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Oral history interview with Bess Hanson conducted by Debra Puepke on February 25, 1971 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project. In her interview Hanson discusses growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and raising a family there.
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Oral history interview with John Hirsch conducted by Shannon Morrison on March 20, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Hirsch discusses his personal history, experiences in Las Vegas, Nevada, and his thoughts on the types of changes the city went through since his move to the city in 1937.
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Oral history interviews with Will Vicuna conducted by Stefani Evans on June 23 and July 3, 2023 for Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In the first interview, Vicuna goes into detail about his family's history, and his parents' life in Quezon, Philippines. When his brother sent Will a postcard of the newly opened Hilton Hotel and Casino, Will decided he would move to Las Vegas as soon as he completed his psychology degree in 1970. He concludes the first interview discussing his employment at the Hilton and the Flamingo Hilton, his 1972 marriage, and his 1973 UNLV graduation in Hotel Administration. In the second interview, Vicuna talks about his wife, Felicidad, who graduated from University of Santo Tomas (UST) in Manila in Medical Technology. He shares details about her career, and then talks about his own career in hospitality, working in a number of Las Vegas hotels including the Hilton and Flamingo Hilton, Palace Station, Peppermill Mesquite, and the Golden Eagle in Pahrump. Throughout the interviews, Vicuna discusses family reunions in Las Vegas, shopping for Filipino food, and eating at various restaurants around town. Digital audio available; no transcript available.
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Oral history interviews with Kevin M. Kelly conducted by Dennis McBride on September 08 and 22; and November 10, 2000 for the Las Vegas Gay Archives Oral History Project. In the interviews, Kelly talks about his family and early life in Boston, Massachusetts with a focus on his Catholic upbringing. He recalls his law education, serving in the United States Army during the Vietnam War for eleven years, and discovering his sexuality in 1966 while working in the Boston City Hospital. Kelly then describes being discharged from the military due to allegations of being gay, and his family's reaction. He then recalls moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978, where he was involved in a robbery and shooting incident with a male sex worker in 1982. Kelly goes on to recall the trial that proceed the incident and how it publicly outed him. He details how he was charged with felony sodomy and ultimately lost his job as a result of the trial. Finally, he talks about serving on a task force to investigate bias in Nevada's court system in 1992 and being honored in 1994 by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada for his work.
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