, and early local shopping culture. She refers to Block Sixteen as Block Thirteen when discussing the Red Light District. The interview concludes with discussion surrounding tree-lined streets, the Helldorado Club, and Fremont Street.

Raymond Rawson's life started in the rural Utah community of Sandy in 1940. His family moved around in what he describes as a scene from John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. By the age of 10, the family settled in Las Vegas, which had a population of around 35,000. He attended Fifth Street Grammar School, Las Vegas High School, was a member of UNLV's first graduating class, and eventually became a dentist. In this interview, he reflects on his experiences of growing up in Las Vegas, the hardships of difficult economic eras, and his professional accomplishments in the field of dentistry, including actively advocating the creation of UNLV School of Dental Medicine. Ray also became a community leader. He served in the Nevada State Legislature from 1985 to 2001. He talks about his relationship with long-time legislator Joe Neal. Education and access to healthcare were among the issues that Ray championed and he shares his observations of these issues. In 2009, he was appointe