Oral history interview with DeeDee Jasmin conducted by Claytee White on March 19, 1998 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Jasmin opens the interview discussing her life growing up on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. Jasmin goes on to discuss her pursuit of a dance career as a youth. Jasmin got her first big break playing in the comedy musical Sugar Hill and after her high school years she starred in movies before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1955. Jasmin describes her excitement meeting East Coast dancers during her stay in Las Vegas. Jasmin also discusses her interactions with the many famous actors, dancers, singers, and musicians she met during her career.
Archival Collection
The UNLV Libraries Collection of Harveys Casino Resorts Press Releases and Reports includes annual reports, financial reports, press releases, and promotional materials for Harveys Casino Resorts in Lake Tahoe, Nevada; Central City, Colorado; and Council Bluffs, Iowa, dating from 1994 to 1998.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Ethel Smith and Barbara Carter McCalister conducted by Claytee D. White on March 3, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. Barbara Carter and Ethel Smith grew up on the Westside in the 1950s, both born in the late 1940s. They attended the Westside School. Their memories of the city are colorful, vibrant, and clear. They loved school and excelled in the assigned work. After high school, before their chosen careers, both tried work as a maid and found the sexual harassment a real challenge. Their memories of entertainment, fun, customs, and business locations on Jackson Avenue and the surrounding Black business community, related on their walk down memory lane, provided good historical information. Barbara Carter entered banking at Valley Bank and Ethel Smith, the casino industry, at a time when the MOB ran Las Vegas. Their recollections remind us that businesses operated differently and these women were there to witness it. Subjects discussed include: Westside, Jackson Ave, MOB, La Concha Motel, Berkley Square, Valley Bank, Caesars Palace, Ash Resnick, Jackson Hotel.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Millicent Washington, Susan Nwogbe, Samuel Collins, and Tamara Collins-Golden conducted by Claytee D. White on April 10, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. These siblings, Millicent, Tamara, Susan, and Samuel grew up on the Westside and remember the fun of their young lives, schooling that was excellent, and a tight-knit family. Tamara and Susan attended Howard University because of a tour that Susan attended that took her to Black Colleges and Universities throughout the HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) system. Both sisters acquired patronage jobs through the Nevada Congressional delegation. The family owned property that may have been inappropriately acquired by the City of Las Vegas. Tamara, as did her grandmother, works for the Economic Opportunity Board with an office in the Westside School. They talk about school desegregation, businesses on Jackson Avenue, COVID-19, and family dynamics. Other subjects discussed include: Economic Development Board, Nevada Test Site, Howard University, School desegregation, Jackson Avenue businesses.
Archival Collection
Oral history interviews with Ted Quirk conducted by Claytee D. White on December 15, 2017 and December 20, 2017 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In the first interview, Quirk discusses his early life in Ithaca, New York and arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1973. He talks about his employment at Shell Oil, working in a chemical plant, and oil drilling. Quirk describes practicing law for patents, licensing, and contracts. He talks about his career in the housing development industry, and his involvement in the development of the Spanish Trails County Club. In the second interview, Quirk talks about Boys and Girls Club of America and being involved with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). He remembers forming the UNLV Golf Foundation, the Runnin’ Rebels Club, and the UNLV Research Foundation. Quirk explains the situation regarding UNLV’s Basketball Coach, Jerry Tarkanian, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Lastly, Quick discusses the historical importance of the
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Kelly Benavidez conducted by Maribel Estrada Calderón on January 29, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez also participates in the questioning. Kelly Benavidez is originally from San Francisco, California. Benavidez arrived in Las Vegas after her family spent two years in Mexico so her and her brother could learn Spanish. Benavidez and her family have remained in Las Vegas ever since. Kelly attended Area Technical Trade School for hotel management, and was then recruited by Mesa State College in Colorado. She currently works for Commissioner Lawrence Weekly. Her list of community involvement is extensive: Las Vegas-Clark County Library District Board, the Fernando Vargas Foundation, Las Vegas Latin Chamber of Commerce, Hispanics in Politics, Latina Network, among others. Subjects discussed include: Las Vegas, Commissioner Weekly, New York New York construction accident, and Spanish Language.
Archival Collection
The Walter Cartier Papers (1962-1998) primarily contain materials collected by Walter Cartier during his time working as company manager of
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dick Franco conducted by Su Kim Chung on July 14, 2021 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Richard Francis or Dick Franco, his stage name by which he is more commonly known, has been juggling for over 50 years, having learned the art while he was still in high school. Taught by prominent juggling legends in Vaudeville and Las Vegas, Franco would go on to perform all over the world. He began as an opening act with the Harlem Globetrotters in the US, but he then traveled Europe and was featured in variety and production shows in Blackpool, London, Monte Carlo, and Berlin among others.
Franco won specialty awards in Monte Carlo and Paris for his juggling prowess. In the US, Franco performed extensively in Las Vegas at the shows Hallelujah Hollywood, Lido de Paris, Folies Bergere and Jubilee. He then performed many shows in Branson, MO before becoming an entertainment agent and producer in Las Vegas. His wife and daughter traveled all over the world with him and both would perform in his acts.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with James Harris Johnson III conducted by Claytee D. White on May 6, 2021 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project.
Johnson was born in Las Vegas where his father landed as a result of his Air Force career. His mother's work as a short-time horticulturist at the MGM Mirage led to a scholarship for his higher education at University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV).
After graduating, Johnson left Las Vegas to advance his career, working as an anchor in Laredo, Texas; Bakersfield, California; and Omaha, Nebraska.
Racism in Omaha was more overt and damaging than in other cities, thus prompting Johnson and his family to move back to Las Vegas and resume the work he loves. To his credit, Johnson has earned three Emmy Awards because of his artistry in anchoring, reporting, editing, shooting, interviewing, producing, and writing. James Johnson presently works as a cameraman/photojournalist for Channel 3 CBS News.
Subjects discussed include: Channel 3; Fox 5; Emmy Awards; Bakersfield; and MGM Scholarship
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elgin Holbert Jr. conducted by Claytee D. White on April 28, 2021 for African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project.
Elgin Holbert Jr. discusses growing up in the Westside community of Las Vegas, the activities he participated in as a child, community leaders he admired, and his observations of mixed family life (as his father was Black and his mother was white). Elgin also speaks of his work as a Red Cap on the Union Pacific Railroad (UPR), his time at Nevada Power, and his experience dealing cards at various Las Vegas casinos including the Riviera Hotel and Casino (for 15 years), the Tropicana Las Vegas (for 15 years), and the Treasure Island Hotel (for 20 years).
Subjects discussed include: Viola Cunningham; Union Pacific Railroad; Riviera Hotel and Casino; Tropicana Las Vegas Hotel Casino; Treasure Island Hotel; Cotton Bowl; Jimmy Gay; Jefferson Recreational Center; and Eleanor Walker
Archival Collection
