Kathleen and Tim Harney moved to the John S. Park neighborhood in 1975, about ten years after relocating from Ohio to Las Vegas, where teaching jobs paid more and the education system was more innovative. The Midwestern ambiance of John S. Park was attractive large trees and older homes among the outstanding features. In this interview, Kathleen laments the neighborhood changes that may be part of a normal aging cycle of any neighborhood as being more acute because of commercial changes on the Strip. Of the years they lived there, Kathleen speaks glowingly of the neighborhood's diversity—diverse in work schedules as much as in religion. She lists the various restaurants and describes the activities that drew the community together. It was a wonderful place to raise their girls who each graduated from Las Vegas High School. . As a passionate educator, she also speaks about the importance of schools, after school programs no matter what neighborhood one raises their children. And while the Harneys moved from John S. Park, she fondly recalls it as the place where she "really became a Las Vegas." It was the place where her family grew up and a place that "needs a little love" at this time. Special Note: Tim Harney, Kathleen's husband, and Kimberly Harney-Moore, their eldest daughter, are also participants in the Voices of the Historic John S. Park Neighborhood oral history project.
Laura Sussman was born March 26, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio where there was a robust Jewish community. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1997. The Jewish Community Center (JCC) hired her as its first executive director. She was a director for eight years, then executive director at Temple Beth Sholom. Sussman met her wife, Wendy Kraft, 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.
Leon and Norma Friedman, who were married in Pittsburg in 1957, enjoyed civic work, travel and raising their two children, Jodi and Brad. Leon kept active until his passing in 2004.
Martin Wilner was born March 14, 1946 in Los Angeles, California to Leo Wilner, an Executive Director at Temple Beth Sholom. He was raised in California, but earned his doctorate in psychology at the University of Houston, Texas. He moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1963 and became a counselor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Soon after moving to Las Vegas, Wilner met Linda at a Jewish Singles event. They were married on December 22, 1974 and they adopted a son, Robert, to raise with Linda’s two other kids from a previous marriage.