Anne Kellogg's paternal family came to Las Vegas in the 1950s. Then in the late 1960s, her mother arrived to teach school. After her parents married, they set up their first home in John S. Park neighborhood and whenever they moved to a larger house it was within the John S. Park neighborhood. And her father's business office was always nearby. Childhood memories include John S. Park Elementary School being a "hub" for all the neighborhood children no matter where they attended school. There was jumping on the Schofield's trampoline, roller-skating to Odyssey Records, and using Strip hotel tennis courts to practice her game. The Strip was not important in daily life, but if she got good grades, she got to play the Midway at Circus Circus Casino. As an adult, Anne still sees John S. Park as a nice neighborhood that holds an important spot in Las Vegas history. In addition, she offers thoughts on the so-called Manhattanization of Las Vegas, Downtown rehab and the birth of the Arts District, and about retail and being a business owner in the community.

Chemist, mathematician, and health physicist Billy Paul Smith donates time to tutor young people in hopes of attracting more youth into the fields of math and science. Born in 1942 and schooled in segregated black schools in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Texarkana, Texas, he graduated from high school at age fifteen and enrolled at Prairie View A&M University, where he trained with the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and earned his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and in 1964 his Master’s degrees in chemistry and math. Most young U.S. Army officers in 1964 went to Vietnam, but Billy’s math and science background steered him to the Army Chemical Corps, where he was quickly selected to join a new team. The team was to develop responses to nuclear weapon accidents and worked under the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the same time, Billy completed the Weapons Ordinance Army course on classified information relating to the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. In this interview, Billy talks about his service with DASA and his subsequent twenty-seven years working at the Nevada Test Site in a variety of positions with Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company, Inc. (REECo), a company that had “percentagewise more blacks in management positions than any other [Las Vegas] company.” He experienced the quiet racism of Las Vegas residential segregation when he tried to purchase a house in a neighborhood he liked and the unexpected kindness of the REECo general manager, Ron Keen, who made sure the Smith family could live where they wanted to live. He talks about Area 51 and explains underground testing activity and offers the scientific and ecological reasons why scientists deemed Yucca Mountain safe to store nuclear waste. After retiring at fifty-two, Billy and a colleague formed an independent instrumentation company, which, from 1995–2005 provided and calibrated radiological measurement and detection instruments for the decommissioning and closure of the Rocky Flats nuclear plant in Golden, Colorado. During that time, Billy rented an apartment in Boulder, but he and Jackie maintained their Las Vegas home, where they still reside. Billy shares memories of places he and his wife used to enjoy on the Westside and tells of their longtime friends in the black community. He also talks about developing his philosophy of philanthropy through Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and discusses becoming a member of the Knowledge Fund Advisory Council for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and the advisory council for the Nevada System of Higher Education.

Courtney Mooney is the Urban Design Coordinator for the City of Las Vegas. Her job description includes a knowledge of historic preservation, which is her passion. In this interview she shares her professional and personal thoughts about John S. Park Neighborhood. She moved to John S. Park in 2002. As a professional she explains that "how I look at preserving neighborhoods or buildings, is more of a community preservation, not saving the individual building for the individual building's sake..." Courtney offers a big picture of the neighborhood's past, present and future. John S. Park, like so many other Las Vegas neighborhoods, was built during World War II and has been affected by history of segregation and the wave of changing demographics, and the work that went into the plan and requirements to be designated a historic neighborhood. Courtney provides a summary of the story about the land, its ownership and what lead to the foundation of the neighborhood: from John S. Park to George Franklin and John Law, to Mary Dutton and explains how the proposed development of the land differed from other communities being built to FHA standards and specifics that declared Las Vegas a Defense City in the 1940s. She lists the factors that made the neighborhood a logical and important target for the historic designation, a small neighborhood tucked away, that is "a snapshot of the types of people that were coming here," filled with community leaders, entrepreneurs, blue-collar and casino workers. She also mentions about the missed opportunity of the Las Vegas High School neighborhood for preservation while supporting the John S. Park designation.

Commencement program from University of Nevada, Las Vegas Commencement Programs and Graduation Lists (UA-00115).