Oral history interview with Rochelle Hooks conducted by Rebecca Snetselaar and Binnie Wilkin on April 12, 2016 for the Folklife Program of the Nevada Arts Council and the Oral History Research Center at UNLV Libraries. Hooks begins by talking about who she is and what she does. She explains what storytelling is in the African American community and how she used education to tell them. She describes her experiences with storytelling, the lessons she has learned, and what she appreciates about it. Then, Hooks speaks about important people in the African American community and the impact they had. She talks about the reason she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, the development of the African American community and arts, and the impacts of storytelling. Lastly, she recalls stories about her family history.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Sabina and Antonio E. Callwood conducted by Claytee D. White on October 13, 2014 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. This interview begins with Sabina Callwood's ordeal in the Holocaust in Belgium and her family's various experiences with the persecution. She recalls her adjustment to life after the war and talks about her family's history with Judaism, also giving some insight into Jewish culture, law, traditions, and customs. Antonio Callwood discusses his family genealogy and his career as a musician. The couple delve into their marriage in 1990 and their extensive travels for Antonio's music career as well as their eventual settlement in Las Vegas, Nevada in 2007. The Callwoods end the interview with a discussion of the Jewish community in Las Vegas and an awareness of how the new environment allowed them to explore their Jewish identities.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Judy Mack conducted by Barbara Tabach on June 2, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Judy Mack discusses her survival during the Holocaust and her move to San Francisco, California at the age of eleven. She discusses her later move to Reno, Nevada with her husband and son where she grew her family and began a successful pawn shop enterprise before moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1990. She goes into detail on her family history as well as her family's current involvement with the Jewish community. Mack also speaks of her involvement with the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center and the other ways she has recorded her history of the Holocaust.
Archival Collection
The Gerald Schaffer Professional Papers (approximately 1949-1999) contain materials from Schaffer's time working as a political executive assistant, private sector consultant, and developer of commercial, residential, and gaming projects throughout Clark County, Nevada. The collection includes newspaper clippings, photographs, correspondence, and administrative files from Schaffer's time working as an executive assistant for Nevada Congressman Walter S. Baring Jr. Schaffer's work with organizations is represented through programs, photographs, and correspondence. Documents relating to his work as Commissioner of Public Housing on the Clark County Public Housing Authority, service as Clark County Planning Commissioner, and as a commercial and residential developer in Las Vegas are also present in the collection.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Margarita Rebollal conducted by Marcela Rodriguez-Campo and Barbara Tabach on February 28, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Margarita Rebollal is a lifelong community organizer and advocate for Latinx civic engagement and rights. She shares what it was like to grow up in Ponce, Puerto Rico and shares her childhood memories growing up on the island with her siblings. Rebollal also discusses the death of her father and the eventual move of her family to New York City, New York. She also recalls her education and teen years. Later, she would move to California, and eventually find her way to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996. Rebollal discusses her passion for civic engagement and the many years serving the community, being most well-known for her role in founding the Puerto Rican Association of Las Vegas and the Hispanic International Day Parade of Nevada. Rebollal also discusses her campaign for the Ward 1 Las Vegas City Council seat.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Elda Membreno conducted by Elsa Lopez on February 15, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Elda Membreno discusses her childhood and young adulthood growing up in El Salvador. She recalls her family struggling financially throughout her childhood, which caused her parents to make the trip to the United States and began financially supporting Elda and her siblings abroad. Membreno shares how she became a single mother at a young age and the struggles that came along with that. After remarrying, Elda and her new husband immigrated to California. In 2004, the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, and Membreno began working as housekeeper. Membreno discusses the problems she faced in her marriage and shares how her experiences have caused her to become outspoken about the problems she has faced throughout her life. Elda is a big advocate for therapy, and she talks about how many Latin households must break the stigma of domestic abuse. Finally, Membreno discusses her involvement in the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and her various civic engagements.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lidia Bonilla conducted by Maribel Estrada Calderón, Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez, and Barbara Tabach on February 19, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Bonilla begins the interview by discussing her and her family's early life in Panama. Bonilla shares her feelings on the United States' involvement in Panamanian politics as she grew up. She moved to the United States in 1976 and immigrated after her marriage to a United States citizen. While married, she traveled with her husband to his various military postings, including Spain. Bonilla discusses her experiences as the spouse of a military member and her experiences raising children in a military household. In 1991, she moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where she began work for the Luxor Hotel and Casino. She discusses founding the Comunidad Panameña Las Vegas, a cultural group for Panamanians in Las Vegas, as well as her other civic engagements.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Freddy Chavez conducted by Marcela Rodriguez Campo, Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez, Maribel Estrada Calderon, and Barbara Tabach on February 7, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Chavez recalls his early life and childhood in Bolivia, where he was born. Chavez talks about why he left his home country and the experiences he had in Brazil. After spending a few years in Brazil, Chavez came to the United States on a student visa to learn English. He discusses his immigration to Florida and his brief marriage. In 2001, Chavez made his way to Las Vegas, Nevada where he founded the Las Vegas Carnaval International, a parade celebrating Mardi Gras and the cultures that celebrate it. Chavez discusses his experience working with parades and his passion for event organizing, as well as his civic engagements.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Modestina Rivera conducted by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach on February 05, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Modestina Rivera starts her interview by describing her childhood in the Dominican Republic. She shares memories of her large family and their family history. Rivera recalls the political climate of the Dominican Republic at the time and shares how it affected her family. While in university, Modestina began experimenting with the fine arts, which would later become an important part of her career. She moved to New York in 1984 and began her work as an interviewer and producer. She discusses her career and how it brought her to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2001. Rivera also shares her artistic career highlights and her passion for painting.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Dana Su Lee conducted by Stefani Evans, Vanessa Concepcion, and Cecilia Winchell on February 10, 2021 for Reflections: The Las Vegas Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project.
Dana talks about her childhood growing up in California and her parents who were both born in China. She discusses her educational background and her move to Las Vegas with her husband in 1997. Dana also shares her various community and philanthropic pursuits related to education and the arts.
Subjects discussed include: Greg Lee; otherness; Nevada Women’s Philanthropy (NWP)
Archival Collection
