Oral history interview with Roberta Kane conducted by Barbara Tabach on September 6, 2017 and May 22, 2018 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Kane explains how she was the first born Jewish baby in Las Vegas, Nevada and her parents’ deep involvement with the Jewish community of the 1930s. She then talks about the formalization that occurred in the Jewish community with the building of Temple Beth Sholom. In a second session, Kane recalls the Wildcat Lair, a gathering spot of students from Las Vegas High School in the 1950s.
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Frank Christian Jensen was born on May 18, 1904. Jensen served as a first aid attendant for the Bureau of Reclamation on the Hoover Dam (Boulder Dam) Project from 1932 to 1969, interrupted by World War II and the Korean War, where he served as an assistant flight surgeon. Jensen retired from the Bureau of Reclamation on October 22, 1969 and passed away in 1978.
Source:
United States Congress. Congressional Record, Extension of Remarks. 91st Cong., 1st sess., Congressional Record 115, pt. 23: 30643-32004. April 22, 1969.
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Isadore Washington was born in Tallulah, Louisiana, the son of Isadore Washington, Sr., and Destelle Washington. His father came out to Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1930s to work on Hoover Dam, and the family followed in 1942 when Isadore was eight years old. His mother worked at the El Rancho and Last Frontier Hotels, the Shaw Apartments and Harrison boarding house on the Westside where black entertainers were expected to stay. Washington recalls playing with Wayne Newton when they were children and life on the Westside where he attended the Westside School.
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Sam S. Earl was born February 9, 1912 in Virgin, Utah. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1928 for a few months, then returned home in Utah. He returned to southern Nevada in 1935 to work during the Hoover (Boulder) Dam days. Earl and his wife lived in a tent until he built a little two-room house for his young family to reside. Earl ended up moving to various cities around southern Nevada until 1945 when he moved to Henderson, Nevada. His career was filled with working as a building contractor, truck driver, and painter. Earl passed away January 4, 1997.
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