Tony was born the only son of the only son in Beloit, Wisconsin. Following his parents divorce when he was 12, he and his father went to live with his grandparents who, he admits, spoiled him. While neither of his parents played a musical instrument, Tony’s grandmother was a professional organist. In addition, Tony had an uncle who was a professional saxophone player and who was an inspiration to him. Tony’s dad was very supportive of his decision to learn trumpet and rented Tony an instrument, took him to his lessens, and sat with him while he practiced. Tony was firm in his convictions by the 9th grade that he was going to be a musician. Following high school, Tony was awarded a full scholarship to the Berklee School of Music in Boston which was a very prestigious music school. Tony repeatedly left school to go on the road which the school fully expected of their students. The last time he left the school he never went back. Tony states he got his degree on the road with experience from playing in bands like Stan Kenton, Tommy Dorsey, and with his idol Harry James. Tony took his career abroad when he took up residence in Cologne, Germany to play with a band there. Tony came to Las Vegas to play in a band with Buddy Rich which turned out to be of a shorter duration than he expected. Tony then played in Las Vegas and Reno for a time before going back on the road after realizing he preferred playing jazz on the road as opposed to playing in show bands. After eight years on the road, Tony returned to Las Vegas, got married, and settled down. Aptitude tests proved accurate when they showed Tony had a talent for things mechanical and metal as Tony went on to manufacture trumpets in addition to playing them. One can feel the love Tony has for his trumpets as he describes the process of creating them. After playing trumpet for almost 30 years, Tony decided it was time to concentrate on his photography for a while. Tony does not consider himself retired, but rather he likes to play, take pictures, and, of course, he practices the trumpet every day.

During the 1950s, Dr. Jacob Paz grew up in an agricultural environment in Israel where he attended a very famous high school in Israel called Kadoorie where Yitzhak Rabin was a student. After his graduation, Jacob joined the Israeli army building his skills so that he could get into technical school after he fulfilled his army service. For two years he attended technical school and then started working for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission in Dimona, Israel making atomic bombs in the 1960’s. After working in Dimona, Jacob was accepted into UC Davis and moved to the United States to study veterinary medicine. After one semester, he realized that he preferred history and left California for New York City, There he earned degrees in Jewish history and chemistry from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He quickly moved onto graduate school and earned his master’s degree in marine science and environment from CW Post, Long Island University in Greenvale, New York. In 1972, he returned to I

“I decided to just keep going, and I devoted my career to higher ed. I wanted to continue putting back into this system that I felt I got a lot out of. Again, repaying a debt.” What began as a passion for playing school sports would later lead Dr. Len Jessup on a path to lifelong service in the area of higher education. From his California childhood he would soon find himself across different U.S. states performing various higher education duties from professor to university president. In this interview, Jessup talks about his grandparents’ decision to emigrate from Italy to the U.S. and how grateful he feels towards his family as a result. He recalls playing baseball in college. In his eyes, being part of several sports teams helped him develop into the person he is now. He describes doing research during at the University of Arizona and speaks to what it was like moving from one university position to the next. Ultimately, his colleagues would recommend that he move to Las Vegas to

Interviewed by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez. Gustavo Ramos Junior was born in Presidio, Texas. Growing up Ramos described his childhood as simple childhood, typical of someone that was born on farmland. At the age 10, Ramos and his family moved to California in hopes of better opportunities. When they arrived in California the family had to live in public housing, despite his father not wanting to, he realized it was the only way his family could start anew. Living in public housing influenced Ramos for the rest of his life, including his career as director of public housing in three states.

Born in the coal fields of Strunk, Kentucky, Audrey Aline Messer Wickman first visited the West at twelve years of age. She moved to western Colorado to help in her grandparents’ home for a couple of years. The stay made a lasting impression because she only returned to her birthplace for a short time after that. In Colorado, she graduated from high school, met her future husband, and married in 1925. They came to southern Nevada in 1932 so that Robert Wickman could find work on Hoover Dam. Audrey Wickman joined the Mesquite Club in 1936 and has remained a member to date. She started the Literary Committee as a forum to share book reviews and hear speakers. She served as President of the club for 1947-48 and chose the year’s theme “Know your Neighbor.” In the post-war society, women’s involvement in civic affairs was particularly needed, she told the membership at the opening fall meeting. “The troubles which unsettle the world today are primarily ones which lie within the sphere of women’s business. They are matters of housekeeping, teaching and health. . . . The time has come when we as a nation cannot stay in our own backyards. . . . If we are to be good world citizens, local, state and national, we must first be good home citizens. These responsibilities call for knowledge, an appreciation of other points of view, and attitudes of good will and cooperation.” (Las Vegas Review Journal, 6 October 1947, Mesquite Club microfilm collection.) The duties of the president varied during those years. She recalled that “I was janitor, gardener and President.” During the wintertime, she remembered, “you had to have heat [for Friday’s meeting] and I’d go up on Thursday afternoon and light that old oil burning stove and then pray that it didn’t catch the place on fire all night.” She continued her commitment to club work by serving as state secretary for the Nevada Federation of Women’s Clubs. The friendships and cultural events which came from Mesquite Club and Federation membership proved to be of lasting value for this community builder. This interview has been produced with the assistance of the Mesquite Club and the History Department of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. It is part of a series on women community builders in Las Vegas. The transcript has been edited only slightly for clarity while the syntax and style of the narrator were retained.

Interviewed by Monserrath Hernández. A native Las Vegan, Justin Favela reminisces about growing up on the east side of the Las Vegas Valley. Favela provides insights about what he refers to as the caste system he is part of, how skin color makes a difference in social hierarchies, and his personal evaluations of the litany of terms such as Latinx, Latino/a, Hispanic etc. He discusses values impressed upon him by his family, especially his grandmothers; one is Guatemalan and the other Mexican. Favela was born in 1986 and discusses his universe where pop culture, gender, ethnicity, history, and Latinidad mix. He talks about his personal artistic expressions and the two podcast series he has created and hosts.

Interviewed by Monserrath Hernández. Rabbi at Temple Beth Sholom since 1998, Felipe Goodman is a native of Mexico City. He identifies as a Mexican Jewish American, and shares the complexities of these.