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Jill Roberts oral history interview: transcript
Date
Archival Collection
Description
Oral history interview with Jill Roberts conducted by Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White on March 20, 2018 for the Remembering 1 October Oral History Project. In this interview, Jill Roberts discusses her position as the CEO of the Trauma Intervention Program (TIP) of Southern Nevada. She also delves into her part-time work at the coroner's office as a death investigator and discusses her personal background in Las Vegas, Nevada after she moved to the city in 1977. She describes the role TIP had during the aftermath of the October 1, 2017 mass shooting, where well-trained volunteers were dispatched to hotels, hospitals, and anywhere else the survivors reached in order to provide emotional and practical support. Throughout the interview, Roberts emphasizes that the assistance provided to those in a traumatic event depends on each individual's needs. She shares a few examples of what the TIP volunteers had helped with after the shooting, including listening to the survivors' stories as well as providing information on the situation, helping separated loved ones find each other, arranging travel for some survivors to go back to their homes, and procuring clothes and shoes for those who needed them. Roberts also discusses the gratitude TIP had received after the shooting, including the thank you cards sent by Sandy Hook High School.
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Berman, Davie, 1903-1957
David "Davie" Berman (1903-1957) was one of the pioneers of the casino business in Las Vegas, Nevada. Berman was born January 16, 1903 in Odessa, Ukraine and grew up in Ashley, North Dakota. He was named Donald at birth but later changed his name to David. By age 16 he ran the biggest bootlegging operation in Iowa, and was also involved with organized crime in New York City and Minneapolis.
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Fiol, Raymonde "Ray"
Holocaust survivor; works with Holocaust Survivors' Group of Southern Nevada and Generations of the Shoah
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Carsony, Karl, 1924-2012
Karl Carsony was an Austrian-born acrobat and balancing artist who performed primarily in the United States and Europe from the 1940s-1970s. He was well known for performing a handstand on a cane while balancing atop the Sahara Hotel and Casino sign in Las Vegas, Nevada--a publicity stunt for the hotel's opening in 1952.
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Goldman, Ed, 1951-
Edward “Ed” Goldman was born March 19, 1951 in Rochester, New York and spent his childhood in Jerusalem, Israel as well as Cincinnati, Ohio. He received his first bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University and a second in Jewish Studies from the University of Judaism. Goldman later received a master’s degree in political science from California State University, and then a doctorate in education and higher administration from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, focusing on educational law.
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Alterwitz-Stralser, Deanne
Deanne Alterwitz-Stralser (née Friedman) was born January 1, 1931 in Hammond, Indiana, the daughter of an insurance salesman and a stay-at-home mom. Alterwitz-Stralser spent her childhood in Calumet City, just across the state line in Illinois, and was raised with a strong Jewish identity. At the age of sixteen, she met her husband, Oscar Alterwitz, at an Alpha Zadik Alpha (AZA) dance in Gary, Indiana, and the two were married in 1950.
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Fox, Jerry, 1937-
Jerry Fox (1937- ) is a Las Vegas, Nevada businessman who owned Foxy Dog restaurant, several gift shops, Lasting Memories camera company, and Vegas Threadz wholesale embroidery company. He was born December 29, 1937, to Abe and Ellena Fox in Los Angeles, California. The Fox family moved to Las Vegas in February 1955, where Abe opened Foxy’s Delicatessen, the city’s first Jewish deli. After graduating from Las Vegas High School in 1956, Jerry Fox worked at Foxy's Deli for about ten years.
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Gragson, Bonnie, 1913-2007
Bonnie (Henley) Gragson was born February 8, 1913, in Mansfield, Arkansas, to James H. Henley and Elizabeth L. Cockrall Henley. She attended school in Mansfield, and married to Oran K. Gragson on December 21, 1934. The couple arrived in Nevada Christmas morning of that year, where Oran was employed in the construction of Hoover Dam. Except for brief periods in the 1930's when Oran was employed in highway construction in nearby Nevada cities, they lived in Las Vegas for more than 70 years.
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