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Black Experience in Southern Nevada

The Black Experience in Southern Nevada Oral History Project features a core set of twelve interviews donated to the UNLV Libraries in the early 1970s. In 1978 the UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives received a grant to edit and transcribe the interviews from the U. S. Office of Education, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare and distributed by the Nevada State Library. The project was completed by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick between 1978 and 1979 with an abstract of the interviews distributed statewide.

Corporate Body

Transcript of interview with Ron Donoho by Craig Brenner, February 28, 1978

Date

1978-02-28

Archival Collection

Description

On February 28, 1978, Craig Brenner interviewed Ron Donoho (b. 1929 in Amboy, IL) about some historical aspects on the history of Southern Nevada law enforcement. The first portion of the interview involves a discussion of the history of sheriffs in the Clark County Sheriff’s Office and eventually the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Donoho mentions various sheriffs, including Charles Corkhill, who was sheriff when Clark County formed in 1909, as well as Sam Gay, Joe Keate, Gene Ward, Glen Jones, “Butch” Leypoldt, and then-sheriff Ralph Lamb. Donoho spoke somewhat about the performance of some of these sheriffs as well as the political factors involved during their leadership. The latter part of the interview includes a list of fallen officers who were killed in the line of duty in Southern Nevada, dating back to Ernest May’s death in 1933. Donoho, who researched much of the material of the interview, also spoke several times about his personal familiarity and acquaintance with some of the law enforcement officials mentioned.

Text

Transcript of interview with Laura Sussman and Wendy Kraft by Barbara Tabach, February 17, 2016

Date

2016-02-17

Description

They've been referred to as the two Jewish mothers who own a funeral home. At first glance that seems too simple a description. However, it is how they arrived at this description that tells a story of two women who moved here in the late 1990s and whose paths crossed as they became part of the Jewish community of Las Vegas. Laura Sussman arrived first. It was 1997. The Jewish Community Center, a JCC without walls as Laura puts it, hired her as its first executive director. She was from Ohio where there was a robust Jewish tradition. She was director for eight years; then executive director at Temple Beth Sholom. Wendy Kraft moved to the valley in 1999. She was a stay at home mom from Boston, who was accustom to volunteering in the Jewish community. Knowing no one and on the brink of divorce, the Jewish community became her life, a way to build a network of friends and keep her occupied just as it had been in Boston. The two women met through their work with the JCC and love followed. Several years later, in 2009, so did their new business, Kraft-Sussman Funeral and Cremation services. By February 6, 2015, Laura and Wendy had married. They had already formed a family with each other and their three daughters, Leah Sussman, Emma and Elyse Kraft. In this interview they discuss their joint sense of purpose that includes love of family, dedication to the Jewish community, pride in the LGBT identity, and providing caring services to those at the time of funeral services. They talk also of Jewish traditions related to death, the Jewish burial society known as Chevra Kadisha, and challenges of their industry. They share feelings about nonprofits and how they value being actively involved in the community.

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