Oral history interview with Diane Orgill conducted by Claytee D. White on March 30, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Diane Orgill, a volunteer with Red Cross, discusses her experience on the night of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. She speaks of her role as a Red Cross representative at the Emergency Operations Center and the efforts of the Red Cross command center to provide a sense of order in the chaos. She describes some of the support provided to the survivors through the Family Assistance Center and the Disaster Action Team, giving an in-depth explanation of how these sections of the Red Cross function.
When Barbara Agonia arrived in Las Vegas in 1969 to pursue a Master's Degree in English, the University of Nevada Las Vegas was barely ten years old and the population of Las Vegas was just approaching 160,000 residents. At the time, she was 35 years-old and it was a decision and move that would forever change her life and higher education in Clark County. Barbara Agonia was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1934 to Robert Lewis Klinefelter and Suzanne Carter Klinefelter. At the time of Barbara's birth, her father worked for Brown Shoe Company in St. Louis. The family moved to Bunker Hill, Illinois when Barbara was still an infant. This was Mr. Klinefelter's hometown where a portion of the extended family still resided. In the late 1930s, Mr. Klinefelter got a job in a brass mill near Alton, Illinois, and he commuted there daily. When the United States entered World War II, Mr. Klinefelter tried to enlist in the army, but was rejected because he had two small children and because he worked in an essential industry. He decided to work in a non-essential industry and took a job at Montgomery Ward in Oak Park, Illinois. Barbara was in the third grade that year. Still unable to enlist, Mr. Klinefelter moved the family to Wabash, Indiana, and began working for General Tire in 1943. They moved to Logansport, Indiana in 1947. Agonia recounts that education has always been a significant part of her life, with the importance of a good education stressed in her life from early childhood forward. After graduating from high school in Logansport, Indiana, she attended Hanover College in southern Indiana, enrolling in 1952. Her educational experience at Hanover included a year studying abroad at the University of Exeter in Devonshire, England—an experience which Agonia credits as further cementing her commitment to education and her love of literature and language. She graduated from Hanover in 1957 with a double major in English and speech/ theater. Agonia spent her first years out of college teaching high school English, speech, and theater in west central Illinois and the next eight in northern Illinois. A little over ten years into her career, at the age of 35, she decided to pursue a Master's degree in English. Her sister, Martha, who at the time lived in Las Vegas, suggested checking into programs offered at the city's newly formed university. In 1969, Barbara moved to Las Vegas and enrolled in the English Department at UNLV. As Agonia was completing her degree in 1971, the community college system in Nevada was emerging and seeking faculty for the up and coming institution. Curious to know more about the new system, Agonia scheduled a meeting with the person in charge of hiring. Two hours later, she walked out with a contract in her hand, one of eight new faculty members at Clark County Community College, now known as College of Southern Nevada. In her early years with the college, Agonia did a great deal of public speaking on behalf on the newly formed system, promoting the new institution and reaching out to potential students. At the same time, she taught full course loads in composition and literature, and eventually became chair of the English department. Her new position and public speaking work on behalf of the college not only provided her contact with the local Las Vegas community, it ultimately became the catalyst in spurring her passion for community involvement, particularly working on behalf of women within the community. • • Vll As the 1980s approached, Agonia became actively involved in rape crisis education, at the urging of Florence McClure. Then, in 1980, Agonia was again in on the ground floor of community programming, when she and Beverly Funk, at the urging of Judith Eaton, the president of Clark County Community College, established a Women's Center on campus. The Center was initially set up to help women in a variety of life circumstances, including women who were wanting to return to school or who were new to the process of school altogether. The center eventually became the Re-Entry Center offering skill development, tutoring programs, and other forms of assistance for anyone interested in returning to school. In addition to her involvement in and commitment to public education, Agonia has also been involved in the Soroptimist International organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls in local and international communities. In the Las Vegas area, Soroptimist International of Greater Las Vegas worked to establish the Rape Crisis Center and the Center for Domestic Violence, which later became SafeNest. Agonia has been working with the organization since 1982. Through Soroptimist International, she also became involved in Friends of the Nevada Wilderness, an organization devoted to designation and long-term protection of Nevada's wilderness areas. As the representative for Soroptimist International, she traveled to Washington to lobby and testify in front of the senate for the establishment of Great Basin National Park. Agonia's work in the Las Vegas community over the past forty years has been significant. She counts Florence McClure, Geneva Douglas, and Jean Ford amongst her greatest influences. As she notes in her oral history, "I learned how to be radical from those women." She happily embraces the label of radical. This attitude surfaces throughout Agonia's experiences and recollections, and underscores her work and dedication to the interplay of local education and women's issues within Nevada.
Oral history interview with Erica Mosca conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Stefani Evans, and Jerwin Tiu on February 3, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Mosca reflects on her life journey from a low-income Asian American to a current serving Nevada State Assemblywoman. She recalls that most of her childhood was in Palm Springs, California where she enjoyed a diverse community of students within her education system. It was not until she moved to Navato, California where she first experienced the economic and resource gap between economically diverse areas. Mosca went on to be involved in a college readiness program and received a scholarship to Boston University. After college, Mosca went on to work for Teach for America where she was stationed on the east side of Las Vegas at Goldfarb Elementary School where she grew a passion for leadership. She eventually returned to school and graduated from Harvard University, returning to Las Vegas to start her nonprofit "Leaders in Training." Mosca hopes to inspire change in her communities by enacting legislation and initiatives targeted towards the communities she was and continutes to be a part of.
The sign for the permanently closed Davy's Locker dive bar sits at 1149 East Desert Inn Road. Information about the sign is available in the Southern Nevada Neon Survey Data Sheet. Site address: 1149 E Desert Inn Rd Sign owner: Was Cindy Slight since 2010. Albert Hamika bought the property in 2016. Derek Stonebarger went to the property after they took the sign down and the fish portion of the sign is currently in his possession. Sign details: The property was originally opened in 1968 by Davey Pearl, who was most known for being a boxing referee and later inducted to the World Boxing Hall of Fame. The actual opening date of the bar is unknown, but property records have shown that its building was constructed in 1968. The bar was known for the welcoming environment inside and inexpensive drinks. The sign itself drew people in because of its unique design. Right before their closure they started to have a variety of events taking place there such as: open mic night, trivia, and genre specific music nights. The current owners have demolished the iconic and beloved sign for the bar. The only portions that remain are white sign that reads "Cocktails" in red and the waves that the fish once "swam" above. The current owner of the property has told the Las Vegas Weekly, "I want to emphasize I wasn't like, 'Ok let's destroy this sign.' I like the sign, and I like the historic memorabilia"I tried. The only thing I can I can say is, it was time for it to come down." After hearing about this news Derek Stonebarger, who owns ReBar on Main Street, was distraught when he heard the news of the sign being taken down so he went to the property to find its remains. He hopes to restore as much of the sign as he can and possibly display it in a Nevada-themed restaurant he plans to open up. Sign condition: Since the sign has been taken down it is a 0. Sign form: Roadside pole sign Sign-specific description: This sign was designed to look like a fish was swimming in the ocean. The top of the sign give the appearance of waves. A neon tube was attached to the implied waves. Underneath this was a large, white fish whose tail and nose extended beyond the confines of the square shape of the sign. The fish appeared to have a large smile and two smaller fish "swimming" beside it. One of these smaller fish was near the larger fish's mouth and the "L." The other fish was located right under the "ker" in "Locker." Both of these fish were a light blue color, the same blue that matched the wave on top of the sign and surrounded the larger fish. In the middle of the large fish that makes up much of the sign were the words "Davy's Locker" in bright red and an elaborate cursive style font. Neon tubes outlined these letters, as well as all three fish included in the sign. Underneath all of this is a neon tube in the shape of a wave that is difficult to see in photos of the sign during the day, but glowed brightly at night. Below this signage was a back lit plastic sign reading "Cocktails" in a red script and "Gaming Spirits Pool" under that in a sans-serif, bold, dark blue font. Extending from the top of the sign at the end near the street was a pole with two, small square signs attached to that. The top one was yellow and read "OPEN 24 HRS." The one below that was white and read "COLD BEER." There are other photos of this sign where the plastic portion of the sign reads "COCKTAILS" in red still, but "Slots Video Poker" in blue and "Package Liquor" under that in red. Sign - type of display: Neon and backlit plastic sign Sign - media: Steel and plastic Sign - non-neon treatments: Plastic backlit portion Sign environment: The surrounding environment of Davy's Locker was in a district that was close to UNLV as well as another popular bar that still caters to locals, Champagnes Cafe. It was located in a bustling area along to Maryland Parkway that locals travel on a daily basis. Davy's Locker was a popular watering hole for many people in the neighborhood due to its convenient location. Sign - date of installation: Around the 1960's Sign - date of redesign/move: It was first restored in 2011 and another time in 2014. Sign was taken down from the property in 2017. Sign - thematic influences: The theme of the sign appears to take inspiration from the phrase "Davy Jones' Locker." This is a common phrase that refers to "the bottom of the sea" or even "the mythical resting place of drowned mariners." Davy Jones is also believed to be an evil spirit from the bottom of the sea; therefore, the sign shows the influence of these aquatic origins that possibly inspired the name of the property. Sign - artistic significance: The theme of the sign is aquatic, which also ties into the name of the property. The name of the property appears to take influence from the myth of Davy Jones, the evil spirit of the sea. Survey - research locations: Las Vegas weekly articles https://lasvegasweekly.com/as-we-see-it/2016/mar/23/beloved-dive-bar-davys-locker-sold-old-vegas/ https://lasvegasweekly.com/intersection/2017/jan/11/davys-locker-neon-sign-demolished/ https://lasvegasweekly.com/intersection/2017/jan/13/davys-locker-bar-neon-sign-recovered-stonebarger/ , Las Vegas Sun article https://vegasinc.lasvegassun.com/business/2016/mar/25/popular-dive-bar-to-take-a-breather-while-sports-b/ , Roadside Architecture http://www.roadarch.com/signs/nvvegas3.html , Phrase website http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/davy-jones-locker.html Surveyor: Lauren Vaccaro Survey - date completed: 2017-08-22 Sign keywords: Steel; Plastic; Backlit; Neon; Roadside; Pole sign; Back to back