Dennis Wilson an experienced musician was born in Arabi, Louisiana in 1951. His parents both served in the Marine Corps. Dennis started playing the clarinet in the 4th grade but he did not stop there by the time he was in college he could play the alto saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He received a scholarship to Loyola University in New Orleans. The first introduction to Las Vegas was in 1971. At this time Dennis played for Wayne Cochran and the C.C. Riders traveling all around the United States with the band. In 1979 Dennis moved back to Las Vegas after a short stay in New Orleans. On his return to Las Vegas Dennis recalls his experiences playing with relief bands and performing weekly at Stardust, Dunes, Flamingo, Tropicana, Sands and Caesars. Dennis recalls what it was like working in Las Vegas and the rigorous schedule of a musician. Dennis has had a successful carrier as a musician he went on to play for Burt Bacharach and Dionne Warwick traveling the world. He then settled back in Vegas working on prominent shows such as Avenue Q, Spamalot, and Phantom of the Opera. Dennis still resides in Las Vegas and is now a paraprofessional at Johnson Junior High.
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Interview with Justice Michael Cherry by Barbara Tabach on September 19, 2014. In this interview, Justice Cherry talks about how he came to Las Vegas and his work as a public defender and as a lawyer in private practice. He also discusses his involvement with Jewish organizations in various capacities, and his involvement with high-profile cases such as the MGM Grand and Las Vegas Hilton fires, earning him the nickname "master of disaster."
Justice Michael Cherry was born in St. Louis, Missouri, and went on to spend his childhood in the Jewish neighborhood of University City. He attended University of Missouri and became a leader in his fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Pi, and a committed ROTC cadet. By the time Justice Cherry graduated from Missouri and was heading to Washington University School of Law, he was a second lieutenant; halfway through law school, he was promoted to first lieutenant. It was also during law school that he married his college sweetheart, Rachel Wolfson. When a bad back prevented him from becoming an active air force officer, he and his wife decided to follow his mother to Las Vegas. Justice Cherry worked both as a law clerk with the Public Defender's Office as well as a security guard at Wonder World when he first moved to the city. After passing the Nevada bar, Cherry took at position with the Public Defender's Office, and later went into private practice as a successful criminal defense attorney. Cherry was elected as district judge in 1998 and 2002. In 2006, he won his campaign for state Supreme Court justice. Justice Cherry was reelected to office in 2012 for another four-year term. He is currently the highest-positioned Jewish official in the state of Nevada. Throughout his years in Las Vegas, Justice Cherry has been an extremely active and influential member of the Jewish community and served as chairman of the Anti-Defamation League and is active in the Jewish Federation. Justice Cherry attributes his commitment to service to his mother. In addition to his service to the Jewish community, he has been active in numerous other service organizations, including March of Dimes, Olive Crest, Adoption Exchange and American Cancer Society.
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In 1943, Cleophis Hill Williams was a teenager visiting her mother who had moved to Las Vegas. For most of her young life she had lived with her parents in Muskogee, Oklahoma and Paul Spur/Douglas, Arizona. The same year that she visited Las Vegas, she met her future husband Tom Williams, with whom she had nine children, all born and raised on the Westside. Tom worked construction and built their first home on G Street. For Cleophis, she focused her life on raising her children and, whenever possible, finding some precious time to read.
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The Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada Records (1992-2023) and include news articles, institutional records such as bylaws, agendas, and meeting minutes, ephemera, and programs for the Center’s annual Honorarium fundraiser. Additional materials include materials relating the the wellness clinic.
Archival Collection
The Josephine A. Johnson Diaries (approximately 1940-1978) consist of the personal diaries of Josephine Johnson, a homemaker who moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1952. Included in the daily handwritten entries are prices of goods and services, shops and businesses frequented by the family, anecdotes about the weather, and some receipts, notes, and ephemera kept inside the diaries. Also included are two Bibles and a small personal phonebook.
Archival Collection
This collection has been removed from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries Special Collections and Archives' holdings by request of the donor. The collection was returned to the donor. Please contact special.collections@unlv.edu for further information.
The Leon Carter, Sr. Photographs (approximately 1948-2019) primarily contain photographic prints documenting Leon Carter, Sr.'s life living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Included are photographs of Carter, his brother John L. Carter, members of the Carter family, and snapshots from the Helldorado Days parade in the mid-1960s. The collection includes a photograph of Carter as a table dealer, a facsimile photograph of Carter when he played baseball in Canada in the early 1950s, and his yearbook portrait. Materials also include a brochure from Carter's political campaign running for County Commissioner in 1972, and a 1989 certificate of appreciation to Carter from the Las Vegas Breakfasters Lions Club.
Archival Collection
Allard Frank Roen, age 87, of La Costa in Carlsbad, CA passed away on Thursday, August 28, 2008, succumbing to complications of heart disease. He was born May 8, 1921, in Cleveland, Ohio, and was a resident of La Costa for 41 years. Allard graduated Duke University in 1943 with a degree in business. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy from 1943 thru 1946; participating in the Gilbert Islands and Okinawa campaigns. Following his discharge in 1946, Allard worked in Palm Beach, Florida, as a hotel contractor and builder.
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