Photographs from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Creative Services Records (2010s) (PH-00388-05).

Jane Greenspun Gale-actor, activist, writer, magazine publisher, philanthropist, and farmer- has filled her life with accomplishments such as the Animal Foundation and Springs Preserve. It has also been a life filled with adventure - from “looking for John Lennon” during her time living and studying acting in London to learning to raise chickens on the acres of the Gilcrease Farm she owns with husband and photographer Jeff Gale. Everyone calls her Janie. Born Jane in 1949, she is the third of four children born to community leaders Barbara and Hank Greenspun. In this oral history, Janie captures the fun of growing up in Las Vegas under the watching eye of Hank. As a teen she and her friends cruised Fremont Street. Several years later she wanted to be arrested protesting the Atomic Test Site, when Hank diverted her into reporting about the event instead. Her Jewish foundation was at Temple Beth Sholom, where her parents were among the founding members. As the Jewish population grew, the tastes in synagogues grew to reflect the change. When Janie’s children preferred the Reform approach at Congregation Ner Tamid, a new family tradition began. She is proud of her background and shares loving stories of time spent with her grandparents as a child and pride in the heroic and dramatic story behind the naming of Hank Greenspun Plaza in Israel. Even her love story with Jeff is a tale made for movies. It unfolds in this engaging oral history interview along with anecdotes that are plucked from her personal history and preserve a reflection of growing up in Las Vegas, one of the Greenspun family of local fame.

Harold Minsky and choreographer Jerry Norman meeting at the Silver Slipper. The Silver Slipper was a casino in Paradise, Nevada that operated from September 1950 to November 29, 1988. The building was designed by architect Martin Stern, Jr. The casino was built on the grounds of the Last Frontier Village of the Hotel Last Frontier, and was originally named the Golden Slipper Saloon and Gambling Hall. On April 30, 1968, the Silver Slipper was purchased by businessman Howard Hughes for $5.4 million in his famous spending spree of buying Vegas properties, which included the Frontier next door. The casino was purchased for $70 million on June 23, 1988 by Margaret Elardi, who by this time owned the Frontier. It was demolished several months later and turned into a parking lot for the Frontier until its closing and demolition in 2007. In 2009, the Silver Slipper sign was restored and is now part of a display of vintage signs in the median along Las Vegas Boulevard North. Site Name: Silver Slipper (Las Vegas, Nev.) Street Address: 3100 South Las Vegas Boulevard