During the early 1970s, the boom of Las Vegas included many single people following family who had already settled there. Among those was Martin (Marty) Wilner. Marty?s parents were Leo and Mickey Wilner. Leo moved to Las Vegas to become the Executive Director at Temple Beth Sholom, the only synagogue in town. Marty, who was born and raised in California, had recently earned his doctorate in psychology at the University of Houston. He became a counselor at UNLV. Not long after, Marty met Linda at a Jewish Singles event. Linda was a divorced, mother of three children, who had moved from California to find comfort in living near her parents. Robert Wilner is one of her three children. He was adopted by Marty and works with his mother in the real estate business. In this interview, they recall together the Las Vegas of the 1970s. For Robert, he remembers his bar mitzvah, and growing up with Jewish friends under the careful eye of his grandparents. As an adult, he has enjoyed a successful career as a real estate agents working with his mother. For Linda, the success of real estate was being part of one of the most robust housing markets in the country. She and Robert recall an extensive list of visionaries who developed the valley, as well as the inherent challenges of water, unions and maintaining their high level of ethics.
Interview with Jean Tobman and two of her daughters, Marilyn (Tobman) Moran and Janie (Tobman) Moore by Claytee White, November 5, 2013. In this interview, Jean Tobman recalls coming to Las Vegas with her husband and two young children in the 1950s, and the life they established in the Pinto area of the Westside. Her husband, Herb, owned City Furniture and a cab company near downtown. Marilyn and Janie discuss their youth and the enjoyable time they had growing up in Las Vegas. Marilyn talks about how the city has grown and her time on the planning commission. Janie also discusses the growth of Las Vegas and her nostalgia for old Las Vegas.
In 1953, Jean and Herb Tobman moved from New Jersey to Las Vegas. The Tombans settled in the Pinto Palamino. Upon moving, Jean initially assisted her mother at her rooming house, and Herb worked with Jean's father at City Furniture. Herb bought his first cab soon thereafter, and grew one vehicle into Western Cab Company, which is still family-run. After a large fire closed City Furniture, Herb worked as the general manager at Moulin Rouge, jumpstarting his career in the gaming industry. Marilyn, Janie and Helen are the children of Jean and Herb and all still live in Las Vegas. The girls grew up keeping horses, as did many other neighbors in the Pinto area. Marilyn married John Moran, the sheriff's son, who served as a police officer himself. She sat on the planning commission for a decade, during the city's growth spurt. Janie spent a semester at Arizona State University before returning to Las Vegas to work at Stardust Hotel, a property co-owned by her father, who also served as the its president.
Rochelle (nee Winnick) Hornsby was born in New York in 1937. Her father was a scrapyard and auto parts dealer and her mother was a homemaker. She has one brother, Roy Winnick. After high school, Rochelle attended the prestigious Fashion Institute of Technology and then accepted a position with a T-shirt manufacturer. During this experience, she discovered her inspirational talent as a sales person. When she married her former husband, Len Hornsby, she followed him in his successful sales career. When his job moved him westward, they lived briefly in Beverly Hills, California. Soon Len saw a better career fit in Las Vegas in radio ad sales for radio. The next step was to take him into sales and management positions at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Meanwhile, Rochelle enjoyed getting involved with the Jewish community, volunteering with the Temple Beth Sholom Sisterhood, playing tennis, and starting her own business furnishing models for conventions. In this oral history, Rochelle shares stories of her various jobs in Las Vegas and of eventually thriving as a real estate agent with Century 21, a company that she continues to work for at the time of this interview. She and Len had one child, Even Scot Hornsby.
On February 25, 1977, Walter John Ritzau interviewed Elizabeth Schneehagen Garrison (born 1943 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about her life in Southern Nevada. Garrison first talks about her schooling in Las Vegas and her first homes in Las Vegas. She also discusses the atomic testing, the Devils Hole in Ash Meadows, early church involvement, recreational activities, and some of the environmental aspects of Las Vegas. Garrison later describes her work for the Central Telephone Company before describing the Helldorado parade and some of the early activities designed for children. In the latter part of the interview, she describes her father’s garden, the changes in the city environment and building, shopping locations, and more about her home life.
On June 26, 1975, Sharon Hildebrandt interviewed Dorothy Ross Fletcher (born 1936 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about growing up in and living in Southern Nevada. Fletcher first talks about that various towns in which she lived while growing up before discussing the schools she attended. She also discusses the changes in schools, her involvement in politics, church activity, gambling as a recreational activity, and prominent visitors who came to Las Vegas. Fletcher also talks about living in Nevada during World War II, the atomic testing, environmental changes and extreme weather, and the social changes in Las Vegas. The latter part of the interview involves discussion of real estate, the introduction of air conditioning for cooling, changes on the Las Vegas Strip, recreational activities available to youth in Las Vegas and the increase in the nonnative population.
Includes meeting minutes and agenda, along with additional information about the Articles of Incorporation, student wellness, and the Leadership Advisory Board.