Oral history interview with Michael Mack conducted by Claytee D. White on May 21, 2009 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood Oral History Project. Mack discusses his childhood memories living in and near the John S. Park Neighborhood, including his father opening a shoe store in Boulder City, Nevada and later expanding into the salvage business. Mack later discusses his parents moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, opening his clothing store, and setting up the first bail bondsman office in the city.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Paul Huffey conducted by Claytee D. White on February 02, 2010 for the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood. Paul Huffey discusses his family moving to the John S. Park Neighborhood in 1947, his father working on the construction of Hoover Dam, and Huffey working at Ronzoni's Department Store when he was in high school. Huffey then discusses graduating from the University of Nevada, Reno and teaching history at Basic High School in Henderson, Nevada for nine years.
Archival Collection
Whenever Paul Huffey drives through John S. Park Neighborhood he visualizes his youth and the times he spent with his childhood friend Michael Mack, who joined in this interview. Together they reminisced about their teen years in the 1950s and living in John S. Park Neighborhood. Paul's first home was Normandie Court, the first authentic motel in Las Vegas. In 1947, Paul's father purchased a lot on Paseo Park and built a home for his wife and only child. He describes life in that home as idyllic: no war or unemployment issues, a time when the Strip was "meaningless" unless you had a parent working there. An era when mothers, at least in his neighborhood, were stay-at-home moms and children freely roamed on their bicycles. Of their teen years, Paul and Michael recall their hi-jinks, discovering beer, and admiring pretty girls. In 1956, he graduated from Las Vegas High School, enlisted in the U. S. Army Reserve and enrolled in University of Nevada Reno. He taught history at Basic High School in Henderson for nine years.
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This list of names, as remembered by Michael Mack, shows the Jewish graduates of Las Vegas High School in the 1950s.
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This document is a listing of Jewish-owned businesses in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada across all sectors including retail, restaurants, hotels and gaming, as remembered by Michael Mack.
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The Michael S. Mack papers (approximately 1940s-1950s, undated) consist of photographs and documents related to the early Jewish community of Las Vegas, Nevada. Group photographs depict the Mack family and the Las Vegas Jewish community at events during the 1940s and 1950s, when the Las Vegas Jewish Community Center was the main Jewish organization in town. Individuals in the photographs were identified by Michael Mack. The collection includes documents written by Michael Mack that describe the early Las Vegas Jewish community and the history of his father and uncles, Louis, Nathan, and Harry Mack. The documents also list the names of Jewish individuals and businesses in Las Vegas.
Archival Collection
Western Union Mailgram from Shirley Kravitz of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas to Michael Mack featuring an urgent message about the relocation of Jews from Ethiopia.
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The history of the Mack family, as remembered by Michael Mack, includes the businesses each of the Mack brothers established in Las Vegas and Boulder City.
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Oral history interview with Michael Mack conducted by Barbara Tabach on May 20, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Mack discusses his early memories in the Las Vegas, Nevada Jewish community, attending the Fifth Street School, and participating in activities with his friends. He also reminisces about going to the Flamingo Hotel with his parents to see floor shows.
Archival Collection
During this interview, Michael Mack visualizes his childhood memories of the later 1930s, when Las Vegas was a small, but steadily growing, desert town. As he says, "The desert was our backyard." The Strip hotels like the last Frontier and the Flamingo pop into the stories, but it was basically an innocent time. He attended John S. Park Elementary when classrooms were temporary buildings from the local Air Force base and the neighborhood was filled with children. He still maintains close friendships from that time. And he also recalls friends from the Westside neighborhood. Michael talks of scouting, riding horses, and watching Helldorado parades.
Michael Mack's first recollection of Las Vegas is as a two-year-old living in a duplex on Bonneville Ave. Though the family moved several times, they remained in or near the John S. Park neighborhood. Michael's father was a Polish immigrant who arrived in Boulder City, where he opened a shoe store, in 1932. The building of the Hoover Dam brought opportunities and his father Louis expanded into the salvage business. In time Louis moved the family to Las Vegas, opened a retail clothing store, which eventually sold uniforms, and set up the first local bail bondman office. During this interview, Michael visualizes his childhood memories of the later 1930s, when Las Vegas was a small, but steadily growing, desert town. As he says, "The desert was our backyard." The Strip hotels like the last Frontier and the Flamingo pop into the stories, but it was basically an innocent time. He attended John S. Park Elementary when classrooms were temporary buildings from the local Air Force base and the neighborhood was filled with children. He still maintains close friendships from that time. And he also recalls friends from the Westside neighborhood. Michael talks of scouting, riding horses, and watching Helldorado parades. Though the Macks were a Jewish family, Michael's mother always brought the Christmas tree to school. It was a period when people memorized each other's 3-digit phone numbers, went to movies for 14 cents, and there was a ranch for people to stay while getting divorced. Halloween Trick-or-treaters in the John S. Park neighborhood might get a tasty cupcake or a shiny dime. Michael has a plethora of stories about innocent mischief and the unique experiences of a boy growing up in Las Vegas.
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