Interviewed by Elsa Lopez and Barbara Tabach. Cuban refugee family by way of Spain and then to the US; arrived in Las Vegas in 1973 when Nora was 9 years old. Struggled in youth but rises up as embraces educaton. Currently is Assistant Director of Academic Partnership at CSN.

On March 2, 1980, Dennis Hunt interviewed his mother, Catherine Hunt (born August 25, 1932 in Palmyra, Missouri) about her life in Southern Nevada. The two discuss Catherine Hunt’s work as a secretary before becoming a housewife. The interview concludes with Catherine Hunt’s thoughts on population growth, women’s rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Roberta “Bobbie” Kane (1932 - ) is the first known Jewish child born in Las Vegas. Her parents, Sallie and Mike Gordon, were liquor stores owners and among the founders of the first Jewish congregation in Las Vegas. Bobbie’s childhood remembrances are as a young girl who was fully aware that “Friday nights were reserved for religious services. Saturdays were always reserved for gin rummy.” In the late 1940s, as a teenager at Las Vegas High School (and 1950 graduate), Bobbie recalls Las Vegas as a small town and a joyful place to grow up. She briefly attended University of Southern California before marrying and beginning her family. In time, life brought her back to live with her parents. She pursued a career working for the Desert Inn group of hotels and helped open the Stardust in 1957. She was mentored by Mark Swain, “a six foot-four hunk of a cowboy” who worked for Moe Dalitz. This experience included driving Mark’s pink Cadillac to pick up hotel guests. This provided her with a

Valerie Wiener is an accomplished state senator, business owner, president and founding member of the Public Service Institute of Nevada and the Valerie Wiener Foundation. She was born October 30, 1948 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her service as senator for 16 years and her role as a public servant led her to become the first woman assistant majority leader of the state senate in Nevada. She graduated with a bachelor degree of Journalism at the University of Missouri/Columbia within the School of Journalism earning a Masters of Arts in Broadcast Journalism and a Master of Arts in Literature at the University of Illinois in Springfield while attending law school at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento in the 1970s. Her generosity is also seen through scholarships and activities at the Louis Wiener Jr. Elementary School. In addition, Valerie is a professional speaker, consultant, and internationally published author. She is the recipients of many awards, such as: ?Women of Achievement Award? in Media; ?Healthy Schools Heroes?; ?Public Affairs Champion Award?; ?Legislator of the Year?, and the Nevada Secretary of State?s recipient of the ?Jean Ford Participatory Democracy Award.? She stays active through her commitment to the Nevada Senior Olympics for both Fitness and Weightlifting earning 17 gold medals from 1998 to 2007. In this interview, Wiener discusses her childhood and being raised in Las Vegas in the 1950s as well as the academic path that led her career into politics. She shares memorable insight into the life of her father, Louis Isaac Wiener, Jr., an accomplished attorney and business man who represented the infamous Benjamin ?Bugsy? Siegel during the construction and opening of the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in 1946. Throughout Wiener?s interview, she highlights the traditions of the small, but growing Las Vegas Jewish population in the 1960s. Among the people she recalls most vividly is her grandmother Kitty Wiener. Wiener also discusses her community service work and her life mantra of giving.

Oscar Baylin Goodman (1939- ) is the former mayor of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, serving 12 years until 2011, when he swore in his wife of over 50 years, Carolyn Goodman. Oscar Goodman is the official ambassador of Las Vegas, and the chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Host Committee. He is also known as one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the United States, and spent 35 years defending alleged Mob figures such as Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal, and Anthony Spilotro. Goodman is the primary visionary and a member of the board of directors of The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas, which opened in 2012. Goodman was born June 26, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned his undergraduate degree from Haverford College in 1961 and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1964. That same year he moved to Las Vegas and in 1965 he was admitted to the Nevada State Bar. He served as Clark County?s chief deputy public defender from 1966 to 1967. Goodman was elected as mayor of Las Vegas for the first time in 1999. During his three terms (the legal limit), he contributed to the economic and cultural development of the downtown area by supporting projects such as the arts district and Union Park, a high-rise residential and business project he helped to secure 61 acres of land for. He helped to begin what he called the ?Manhattanization? of downtown, which included the construction of taller buildings for better use of the area?s prime real estate. In this interview, Goodman discusses the role of Judaism in his life, from childhood to adulthood to parenting his own four children. He touches on his involvement with Temple Beth Sholom, including serving as its president, as well as in local development projects like the Lou Ruvo Cleveland Clinic Brain Health Center, Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and Mob Museum. In addition, Goodman discusses the impact of Jewish residents on the city and its development, and mentions leaders in the gaming industry, legal profession and in politics.

Interview with Myra Berkovits, Susan Dubin and Doug Unger of the Holocaust Resource Center. In this interview, the group discusses the beginnings of what is now the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center. Edythe Katz-Yarchever is discussed as the catalyst for establishing the center and getting others involved with the Governor's Advisory Council on Education Relating to the Holocaust. Berkovits talks about her role as a liason for Holocaust education in the Clark County School District and the student-teacher conferences held each year with funding from Sheldon Adelson. Unger discusses expanding the outreach to the Washoe County School District with assistance from Atlantis Hotel (Reno, Nev.) owner, John Farahi and Judy Mack. They talk about the previous locations of the Holocaust Resource Center on Maryland Parkway, then Renaissance Drive, and the affiliation with the Jewish Federation and the Jewish Family Service Agency. After funding and personnel issues around 2011, the advisory council and the library went through a re-structuring and hired Susan Dubin who organized and catalogued the library collection. The library is now accredited by the Association of Jewish Libraries.

On October 18, 1974, James M. Greene interviewed Murl Emery (born June 7th, 1903 in Bolton, California) at his home in Nelson, Nevada. Also present during the interview is Mrs. Emery and Mr. Dutch Eckhart, a guest who has just arrived to visit with Mr. Emery. The interview covers Mr. Emery’s personal experience in and around Southern Nevada, particularly in the areas from Searchlight, Nevada to Nelson, to Boulder Canyon, but mostly on the Colorado River. Mr. Eckhart also helps to interject some insight into the popularity of the Model T Ford in those days and early days of newly paved roads. Additionally, they discuss water shortage, wells, the building of the railroad, and mining in Nevada. Mr. Emery also discusses the books that were written about his adventurous life, his discoveries and his explorations.