Oral History Interviews
Total records in this collection: 4056Print version of all records
| Narrator | Collection # | Date | Project | Content | Transcript | Tapes |
| Noyes, Wilma (Billie) | OH-02492 | 2007 April 11 | BELVOHP | Life in Las Vegas since 1921 | yes | 0 |
| Noyles, Billie | OH-01399 | 04/11/2007 | BOYER EARLY LAS VGAS OHP | yes | 2 | |
| Nozero, Victoria | OH-02124 | 12/3/2012 | BELVOHP | Work in Washington, DC, law degree, work at UNLV Libraries, changes in the city over time | yes | 0 |
| Nugent, Ted | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment | no | 1 | ||
| Nunley, Tex & Dorothy | OH-01400 | 06/09/1996 | Gay Archives-Dennis McBride | no | 2 | |
| Nyberg, Lucille & Richard | OH-01401 | 02/22/1978 | Local Oral History Project-Roske | Education, Prostitution Overton Area | no | 1 |
| Nyman, Corey | OH-03433 | 2018 May 04 | Remembering 1 October Oral History Project | Corey Nyman excelled both academically and athletically in high school and college. Beginning at the age of 12, he worked summers and school breaks in restaurant kitchens or in the business of a family friend. At 18, he took a job in Las Vegas for the summer before matriculating at his chosen college in Denver. His exposure to country music began there. On October 1, 2017, Nyman attended the Route 91 Country Music Festival with his brother and a group of friends. They enjoyed the concert from the Red Bull VIP suite, a 3-level corrugated steel building about 30 ft x 10 ft. The back entrance of this structure was toward the east allowing an almost covered escape route leading to an open parking area. As they helped many other people escape, Corey felt that he would not be hit by a bullet. The challenge however, because of the echoing effect, was how many gunmen were firing. The strangest phenomenon was that Corey and his group of friends saw lights like those from a videographer on a floor, maybe 15th or 18th, below the shooter as if the scene was being filmed. About three hours after escaping the east side of the venue, they arrived at Tropicana Avenue and Koval Lane where their ride picked them up. The driver was one of the last allowed into the area under the airport underpass. Today, more than 6 months later, Corey has decided that he loves this city and holds it dear. He sees it as the place where a person can do anything. He defends it and had made it his home. Subjects: Wolfgang Puck, Caesars, Mirage, American Academy of Achievement, La Crosse, Golden Knights | no | 0 |
| O'Brien, Eve | OH-01406 | 03/06/1979 | Early Las Vegas-Roske | Life with Sam Boyd, Pichoe Nevada | no | 1 |
| O'Brien, Rosemary | OH-01407 | 9/25/2001 | Public School Principalship Oral History Project | Principal, Education, Elementary school teacher, Nye county school district; Rosemary O'Brien retired as an elementary school principal from the Nye County school district in Nevada. O'Brien received a bachelor's degree in education from Fort Wright College in 1969, then a master's degree in administration from Portland State University in 1981. O'Brien also did post master's work at the University of Nevada, Reno and Las Vegas. Before becoming a principal O'Brien was a teacher at the same school for 10 years. | yes | 0 |
| O'Callaghan, Michael | OH-01408 | First 100 Las Vegas Review Journal | no | 3 | ||
| O'donnell, Alfred J. | OH-01409 | First 100 Las Vegas Review Journal | no | 1 | ||
| O'Donnell, Marian | OH-02378 | 2013 | History of Emergency Medical Services in Nevada | O'Donnell started in the medical field as a runner for a medical clinic in the early 1980s. She then took EMT classes and began working for the ambulance service in White Pine County. | no | 0 |
| O'Reilly, John | OH-02129 | 6/6/2014 | Ward 1 | yes | 0 | |
| Oakes, Marian | OH-01402 | 02/28/1979 | Local Oral History Project-Roske | Nevada history | no | 1 |
| Oakfield, Thelma | OH-01403 | 03/03/1978 | Local Oral History Project-Roske | Nevada history | no | 1 |
| Oakridge Boys | 01/22/1991 | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment. Interviewer: Bill Willard | no | 2 | |
| Oatis, Mark and Rose | OH-03190 | 2017 June 10 | Oatis, Mark and Rose | Interviewed by Claytee White, Anna Frederick and Remy Chwae. Mark and Rose are artists and sign painters, an art that is taking on new life. This interview begins a project by Anna Frederick and Remy Chwae of interviewing sign painters across the country. Mark and Rose know everyone in the industry and talked about artists who brought various innovative techniques to the craft. They explore the significance of the Letterheads, sign design, knowledge sharing, evolving themes, mentoring young people in the field, and regional styles in various cities of the country. Subjects: Letterheads, sign style, knowledge-sharing, YESCO, Conclave, air brushing | no | 0 |
| Oats, Jocelyn L. | OH-02922 | 2016 April 29 | Folklife Program of the Nevada Arts Council and the Oral History Research Center at UNLV Libraries | no | 0 | |
| Oats, Joycelyn | OH-01404 | 11/30/2012 | AfAm Collaborative | F850 N4 O27 2012 Oats lived the life of the spiritual community and used it to tell the story of the Las Vegas black church life and its influence. | yes | 0 |
| Ober, David | OH-03251 | 2017 October 11 | Building Las Vegas Oral History Project | F849.L35 O24 2017 Tucson native David Ober arrived in Las Vegas in 1978 in the middle of his junior year in high school. The youngest of D'Vorre and Harold J. "Hal" Ober's five children, David followed his siblings to the University of Arizona and graduated in 1983. After working in Phoenix for three years, he returned to Las Vegas in 1986 to join his father's company, RA Homes, as it began to develop the award-winning master-planned community of Desert Shores, and in 1999 he opened his own real estate company, Jorant Commercial. In this interview, he focuses on his siblings and on his parents' values and careers. David and his siblings were raised in the conservative Jewish tradition, and all became Bat/Bar Mitzvahs. Once in Las Vegas, the Ober family joined Temple Beth Sholom; David and his family continue as members of that congregation. When Hal served as president of the Jewish Community Center, Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, and the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association David served with him. He continues to support Jewish charities. Hal Ober introduced vaulted ceilings and compact lots to Las Vegas; he developed Desert Shores without a Special Improvement District (SID), and he attracted to Las Vegas national builders like William Lyon Homes, KB Homes, and Woodside Homes. After Hal sold RA Homes to Pageantry Homes he briefly opened Ober Homes and then joined the Vista Group as a consultant for Avante Homes before he retired. D'Vorre "Dee" Ober taught for the visually impaired at the Arizona State School for the Deaf and Blind; in Las Vegas she continued that path when she designed and taught in Clark County School District's (CCSD) first program for the visually impaired. In 2001 CCSD honored the Obers by dedicating the D'Vorre and Hal Ober Elementary School. David's children attended the school and his older brother Scott was the school's first principal.Subjects: Las Vegas, NV; Tucson, AZ; RA Homes; Desert Shores; Development; Master planning; Jewish heritage; Jewish charities; Temple Beth Sholom; D'Vorre & Hal Ober Elementary School | yes | 0 |
| Ober, Scott | OH-01405 | 11/11/2009 | Public School Principalship Oral History Project | Education, Principle, Scott Ober is a retired elementary school principal from Nevada. Ober graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor's in education, and then with a master's in education as well from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988. Ober's career has been spend in the Clark County School District, first as a elementary teacher, then an assistant principle and then in 1993 until 2008 Ober was a principal. | yes | 0 |
| Ochoa, Arturo | OH-03639 | 2019 April 09 | Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project | Arturo Ochoa is a retired Clark County School District teacher, principal, and former U.S. Marine. Was one of the first Latinx school administrators at CCSD, he helped promote the arts throughout his career. After retiring from CCSD, he co-founded the Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM). Subjects: CCSD educators, Foundation to Assist Young Musicians (FAYM), U.S. Marines, CCSD 6th grade centers, science teacher | no | 0 |
| Ochoa, Arturo F. | OH-02964 | 2006 October 21 | Public School Principalship Oral History Project | Experiences as public school principal in Southern Nevada. | yes | 0 |
| Oddo, Paris | OH-03208 | 2017 July 20 | Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project | In 1984, Paris Otto moved to Las Vegas after high school in Michigan. This, her second attempt to live in the desert was a wonderful experience and she decided to stay. She joined the electrician's union and went through the 5-year apprenticeship program. Assignments during and after the apprenticeship include the Aladdin, Planet Hollywood, Mohave Electric, the Bellagio, and the Nevada Test Site where in 1991, she worked on wiring the Bristol Bomb for testing. After the test, Paris and fellow electricians detached the wiring from the framework without protective clothing. Today, she suffers from several illnesses and has been included in the government's program to repay some Test Site workers for various cancers. The payment has been meager. Oddo believes that storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain is not a good idea. | no | 0 |
| Ohman, Frances | OH-01410 | 12/12/2013 | Boyer Early LV OHP | Moved to Las Vegas in 2004 but visited often over the years. In 1968, she witnessed continued racism by hotel IF they could get away with it. Works as Research Technician and Circulation Department at Lied Library. Father was a POW in WWII - captured at the Battle of the Bulge. | no | 0 |
| Ohrn, Elda | OH-01411 | 02/25/1977 | Local Oral History Project-Roske | Las Vegas history | no | 0 |
| Olive, Witt C. | OH-01412 | 04/13/1977 | Local Oral History Project-Roske | Elks Lodge Entertainment | no | 1 |
| Olive, Witt C. | OH-01412 | 04/13/1977 | Ralph Roske Interviews | Elks Lodge Entertainment. Interviewer: Gordon Brusso. | no | 1 |
| Oliver, Emma | OH-01414 | 3/19/1981 | Nevada history, Las Vegas history | no | 0 | |
| Oliver, Robert | OH-02477 | 1993-08-03 | Friends of Red Rock Oral History Project | yes | 0 | |
| Olsen Burgwardt, Jeannie | OH-03468 | 1997 February 07 | Las Vegas Women Oral History Project | Real estate. Sand & gravel business. | no | 0 |
| Olson, James | OH-02983 | 2017 February 02 | Building Las Vegas Oral History Project | F849.L35 O47 2016 Discusses childhood in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, schooling at St. Joseph and Bishop Gorman, and youth jobs delivering the Review-Journal newspaper and bagging groceries at Safeway. After graduating from UNLV, he obtained his JD at University of Arizona and clerked for Justice Al Gunderson at the Supreme Court of Nevada. In 1974 he joined the firm of Cromer, Barker, and Michaelson as a litigator. In this interview, he discusses his role as the firm's lead counsel representing the MGM Grand Hotel when pieces of siding fell off during construction, and from 1980-88 in the complex insurance litigation following the 1980 fire, and the Las Vegas Hilton in 1994, after its new, freestanding 362-foot-tall marquee built by John Renton Young Lighting & Sign Co. blew down. | yes | 0 |
| Olson, Tanya | OH-03451 | 2018 July 06 | Remembering 1 October Oral History Project | On October 2, Tanya Olson began photographing scenes surrounding the aftermath of the shooting at the Route 91 Country Music Festival. Her efforts culminated in a film that highlights the Healing Garden, a memorial established within 72 hours after the shooting. It was dedicated on the first Friday of October 2017. Her 6- minute film is described as "Citizens unite to provide kindness and salve the wounds caused by the October 1, 2017 massacre during a Las Vegas country concert." Forever In Our Hearts was shown at the Nevada Women's Film Festival 2018. Olson is now off to her next adventure, matriculating at the American Film Institute later this month (July 2018). This is a lifelong dream that she is pursuing after 23 years in the military, a film degree from UNLV, and completing her film project of one of the worst massacres in American history. The time was ripe to follow her dreams. Subjects: Healing Garden, Street photography, Forever In Our Hearts, American Film Institute, Las Vegas Women's Film Festival, crosses, Korea, ROTC | no | 0 |
| Oneil, Ryan | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment | no | 1 | ||
| Orduno, Mary | OH-01415 | 03/17/1978 | Local Oral History Project-Roske- | UNLV Clubs in Vegas | no | 1 |
| Orgill, Diane | OH-03421 | 2018 March 30 | Remembering 1 October Oral History Project | Diane Orgill is a professional volunteer for the Red Cross. She dispatches workers to disaster areas and performs all the follow-up work necessary in tragic situations. On October 1, she arrived at the Emergency Operational Center about 25 minutes after the shooting began. By the morning, Red Cross volunteers were on the scene en masse. They set up the Family Emergency Center so rapidly because some volunteers had been at the Pulse Nightclub shooting and at other recent shootings. Their response was automatic. Unlike most scenes, the county was in charge in this situation but worked closely with the Red Cross because of their worldwide expertise. Chief of the Fire Department, Steinbeck, was the person in charge. Orgill witnessed the operation of the Family Emergency Center that ran with such efficiency because it was organized in sections according to the need. Small individual rooms were designed for people who could not yet be functional in crowds. Strategies to identify people from the event and the idea of assigning a volunteer to each survivor was ingenious. The assigned volunteer was a companion that walked the person to various tables and rooms until semi-safety returned. Subjects: Disaster Action Team, Family Emergency Center, VOAD - Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters, Emergency Operational Center - EOC | no | 0 |
| Orlando, Jay | April, 2009 | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment. Interviewer: Cork Proctor | no | 1 | |
| Orlando, Tony | 12/29/79 | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment | no | 3 | |
| Orlando, Tony | 05/14/1993 | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment. Interviewer: Joe Delaney | no | 1 | |
| Orlando, Tony | 07/18/1987 | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment | no | 1 | |
| Orozco, Jose and Rodriguez, Ericka | OH-03379 | 2017 December 21 | Remembering 1 October Oral History Project | Ericka and Jose Orozco decided to leave their son at home on Sunday, 1 October. He had enjoyed the Route 91 Festival with them on Friday and Saturday nights but was too tired to attend on the third evening so they left him with his grandmother. Thus the final night of the Festival began like a date night for them. They visited all the vendor booths, walked the entire venue, and enjoyed food and drinks. Being a bit tired themselves, they did not watch from close to the stage but lingered in the bleachers at rear of the site. When they realized that the popping sounds were not fireworks, they ran north. They looked upward because Jose thought they were shots and then saw Jason Aldean run off stage as the crowd began to run toward them. They thought the shooter was inside the venue so they ran toward the first exit they saw. There was a wall that they jumped and ran toward Coco's and then to Hooters. The guys in the crowd made sure girls went first. Ericka feels selfish because they did not go back to help others. They hid at Coco's and then in the Executive Airport but decided to continue to run down Tropicana. They felt like sitting ducks and ran close to the fence to prevent a drive-by shooting. Ericka's brother sped toward them and as soon as they spied his truck, they jumped into the truck's bed and he raced away. They are now more alert and more observant of their surroundings. Jose wants a gun with him at all times now; it's the only way he feels safe. Ericka does not feel safe any longer. Jose is still seeking answers. He wants to know "why." Ericka feels selfish. She wished she had helped others and not left so rapidly. But she has made friends online who are pushing her toward counseling as she pushes them toward medical care. Her friends do not have medical insurance and are afraid to seek help because of the cost. Jose and Ericka are are so proud of their city and the loving response of strangers. Subjects: Coco's, Hooters, Executive Airport, Tropicana, bleachers, grassy area, guns, bump stock, | no | 0 |
| Orrock, Kevin | OH-02516 | 12/4/2015 | Building Las Vegas Oral History Project | President of Summerlin. Born in Nevada. Good look at the Summerlin lifestyle, future plans of area, and how development works. | no | 0 |
| Ortwein, Dennis | OH-01416 | 05/06/2009 | Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project | CT247 .O77 2007 Dennis Ortwein moved to Las Vegas in 1956. He was both an elementary school and a junior high teacher, but he spent most of his career as an elementary school principal. He also worked at a teacher's college in Nigeria, was a church choir director, and still is a singer. He also talks about school integration in Las Vegas and about above-ground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site Notes Includes an appendix with an email of his remembrances, a copy of a newspaper article about his retirement as a school principal, and a book he wrote about his life with the title Experiences outside of the box | yes | 0 |
| Osmond, Donnie | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment | no | 1 | ||
| Osmonds | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment | no | 1 | ||
| Ostensen, Gary | OH-01417 | 03/19/1981 | Local Bellman | Las Vegas history, Bellman | no | 1 |
| Ostunio, Joseph | OH-03369 | 2017 December 20 | Remembering 1 October Oral History Project | Joseph Ostunio grew up in Las Vegas and Orange County, CA. During his formative years he enjoyed playing in the desert. He came late to country music. On the night of Sunday, October 1st at the Route 91 Festival, as Joseph and his friend, Kristin, enjoyed Jason Aldean, shots rang out. Kristin was hit but he encouraged her to run. They ran toward a rear fence and he, with the help of the crowd, got her over. Soon, she was in a transport to the hospital. They were helped by an off duty paramedic, Dave Rosenthal. The safety net engaged swiftly. Joseph remembers policemen on site before climbing the fence and barricades in place with an available ambulance for Kristin near the Desert Rose Motel, their destination. Since this tragic event, Joseph has engaged with other festival attendees. He is now making decisions about how to give back. Subjects: Route 91 Festival, Jason Aldean, Sunrise, Dave Rosenthal, Desert Rose, Eric Church, Stagecoach | no | 0 |
| Otis, Johnny | 02/16/1974 | Arnold Shaw | Entertainment. Interviewer: Arnold Shaw | no | 1 | |
| Otteson, Dean | OH-01418 | 11/4/2008 | Public School Principalship Oral History Project | Dean Otteson retired in the 1980s as a middle school principal from Kenai, Alaska. Otteson earned a bachelors degree in education from the Western Washington State University in 1964, then in 1971 he earned a master's degree in curriculum and instruction - vocational education from the University of Washington. | yes | 0 |
| Ousley, Kenneth | OH-01419 | October 2, 2009 | Blue Diamond Oral History Project | This is the history of Blue Diamond Village. Blue Diamond is located 26 miles southwest of Las Vegas. The village, originally known as Cottonwood Springs, changed its name when the Blue Diamond Company took ownership of the Gypsum mine and built corporate housing for the workers in the early '20s. Near the base of the Red Rock canyon, Blue Diamond Village was originally a stop on the Old Spanish Trail for traders from Santa Fe, N.M., to California between 1830 and 1848, according to the history committee's findings. road for the The Blue Diamond School opened in 1929. The company built bunk housing and homes for the workers that it started selling to the public in 1965. | yes | 2 |
