Oral history interview with Claude, Buddy, and Skip Trenier conducted by Betty Rosenthal on March 10, 1978 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection.
In this interview, Claude, Buddy, and Skip Trenier, members of the musical group "The Treniers", discuss their experiences performing on the Las Vegas Strip as Black men. They share their group's history playing music at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino and other establishments in Las Vegas, Nevada beginning in 1948. Their discussion covers not only their performing careers but also their experiences with desegregation, racism, and discrimination in the city of Las Vegas.
Claude, Buddy, and Skip Trenier share their accounts of both being a popular act in Las Vegas, requested by out-of-towners from New York and Chicago, and also how they were nearly fired for refusing to play music when noticing customers of color being treated unfairly at their shows. The trio talk about how they could not enter casinos from the front entrance, how most casinos did not formally desegregate until after 1960, and how there were very few Black entertainers, musicians, or dancers during the mid-20th century with a few notable exceptions including Sammy Davis Jr.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ralph Cadwallader conducted by Jane Kurakazu on October 15, 2001 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In the interview, Cadwallader discusses his family and upbringing in Massachusetts. He then discusses how he came to Las Vegas, Nevada in the late 1960s to teach at Garside Junior High School. He discusses his appointment as assistant principal at Western High School and Basic High School during the 1970s before being appointed as Associate Superintendent of the Clark County School District in 1978. He discusses his duties as Associate Superintendent and changes that he implemented at Valley High School, Clark High School, Bonanza High School, and Chaparral High School. He also discusses his philosophy as a school administrator, and how this philosophy influenced his interactions with educators and students. He briefly discusses his role as Associate Superintendent in Tempe, Arizona, but then discusses his 1999 return to Las Vegas as part of the Nevada Association of School Administrators.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Debra Nutton conducted by David Schwartz on June 15, 2015 for the Table Games Management Oral History Project. In this interview, Nutton discusses her career in gaming. She talks about working at the MGM Grand in 1976, going to dealing school, and becoming one of the first female craps dealers in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nutton remembers auditioning for various casino floors, her teachers, and becoming a floor manager. She then recalls the opening of the MGM Mirage, applying for a pit manager position there, and being hired as the only female pit manager in 1989. Later, Nutton describes the role of casino shift manager, handling issues with customers, and begin a casino manager for twelve years. Lastly, Nutton discusses her move to meeting Steve Wynn and becoming a casino manager for the Wynn.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with John Fudenberg conducted by Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White on May 3, 2018 and May 23, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, John Fudenberg, the coroner for Clark County in Las Vegas, Nevada, gives an account of his experience during the October 1, 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip and what his role was during the tumultuous days after the shooting. He explains how he and the staff of the coroner's office prepared for the large number of casualties as well as their arrival at the Route 91 Harvest festival venue. Fudenberg speaks of setting up the Family Assistance Center at the convention center and how it supported the community but also aided the coroner's office in gathering information about the deceased and identifying them. Fudenberg discusses the main job of the Coroner's Office during the first week after the shooting, which was to autopsy the bodies and communicate with the families, as well as the Police Department. He also talks about the emotional impact the shooting and its aftermath had on him and his staff members and the wellness program they implemented, of which trauma yoga and meditation had a large impact.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Aracely Rascon conducted by Claytee D. White on October 2, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Rascon recalls her early childhood in Chihuahua, Mexico and until her father brought the family to Las Vegas, Nevada. She studied interior design at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and joined the firm of Simpson Coulter, where she specializes in decorating the interiors of businesses and schools. Two weeks after the October 1, 2017 shooting, her skills were called upon by those across the city who were preparing the Resiliency Center for survivors of the mass shooting. This proposed Resiliency Center needed carpet, paint, furniture, art work, and everything else to make it into a place where people could seek assistance in a peaceful atmosphere where they could tell their stories and ask for help. Rascon contacted all her resources and was pleasantly surprised when each company bent over backwards to offer deals, advice, and referrals. Rascon learned that she could use her talents and decorating skills to help others be at peace and to dialogue and perform in comfort. She will never forget and will be forever grateful to the sense of community displayed by her city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with So Ping "Suzy" Chan conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 20, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Wai-Mei Borgel served as an interpreter. In this interview, Chan describes her early life in Toisan, China, where her father owned a jewelry store but soon joined her grandfather in the United States. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, Chan recalls one of her brothers dying, and after the war their family left for Hong Kong, where Chan would grow up and finish her education. In 1963, Chan immigrated first to San Francisco, California, before moving down to Los Angeles, California, and working in a kitchen at a restaurant named Food to Go. After working various jobs in Los Angeles, Chan and her family eventually relocated to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she would continue to work various culinary jobs and as a Pai Gow dealer. Chan discusses venturing into real estate and tells stories throughout the interview that reflect the hard-earned but fun-spirited life she has led.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Christian Chan conducted by Cecilia Winchell, Jerwin Tiu, and Stefani Evans on May 06, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Chan begins by describing her childhood in Hong Kong and later moving to San Francisco, California with her family, then to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1965. She recalls attending Sunrise Acres and Roy Martin Middle School before graduating from Valley High School as valedictorian. In college, Chan attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and graduated with a degree in engineering. After college, she found work in the Las Vegas Valley Water District and became the first woman engineer. During her five years there, she excountered subtle sexism for the first time. Chan continues the interview by describing her work while she lived in California, as well as her years internationally living in the Philippines as well as Ecuador. Throughout the interview, Chan touches on topics ranging from identity, to her impressions of the different generations, discrimination, and the growth of Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Please I’d Like to Grow: Conversations and Reflections on Student Activism at UNLV panel discussion conducted by Heidi Johnson on November 20, 2016 for the UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection. In this discussion, faculty, students, and alumni of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) discuss student activism, university exhibits and programs to promote diversity, environmental justice, and racial and sexual antidiscrimination. The discussion was held from 2-4 p.m. in the Goldfield Room of Lied Library and moderated by Heidi Johnson, UNLV social sciences librarian. Panelists include: UNLV student Michael Curtis, Black Student Organization; UNLV student Briceida Hernandez, Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MEChA) and Spectrum; UNLV alumnus Robert Leavitt, former Rebel Yell photographer and Vietnam veteran; UNLV alumna Tara Pike-Nordstrom, Recycling Manager and Campus Sustainability Coordinator; and UNLV Associate Professor and Director of Interdisciplinary Degree Programs Anita Revilla, Ph.D.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Vincent Iokimo Souza conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on June 21, 2022 as part of the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Souza describes how his early childhood was spent deeply immersed in Hawaiian culture and tradition. He credits his early educators for inspiring his commitment to Hawaiian culture, which he continues to cultivate to this day. Souza earned his degree from the University of Hawaii while also working for a travel company. After college, Souza continued in the travel industry and started his own company in 2002. In 2008, he joined his parents and younger sister in Las Vegas, Nevada. While in Las Vegas, Souza worked for Terry Fator and managed his tours around the world. Souza discusses how he is re-embracing his Hawaiian heritage by engaging in various community activities around the Las Vegas valley. Throughout the interview, Souza touches on many topics ranging from discrimination, to Sam Boyd's connection to Hawaii, and what Souza wants people to know about Hawaii.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview With Carolyn Sparks conducted by Claytee D. White on June 7, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Sparks describes her childhood growing up in Overton, Nevada where her father worked as a mining engineer. Later the family moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where her father invested in the El Cortez and Showboat hotels. Sparks received a degree from the University of California, Berkeley before returning to Las Vegas to work at an insurance company, where she met her husband, Kenneth. Sparks discusses their shared adventure insuring many of the businesses on the Las Vegas Strip while simultaneously entering the world of philanthropy. Sparks became area Chairperson of the American Cancer Society, a fundraiser for Junior Mesquite Club, and founded the Nevada Children's Center. Sparks served on the Nevada Board of Regents from 1984 to 1996, on the Board of Directors of the Showboat Hotel & Casino, and as president of the family's International Insurance Services, Ltd.
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