Joyce Marshall-Moore came to Las Vegas from Chicago in December of 1953. Only eight years old at the time, she clearly remembers the road trip with her father Royce (known as "Mousie"), her mother Agnes, and her two brothers. They left Chicago, where it was snowing, and arrived in Las Vegas on a cold snowy day! Joyce attended school at Sunrise Acres ES until eighth grade and then went to Rancho High School, graduating in 1962. She recalls that her father worked for a time at the El Rancho Vegas and that her mother found work at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. Agnes Marshall (nee Rasmussen) took her nurse's training in Buffalo, New York, and then worked at Buffalo General Hospital and Millard Fillmore Hospital. Later she joined the army and was stationed in Memphis, Tennessee, working at Kennedy General Hospital where she met Royce and married him. They moved to Chicago where she found work at Ravenswood Hospital. After their move to Las Vegas, Agnes was hired at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. She became disenchanted with nurse-patient interactions at the county hospital and found employment at Las Vegas Hospital. She worked there until 1976 and then was hired at Las Vegas Convalescent Center. Agnes followed her dreams and traveled during this period as well. Agnes worked with Doctors Lund, Allen, Woodbury, Sulvane, and Hardy, among others. Joyce recalls that Dr. Hardy, a cousin and look-alike to Oliver Hardy, was one of her mother's favorites. She shares anecdotes and memories of these and other doctors. Joyce remembers many aspects of her mother's life, including the fact that she took care of neighbors as well as her family and patients. She often worked double shifts and the pay was nominal, but she loved her job because of the relationships with her patients. Agnes passed away in 2006 at the ripe old age of 91.
Guy begins by talking about his birth in Brazil, Indiana, his early work selling Civilian Conservation Corps magazine subscriptions, and his travels across the United States before arriving in Boulder City, Nevada in 1938. Next, Guy recalls his early memories of Boulder City, the Las Vegas Wash, and his work at the Boulder Beach campgrounds at Lake Mead Recreation Area and in Overton, Nevada. Guy also discusses the campgrounds' working conditions, entertainment, access to amenities, and work associates. Afterwards, Guy talks about his time as a railroad worker in Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, Block 16 in Las Vegas, Las Vegas entertainers, working as a volunteer fire fighter, and anecdotes about people in his personal life.
Lewis Gibson Miller was born on March 8, 1931, in Los Angeles, California. Lewis married Ann Johnson in April of 1987, and they had five children: Alisa, Michon, Tiffany, Marc, and Marta. Miller graduated from high school and attended two years of college. Then he attended Navy Electronic School and Navy specialty training. Miller served two and a half years in the United States Navy aboard the USS Wiseman DE 667.
Katherine M. Joseph was born December 31, 1931 in Oakland, California. She came to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1950 at the age of 19 and was immediately employed at the Elks Club as a dancer and cocktail waitress. Soon after that she joined a dance show as well, which took her to Havana, Cuba for a year.
Attorney Jack Anderson was one of the lawyers who handled legal issues for Operation Life, the Westside community organization founded by welfare rights activist Ruby Duncan. The organization aided residents in housing, health services, food, education, job training, day care for working mothers, and general economic development. A former card dealer, Anderson, a caucasian, graduated from the historically black Howard Law School, and began work with his friend Mahlon Brown III, for Clark County Legal Services in the early 1970s.
Betty Blevins was born September 17, 1935 in the small town of Berry, Alabama. She graduated from high school there in 1953 and then went on to nurses' training at the University Of Alabama School Of Nursing in Birmingham. Her husband was hired at the Nevada Test Site as a journeyman electrician in 1963 and they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada with their two children.