The Patricia van Betten Healthcare and Nursing Papers (1985-2009) are comprised of personal correspondence, memoranda, newsletters, and reports of Patricia van Betten, who worked with the League of Women Voters and the Nevada Nurses Association from 1985 to 2011. The collection details several Nevada organizations including the Nevada Chapter of the Health Care Reform Project (HCRP), the League of Women Voters, and the Nevada Nurses Association. Also of interest, the collection contains written material, video recordings, and compact discs pertaining to health curriculum for the Clark County School District.
Dayvid Figler was born August 18, 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. He was four years old when the family station wagon reached Las Vegas, Nevada in 1971. Figler’s father soon became a Pan dealer on the Strip. As the family grew, his mother, Barbara, immersed her energies in her children’s activities, Hadassah and Temple Beth Sholom. Figler graduated from Valley High School at the age of 16 and by the age of 23 he was rising in the legal world. He was also a local essayist and poet.
Stanley Weiner was born on May 11, 1946. He arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1953 from New York City. He worked as busboy and at a Sears department store.
Interview with Deanne Alterwitz-Stralser with contributions from her son Daryl Alterwitz on November 1, 2014. In this interview Deanne talks about her Jewish upbringing near the Illinois-Indiana state line, meeting her first husband Oscar, with whom she had four children, and the difficulties with keeping kosher. The family moved to Las Vegas from Gary, Indiana for opportunities in the furniture business. Daryl weighs in on his father's personality, business decisions, and their move to Las Vegas. They discuss the location of the store the Alterwitz's bought (Walker Furniture) and purchasing the building from Jackie Gaughan, and the different tastes in furniture in Las Vegas. Then they talk about the Jewish community and the division between the east and west sides.
On New Year's Day, 1931, Deanne Alterwitz-Stralser was born Deanne Friedman in Hammond, Indiana, the daughter of an insurance salesman and a stay-at-home mom. Deanne 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 first husband, Oscar Alterwitz, at an Alpha Zadik Alpha (AZA) dance in Gary, Indiana, and the two were married in 1950. Deanne and Oscar settled in Gary, where they had four children?Aimee, Larry, Daryl and Linda?and took over the Alterwitz family furniture business. Eventually, the couple grew the business to three successful retail furniture stores. However, a decline in the city's safety and opportunities forced the Alterwitz's to consider relocating, and in 1973, after a family vote, Deanne and Oscar moved their family to Las Vegas. Upon arrival, Deanne and Oscar bought Walker Furniture from original owners, George and Ruth Walker. Deanne used her artistic eye and training from the Art Institute of Chicago to lead the design and merchandising elements of the business. Socially, Deanne integrated into the local Jewish community, and ensured her children participated in Jewish life as well. Deanne and Oscar's children still remained involved in Walker Furniture operations, including Daryl, who serves as the company's general counsel; Larry, who is the company's president; and a daughter who now oversees the store's design and merchandising.