Oral history interview with Karen Carmichael conducted by Stefani Evans on December 9, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project.
In this oral history Carmichael discusses the world of professional dancing in the 1970s through the 1990s. She discusses her start in the industry and a variety of Las Vegas shows she participated in including: the Union Plaza Can Can, the American Dream Festival, Dasin’ Dirdy, and Babes Ahoy. She also goes into great detail behind her vision for Skyline, her adagio act, and the many celebrities she encountered throughout her career.
Carmichael also discusses her second career in jewelry design, and her experiences working with art galleries on the Las Vegas strip. She details the experiences of starting off at traveling art festivals, working her way up to award winning designs, and the art of jewelry photography. She also discusses the process of researching and publishing history for her book. She ends the interview with a discussion of what it means to be an artist and role of creativity in her life and those around her. She also discusses the ways in which others such as Betty Francisco, Hedy Jo Star, Debbie Reynolds and Sammy Davis Jr. had shaped her life.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sonny Thomas conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 28, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Thomas discusses getting his first funeral home job at the age of 16, moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, his series of hotel jobs, and being part of the opening staff of MGM Grand Hotel. Thomas later talks about getting into the funeral industry and the various corporate buyouts of local funeral homes. He later discusses the tradition of African American funerals and his thoughts about segregation in Las Vegas during the 1960s.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alan Feldman conducted by Claytee White on September 24, 2014 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Feldman discusses working for the Culinary Union Local 226 with the Wynn Hotel Properties, and his public relations work in Las Vegas, Nevada. Feldman also talks about notable people in Las Vegas, including Steve Wynn and John Wilhelm.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Alden Sharp conducted by Alex Ilic on March 01, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Sharp discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1938 for employment opportunities. Sharp also discusses his career as a pharmacist as well as changes in the city. Lastly, Sharp discusses atomic testing.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with R. Byron Stringer conducted by Claytee D. White on May 11, 2023 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. String begins the interview discussing his childhood, and growing up as the child of a preacher. After moving to Las Vegas, Nevada at the age of 16, Stringer recalls spending time in the library and wearing zoot suits while attending high school. Stringer then discusses his journey to becoming a Las Vegas Metro police officer, and recalls what the police academy experience was like. Over the years, while fulfilling many positions in the police department, he also learned to write plays, and he began to talk and write about his experiences in the police department. This led to his current venture, the "Toe Tag Monologues." The Monologues are designed to help people survive their pain, trauma, the world. Stringer writes and produces plays around various Toe Tags helping young people on drugs, those being bullied, and those contemplating suicide.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lee Martin conducted by Dennis McBride on May 01, 2013 for the Las Vegas Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Archives Oral History Project. In this interview, Martin discusses his involvement with the Nevada Gay Action League and the Pacifica Hotel, an effort to open a gay resort in Las Vegas, Nevada during the mid 1980s. He describes managing Paradise Bookstore, a bookstore for gay literature, in downtown Las Vegas. Lastly, Martin discusses other gay businesses that he was involved with in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Wendy Starkweather conducted by Claytee White on June 16, 2010 and June 22, 2010 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Starkweather discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978 when her husband Peter L. Starkweather accepted a teaching position in the biology department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). She also discusses working in several types of libraries in Las Vegas before being offered the head of reference position at the UNLV library in 1985. She talks about her experiences working under six deans and retiring in 2010.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mae Farei conducted by Martha Cunningham on February 24, 1980 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Farei first talks about the development of the Downtown Las Vegas and Las Vegas Strip areas. She then discusses working at the Twin Lakes Lodge and Stardust as a housekeeper, and she later mentions some of the recreational activities available to those in Nevada. She also mentions the importance of Nellis Air Force Base and expresses her appreciation for living in Southern Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Evelyn Conerly conducted by Claytee D. White on March 11, 2019 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Conerly discusses her early life in Tallulah, Louisiana and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1970. She remembers the Helldorado parade, participating in a letter exchange program, and school integration. Lastly, Conerly talks about her involvement with Les Femmes Douze, and her career in banking.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lovell Gaines conducted by Claytee D. White on July 01, 2009 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview Lovell Gaines discusses his involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), becoming president for the Las Vegas, Nevada chapter in 1980, segregation, Freedom Fund banquets, national conventions, police brutality, and housing issues in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection