Interview with Henry Kronberg by Barbara Tabach in two sessions, February 26 and April 13, 2015. In the first session Kronberg talks about his childhood in Germany and Poland and his experience being imprisoned by the Gestapo, and transported to a concentration camp. He survived the Holocaust and met his wife, and they moved to the United States in 1946. He discusses being reunited with his sister in Las Vegas after decades of searching, and moved his family to Las Vegas in 1962. Kronberg talks about becoming involved with Jewish life here, and his wife, Lillian's involvement at Temple Beth Sholom. In the second session, Kronberg discusses purchasing Stoney's, a loan and pawn shop, including some of the clientele and merchandise. He also discusses other social and environmental concerns like anti-Semitism and water resources in Southern Nevada.
Henry Kronberg was born in 1920 and spent his early childhood in a town on the border of Poland and Germany, about 40 miles from Krakow. For years he felt uncomfortable telling his story of surviving the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. Today his name is linked to the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center in Las Vegas. And in his soft-spoken manner, Henry recalls his ordeal of loss of family and survival during this most heinous of situations through backbreaking labor and ingenuity. At the end of the war, Henry met the love of his life, Lillian, also a survivor. The two married in 1946 in Frankfurt and immigrated to New Jersey where she had relatives. He describes their difficulties and the various jobs he held until becoming an excellent baker. Then in 1962 an interesting choice took him to a bar mitzvah in Canada. While there the dinner conversation lead him to a great discovery?his sister Lala had survived and was living in Las Vegas. Soon he moved his wife and daughter to Las Vegas. His first foray into business was with his brother-in-law. However, soon it was important to be independent and to control his own destiny. He purchased a going concern, Stoney's Pawn Shop, from Dr. Alexander Coblentz, one of the city's first doctors. He became the fourth owner of Stoney's and operated it until selling it to Steven Mack in 1998. Henry and his wife were active in the Jewish community. They joined Temple Beth Sholom and became fast friends with many of the early leaders of Las Vegas and became a respected member of the secular and Jewish communities.
Jonathan “Jon” Sparer of Las Vegas, Nevada, is a retired architect who is active in the local Jewish and LGBTQ communities. He grew up on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Woodmere, where his father was an importer. After graduating in Architecture from Ohio State University in 1977 Jon moved to Los Angeles, California, where he worked first with architect Jack Chernoff, then with architect Bob Barnett until 1981, when he accompanied his future wife and college classmate who worked for Martin Stern to Las Vegas. Stern sent her to open a field office to supervise the reconstruction of the MGM Grand after it burned in November 1980. Once in Las Vegas, Jon began working for architect Homer Rissman on Steve Wynn’s future project, The Mirage. Although Jon switched firms, he continued working on The Mirage and other Wynn projects with Marnell Corrao, where he would stay until 2001. Ironically, Jon’s original supervisor at Marnell Corrao was his future husband, architect John R. Klai II; Klai’s subordinate in turn was Jon’s Spring Valley neighbor. After Jon left Marnell in 2001, he became a founding principal architect at YWS Design & Architecture. Although he has retired from full-time architecture, Jon has since designed the Temple for Congregation Ner Tamid (pictured above) and The Center (Las Vegas's gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer community center). Jon remains active in the AIA Las Vegas Chapter as the incoming president as well as serving as a board member for Jewish Family Services Agency and The Center.
Charlie Lombardo, originally from Buffalo, New York, came to Las Vegas after joining the Air Force where he worked as a machinist. Lombardo’s start in the gaming industry involved installing and operating coin wrapping machines for a local company that served various casinos. He then worked for Glory, a Japanese coin wrapping company, in several positions. Lombardo later became a slot technician at the MGM and stayed there after it was sold to Bally’s in 1986 where he later became assistant slot manager, slot manager, director, vice president, and senior vice president at that property. The interview with Lombardo starts with a brief description of his background and experience working with coin wrapping machines. He also talks about his experience in witnessing and surviving the MGM fire of 1980 and his subsequent work in reopening the property, a process that allowed him to learn the operational and technical aspects of slot machines. Lombardo later speaks about what he believes makes both good and bad slot managers. He also describes his experiences in laying out slot floors as well as his philosophy on what he believes makes a good slot floor. Lombardo then describes his experience working with vendors and how he developed successful relationships with them in bringing in new slot machines. He also describes some of the changes in slots and slot management over the years, including the early history and background of both the Megabucks and Pot of Gold slot jackpots. Lombardo concludes the interview by answering the question of whether he gambles, and he provides advice to those who are interested in going into slot management as a career.
Miriam Ziadman Borowsky's family moved from Palenstine to France in 1938, where her father surrendered to the Nazis and was sent to the Drancy internment camp. She recounts the rift in her family after she realized her father was not returning. Her essay includes photographs of her family and documents related to her father's military career.
Yearbook main highlights: schools and departments; detailed lists with names and headshots of faculty, administration and students; variety of photos from activities, festivals, campus life, and buildings; campus organizations such as sororities, fraternities and councils; beauty contest winners; college sports and featured athletes; and printed advertisements of local businesses; Institution name: Nevada Southern University, Las Vegas, NV