Interview with Herb Tobman by Deborah Fischer on March 13, 1981. In this interview on the subject of gambling, Herb Tobman talks about moving to Las Vegas while working for Standard Oil as a tire, battery and accessory salesman, then began working for the Moulin Rouge as the general manager in 1955. He gives a description of the hotels on Las Vegas Boulevard and downtown, and the "western" nature of town where people rode horses. Tobman then discusses the types of gambling that were popular: slot machines, blackjack and craps. He also talks about the accommodations (hotels and motels) available in the 1950s, transportation to and from the area, entertainment, and the economy. The interviewer continually asks Tobman to compare 1950s Las Vegas with 1980s Las Vegas in terms of the gambling environment.
Steven Eisen (1966 - ) is the oldest son of Barry and Beverly Eisen, who were part of the migration of Jews from St. Louis to Las Vegas in the 1960s. He is married to Stacy Fisher and the older brother to Andrew and Robert Eisen. They are members of an early group of born-and-raised Las Vegans. Growing up Jewish, he became a bar mitzvah, belonged to B?nai B?rith Youth Organization. In this oral history interview, Steve recalls enjoyable stories of growing up in Las Vegas and humorous anecdotes of mistaken identity since the three brothers bear such strong physical resemblances. Today he finds himself enjoying his career as CEO of the Children?s Heart Center since 2001 and talks about the success and reputation of the pediatric medical group. It was his first job as a fourteen year old helping Theodore Manos and Michael Cherry during the MGM fire litigations where he learned about the legal world and being organized as a path to success in whatever he might pursue. Steve graduated from University of Missouri, attended law school at Washington University in St. Louis, and received his business degree from UNLV. Throughout the interview, he recalls the steady and strong involvement of his parents in their sons? educations. He also describes their active connection with the Jewish community and organizations. Steve?s wife Stacy is a professor in physical therapy at Touro University.
In 1961, at the age of thirteen, Gerald ?Jerry? Gordon became a bar mitzvah. This typical coming of age celebration was unusual in that he had simultaneously studied in both his home state of California and his adopted home of Las Vegas, where he spent summers with his grandparents. 1961 is also the same year that the Gordons made Las Vegas their permanent home. Jerry graduated from Las Vegas High School, attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas and earned his law degree from University of California, Los Angeles. His gregarious and trustworthy personality led him to career building steps in the legal community of Las Vegas that included illustrious names such as Louis Wiener, Jr., David Goldwater, Neil Galatz, and many others. His personal law specialty became bankruptcy, especially dealings with hotel/casinos. As a member of the Jewish community, Jerry?s energy and expertise to organize was instrumental in the construction of Congregation Ner Tamid, the reform synagogue, at its site on Valle Verde and I-215. It was a multi-year process and includes a vast array of stories?a cash donation from Moe Dalitz, finalization of receiving of a donation land from the Greenspun family during the High Holy Days, and the ongoing challenges of a building campaign during a recession. In addition, he explains that CNT included two unique negotiations: 1) a cell tower and 2) a solar field on the synagogue?s property. Jerry and his wife Yvonne met while attending UNLV. Yvonne taught math at various levels in the Clark County School District. They raised their two children, Sara and Jeffrey, in Las Vegas, and forged an important role together in Congregation Ner Tamid. In April 2017, they were among those honored for their work with the synagogue.
Bruce Isaacson was born in 1956 in Castro Valley, California to Betty Griffin and Bernard Isaacson, and spent his childhood in Oakland. He received his bachelor?s degree from Claremont McKenna College with majors in economics as well as drama, and continued studying for his Masters of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. After receiving his MBA, Isaacson started a career in finance, focusing on mergers and acquisitions. In 1995, he moved to Las Vegas to pursue a real estate career alongside his father. In June 2015, Isaacson became Clark Country?s first poet laureate to encourage poetry as an art form in Southern Nevada. Although Isaacson began writing poetry at a young age, he wanted to develop his craft further. So he attended Brooklyn College for a Masters of Fine Arts and studied with famed poet Allen Ginsberg. Isaacson is known in the San Francisco Bay Area as organizer and poet in the Cafe Babar readings in the 1980s. He is also a co-founder of Zeitgeist Press, where he remains publisher and co-editor. In this interview, Isaacson discusses his childhood and how he maneuvered his career path from finance into poetry. He talks about applying for and serving as the county?s first poet laureate, and describes the programing he?s started in this capacity. Isaacson also speaks about his earlier involvement with Bay Area poetry scene as well as the impact of his Jewish upbringing on his life and his art.
The oral history interview of Lyle and Mary Ann "Timbuck" Rivera begins with the 1915 birth of Frances McNamee, Timbuck's mother, who had the distinction of being the eleventh baby born in early Las Vegas. Frances' father and grandfather who were attorneys for the railroad arrived in 1905 and became part of the historical roots of the community. Timbuck's memories also include landmarks and activities that were integral to the growing town, such as her mother's involvement in organizing the Junior League. Lyle Rivera, a relative newcomer, arrived in the 1940s and experienced what he describes as a life of "bouncing around" and being the only child of a single mother, a cocktail waitress at the Golden Nugget. Lyle would grow to distinguish himself within the community as a lawyer and community activist. He modestly mentions his achievements which included involvement with the UNLV Foundation, professional careers in both the Attorney General's and District Attorney's offices,
Kerin Rodgers was born in 1936. She recounts her family history and stories of her youth growing up in Boston, MA, and shares how the family relocated to Seattle, WA in the mid-1940s. She talks about her enjoyment of theatrical arts and politics, and about being a resourceful divorced, single-mom and entrepreneur. In 1958 she opened a retail fashion store and modeling agency with a friend in Santa Monica, CA. Kerin had a knack for fashion and interior design that would assist her then and into the future. She also shares the story of arriving in Las Vegas as part of retail job with The Broadway stores in 1966—a two-week stint that seemed to have no ending. Her transition into Las Vegas included remarriage, a 1974 Keno win that enabled her to put down money on a home ( a house built by Paul Huffey) in the John S. Park neighborhood, and making close friends in the community. Her interview is sprinkled with tales of activities and personalities from the neighborhood's past and present. Kerin was involved with the Focus Youth House, speaks about First Fridays and art, as well as gives a perspective of police, criminal behaviors and changes in the neighborhood over the years. She hosted a local television show and enjoyed being a community activist.
Kerin Rodgers owned a retail fashion store and modeling agency with a friend in Santa Monica, California. She came to Las Vegas in 1966 to work at The Broadway department store. She bought a home in the John S. Park Neighborhood in 1974. Popular radio personality; active in local and national politics.
In the dusty border town of Douglas, Arizona, Dr. Jack Lund Schofield was born in the family home in 1923. Due to the economic woes of the Great Depression, the Schofield family moved several times until 1937—the year that Jack's father took a position as a tungsten broker and moved his family of five children to Nevada. For Jack, who was ready to start high school, the move from Phoenix to Las Vegas with a small population of 5000 was a shock. However, it did not take the gregarious Jack long to make friends at Las Vegas High School. He played sports and was a Golden Glove boxing champion. As Jack's high school years drew to an end, two major events occurred: he met his future wife and World War II began. He proudly highlights his service as a fighter pilot in both WWII and the Korea conflict, his family genealogy, and his devotion to being an excellent educator, businessman, family man, and politician. In 1995, he earned his doctorate in education at the age of 72. His resume includes being an elected official, serving on the Board of Regents and having a middle school named after him. Jack and his wife, Alene, have resided in the John S. Park Neighborhood for over 50 years and describes his affection for the neighborhood and some of the changes that have occurred.
In 1978 Bill Snyder came Las Vegas for a heavyweight championship fight between his homeboy, Larry Holmes and Ken Norton. During that visit, he saw cranes dotting the cityscape so he returned home and proposed that the family move across country and settle in the desert. His wife, Joy, gave him a year. And as they say, the rest is history. And what am amazing history it is. In this interview, Bill Snyder talks about his life from its beginning in Easton, Pennsylvania, where he discovered the challenge of architecture first by perusing books in the library and then by hands-on construction experience. But his love of art built the foundation to this treasured craft that has allowed him to design homes, office buildings, airport terminals and the McCaw School of Mines on the campus of McCaw Elementary School in Henderson, NV. The projects that Mr. Snyder seems to prize most are those that include the imagination of children. The people who shaped his life are introduced and the impact of his military training is wonderfully expressed. His connection with young people is paramount throughout the oral history that is beautifully documented with images of many of the projects that displayed children's art in an exciting way. Bill and Joy are the parents of two sons. Dana age 36, lives with his wife Christine in Hollywood, California, and works as a voice actor best known for his role as Master Shake on the cartoon Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Their younger son, Mike age 31, owns The Krate, a clothing, music, and art shop in Santa Cruz, California, where he lives with his wife Mandy and daughter Maya. A husband, father, sports car enthusiast, runner, thinker and lover of teaching and trusting young people, Bill Snyder is a brilliant architect and manager of people. He is dyslectic and never expected a school to be named in his honor but the William E. Snyder Elementary School was dedicated in 2001 with overwhelming community support. One of his current goals is to dream an architectural project that rivals the McCaw School of Mines for his own school. I trust that you will learn to love architecture in a different and very profound way as you read this interview just as I did during my conversation with Bill.
Deanna Stefanelli and her family moved to Las Vegas when her husband John Stefanelli accepted a position as a professor in Food and Beverage at UNLV. She took a part-time job in the admin office of the university's library in 1981. It was also an ideal time for her to return to college to finish her degree. Eventually she became full-time and enjoyed the growth and change of UNLV and the library. Deanna recalls the physical and personnel changes of the library. She describes some of the fun activities that kept them a close work community—from the Friends of the Library to book sales and pancake breakfasts, to a newsletter and learning to make sushi with Myoung-ja Kwon.