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Buford, Eugene
Eugene Buford came to Las Vegas, Nevada from Birmingham, Alabama, when he was two years old with his mother and grandmother. He held a variety of jobs, including washing dishes at the Last Frontier and delivering ice to casinos like the Flamingo and the Stardust, and ultimately retired after thirty-six years with the Post Office. Buford's great grandmother, Mary Nettles, was instrumental in the formation and growth of the NAACP chapter in Las Vegas, and he recalls meetings in her house and his own role as president of the Junior League NAACP.
Person
Cowan, Susan, 1928-
Susan Cowan grew up in Kansas City, Missouri with her parents, older sister and grandparents. By the time Cowan graduated from high school, she had moved five different times. This continued once she was married, she eventually settled in Boulder, Colorado. It was there that Cowan began working in higher education as a secretary at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where she met her second husband.
Person
Geran, Hazel, 1926-
Hazel Geran was born June 11, 1926 in Mississippi and lived in Chicago, Illinois for two years. In 1948, at the age of 21, Geran moved to Las Vegas, Nevada to live with relatives. As so many others, she came to Las Vegas in search of a better job. Hers would be as a keno writer at the Westside Cotton Club.
Person
Textor, Ronald D.
Ronald D. Textor was born in Kirksville, Missouri, but moved shortly after his birth to Flint, Michigan. He started his own band, earned a degree in music education, and was in the North American Air Defense Command Band for three years. He then toured with the Glenn Miller Band under the direction of Buddy DeFranco. Textor earned a master's in music and briefly taught in several colleges in the late 1970s. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1981 and played with the Norm Geller orchestra at the Sands.
Person
Regan, Henry L., Jr.
Henry L. Regan Jr. was born March 09, 1948 and was raised in New York. He grew up a tough kid who often tried to fill the shoes of his absent father. Regan, with his mother and younger siblings, arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1958 when he was ten years old. Regan joined a gang and survived the surrounding violence during the 1960s and 1970s—during what he describes his time as a “wild” teen on the Westside of Las Vegas. With the help of caring people and spiritual guides, Regan escaped his addictions and intense path.
Person
Joseph, Katherine M.
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.
Person
Kethen, Vincent, 1964-
Vincent Kethen was born October 31, 1964 in Las Vegas, Nevada, the year that desegregation of schools began. Like many African-American children living in the Las Vegas Westside neighborhood, Kethen was bused out of his neighborhood in third grade to attend a white school. In his case, this meant attending John S. Park Elementary School and later other predominantly white schools.
Person
Chenin, Susan
Suzie Chenin was born August 28, 1949 in Cleveland, Ohio. The next year, her parents, Joseph and Irene Chenin, moved the family to Las Vegas, Nevada. Her father, a dentist, was stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, becoming the first Jewish dentist in the state – and only the thirtieth overall. After graduating from Las Vegas High School, Chenin attended Arizona State University. However, she quit school and moved to Los Angeles, California where she got a job with a large real estate developer. This was her first foray into the industry.
Person