Oral history interview with Rick Tilman conducted by Nicholas Christie on February 28, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Tilman discusses his personal history and his educational background. Tilman then describes changes in Las Vegas, Nevada and how gambling helped the Las Vegas economy grow. He later recalls atomic bomb testing, local politics, and the rise of crime throughout Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Augusta Massey conducted by Steve Hayes on November 14, 2011 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Massey discusses her early life in Nigeria, moving to Memphis, Tennessee, and then relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2008. She talks about her educational experience in Memphis and compares social life in the South and the West. Massey describes her career in law, working in various law firms in Las Vegas, and starting mentoring programs for new attorneys. Lastly, Massey discusses the importance of scholarships for students in law school, her involvement with the Las Vegas Chapter of the National Bar Association (LVNBA), and why it is important for lawyers to be active in the LVNBA.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Mike Smith conducted by Claytee D. White on August 17, 2018 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Smith discusses his early life in Santa Clara, California and his early interest in art. He describes the first drawings he did, drawing political cartoons, and drawing about controversial ideas. Smith remembers moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1983 and becoming the cartoonist for the
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Timothy C. Williams conducted by Claytee D. White on April 14, 2011 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Williams discusses his personal history in Chicago, Illinois in the 1960s and eventually moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1985. He describes his career in law and the increase of African American lawyers in Las Vegas by the end of the 1980s. Williams then talks about the founders and past presidents of the Las Vegas National Bar Association (LVNBA). Lastly, Williams recalls his involvement serving on a committee for the Las Vegas Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ted Monson conducted by Rocky Fagundes on October 04, 1973 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Monson discusses building the first house in North Las Vegas, Nevada with his family including how they transported materials needed to build the house. He also describes Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam), specifically the attention it brought to the area. Later, Monson discusses Block 16 and the development of the Las Vegas Strip.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ray Christian conducted by Russell Ellis on March 19, 1978 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Christian discusses race relations within schools, baseball teams, theatres, and Boy Scouts in Las Vegas, Nevada. He also talks about his custodial at the El Portal Theatre, the Las Vegas Westside neighborhood, and living through the Great Depression. Christian ends the interview discussing how white and black veterans helped improved race relations in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Brenda J. Williams conducted by Claytee D. White on May 24, 2013 and June 10, 2013 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Williams discusses her personal history and life in Las Vegas, Nevada since she moved there as a child with her family during the 1940s. She describes the diversity of the Westside community she lived in, her family, and the recreational activities she participated in as a young woman. Williams talks about several careers that she has had over the course of her life, such as a telephone operator, hat shop owner, and board member for the Las Vegas Housing Authority before later transitioning to the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Milton Schwartz conducted by Claytee D. White on May 03, 2004 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Schwartz discusses working at the Flamingo Hotel right after World War II, starting Valley Hospital and owning many other businesses. He also talks about having a Hebrew academy named after him in Israel, and owning the Yellow-Checker-Star Cab Company. Other topics Schwartz discusses includes being active in the Republican Party and bringing the first medical helicopters to Nevada with a few partners.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Edith Leavitt conducted by Enrico Mecina on February 07, 1977 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Leavitt talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada from St. George, Utah for a teaching position in August of 1945. She discusses the history of the school district and racial integration of the school system.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Barbara Mowry conducted by Jon Sedlacek on February 16, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Mowry describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada from California in 1949 to get a divorce, before remarrying and entering into the restaurant business with her new husband. Mowry discusses buying an established restaurant, the Villa Venice, with her husband, and the eventual fire that would destroy the restaurant in 1952. Mowry describes running the restaurant, the different kinds of recreation in Las Vegas during the 1950s, and how Las Vegas has changed since she moved there. Mowry also discusses the prejudice against African Americans in Las Vegas, and how her husband would have to let in African American performers such as Sammy Davis Jr. or Pearl Bailey through the back door of their restaurant.
Archival Collection