The Lamar and Patricia Marchese papers (1959-2015) contain awards, correspondence (both professional and personal), a Clark County Services and Facilities Directory, newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets, Parks and Recreation information, KNPR events and newsletters, art exhibits brochures, and musical performances brochures. The collection chronicles the contributions of the long-time Las Vegas community leaders through photographs, speeches, an interview done with Lamar Marchese, professional papers, audiovisual materials, Las Vegas Centennial Board (LVCB) end of year report, and a LVCB book.
Archival Collection
From the Clark County Economic Opportunity Board Records -- Series I. Administrative. This folder contains memos, agendas and minutes from meetings of the Clark County Economic Opportunity Board from July 1968 through December 1968
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On March 11, 1978, Sosuke Miyazawa interviewed Nanyu Tomiyasu (b. May 28, 1918 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about his family’s farm and their legacy as one of the pioneering families of the city. Tomiyasu begins by talking about what brought his family to Las Vegas, the city’s abundant water reservoir and his father’s farm. In particular, Tomiyasu discusses his father’s experiments with farming as one of the city’s early farmers, the transition into nursery farming and Japanese gardens. Moreover, he discusses his siblings, the local schools, their great quality, the successful students the city produced and the growth of school populations. Tomiyasu describes the large Japanese population and the Union Pacific Railroad that many of them worked on. He ends by discussing the change in architecture within the city, such as where old buildings stood and what they are used for now, the first Episcopal Church and the old Mormon Fort.
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José Armando Elique was born on February 14, 1944 in New York City. Born to Puerto Rican parents that immigrated to the United States in the 20s, Elique spent his childhood in both New York and Puerto Rico. Raised in the South Bronx, Elique’s family were part of the first pioneros from Puerto Ricans to settle in New York City in the twentieth century. Elique served as a radar man in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War on the USS Purdey. After his service, Elique applied to the Port Authority Police Department where his first big assignment included going undercover and investigating gang activity. Over the course of the next 22 years, he rose through the rankings becoming the assistant chief in charge of overseeing six facilities in the region. Elique is the first and only Latino to reach such rank with the Port Authority. Elique moved to Nevada in 2000 and became the chief of UNLV Police Services. Prior to coming to UNLV, he served as the University Director of Public Safety for the City University of New York (CUNY). Elique is also a member of the National Latino Police Officers Association, an organization that helps train Latino officers on contemporary issues and promote the advancement of Latinos in the police force. As police chief, Elique has fought for the hiring of new police officers to better serve UNLV’s campus and student body. As Chief of Police, Elique oversaw the response of his team to secure the campus and to provide for the needs of those seeking refuge at Thomas and Mack Center on the night of October 1, 2017. Chief Elique is also part of the Remembering 1 October oral history project where he reflected on that night, the role of campus police, coordination with Metro Police, purpose of the Fusion Center, command post, Emergency Operation Center for business continuity, and preparedness of urgent situation and active shooters. He is a graduate of Adelphi University and of Northwestern University’s Traffic Institute of Police Administration and the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police.
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In 1948 in Las Vegas, Nevada, a camera-girl-turned-cocktail-waitress and a casino credit manager welcomed the birth of their son, Darrin Bush. After attaining his education at St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Bishop Gorman High School, Bush earned his Bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. Bush credits his love for photography to his mother’s influence and his study of journalism. Bush’s first job after college as a room service waiter at the Sahara Hotel eventually grew into the coveted position of room service swing captain. His swing shift duties included the entertainers' dressing rooms, which meant taking care of the entertainers, getting them what they needed, and stocking their favorite foods and drinks nightly. Through his work, Bush eventually formed close friendships with several celebrities of the day. He enjoyed his work, but he never stopped honing his skills as an amateur photographer. In the mid-1980s, Bush left the Strip to become a professional photographer for the Las Vegas News Bureau. Throughout his News Bureau career, Bush photographed the casino buildings made famous by Las Vegas-the construction and the architecture of Southern Nevada’s gaming palaces-as well as iconic events in Las Vegas history. Darrin retired from the News Bureau in about 2014, but his work recording the building of and events of Las Vegas lives on in the News Bureau archives. He continues to be an avid photographer.
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Jim Hodge describes an active and success filled life in this narrative. Born and raised in the South, Jim enlisted in the Navy at the young age of 17, just as World War II was winding down. His primary job was that of a cook. He became smitten with the life of an entertainer after participating in a play and headed for Hollywood in 1952. It was there that he auditioned for Donn Arden, who organized and directed Las Vegas shows. Though he didn't get the part, he did get hired to be a singer for a show featuring Betty Grable. Thus his career was launched and would span the heyday of Las Vegas entertainment from the 1950s to the 1970s. Jim talks about the people, shows and places that touched his life. He also offers thoughts about the changes in the Vegas entertainment scene as well as shares his relationship with his church over the past 40 years.
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In 1978 Bill Snyder came Las Vegas for a heavyweight championship fight between his homeboy, Larry Holmes and Ken Norton. During that visit, he saw cranes dotting the cityscape so he returned home and proposed that the family move across country and settle in the desert. His wife, Joy, gave him a year. And as they say, the rest is history. And what am amazing history it is. In this interview, Bill Snyder talks about his life from its beginning in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he discovered the challenge of architecture first by perusing books in the library and then by hands-on construction experience. But his love of art built the foundation to this treasured craft that has allowed him to design homes, office buildings, airport terminals and the McCaw School of Mines on the campus of McCaw Elementary School in Henderson, NV. The projects that Mr. Snyder seems to prize most are those that include the imagination of children. The people who shaped his life are introduced and the impact of his military training is wonderfully expressed. His connection with young people is paramount throughout the oral history that is beautifully documented with images of many of the projects that displayed children's art in an exciting way. Bill and Joy are the parents of two sons. Dana age 36, lives with his wife Christine in Hollywood, California, and works as a voice actor best known for his role as Master Shake on the cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Their younger son, Mike age 31, owns The Krate, a clothing, music, and art shop in Santa Cruz, California, where he lives with his wife Mandy and daughter Maya. A husband, father, sports car enthusiast, runner, thinker and lover of teaching and trusting young people, Bill Snyder is a brilliant architect and manager of people. He is dyslectic and never expected a school to be named in his honor but the William E. Snyder Elementary School was dedicated in 2001 with overwhelming community support. One of his current goals is to dream an architectural project that rivals the McCaw School of Mines for his own school. I trust that you will learn to love architecture in a different and very profound way as you read this interview just as I did during my conversation with Bill.
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