Narrator affiliation: Assistant Manager for Environment, Safety, Security & Health, Department of Energy Access note: May not quote in any form without written permission from interviewee
As Sari and Paul Aizley recall their separate childhoods and journeys to Las Vegas, their work and volunteer histories, their efforts to build a better society, and their life together they speak to each other as much as they respond to questions about their observations on the growth of the Las Vegas urban environment and their contributions to Southern Nevada's cultural development and a just society. In this interview, Sari and Paul speak to the cross-town commute and the physical UNLV campus in the late 1960s; the growth of the UNLV Math Department; the evolution of UNLV's Continuing Education; the State's North-South funding rivalry as reflected in the built environments of University of Nevada in Las Vegas and in Reno; plans to build a paleontology research facility at Tule Springs National Monument; the Review-Journal's "Ask Jessie Emmet" Real Estate column; local ACLU offices and politics; Fair Housing; transgendered persons; the Nevada State Assembly, and Class! magazine for Clark County high school students. Sari and Paul smile at each other as they recall how the editor/publisher met the bearded math professor and fell in love—despite the fact that they tell slightly different versions of their initial meeting(s). Sari passed away November 1, 2017, three days shy of one year after she participated in this interview.
On March 19, 1978, John (Sonny) Le Jeune interviewed John (born 1904 in Trail Creek, Idaho) and Mabel Dillingham. The two provide many historical accounts of Las Vegas, Nevada, including John’s work on the railroad, the development of the city, and their living conditions when first moving to Las Vegas. The three also discuss prominent members of the community, recreational activities, church membership, and popular attractions around Las Vegas. Other topics include the building of Hoover Dam, the site of the Stewart Ranch, early irrigation systems, flood control, and Block 16.
On March 20, 1977, Jackie Ogden interviewed Irene Doty (born 1914 in Dangerfield, Texas) about her life in Southern Nevada. Doty first talks about the first casino properties and restaurants in Las Vegas along with some of the other businesses and operations of the area. She also describes some of her experiences as a justice of the peace, conditions during World War II, and the clothing fashion of the time. Doty also talks about some of her experiences in Goodsprings, Nevada, and about her experiences as a juror and potential juror in several murder trials. The interview concludes with a discussion on housing development and gambling in Las Vegas.
Born in 1939, Sharon Maurer-Schwartz’s life experiences have traversed a groundbreaking era: she’s a female, Jewish and a married to a Protestant lesbian. This oral history reveals what it has been like for her as she explored her Judaism and recognized her personal identity. Her Judaic foundation began in the Reconstructionist movement in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has never wavered from her religious identity, though she has belonged to various types of synagogues. She and Ande (Edna) Rice, who also participates in this interview, were legally married in California in 2008, but have been together since the 1980s. They raised Sharon’s daughter Julie, pursued careers and moved to Las Vegas in 1999. Ande is a Protestant and the topic of blended religious couples is discussed. Sharon is devoted to her life coaching business – Growth Unlimited – and to helping others.
Fred Gibson's family came to Nevada in 1929; moving to Ely, Carson City, and eventually Las Vegas. He went into the Army after high school graduation and then studied Japanese at Yale. After some time in Colorado, Fred transferred to UNR and graduated from the Mackay School of Mines. Fred and his dad organized Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada in 1955. The company merged with American Pacific in 1982 and today, among other enterprises, manufactures drugs at a facility in Rancho Cordova. His brother James Gibson served almost 30 years in the Nevada legislature. As a trustee director of the Nevada Development Authority (NDA), Fred was instrumental in organizing support for the idea of an engineering school at UNLV. Fred worked with people like Robert Maxson, Bob Gore, Jack McBride, Bill Flangas, and John Goolsby. He also teamed with Kenny Guinn to elicit donations from individuals and corporations, and lobbied the legislature to garner support for the school. As a member of the University Foundation, Fred has had a lot of interaction with Georgia Tech, and is trying to get the State of Nevada to approve a Georgia plan. He believes this will help the UNLV College of Engineering reach the level of schools like Georgia Tech and MIT. He also encourages the legislature to allow the university to use unclaimed property funds, but this idea still has not met with approval.
Bill Sheehan describes his Philadelphia, PA, upbringing: Catholic schooling, importance of education and growing up with numbers (his father was a bookie). Knowing he might be drafted, he joined the Marine Corps in the 1940s and then returned home to finish he studies to become an accountant. In 1959 he became a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). A short term job in California gave him a taste of the west. It was 1962, Las Vegas was growing and experiencing a shortage of qualified accountants. Bill applied for a CPA position and immediately was hired. Thus, began his permanent residency in Las Vegas. Bill talks about his professional life and how he eventually started his own firm in 1971. He retired in 1997. He also shares personal anecdotes, impressions and observations specifically about the growth of Henderson, Nevada, as it grew from a very small town adjacent to Las Vegas into a small city of over 200,000 people. Bill is a co-trustee, with Bob Clark, of the Boyer Charitable Foundation. This interview and many more are possible through the generous donation of the Boyers.
JoNell Thomas grew up in a large Utah family, went to Utah State and law school at University of Utah. She moved to Nevada in 1992; first as with the Nevada Supreme Court and then as a staff attorney with a Las Vegas firm, and currently is an attorney with the Clark County Special Public Defender's office. She and her husband, Billy Logan and their twin daughters have lived in the John S. Park Neighborhood since 2001. Their residence was constructed in 1956 on a large corner lot with lots of trees and a fifty-year-old swimming pool. JoNell offers her observations on a variety of JSP events: Stratosphere's failed rollercoaster across the Strip idea; the proposed high-rise complexes; the Monorail lack of convenience to locals; effects of dropping home prices and downturn of economy; the homeless population and closing of Circle Park. She helped create the early online community called the Downtown Neighbors website which provided information regarding , part activist, part pra