Interviewed by Irene Rostine. Hazel Hedges moved from Kansas City to Las Vegas with her husband and son in 1952. She worked briefly as a waitress in the dining room at the Thunderbird and then became a stay at home mom until her son was in junior high. Then after she went to real estate school, she went to work in commercial real estate at Bond Realty. After that, she passed her brokers exam and transferred to Parkway Realty where she sold land. Her primary success in real estate came from selling houses and investing in land and residential properties personally. After leaving Parkway Realty, Hazel went to work for the real estate office Deshoor, Fair, and Davis, which she eventually bought and renamed Southside Realty. Eventually her son joined her, and they operated Hedges and Wade Realty with two offices, one on each side of town. Hazel also did volunteer work including the Assistance League Las Vegas' Operation School Bell Program, which provides clothing for area school children in need.

Interviewed by Irene Rostine. Janet Savalli's family moved from Phoenix, Arizona, to Henderson, Nevada, in 1945 so her father could work at the Basic Magnesium plant. A few years later, when she was a junior in high school, Janet began her 46-plus years career at the Southern Nevada Telephone Company, which eventually became Sprint. During that period she held several positions, including operator, supervisor, schedule clerk, trainer, investigator, and community relations coordinator. Janet also talks about the atomic bomb testing at Camp Mercury and Camp Desert Rock near Las Vegas. Janet credits the atomic bomb testing with jump-starting the second wave of growth Las Vegas experienced following World War II. This growth had a particular influence on the telecommunications industry's need to expand in Las Vegas.

On March 4, 1981, collector Marlene L. Larson interviewed Chester Albert Hodson, Jr. (born December 21st, 1948 in Las Vegas, Nevada) at the Sizzler restaurant in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Mr. Hodson speaks about working in the restaurant industry in Las Vegas, as well as his father’s experience working in the industry. He also talks about living in Las Vegas and the changes he has seen throughout his life.

On February 11, 1977, collector Lee LaVecchia interviewed Barry V. Holt (born January 20th, 1946 in Las Vegas, Nevada) at his home in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the interview, Mr. Holt speaks about the differences between growing up in Las Vegas in the fifties and sixties compared to how his children are growing up at the time of the interview. He also discusses education and the religious community in the city.

Bernard ?Bernie? Kaufman and Barbara (Raben) Kaufman were married in 1961 in their childhood home of St. Louis, Missouri, at the ages of twenty-one and nineteen respectively. In 1968, they moved to Las Vegas, joining Bernie?s brother, Herb, in the growing city who had opened the first store. Bernie assisted in managing the family businesses four stores, until they were sold in 1982. At that time, he went into the car rental business; he sold that business in 2000 and then went into airport advertising. Barbara focused herself on raising their children, Carrie and Andrew, and once the children were in their teens, she went to work for her brother as a bookkeeper. In this interview, the Kaufman?s reflect upon their upbringing in St. Louis, where they met and married, and making the decision to move to Las Vegas. They discuss the experience of running the stores and the impact on business as the retail environment changed over the years. The Kaufmans also talk about their involvement with the Jewish community, including B?nai B?rith and Sisterhood, and how it?s grown over the years. They also discuss the impact of the Jewish community members in gaming as well as other sectors, and the increase of congregations over the decades.

In this interview, Fine discusses her childhood as well as the path that led to her career in law, which included working on a presidential campaign in New York City as well as several legal secretary positions in Washington, D.C., Texas and California, before eventually receiving her law degree from Golden Gate University. In addition, she reflects upon working on the infamous Jeff MacDonald murder trial in the 1970s as well as her experience becoming?and ending her service as?a Family Court Judge. Fine also discusses her community service work, particularly with the Women?s Philanthropy Board of the Jewish Federation and with Temple Beth Am.

Frances-Ann "Fran" Fine-Ventura is an attorney at the Fine and Price Law Group in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was born September 28, 1951, in Cleveland, Ohio, and moved to Arizona at the age of eleven when her father sought new economic opportunities out West. Fine eventually moved to Las Vegas shortly after she graduated law school in 1983. Fine worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Nevada in the early 1980s, then at several private law firms. From 1992 to 1998, she served as a District Court Judge in the Family Division of the Eighth Judicial District Court. Fine is involved in the Las Vegas community via the Nevada School of the Arts and the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Foundation in Clark County, Nevada. She has also been involved with the Women's Philanthropy Board of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas since 1984, and served as chair from 2014 to 2016. Fran Fine's brother is Las Vegas real estate developer Mark Fine. In this interview, Fine discusses her childhood as well as the path that led to her career in law, which included working on a presidential campaign in New York City as well as several legal secretary positions in Washington, D.C., Texas and California, before eventually receiving her law degree from Golden Gate University. In addition, she reflects upon working on the infamous Jeff MacDonald murder trial in the 1970s as well as her experience becoming?and ending her service as?a Family Court Judge. Fine also discusses her community service work, particularly with the Women?s Philanthropy Board of the Jewish Federation and with Temple Beth Am.

In this interview, Arlene discusses her family and important friendships; her relations with and impressions of the disparate Las Vegas Jewish communities; the meaningful ways her Jewish relationships in Duluth, Winnipeg, and Las Vegas intertwine; her theatrical, professional, and philanthropic work; the reasons she and Jerry became active Zionists; and their support for Israeli causes. Her liberal sprinkling of Yiddish terms enriches her speech as it exemplifies her deep cultural attachment to and identification with her Jewish heritage, despite the fact that her wide and diverse circle of friends remains predominantly non-Jewish.

Actor, director, friend, mother, producer, wife, and volunteer extraordinaire Arlene Piekoff (now Blut) arrived in Las Vegas in 1971 with two young children and husband, Michael Peikoff, who was opening a surgical practice. Arlene was born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, where she attended a Conservative Jewish temple but had mostly non-Jewish friends. She met Michael at the University of Minnesota, and they married before he began medical school in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Arlene and Michael followed his residencies and fellowships to California, Michigan, and Manitoba before they came to Las Vegas Through her brother in law and Ayn Rand?s intellectual heir, Leonard Peikoff, Arlene was exposed to Ayn Rand Objectivism, a philosophy that still influences her political outlook. After her 1975 divorce she began working at the Jockey Club; founded the Meadows Playhouse, Las Vegas?s first professional black box theater; and started Renta Yenta, the valley?s first full-service event planning business. In 1980 she married tax attorney Jerry Blut in a Renta-Yenta-produced, Fiddler-on-the-Roof-themed wedding at Paul Anka's Jubilation Restaurant.