Transcript of interviews with Edythe Katz-Yarchever by Claytee White over the course of several sessions in 2000, 2003 and 2005. In the interviews, Katz-Yarchever discusses her life in Las Vegas, owning theaters with her husband, Lloyd Katz, and the strides they made in civil rights. She talks about her service in Civil Defense and the National Guard, and moving to various places, then working in California and meeting her husband, Lloyd. The Katzes became involved in the community in various ways with Operation Independence and Holocaust education. About a decade after Lloyd's death, Edythe married Judge Gilbert Yarchever.
Edythe Katz-Yarvhever was born in Boston, a second generation American whose grandparents left Russia the century before. Edythe completed finishing school at the start of World War II and worked various jobs at home before joining the Civil Defense, and later, the National Guard. She moved to Maryland and got a job as a secretary at Edgewood Arsenal, then transferred to Cushing General Hospital to assist a Marine Corps neurologist, who was also a Jewish refugee. Towards the end of the war, she is transferred to an Army hospital in Hawaii, and thus began the rest of her life on the West Coast. When the war ended, Edythe sailed to California and worked various jobs in Los Angeles: in the secretarial pool at MGM Studios, for a casting agency and for a hotel magazine. Edythe met Lloyd Katz in San Francisco, and the two were married after a short courtship. The couple lived in San Francisco before moving to Las Vegas in 1951, where they took over the management of the Huntridge, Palace and Fremont theaters, then leased by Edythe's parents. The Katzes took a stand to desegregate their theaters, allowing black customers to sit with white patrons. Edythe and Lloyd became active in the city's Civil Rights Movement, including work with Operation Independence and the NAACP. Edythe started organizations like Volunteers for Education and Junior Art League, and directed an interfaith, interracial preschool. Lloyd would frequently open up their theaters to organizations to hold fundraisers, free-of-charge. Edythe was extremely active in the local Jewish community, including opening the city's first Jewish gift shop, serving as sisterhood president at her synagogue and starting the Jewish Reporter. She later founded a library for Holocaust education as well as assisted the school district's development of curriculum and teacher training relating to the Holocaust. Lloyd Katz passed away in 1986, and in 1995, Edythe married Gilbert Yarchever. Edythe and Lloyd's community service work was honored with the naming of their school, the Edythe and Lloyd Katz Elementary School, where Edythe still remains active.
Part of an interview with Bess Rosenberg on November 12, 1975. In this clip, Rosenberg discusses her decision to move to Las Vegas and what her life was like.
The Thalia Dondero Political Papers (1934-2003), contain correspondence, pamphlets and reports used by Dondero to conduct official business, as well as information on county and city budgets, social and health services, liquor and gaming, planning, public works, environmental impact reports and a large section on water management. Dondero served as a Clark County Commissioner for twenty years and engaged in numerous other civic and political activities. The bulk of the materials are derived from Dondero's last four years in office, 1990-1994, but a few items from Dondero's earlier career are included.
Folder of materials from the Mabel Hoggard Papers (MS-00565) -- Civic engagement file. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) certificate, journal, radio script, program booklets, and correspondence. This folder includes a policy statement of the NAACP, certificate of merit, education department features booklet, Gala Celebration and Awards Banquet booklets, and NAACP Historical Committee documents.
The Renee Diamond Papers date from 1972 to 2000 and consist primarily of political and professional materials including reports, correspondence, publications, newsletters, and planning documents collected by Diamond throughout her career. Diamond supported the feminist movement as a member of the National Organization for Women and held leadership roles in the Democratic party in Las Vegas, Nevada. The collection also documents Diamond’s campaigns for the Nevada State Assembly and includes material from her one term in the legislature.
The collection contains drawings, photographs, and posters featuring costumes designed by José Luis Viñas, a Spanish costume designer active in Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1960 to 2000. Viñas is best known for his costume designs for Vive les Girls (1962-1975) and Casino de Paris (1963-1982), both long-running shows at the Dunes Hotel and Casino, as well as for Siegfried and Roy's show at the Frontier Hotel in the mid-1980s. Viñas also did some costume designs for an unidentified show in Sun City, South Africa in the late 1970s and later a show called Circus Cabaret at the Lady Luck Casino Hotel in Downtown Las Vegas.
The Janice Allen Papers (1927-2011) are comprised of photographs, various publications, awards, a scrapbook, correspondence, memoranda, and newspaper clippings dating from 1953 to 2011 that document Janice Allen's philanthropic and political work in the state of Nevada. The materials document Allen's involvement with the Las Vegas Junior League, the Beta Sigma Phi sorority, and other volunteer work. The collection also contains correspondence received by Allen from various United States politicians. Also included are items from Allen's childhood dating to 1927 and 1928.
The Robert Beckmann Professional Papers (approximately 1964-2020) include photographs, sketches, plans, and proposals for murals and art installations that Beckmann designed or painted in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. The collection also includes correspondence, awards, and promotional materials for art exhibitions featuring Beckmann and other artists.