Oral history interview with Steven Eisen conducted by Barbara Tabach on September 14, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Eisen talks about growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and being of Jewish ancestry. He also discusses being the CEO of Children’s Heart Center Nevada.
Oral history interview with Joe Friedman conducted by David Schwartz on May 26, 2015 for the Table Games Management Oral History Project. In this interview, Friedman discusses his career working in Nevada casinos including Sahara Tahoe, Hard Rock, Green Valley Ranch, Wynn, Palms, and MGM Grand.
Oral history interview with Beth Molasky conducted by David Schwartz on June 06, 2014 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Molasky discusses her childhood experiences in Las Vegas, Nevada, especially as a member of the Jewish community. She also reflects on changes that influenced her children’s upbringing in the city.
Oral history interview with Faye Todd conducted by Claytee D. White on October 15, 1996 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Todd discusses her life in Las Vegas, Nevada starting in 1964 when she moved there with her husband. Todd details the variety of discrimination and racism she experienced while living in Las Vegas from service refusals to discriminatory hiring practices in hotels. Todd also discusses her career path, from taking adult education classes at Rancho High School to gain clerk skills, to eventually becoming Entertainment Director and Corporate Executive Assistant at the Landmark Hotel and Casino in 1976. Todd also discusses the challenges her husband faced as an African American chef. Finally, Todd also discusses class relations within the black communities of both Las Vegas and San Antonio, Texas, where she was born.
Rabbi Bradley Tecktiel was born June 28, 1968 in Chicago, Illinois. He moved to New York City to attend university, where he received two Bachelor of Arts degrees: one from List College and one from Columbia University. He went on to achieve a Master?s degree from the Jewish Theological Seminary. Soon after graduating in 1996, Rabbi Tecktiel accepted his first clergy position in New Rochelle, New York. From there he went on to lead a congregation in Louisville, Kentucky, before eventually moving to Las Vegas to become the spiritual leader of Midbar Kodesh Temple in 2008. In this interview, Rabbi Tecktiel discusses the path that eventually brought him, his wife, Susan, and their three children to Las Vegas. He talks about his passion for developing Jewish community engagement and programming, and specifically about Midbar Kodesh Temple initiatives, including Yom HaShoah and educational programming. In addition, Rabbi Tecktiel reflects upon the growth of the Jewish community, both those affiliated and unaffiliated, and the impact of Jews on Las Vegas?, as well as Nevada?s, development.
In 1961, at the age of thirteen, Gerald ?Jerry? Gordon became a bar mitzvah. This typical coming of age celebration was unusual in that he had simultaneously studied in both his home state of California and his adopted home of Las Vegas, where he spent summers with his grandparents. 1961 is also the same year that the Gordons made Las Vegas their permanent home. Jerry graduated from Las Vegas High School, attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas and earned his law degree from University of California, Los Angeles. His gregarious and trustworthy personality led him to career building steps in the legal community of Las Vegas that included illustrious names such as Louis Wiener, Jr., David Goldwater, Neil Galatz, and many others. His personal law specialty became bankruptcy, especially dealings with hotel/casinos. As a member of the Jewish community, Jerry?s energy and expertise to organize was instrumental in the construction of Congregation Ner Tamid, the reform synagogue, at its site on Valle Verde and I-215. It was a multi-year process and includes a vast array of stories?a cash donation from Moe Dalitz, finalization of receiving of a donation land from the Greenspun family during the High Holy Days, and the ongoing challenges of a building campaign during a recession. In addition, he explains that CNT included two unique negotiations: 1) a cell tower and 2) a solar field on the synagogue?s property. Jerry and his wife Yvonne met while attending UNLV. Yvonne taught math at various levels in the Clark County School District. They raised their two children, Sara and Jeffrey, in Las Vegas, and forged an important role together in Congregation Ner Tamid. In April 2017, they were among those honored for their work with the synagogue.
Oral history interview with Janet Adams conducted by Glodene Sawyer on October 13, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Adams (born in Scotland) discusses her move to Las Vegas, Nevada from California with her husband. Adams also briefly discusses early churches, the above-ground atomic testing, President Kennedy’s visit, and her enjoyment in recreational fishing.
Oral history interview with Justin Kaiser conducted by John (last name unknown) on September 23, 1972 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. Kaiser discusses his childhood in Las Vegas, Nevada and how his parents originally moved to Southern Nevada. He also expresses his desire for Las Vegas to discontinue its growth and remain a smaller city.