Search Results

Priscilla and Joe Scalley arrived in Las Vegas in 1972 with their two young daughters. Joe had just completed his residency in radiology and came to Las Vegas to practice at Sunrise Hospital, where he eventually became Southern Nevada’s first neuroradiologist. The couple took out two mortgages to buy their house at 2900 Justice Lane, in the Rancho Nevada Estates section of Ward 1. They were the second owners of the house, which had been built in 1967. In 1993, after their daughters had graduated from high school, the Scalleys sold the house and moved to Summerlin. Joe Scalley died in October 1994. After Joe died Priscilla became reacquainted with and married the father of one of her daughters’ childhood friends, Joel Jobst, who was also widowed. Joel was a nuclear physicist retired from the Nevada Test Site. Priscilla and Joel bought a vacation home in Montana, where they spent every summer. They celebrated 13 years of marriage before Joel passed in 2013. As a young mother Priscilla joined the West Charleston Elementary School Parent Teacher Association and eventually became president. She helped found the Friends of the Libraries when the Clark County Library District had only two libraries—Flamingo Library and West Charleston Library—and served as that group’s president. She also was active in Junior League of Las Vegas and was president 1983?84. In her early forties Priscilla became a travel agent, a career that kindled a passion for travel that still burns brightly. She also is interested in genealogy. Although she has traveled the world she yearns to take her daughters, sons in law, and grandchildren to Ireland, the land of her ancestors.

The interior of the green house at the end of the cul-de-sac envelops the visitor. Every room exudes comfort and encourages conversation even as the lake, lapping quietly on three sides of the house, beckons. Cindy Coletti revels in this house and its interiors, all of her own design, especially because they are so different from the daring, opulent, and award-winning custom homes for which she is known. Arriving in Las Vegas in 1988 as a single mother, Cindy immediately submitted a successful design for the first Southern Nevada Street of Dreams event and began networking. She established Sun West Custom Homes in Nevada by applying the design and contracting skills she had successfully honed by building nearly seventy houses in California, Florida, and Colorado—all the while grooming her son Danny—from the time he was in his teens—to eventually take over the company. In this interview, Cindy's husband, David Fordham, shares his background, his reasons for relocating to Las Vegas, work in commercial real estate, meeting Cindy, and living at The Lakes. Cindy then recalls the experiences that brought her to Las Vegas; shaped her ideas of self-help, friendship, design, and business, and instilled in her the confidence to succeed in a man's world. Cindy has retired from building and now enjoys traveling with her husband, but Sun West Custom Homes continues to thrive under the capable ownership and leadership of Daniel S. Coletti.

Jane Greenspun Gale-actor, activist, writer, magazine publisher, philanthropist, and farmer- has filled her life with accomplishments such as the Animal Foundation and Springs Preserve. It has also been a life filled with adventure - from “looking for John Lennon” during her time living and studying acting in London to learning to raise chickens on the acres of the Gilcrease Farm she owns with husband and photographer Jeff Gale. Everyone calls her Janie. Born Jane in 1949, she is the third of four children born to community leaders Barbara and Hank Greenspun. In this oral history, Janie captures the fun of growing up in Las Vegas under the watching eye of Hank. As a teen she and her friends cruised Fremont Street. Several years later she wanted to be arrested protesting the Atomic Test Site, when Hank diverted her into reporting about the event instead. Her Jewish foundation was at Temple Beth Sholom, where her parents were among the founding members. As the Jewish population grew, the tastes in synagogues grew to reflect the change. When Janie’s children preferred the Reform approach at Congregation Ner Tamid, a new family tradition began. She is proud of her background and shares loving stories of time spent with her grandparents as a child and pride in the heroic and dramatic story behind the naming of Hank Greenspun Plaza in Israel. Even her love story with Jeff is a tale made for movies. It unfolds in this engaging oral history interview along with anecdotes that are plucked from her personal history and preserve a reflection of growing up in Las Vegas, one of the Greenspun family of local fame.

Interviewed by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez. Gustavo Ramos Junior was born in Presidio, Texas. Growing up Ramos described his childhood as simple childhood, typical of someone that was born on farmland. At the age 10, Ramos and his family moved to California in hopes of better opportunities. When they arrived in California the family had to live in public housing, despite his father not wanting to, he realized it was the only way his family could start anew. Living in public housing influenced Ramos for the rest of his life, including his career as director of public housing in three states.

Interviewed by Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez. Barbara Tabach also participates in the questioning. Valorie J Vega was born in raised in Los Angeles County. Her father, Fred Vega, was one of the first firefighters hired in the Los Angeles County area. Vega was one of three children, and remembers spending her childhood surrounded by family. In college, Vega began studying biology only to realize that she was better suited studying Spanish. Upon completion of her undergrad, Vega went on to earn a Master's in Spanish interpretation. As a result of her studies, Vega was able to secure a job in the Court Interpreter program in Las Vegas, moving here in 1978. Her position in the interpreter program, led her to pursue a degree in law which in turn led to a successful career as a lawyer and a judge.

Until her passing in 2017, Millicent (Siegel) Rosen was the living link to Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, one of Las Vegas’ most notorious links to the Jewish mob. A steadfastly independent woman herself, Millicent recalls Benjamin as a loving father to her and her younger sister. She is proud of his status as a Las Vegas visionary, though she affixes a footnote that the city of today might not be to his liking. She includes a few anecdotes about common names of the early days, including Meyer Lansky who walked her down the aisle when she married Jack Rosen. They had three children: Benjamin, Cindy, and Wendy. Millicent moved to Las Vegas to be with her daughter and her family in about 2000 and cherished her role as a grandmother. Always an artist at heart, Millicent once painted canvases for needlepoint and in 2015 promoted her clothing line.

Dr. Darville Knowles was born in Miami, Florida, in 1948. His mother and father were schoolteachers in Dade County. After their divorce in 1962, Darville's mother relocated to Las Vegas with her two sons and took a teaching position here. Dr. Knowles comments on the differences between Miami and Las Vegas as far as segregation regarding housing, education, and job opportunities. He also mentions that his grandmother had emigrated from the Bahamas and that she impressed on them to make their own situation and community better. He recalls that track and field athletics were desegregated before the contact sports, such as football and basketball. Darville and his brother Michael (a lawyer in Miami) both graduated from college. Darville attended Howard University and Stanford University Medical School and completed his internship at the Jewish Hospital of St. Louis. Dan Wilkes, a family friend and pathologist in Las Vegas, convinced Darville to look at Las Vegas for job opportunities. After trying St. Louis, Atlanta, Houston, and Los Angeles, Dr. Knowles finally settled in Las Vegas in 1982 and "grew' his practice at Sunrise Hospital. Dr. Knowles comments on health problems in Las Vegas related to eating choices, lack of exercise, and poor air quality. He describes how HMOs have changed the practice of medicine and gives his opinions on how health care should be addressed by Congress. He also discusses the future of medicine, the research he was involved in, and the AIDS crisis. Dr. Knowles talks about how medicine has changed since 1982, the large number of respiratory problems that he treats, and comments further on HMOs and the fixture of medicine in Las Vegas. He also shares that he found time to author a murder mystery and has plans to write more.