Known for “raising hell and making a difference” in the Las Vegas Valley, Thomas Rodriguez has dedicated more than four decades of his life to the political, educational, and social advancement of the Latinx community. Tom was born in 1940 to Jennie Gomez and Joseph Rodriguez in a Topeka, Kansas neighborhood its residents called The Bottoms. Mexicans, Mexican Americans, American Indians, African Americans, among other peoples lived in this diverse and beloved community. In 1956, the Urban Renewal Program, a program funded by the Federal Government that sought to raze neighborhoods the city considered to be “slums,” forced The Bottoms’ residents to abandon their homes. Rodriguez recalled the effects that this event had on his family and on his educational career. Despite his family’s relocation, he graduated from a high school located in a nearby neighborhood in 1958. Years later, the activism and ideology of the Chicano Movement of the 1960s taught Rodriguez that to overcome the injus
Cressa Springer Hancock posing for her portrait photo at about 14 years old; Note on photo sleeve: "[Cressa Springer Hancock - 14 years - Doris' mother]"; Text on front of photo: "Townsend, Iowa City, Iowa".
During this oral history, Rabbi Yocheved Mintz weaves the journey of her life before and during her move to Las Vegas. She recalls thinking the "whole world was Jewish" growing up in Cleveland, Ohio, and discusses finding a community in Las Vegas, and becoming a rabbi in 2004.
Yocheved (nee Porath) Mintz is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, where she grew up surrounded by Jewish tradition and teachings. Her grandfather was Rabbi Israel Porath and inspiration to become the family?s first female rabbi. She was ordained in May 2004. The next year she became the second spiritual leader of Valley Outreach Synagogue, now known as P?nai Tikvah. She soon was known as a tireless and inspirational rabbi for the entire Jewish community of Las Vegas. After eleven years, on June 17-18, 2016, Rabbi Mintz?s life and dedication to being Jewish were celebrated. She transitioned to be Rabbi Emerita/Senior Educator. Before moving from Chicago to Las Vegas in 1999 she was abundantly busy with raising four sons she had with her husband the late Dr. Alan Mintz (1938-2007). However, she also managed to pursue her education, become an interior designer, and co-found with her friend Etty Dolgin, a Jewish education consulting firm called Kesher Team. Yet there was a lingering goal to become a rabbi. Throughout her life, Yocheved eagerly studied various approaches to living a Jewish life. So once she had settled into Las Vegas, she began her commute to Los Angeles to study at the Academy for Jewish Religion, a trans-denominational seminary. She interned at Temple Beth Sholom and has been involved in Jewish education locally and nationally. She has served as the first president of the Las Vegas Board of Rabbis and on the Interfaith Council of Southern Nevada.
Oral history interview with Kathleen Kinley conducted by Jamie Quashnock on December 13, 2007 for the Public School Principalship Oral History Project. In this interview, Kinley reflects upon her 34-year career in education, with 14 years as a teacher and 20 years as an administrator in the Clark County School District. She discusses her job duties as teacher, assistant principal, principal, and assistant superintendent, and how the positions compare with each other. She also discusses the importance of self-care and leisure time as a balance to the demanding workload.
Edith Corliss Giles and Richard Scofield Giles, twins, at one year old " To Grandma, Edith Corliss Giles & Richard Scoffield Giles. One year." Richard Scofield Giles later passed away as a young child.
The Order of the Eastern Star Grand Chapter of Nevada Records contain proceedings of yearly meetings of this charitable organization for the years of 1937, 1946, 1948-1956, 1958, 1960-1968.