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Coleen York Wilson oral history interview

Identifier
OH-03272
Abstract

Oral history interview with Coleen York Wilson conducted by Claytee D. White on June 4, 1996 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Wilson talks about growing up in Fordyce, Arkansas before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1953 at the age of eighteen. She mentions that her parents had moved to Nevada in 1940 to work at Basic Magnesium, Incorporated (BMI), living in a trailer before returning to Fordyce two years later. She then discusses moving to Las Vegas to join an older sister and relates that she did not remember any discrimination in seating or eating meals during her bus trip. After this, Wilson lists the jobs she held in Las Vegas before her retirement in 1984, including work at the Las Vegas Cleaners, serving as a school crossing guard, and working as a housekeeping supervisor at the Stardust Resort Hotel, the Hacienda Resort Hotel, and Circus Circus Hotel and Casino before taking a job at the Nevada Test Site. She also talks about her family, her church activities, and her regret at not attending college.

Archival Collection

Shirley Allen oral history interview

Identifier
OH-03305
Abstract

Oral history interview with Shirley Allen conducted by Nancy Hardy on June 21, 2003 for the Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Allen discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada with her family and starting dancing professionally while attending university. Her first job was at the Riviera in 1964, working as a showgirl. She explains that the work was not difficult and they were not asked to do anything inappropriate, but they did have to pay for their own cocktail dresses and accessories. She also explains that she was a "covered dancer" in the beginning but by the late 1960s she had to "uncover" (work topless) to be employed. She then talks about working in Pzazz! '68 at the Stardust Resort Hotel and Casino, after auditioning for Fluff LeCoque, Donn Arden's company captain. She also talks about her impression of Miss Bluebell and Donn Arden. She spends some time talking about what life was like backstage, relations between the girls, and meeting celebrities, her first experience with topless dancing in Lido de Paris, and how the backstage dressing areas were assigned and the difficulty of fast changes between sets. Later, she talks about things that can go wrong, from forgeting choreography to the more serious issue of the HIV/AIDS epidemic that swept through the shows in the 1980s.

Archival Collection

Hope Anstett oral history interview

Identifier
OH-03307
Abstract

Oral history interview with Hope Anstett conducted by Claytee D. White on December 8, 2003 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Anstett talks about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1939 with her mother and brother after a doctor recommended a move to a drier climate. Her mother rented a home from Senator Key Pittman and opened a photograph studio and dress shop in the front, with the family living in the back. She describes what it was like growing up in a small community, the schools she attended, the Las Vegas High School Rhythmettes drill team, and the activities available including Helldorado Days and the local recreation center. Later she discusses what the city was like during the war years, the family's move to Oregon, graduating from college, and getting married. She explains that she moved back to Las Vegas while her husband was deployed with the military and worked until his return and the birth of their first child. She also talks about her civic activities, her husband's career with Silver State Disposal, and their post-retirement travel and philanthropic work with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV).

Archival Collection

Alice Key oral history interview

Identifier
OH-00533
Abstract

Oral history interview with Alice Key conducted by Claytee D. White on August 16, 2007 for the African Americans in Las Vegas: a Collaborative Oral History Project. In this interview, Key talks about her birth in Kentucky, upbringing in Riverside, California, high school graduation in 1928 and enrollment at UCLA. She describes at length her entry into the entertainment business as a dancer in 1929, her work and travels with dance companies, and her decision to retire in 1937. She continues discussing the roots of her political activism in Los Angeles, her journalism career, her work to end restrictive covenants, racism in Hollywood hiring, and poor representation for Black dancers in the industry. She then explains what prompted her move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1954 and describes the levels of racism and inequality in Las Vegas during this period. She remarks on many notable Las Vegas leaders, including Dr. Charles West, Dr. James McMillan, Mabel Hoggard, Woodrow Wilson, and others. She also discusses the role of the NAACP, her work as a deputy registrar of voters, and creating the first all-Black television show in the country: Talk of the Town.

Archival Collection

Casiano Corpus Jr. oral history interview

Identifier
OH-03279
Abstract

Oral history interview with Casiano Corpus Jr. conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on February 14, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Corpus Jr. details a difficult childhood in the Philippines, where society is highly socioeconomically stratified. He recalls his parents working a number of jobs to support their large family, and as soon as he finished his primary schooling, he also started working in construction. When his father was finally petitioned by his uncle to move to the United States, Corpus was at first reluctant to go, since he had a familiar life in the Philippines, but has come to love the United States and the life he created for himself. Immediately after moving to the United States, their family landed in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Corpus began working a number of jobs. He started out as a busboy at a Chinese restaurant before deciding that he wanted to work in a casino and moved to Union Plaza. His current job is as a porter at Palace Station, where he has been for the past 31 years. He has also been working to unionize Palace Station and Station casinos with the Culinary Union for the past twelve years. He talks about the hunger strike he organized, why he organizes with no fear, and what he hopes to see out of his efforts throughout the interview.

Archival Collection

Nicole Cristina Espinosa oral history interview

Identifier
OH-03327
Abstract

Oral history interview with Nicole Cristina Espinosa conducted by Yancy Bayoro on November 17, 2022 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Espinosa recalls growing up in Vallejo, California as a first-generation Filipino-American. Because their parents had converted to Mormonism while still in the Philippines, Espinosa grew up surrounded by the Latter-day Saints (LDS) community, attending church every Sunday and going off to camp regularly. In their LDS community, the Espinosa family was often the only non-White family, while among the other Filipinos at school being the only Mormon among Catholics, creating a tension in their identity. Nevertheless, Espinosa had a large extended family nearby and fondly remembers spending time with them as a teenager. They talk about moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in high school because of the low cost of living and job opportunities. After graduating high school, Espinosa worked a number of jobs from TSA at the airport to retail at Urban Outfitters. Epinosa discusses their parent's experience with assimilation and the parts of Filipino culture that were left behind. Throughout the rest of the interview, Espinosa talks about a range of other topics such as public transportation, finding good food, and their AAPI identity.

Archival Collection

Emily Persaud-Zamora oral history interview

Identifier
OH-03325
Abstract

Oral history interview with Emily Persaud-Zamora conducted by Cecilia Winchell and Stefani Evans on January 17, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. In this interview, Persaud-Zamora remembers growing up in Queens, New York and being exposed to numerous cultures and ethnicities. Though her parents separated when she was two, Persaud-Zamora maintained a steady relationship with both. Her mother was originally from Brazil and worked as a chef, primarily for private homes. Her father was an immigrant from Guyana, with roots in India, and did catering for large events and eventually moved to Georgia. Growing up she recalls being between two worlds, never feeling quite Brazilian enough or Asian enough, but still being connected to her Hindu roots in various ways. When she was fifteen, Persaud-Zamora and her mother moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she continued high school and describes the cultural differences between the two places she had lived. After high school, she received a degree in political science and ended up working in public policy. Her current position at Silver State Voices involves work with many different organizations across Nevada to advocate for progressive issues and underrepresented communities. Throughout the interview, Persaud-Zamora touches on a number of other issues, including her religion, traditions, and family.

Archival Collection

Arthur and Joe Lyon Papers

Identifier
MS-01149
Abstract

The Arthur and Joe Lyon Papers (1930-1935, 1985, 2020) document the first transnational automobile trip taken from North America to Central America in 1930 by Arthur and Joe Lyon, two brothers from McDermitt, Nevada. The materials in this collection include Arthur and Joe Lyon's passports with stamps from their trip and their travel scrapbook. Materials also include the brothers' handwritten notes about their trip from the 1930s and original typescript for Central America Through a Windshield written in 1985. The collection also includes a published hardcover copy of 1930: From Manhattan to Managua, North America's First Transnational Automobile Trip published in 2020.

Archival Collection

UNLV University Libraries Photographs of the Response to the 1 October Shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada

Identifier
PH-00433
Abstract

UNLV University Libraries Photographs of the Response to the 1 October Shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada (2017-2019) are comprised of digital images captured to document the aftermath of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. Following the October 1, 2017 killing of 58 people at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip, the Las Vegas community responded in a variety of ways. This collection of photographs document the impromptu memorial created at the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, the funeral of Officer Charleston Hartfield, and different ways the community and organizations have remembered the tragedy since 2017. The collection also documents the Las Vegas Community Healing Garden at 1015 S. Casino Center Boulevard, envisioned by activists and built by volunteers, to honor the victims and give family members and the community a place to gather to remember.

Archival Collection

Gai Phanalasy oral history interview

Identifier
OH-03894
Abstract

Oral history interview with Gai Phanalasy conducted by Jerwin Tiu, Cecilia Winchell, and Stefani Evans on April 7, 2023 for the Reflections: the Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. Born on a Thailand refugee camp, Soukpaseut "Gai" Phanalasy describes his early upbringing in many different countries. Due to political tension, Phanalasy's family had to move from their native Laos to seek refugee in countries like Thailand, the Philippines, and eventually were granted asylum in Nashville, Tennessee in 1981. There, the Phanalasy family had to learn to assimilate to American culture, receiving aid from several religious organizations and the local Laos community. Phanalasy went on to attend Middle Tennessee State University, where he majored in mass communications and later decided to enter a broadcasting program where he interned at a radio station in Tennessee. His passion for photography began in 2007, and through a connection, he received a job offer from Fox 5 News in Las Vegas, Nevada. Since then, Gai has enjoyed a career in photography, including working as the state photographer in Carson City. After several projects, he returned to Las Vegas to work as the Multimedia Production Specialist for the City of Las Vegas where he has received many awards for his work. Gai emphasizes his love for his community, Las Vegas, and his passion of photography.

Archival Collection