Thalia Dondero is most famous for being the first woman elected to the Clark County Commission. She ran her first successful campaign in 1974 and held office for twenty years. While on the commission, Dondero helped to create Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire state parks, to modernize McCarran International Airport and University Medical Center, and served on the Water Authority Board. She served as a member of the Board of Regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education for twelve years after retiring from the County Commission in 1994. Dondero died September 4, 2016 from complications from congestive heart failure. Thalia Marie Dondero was born January 23, 1920. Her father, Doyle Sperry, was a taxidermist and her mother, Sylvia Peck, was a violinist and worked in a laundry. She lived in both Colorado and Wyoming before her family settled in Bakersfield, California. Dondero moved to Las Vegas in 1943 when her employer took a job with Basic Magnesium, Inc. and requested that she follow him. On June 21, 1946 she married Harvey Dondero who taught English and journalism for local high schools,. The couple had two daughters and three sons together. Dondero was very active in her community. While her children were in school, she volunteered for the Parent Teacher Association and even served as the organization’s president. She was also very active with local Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts troops in Las Vegas. She served as executive director of the girl scouts and was instrumental in creating the Foxtail Girl Scout Camp at Mount Charleston. Throughout her life, Dondero volunteered with a number of Las Vegas organizations, including the Junior League, the International Women’s Foundation, and the Gilcrease Foundation.
From the Syphus-Bunker Papers (MS-00169). The folder contains an original handwritten letter, an envelope, a typed transcription of the same letter, and a copy of original letter attached.
Oral history interview with Erma Linda Rivera conducted by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez, Nathalie Martinez, Maribel Estrada Calderón, and Barbara Tabach on January 09, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Erma Linda Rivera discusses her early life as a grandchild of immigrants. She shares her experiences growing up in a mining town in Arizona. After marrying, both Erma Linda and her husband Jose became federal civil servants. This would lead Erma Linda Rivera to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1984. Prior to retirement, Rivera worked as an regional Equal Employment Opportunity manager. Rivera discusses her career working for the Department of the Interior, sharing how her job helped fuel her passion for social justice. Erma Linda relates the importance of civic involvement in her life. Finally, she reflects on how Henderson, Nevada has changed over the years she has lived there.
Folder of materials from the Mabel Hoggard Papers (MS-00565) -- Civic engagement file. Las Vegas Westside newspaper clippings, community programs, and correspondence. This folder includes a program for a tribute to Ruby Duncan; Operation Life Community Press newsletter, Year 1, Volume 4, March 1978; Westside Council summary; Westside Federal Credit Union Education Committee records; and Nevada Equal Rights Commission letters and amended statistical report, March 16, 1978.
Entertainer and song writer Anthony (Tony) Costa was born March 25, 1920 in Manhattan, New York. He started taking piano lessons at age eight and attended the famed Julliard School of Music. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music at the Manhattan School of Music. By the time World War II began, Costa was a concert pianist. He joined the Air Force and served in the medical corps in Africa.
Amie Williams "is an award winning producer/director specializing in documentary film and video for television, NGO’s and political campaigns. Her films, such as We Are Wisconsin, No Sweat and Uncommon Ground have won numerous awards, including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Peace Grant, the International Documentary David Wolper Award, a NEA Media Grant, and the SONY/Streisand Award for emerging female filmmakers. Amie’s work has appeared on the Discovery Channel, PBS, BBC, Current TV, Al Jazeera English and Kenya Television Nation.
Hazel Baker Denton (1887-1962) was a prolific writer, educator, active community member, and elected to serve the Nevada State Assembly in the early 1950s.
On October 24, 1974, collector James M. Greene interviewed civil engineer, Robert Kesterson (born on August 12th, 1920 in Key West, Florida) in his home in Henderson, Nevada. Mrs. Kesterson is also present during the interview. This interview offers an overview on life in Boulder City, Las Vegas, and Henderson, Nevada. The interview ends with a discussion on land development.