Search Results
J.W. (John) Campbell oral history interview
Identifier
Abstract
Oral history interview with J.W. (John) Campbell (born June 13, 1918 in Pioche, Nevada) conducted by Raymond Haft on February 19, 1979 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. This interview covers the history of Nevada, including Mr. Campbell’s personal history. He discusses the Stewart Ranch, the Mormon Fort, swimming pools in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the above ground atomic tests. He also discusses the crash of Carole Lombard’s plane and the building of the Basic Magnesium Plant in Henderson, Nevada.
Archival Collection
Transcript of interview with Cleophis Williams by Claytee White, April 27, 2010
Date
Archival Collection
Description
In 1943, Cleophis Hill Williams was a teenager visiting her mother who had moved to Las Vegas. For most of her young life she had lived with her parents in Muskogee, Oklahoma and Paul Spur/Douglas, Arizona. The same year that she visited Las Vegas, she met her future husband Tom Williams, with whom she had nine children, all born and raised on the Westside. Tom worked construction and built their first home on G Street. For Cleophis, she focused her life on raising her children and, whenever possible, finding some precious time to read.
Text
Transcript of interview with Harold R. Hunter by Philip John Mile, March 19, 1978
Date
Archival Collection
Description
On March 19, 1978, Philip John Mile interviewed former chef, Harold R. Hunter (born 1901 in Norwich, Kansas) about his life in Southern Nevada. Hunter discusses his different experiences working in early Las Vegas restaurants during the thirties and forties. Hunter also discusses the rapid growth of the Mormon community during this time.
Text
Transcript of interview with Patricia Hesse by James M. Greene, February 5, 1975
Date
Archival Collection
Description
On February 5, 1975, James M. Greene interviewed Mrs. Patricia Hesse (born 1895 in Beaumont, Texas) in her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two discuss Hesse’s personal history and the general social life of early Las Vegas. Hesse also shares experiences that she has had with her friends while living in Las Vegas.
Text
Harmon, Harley, 1882-1947
Harley A. Harmon was born in 1882 in Wier City, Kansas. His father, Elmer Harmon, was an attorney who moved the family to Los Angeles, California when Harmon was nine years old. In 1903, Harley A. Harmon unsuccessfully ran for Los Angeles City Clerk. In 1905, Harley A. Harmon joined the Union Pacific Railroad as an engineer and drove one of the first construction trains to Las Vegas, Nevada, where Harley A. Harmon was stationed in 1908.
Person
Gragson, Oran K.
Politician Oran Gragson was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, a position he held from 1959 to 1975. He was born February 14, 1911, near Tucamari, New Mexico. In 1919 his family moved to Arkansas, then later to Texas. Gragson came to the Las Vegas area in 1932, and worked at the Hoover Dam for a short time before finding employment in highway construction. He later managed the Boulder Inn Casino and Dance Hall and then became part owner of a new and used furniture store. He later opened the North Main Furniture Store, followed by the Charleston Appliance Center.
Person
