Chemist, mathematician, and health physicist Billy Paul Smith donates time to tutor young people in hopes of attracting more youth into the fields of math and science. Born in 1942 and schooled in segregated black schools in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Texarkana, Texas, he graduated from high school at age fifteen and enrolled at Prairie View A&M University, where he trained with the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) and earned his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry and in 1964 his Master’s degrees in chemistry and math. Most young U.S. Army officers in 1964 went to Vietnam, but Billy’s math and science background steered him to the Army Chemical Corps, where he was quickly selected to join a new team. The team was to develop responses to nuclear weapon accidents and worked under the Defense Atomic Support Agency (DASA) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At the same time, Billy completed the Weapons Ordinance Army course on classified information relating to the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal. In this interview, Billy talks about his service with DASA and his subsequent twenty-seven years working at the Nevada Test Site in a variety of positions with Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company, Inc. (REECo), a company that had “percentagewise more blacks in management positions than any other [Las Vegas] company.” He experienced the quiet racism of Las Vegas residential segregation when he tried to purchase a house in a neighborhood he liked and the unexpected kindness of the REECo general manager, Ron Keen, who made sure the Smith family could live where they wanted to live. He talks about Area 51 and explains underground testing activity and offers the scientific and ecological reasons why scientists deemed Yucca Mountain safe to store nuclear waste. After retiring at fifty-two, Billy and a colleague formed an independent instrumentation company, which, from 1995–2005 provided and calibrated radiological measurement and detection instruments for the decommissioning and closure of the Rocky Flats nuclear plant in Golden, Colorado. During that time, Billy rented an apartment in Boulder, but he and Jackie maintained their Las Vegas home, where they still reside. Billy shares memories of places he and his wife used to enjoy on the Westside and tells of their longtime friends in the black community. He also talks about developing his philosophy of philanthropy through Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and discusses becoming a member of the Knowledge Fund Advisory Council for the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and the advisory council for the Nevada System of Higher Education.
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Oral history interview with Kaity Webber conducted by Barbara Tabach on November 16, 2017 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. Kaity Webber describes moving to Las Vegas, Nevada and earning her degree in psychology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Webber discusses the excitement she had going to the Route 91 Harvest festival with a friend on the weekend of the October 1, 2017 Las Vegas shooting. She talks about her experiences from that night, including how she found shelter in the Thomas & Mack Center with countless others, as well as her process of healing from the traumatic event.
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Musician Ronald Simone of Las Vegas credits his father’s guidance and his upbringing in New Haven, Connecticut, for shaping his musical and educational aspirations. Due to its proximity to New York City and the influence of Yale University, New Haven offered its residents the finest in musical entertainment; as a result, many musical greats were from or had lived in New Haven and most Broadway shows opened at New Haven’s Shubert Theater. Born in 1935 with the gift of perfect pitch, Simone began to play the piano at a young age and could play most pieces by ear. He began playing professionally at age eight in 1943 with a weekly stint on a radio show, Kitty's Revue. Still in grade school during World War II he began touring locally with an amateur producer, who formed a show that played military bases and hospitals around Connecticut and into New York and Massachusetts. In high school Simone formed his own trio and a quartet and played piano in gin mills, illegal card rooms, and resorts in upstate New York while playing trumpet in the high school band. He joined the Musicians Union at 18 and continued to play in New York and Connecticut clubs and theaters throughout his five years at Yale. During his second year at Yale the School of Music became a graduate school, from which Ron graduated in 1958. Ron’s sister Louise married one of his Yale classmates, a drummer, and the couple moved to Las Vegas. Ron visited his sister in 1959, loved the musical opportunities he saw, transferred his Musicians Union membership, and moved to Las Vegas with his friend, violinist Joe Mack, in September 1960. After sub work and playing a lounge show at the Riviera, he spent five and a half years in the Riviera showroom, moving in 1966 to the Desert Inn, where he played piano in the exclusive Monte Carlo Room for five years for the likes of Dean Martin, Sandy Koufax, Sammy Davis Jr., and Kirk Kerkorian. From there Simone went to the Dunes, where he remained for the next nineteen years working with choreographer Ronnie Lewis and rehearsing and playing all the Casino de Paris shows, line numbers, and production numbers. In July 1989, Musicians Local 369 went on strike. Because Simone was playing the Follies Bergere at the Tropicana—the first house band to strike—he was among the first musicians to walk out. Musicians at all but three Strip hotels (Circus Circus, Riviera, and the Stardust) followed. While the musicians strike lasted nearly eight months, Simone was recruited for sanctioned sub work for the duration at the Lido de Paris show at the Stardust. After the strike ended he worked with Johnny Haig's relief band playing six nights a week at various hotels.
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Rachel Taylor describes her family's experience during the Holocaust in Poland in the Kutno and Gubin ghettos. She was able to escape with her sisters and brother with the help of a Polish priest and nun, and her parents survived Auschwitz-Birkenau. Taylor came to the United Staes in 1961.
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On October 18, 1974, James M. Greene interviewed news editor, Lorna Kesterson (born December 30th, 1925 in St. George, Utah) in her office in Henderson, Nevada. The two discuss Kesterson’s work in news editing as well as her original reasons for moving to Nevada. They also discuss teenage social life of Boulder city, during the 1940s.
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Starts with a KVBC Channel 3 opening followed by "A Chorus Line" advertisement, and gold watch advertisement. Next segment starts with a packaged opening for KVBC Channel 3, a news story on the proposed national gas tax, a story on the secret Area 10 military base near Tonopah, Nevada, a woman who was hit by a street light, followed by more commercials by Nevada Savings, the Holiday Casino's gaming, entertainment, and buffet offers. The next segment starts with an economic study story. Anchor Gwen Castaldi introduces a story on Vegas World, Stupak and the new show "Outrageous Vegas," which was performed in a room used during the day as the casino's race and sports book. The commercial set following includes pieces on the Inperial Palace Auto Show, a spot for the Associated Podiatry Group, and a Chevron credit card commercial. The sports segment features stories on football coach John Robinson leaving USC, boxing in Las Vegas, the UNLV Running Rebels featuring Sidney Green, the NFL, Steve Garvey, a construction update on Cashman Field, skiing report, and a fishing report. Commercials in the next segment feature ads by the Las Vegas Sun, Stanwell Mortgage, and Fairway Chevrolet. The weather segment is followed by commercials by Royal Transmission, and the Las Vegas Hilton presents the Moulin Rouge du Paris production show. The show continues with a travel segment featuring b-roll from McCarran International Airport before ending. The tape continues with more news segments and a replay of the earlier show including the Stupak interview. Different segments and commercials include, Follies Bregere at the Tropicana, Gordon's Jewlers, Mineral Bank, news segments, American Denture Service, the announcement of the "Las Vegas Stars" as the new name for the AAA baseball team, NBA coverage, Las Vegas Dodge, Vons, Tom Jones at Caesars Palace, Nevada State Bank, and La Mesa RV. The tape continues with News 13 newscast. Stories include the shooting of Metro officer James McClarren and the preliminary hearing of his alleged shooter, 15-year-old Hector Vento, various other court cases, a story on rent increases at Bonanza Village, coverage of COMDEX Computer Convention, a story in the Gaurdian Angles security group pulling back services on the Las Vegas Strip, and a story on a cheating ring centered around Vegas World. The segment discusses Vegas World cooperation, security upgrades including cameras and video recorders, Metro's anti-cheating detail headed by Sgt. Dennis Caputo, and various cheating scams. The sports segment features a story on the UNLV Rebels football team and sophomore quarterback Randall Cunningham. Includes Channel 8's wrap up of the cheating scams at Vegas World as reported by Steve Shorr. Original media VHS, color, aspect ratio 4 x 3, frame size 720 x 486. From the Bob Stupak Professional Papers (MS-01016) -- Professional papers -- Audiovisual material -- Digitized audiovisual clips file.
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Oral history interview with Olivia Meneses conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on September 18, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Olivia Meneses describes growing up in Mexico City and attending la Universidad Iberoamericana during the 1968 student movement that culminated in the Tlatelolco massacre. She discusses migrating to the United States in 1983 and moving to Las Vegas in 1985, where she began teaching Spanish to kindergarten students.
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