Jackie, n?e Brooks, Boiman was born in Brooklyn and raised in Levittown, New York. Although Jackie recalls her family?s Jewish observance as far less than strict, her religious connection began in the Levittown Jewish Center Sunday School and under the close relationship she had with her grandmother, who kept kosher and inspired her to do so. In her early twenties, Jackie worked in data reduction at Grumman Aerospace Corporation and the space program; was married and had her only child, Andee. After twelve years of marriage, Jackie divorced and relocated to Las Vegas, where her parents had moved earlier. In Las Vegas, job opportunities for a single mother were scant. Then after months of searching, she found her first job as a part time secretary for Temple Beth Sholom. Over the course of the next nearly fifteen years, Jackie would go on to work with almost every congregation and temple in Las Vegas, developing their youth programs and contributing to the growth of each one for 15 years. After a brief retirement, she had gone back to work as the first administration person for Touro University. In this interview, Jackie discusses at length her involvement with each of the temples, her experiences with being a single mother and living below the poverty line. She shares how her life has been changed through trials and tribulations but how her faithfulness and commitment to her mission had led her to the success she has today.

Interview with Max Goot by Charles Collins, March 22, 1976. In this interview, Goot talks about how he came to Las Vegas in 1945 and purchased Stoney's Jewelry, which he sold in 1951, and then bought Tinch Furniture Store. He was friends with Hank Greenspun and active in local politics and community affairs, including Temple Beth Sholom. He talks about selling the former Beth Sholom building at 13th and Carson Streets to the Greek church, and other fund raising activities. He speaks briefly about atomic tests, and the growth of the city.

During this interview, Michael Mack visualizes his childhood memories of the later 1930s, when Las Vegas was a small, but steadily growing, desert town. As he says, "The desert was our backyard." The Strip hotels like the last Frontier and the Flamingo pop into the stories, but it was basically an innocent time. He attended John S. Park Elementary when classrooms were temporary buildings from the local Air Force base and the neighborhood was filled with children. He still maintains close friendships from that time. And he also recalls friends from the Westside neighborhood. Michael talks of scouting, riding horses, and watching Helldorado parades.

Michael Mack's first recollection of Las Vegas is as a two-year-old living in a duplex on Bonneville Ave. Though the family moved several times, they remained in or near the John S. Park neighborhood. Michael's father was a Polish immigrant who arrived in Boulder City, where he opened a shoe store, in 1932. The building of the Hoover Dam brought opportunities and his father Louis expanded into the salvage business. In time Louis moved the family to Las Vegas, opened a retail clothing store, which eventually sold uniforms, and set up the first local bail bondman office. During this interview, Michael visualizes his childhood memories of the later 1930s, when Las Vegas was a small, but steadily growing, desert town. As he says, "The desert was our backyard." The Strip hotels like the last Frontier and the Flamingo pop into the stories, but it was basically an innocent time. He attended John S. Park Elementary when classrooms were temporary buildings from the local Air Force base and the neighborhood was filled with children. He still maintains close friendships from that time. And he also recalls friends from the Westside neighborhood. Michael talks of scouting, riding horses, and watching Helldorado parades. Though the Macks were a Jewish family, Michael's mother always brought the Christmas tree to school. It was a period when people memorized each other's 3-digit phone numbers, went to movies for 14 cents, and there was a ranch for people to stay while getting divorced. Halloween Trick-or-treaters in the John S. Park neighborhood might get a tasty cupcake or a shiny dime. Michael has a plethora of stories about innocent mischief and the unique experiences of a boy growing up in Las Vegas.

Meeting minutes include reports from committees of the board, correspondence, and balance sheets.

Joshua Nathaniel Abbey was born in 1956 to artist Rita Deanin Abbey and author Edward Abbey. While much of Joshua?s early childhood was spent in the southwest following his father?s job, Hoboken, New Jersey, was where he attended elementary school and where his Jewish foundation took shape with his maternal grandparents. In 1964, the Abbey family moved westward again to Las Vegas. Though his father moved on and became a distant influence on Joshua?s life, his mother, Rita, remained and became an artist and art instructor at UNLV. Upon graduating from Las Vegas? Valley High School, Joshua set his sights on an acting career. His creative and industrious energies would inspire him to move about: from Los Angeles to New York and back to Las Vegas. He traveled the world, met the love of his life Yve Eiholzer-Abbey, a fellow Thespian. Eventually the couple made Las Vegas their permanent residence. In this interview, Josh recalls his life?s journey and the many career steps, friendships and accomplishments he has experienced along the path. Among Josh?s local contributions is the creation the Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival, which began in 2001. He also was founder of CineVegas Film Festival in 1998; a member of the Nevada Arts Council, City of Las Vegas Arts Commission and Director of the Desert Space Foundation, a local non-profit foundation committed to assisting emerging arts groups. He has also worked with Blue Man Group, for Jewish Family Service Agency, had a brief speaking part in the movie, The Natural, and been an activist opposing the Yucca Mountain waste repository-and much more. Joshua is a graduate of University of Nevada Las Vegas (Theater Arts 1980) and American Film Institute (1993).

Hershel Brooks was born December 3, 1930 in Brooklyn, New York. He was raised in an orthodox Jewish household, along with his four siblings, and attended Jewish community schools before pursuing his rabbinical studies. He studied at TelsheYeshiva in Cleveland, Torah Vodaath in New York, and Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Before assuming his first rabbinical position, Brooks married his wife, Alma, and graduated with his BA from the University of Miami. He was first hired by a conservative congregation in Miami, and subsequently led congregations in Savannah, Georgia, Greensboro, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Eventually, he joined a temple in Anaheim, California, where he served for twenty years. In 1996, Brooks retired to Las Vegas. He was soon asked to lead services at Temple Bet Knesset Bamidbar [BKB] twice a month as its rabbi. He still is active at BKB, though he retired in 2011. In this interview, Brooks reflects on his family background and the path that lead to his becoming a rabbi in the Conservative Jewish Movement. He talks about his career, including his involvement with BKB as well as other Jewish community service, including facilitating adult bar mitzvah classes and serving on the local Rabbinical court of Judaism, known as Bet Din.

In this interview, the participants discuss their experiences during Kristallnacht, and the commemoration events in southern Nevada with Holocaust survivors and their families. Mr. Kuechel recounts his journey through concentration camps and being liberated by the Russians. Rabbi Goodman talks about meeting Mr. Meinecke, whose grandfather was a high-ranking SS officer. Meinecke discusses his upbringing in Germany and trying to learn about his family's involvement in the Holocaust, and the hope he felt after the fall of the Berlin Wall as Jews returned to Germany. The group discusses the importance of Holocaust education because there are still so many untold stories.

On November 9th to November 10th, 1938, in an incident known as Kristallnacht, Nazis in Germany torched synagogues, vandalized Jewish homes, schools and businesses, and killed close to one hundred Jews. In the aftermath of Kristallnacht, also called the Night of Broken Glass, some thirty thousand Jewish men were arrested and sent to Nazi concentration camps. German Jews had been subjected to repressive policies since 1933 when Nazi Party leader Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany. However, prior to Kristallnacht these Nazi policies had been primarily nonviolent. However, after Kristallnacht conditions for German Jews grew increasingly worse. During World War II, Hitler and the Nazis implemented their so-called final solution to what they referred to as "the Jewish problem" and carried out the systematic murder of some six million European Jews in what is now commonly known as the Holocaust.