Until her passing in 2017, Millicent (Siegel) Rosen was the living link to Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, one of Las Vegas’ most notorious links to the Jewish mob. A steadfastly independent woman herself, Millicent recalls Benjamin as a loving father to her and her younger sister. She is proud of his status as a Las Vegas visionary, though she affixes a footnote that the city of today might not be to his liking. She includes a few anecdotes about common names of the early days, including Meyer Lansky who walked her down the aisle when she married Jack Rosen. They had three children: Benjamin, Cindy, and Wendy. Millicent moved to Las Vegas to be with her daughter and her family in about 2000 and cherished her role as a grandmother. Always an artist at heart, Millicent once painted canvases for needlepoint and in 2015 promoted her clothing line.

Interviewed by Elsa Lopez. Born in Belize, Director of AARP, speaks English, Spanish and Creole. Specialist in senior affairs.

On March 5, 1978, collector Wendy Christian interviewed truck driver Henry Clay Davis (born April 19, 1900 in Irondale, Virginia) in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers Henry Clay Davis’s personal life history as a resident of Las Vegas, which includes hunting and fishing. He also discusses employment, the railroad, old hotels, the Davis Dam, and Lake Mead. Additionally, he offers a detailed description of the Helldorado.

From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Unpublished manuscripts file. Presented to the National Social Science Association, Reno, Nevada.

Joan Massagli spent her childhood in the Tacoma, Washington area, singing three-part harmony—a member of a musically talented family that included five children and an aunt and uncle who raised all the kids to enjoy music. By high school in the early 1950s, she and her two older sisters were regulars on a local TV show. In 1956, the Sawyer Sisters act was formed and they were soon obtaining regular gigs in Las Vegas. Their popularity continued form 1957 to 1964 and they played many of the major hotels, usually as a warm up act for headliners that includes a list of names such as Roy Clark, Louis Prima, Shecky Greene, and Delia Reece. At first the Sawyer Sisters included older sister Nanette Susan and Joan. When Nanette quit to raise her family, youngest sister Kate stepped into what was called a "lively and lovely" trio. Joan met her future husband and musician Mark Tully Massagli, while performing in the early 1960s. Caring for ailing parents while working mostly in Las Vegas, the couple made Vegas home. Even after the Sawyer Sisters name faded from the Strip's marquees, Las Vegas remained home to the Massagli's, who raised their children here. Today they live in the Blue Diamond Village area and recall the changes that have occurred on the Las Vegas Strip—especially from an entertainer's point of view.

Harriett Thornton Hicks was born June 8, 1913,in Parowan, Utah; the thirteenth child of 14. She tells of her pioneer family who dwelled in two log cabins—one for cooking and one for sleeping. In 1931, she moved to Las Vegas to join two older sisters who had relocated here. She was picked up at the train by young Charles Hicks, who was a friend of her sisters. Charles had a car and offered to provide transportation. Within three years, the two were married. She quit her drug store job to raise a family and he worked for the railroad, the only business at the time in Las Vegas. At the age of 96, Harriett recalls a range of community milestones, such as the Boulder Dam, the news of Pearl Harbor bombing, Fremont Street, the Biltmore Hotel, and how to live in a city with mob influences.

From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Personal and professional papers file. (Transcripts less than 75 years old are restricted.)