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Article, The Jewish Community of Las Vegas by Jerry Countess, September 1987

Date

1987-09

Archival Collection

Description

In this essay, Jerry Countess provides narrative context for a demographic study of the Jewish population in Las Vegas, and addresses the services and community needs revealed by the study and the growing Jewish population.

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Portrait photograph of Miriam "Mimi" Katz, 1940s

Date

1940 to 1949

Archival Collection

Description

Head and shoulders portrait of Miriam Katz.

Image

Photograph of Miriam "Mimi" Katz with Lorene Tinne, Reunion Dinner, October 14, 2012

Date

2012-10-14

Archival Collection

Description

Full-length photograph of Miriam "Mimi" Katz (left) with Lorene Tinne at a reunion.

Image

Essay or speech transcript by George Katz on the history of Temple Beth Sholom, 1960s

Date

1960 to 1969

Archival Collection

Description

Essay or speech transcript about the beginning of Temple Beth Sholom and the contributions of the temple presidents.

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League of Women Voters records and newspaper clippings, 1977-1981

Date

1977 to 1981

Archival Collection

Description

The press releases and ephemera from the League of Women Voters provide details about meetings and officer installations for the Las Vegas chapter.

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Transcript of interview with Burton Cohen by Claytee White, January 9, 2009

Date

2009-01-09

Description

In this interview, Burton Cohen discusses his involvement in the Las Vegas casino industry, including booking entertainment for various hotels.

Burton Cohen's long casino executive career began in the mid-1960s when he accepted a proposition to become involved with the transformation of the Frontier Hotel. He left his south Florida roots and law practice to become a co-owner/general manager of the Frontier Hotel. Thus, began his highly regarded Las Vegas presence. For nearly four decades he served in the management of some of the Strip's most famous casinos: Flamingo, Dunes, Circus Circus, Caesar Palace, Thunderbird and the Desert Inn, which remains his favorite. In this interview, Burt reflects on the positions he held, the celebrities he hired and befriended, and offers a unique look at the behind the scenes marketing and entertainment strategies that he helmed. He shares stories of becoming entrenched in casino operations, his reflections of union experiences, and even anecdotes about moving his mother to Las Vegas.

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Margo Knowles interview, March 25, 1981: transcript

Date

1981-03-25

Description

From the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas, OH-01039. On March 25, 1981, collector Sonny Neighbors interviewed his mother, Margo Knowles (born October 13th, 1935 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa) at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Margo speaks about growing up and going to school in Las Vegas. She also discusses her work as a telephone operator in Las Vegas, and at the Nevada Test Site in Nye County, Nevada.

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Transcript of interview with Mildred Breedlove by Steve Drappo, February 18, 1979

Date

1979-02-18

Description

Steve Drappo interviews Mildred Breedlove (b. 1904) who was born in Coal Hill, Arkansas. Breedlove relocated to Nevada in 1949. During this interview Breedlove discusses her personal experience of owning her own ranch in Nevada.

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Transcript of interview with Peter Gratton by Clayee D. White, February 26, 2009

Date

2009-02-26

Description

Peter Gratton was born in 1944 in Staten Island, New York, where his father was in the Coast Guard. However, he spent his childhood in Minnesota. From 1965 to 1969, Peter was a member of the US Marine Corps, serving a tour in Vietnam. As his military duty was ending, he learned that his parents were relocating to Vegas, bringing with them all of Peter's belongings. So Peter caught up with them in Vegas where he transitioned to civilian life in a new city by "bumming around for a couple of months." He decided to stay and took a keno job at Golden Gate Casino. In 1981, he graduated from UNLV and was accredit to teach history and earth science. This proved to be a good background for an opening at the UNLV library and he helped organize the map collection. With that, his UNLV library career was successfully launched. At the time of this interview, Peter was Administrative Assistant III Lied Library Building Department. In the following pages Peter tells of his experiences that lead up to becoming a Las Vegas resident and longtime member of the UNLV library staff.

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Transcript of interview with Dr. Lonnie D. Spight by Dr. David Emerson, May 8, 2007

Date

2007-05-08

Description

Dr. Lonnie D. Spight grew up in northern Colorado, earned his bachelor's degree at Colorado State University, and his PhD at University of Nevada Reno. His interest in astronomy dates from his early years on the farm in Colorado, star-gazing in the fields at night. Before coming to UNLV, Lonnie worked for the Department of Defense on scattering cross sections and explosions. Working between Los Alamos and the Test Site, he was often in Las Vegas and had met most of the physicists at the university. He was invited midterm to take over a physics class for a faculty member who had fallen ill, and was offered a job the following fall of 1970. In the seventies when Dr. Spight arrived, the physics department was located in trailers, and the university campus was mostly desert. Lonnie served as chair of the department on several occasions, and was responsible for insisting that faculty members get involved in research, no matter how tight the budget. He worked on solar energy and far-field microwave analysis, and helped set up safety standards for the new laser technology. One of Dr. Spight's interests outside of physics is a love for classical music. He was a volunteer "Deejay" for 12 years with KNPR once it got started in 1980. Meanwhile, after 37 years with UNLV Lonnie retains his enthusiasm and love for teaching. Today he teaches quantum mechanics and hopes that one day he will be able to teach a particle physics course which ties together cosmology, the beginning of the universe, fundamental cutting edge physics, quarks, gluon plasmas, and more. He has the course materials ready to go and is looking forward to many more years at UNLV.

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