Oral history interview with Stephen Hawley conducted by Donna Mattson on June 24, 1975 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project On Early Las Vegas. This interview offers a historical overview of early Las Vegas, Nevada including gambling and an in-depth discussion on local economic, environmental, and social changes.
Archival Collection
On March 5th, 1978, Karen Croteau interviewed Don Perry (b. 1928 in Clarksburg, West Virginia) about Paiute Indians and life on a reservation. Perry begins by mentioning his own Indian heritage with a Cherokee mother and his wife’s Paiute heritage. Perry focuses on his conversations with his wife’s grandmother, who lived on the Paiute reservation since birth, from who he learned about the reservations history. He particularly delves into the traditions of Indian burials, governing on the reservation, and the difference between an Indian reservation and an Indian colony. Additionally, he talks about recreation on the reservations, education of Paiute Indians, and how reservations have changed. Throughout the interview, Perry gives personal anecdotes about his life in connection to the Paiute people and his experiences with their traditions and belief systems. Perry ends by discussing governing politics of the Paiute reservation and the start of Las Vegas as a gambling town.
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People, horses and carriages in front of the Last Frontier Village entrance. The Silver Slipper Gambling Hall, without its neon signs, is seen in the foreground.
Site Name: Frontier
Address: 3120 Las Vegas Boulevard South
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Oral history interview with Robert Shaddy conducted by Jennifer Riewe on March 12, 1981 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Shaddy discusses gambling and the expansion of education in Las Vegas, Nevada. Shaddy also discusses Mormonism, its prevalence, and its impact on the state. Lastly, Shaddy discusses organized crime and prostitution.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Charles Hirsch conducted by Mike Olson on September 28, 1973 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Hirsch discusses arriving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1938, how gambling became popular as more casinos were being built, his different occupations, and above ground atomic testing.
Archival Collection
On February 27, 1980, Rafael Reyes-Spindola interviewed Mary Leo (b. Mary Susanne Kaime Leo in 1949 in Santa Barbara, California) about her life growing up in the Las Vegas Valley and her varied career path. Leo, having moved to Las Vegas as a toddler, talks about what the city was like when she arrived, the landscape, schooling and local life in general. She remembers the construction of the University of Las Vegas, Nevada and the growth of the city and population. Through her anecdotes, Leo shares the local attitude towards the Strip that Las Vegans develop as a result of being raised in the city and focuses the beginning half of her interview on life outside of the Strip. The interviewer and Leo move their conversation towards her career path, beginning in a coffee shop at the Riviera Hotel & Casino, her time in the travel industry, as a Las Vegas showgirl in the famed Folies Bergere show, her return to the Riviera as the director of sales and catering, and the legacy she hopes to leave behind with her career.
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Interview with Adele Baratz by Steve McClenachan on March 3 and 4, 1979. In this interview, Baratz talks about growing up in Las Vegas and her her schooling. She graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1944, and discusses the rationing that took place during World War II. She went to Maryland for nursing school and returned to Las Vegas in 1947. She describes some of the hotels and casinos, and tells the story of her father trading property for an automobile in 1935. She also recalls the building of Hoover Dam, swimming in local pools, and going to Mount Charleston in the winter. The interviewer asks her about travel between Las Vegas and California and the impact of Atlantic City on Las Vegas tourism. Baratz then talks about her nursing career and starting a re-certification program in 1974 and the different hospitals in the area.
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