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Transcript of interviews with Louis Wiener, Jr. by Eleanor Johnson, January-February, 1990

Date

1990-01-24
1990-02-01
1990-02-09
1990-02-23

Description

In this multi-part interview, Louis Wiener, Jr. discusses coming to Las Vegas from Pittsburgh at a young age, attending Las Vegas High School and University of Nevada Reno. He attended law school at University of California at Berkeley and passed the Nevada State Bar in 1941. He established a practice, Jones, Wiener and Jones, with Bob Jones and Cliff Jones and later with Herb Jones. He had another practice with Neil Galatz and Dave Goldwater, retiring in 1988. Wiener had other business ventures that allowed him to do pro bono work as a lawyer. Wiener discusses his family, including former spouses, his children, and various aspects of his career as an attorney in Las Vegas, representing hotels in the Greenspun antitrust lawsuit, and as an attorney for Bugsy Siegel. He says of his success, "I'm just lucky. I was here at the right time and I picked the right people to help."

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Transcript of interview with Gerald Gordon by Barbara Tabach, November 02, 2016

Date

2016-11-02

Description

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.

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Transcript of interview with Susan Molasky by Barbara Tabach, March 11, 2014

Date

2014-03-11

Description

In this interview, Susan Molasky discusses her childhood and teenaged years growing up in London, where she worked with in a fabric store. Molasky shares photos and momentos with the interviewer, and talks about originally coming to Las Vegas with her first husband, Leo Frey, in the late 1950s. She discusses raising her children in Las Vegas, and her bout with ovarian cancer, which prompted her involvement in Nathan Adelson Hospice. She continues to discuss her life with second husband, Irwin Molasky, and the causes they are involved in.

Susan Molasky was born in Israel (what was then-Palestine) in mid-1930s, the daughter of Bukharian Jewish immigrants. With the end of World War II, at the age of nine Susan, her sister and mother were able to get visas to live with her father in London. It was in England where Susan learned English and began working, at a fabric shop on Regent Street. In 1957, Susan married her first husband, and the couple moved to Las Vegas on January 1, 1958. She knew immediately that the city would be her home. Susan and her husband moved to Las Vegas to help her brother-in-law, Leo Frey, renovate and manage the Moulin Rouge; their primary business was long-term room rentals to casino employees, occasionally renting to tourists when the casino hotels were full. After two years, her husband changed careers paths and the couple moved to Europe. They had three sons before returning to Las Vegas in 1964. In 1973, Susan married Irwin Molasky, whom she had met through her work with the Sisterhood at Temple Beth Sholom; both sat on the temple's board. Susan enjoyed the excitement and glamour that defined Las Vegas during the 1970s, attending show openings, visiting movie sets, and socializing with stars. But more than this, Susan devoted herself to helping others, most notably through the opening of Nathan Adelson Hospice. Her own battle with cancer, as well as serving as a caretaker for others, ignited her commitment to establish quality hospice care in her beloved city, and she has continuously led the organization's fundraising efforts. There are now two Nathan Adelson Hospice facilities serving the greater Las Vegas area.

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Transcript of interview with Jacqueline Baskow by Barbara Tabach, October 24, 2016

Date

2016-10-24

Description

In 1976, Jacqueline "Jaki" Baskow was an aspiring actress when she and a friend accepted an invitation to worked in a movie studio in Las Vegas. She had three-hundred dollars to her name, a dream and lots of dynamic energy. Though the movie studio offer did not quite materialized as she hoped - the invitation had come from Batman co-creator Bob Kane - Jaki's trajectory into Las Vegas, working with talents and planning events became an over forty year career. In this interview, she talks about growing up Jewish in Camden, New Jersey where her father was a murder victim; her tenacious effort to find the perpetrator included the help of celebrity detective Joe Schillaci. She shares stories of the colorful array of A-list entertainers she has worked with to build her successful business, Baskow and Associates. She has built a niche of handling large corporate events, hiring talent and attention to details for exciting events. She reflects on the people and moments that impelled her on; mentors such as Bobby Morris and Frank Sinatra and Jilly Rizzo.

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Audio clip from interview with Freddie Glusman, October 29, 2015

Date

2015-10-29

Description

In this clip Freddie Glusman discusses the restaurant he owned and his charitable giving over the years.

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Video, Roundtable discussion with members of Midbar Kodesh, April 19, 2015

Date

2015-04-19

Description

This video consists of three parts: an introduction by Rabbi Tecktiel and two roundtable discussions led by Barbara Tabach. The groups discuss their involvement with Midbar Kodesh and life in Las Vegas.

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Transcript of interview with Shelley Berkley by Barbara Tabach, February 13, 2015

Date

2015-02-13

Description

In this interview, Berkley shares her family history, from her great-grandparents? immigration to the United States to her immediate family?s own migration from New York to Las Vegas. She reflects upon her childhood experience in Las Vegas, including her varied leadership positions with Jewish organizations as well as at school, from junior high school through college. Berkley also talks about her involvement as an adult within the Jewish community and more broadly as a public servant, in all levels of government.

Former United States Democratic Congresswoman Shelley Berkley represented Nevada?s 1st Congressional District from 1999 to 2013, an area that includes most of Las Vegas. During her seven terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the district benefited from millions of dollars of federal funding for education, transportation, and other projects. She also successfully fought against storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. Shelley Berkley was born Rochelle Levine in New York City in 1951 and moved to Las Vegas during junior high in 1963. She practiced law in Las Vegas and served in the Nevada Assembly for two years. She was also a member and vice chair of the Nevada University and Community College System Board of Regents. Berkley attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she served as student body president and graduated with honors in 1972 with a B.A. in political science. After obtaining her J.D. in 1976 from the University of San Diego, she returned to Las Vegas to practice law. From 1976 to 1979 Berkley was Deputy Director of the Nevada State Department of Commerce. She provided legal counsel to several casinos at various points in her career, served as national director of the American Hotel-Motel Association, and founded the Southern Nevada Association of Women Attorneys and the Senior Law Project. In 1977 she married Frederic Berkley and had two children, Max and Sam. She remarried in 1999 to Dr. Lawrence Lehrner of Las Vegas, who also had two children from a previous marriage. Before being elected to Congress, Berkley served on the board of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. She continued her vocal support of Israel in Congress and was heavily involved in all matters related to the Middle East. She was a member of several committees, including: Foreign Affairs, Veterans Affairs, Ways and Means, Small Business, and Transportation. Building a new Veterans Administration medical complex in Southern Nevada and sponsoring many pieces of healthcare legislation are also among her accomplishments as a U.S. Representative. In 2013, she was appointed CEO and Senior Provost of the Touro College and University System?s Western Division.

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Transcript of interview with Ruth Urban by Barbara Tabach, August 24, 2015 and September 16, 2015

Date

2015-08-24
2015-09-16

Archival Collection

Description

In this interview, Urban discusses her upbringing in Las Vegas, and childhood friendships, many which came from within the Jewish community. She talks extensively about her professional career and passion for mediation as a strategy for problem-solving. In addition, Urban describes her community service commitments over the years, including her current role with Nevadans for the Common Good. Urban married Andrew Urban Jr. in 1983, and the couple have a son, Andrew Urban III.

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Transcript of interview with Steven Eisen by Barbara Tabach, September 14, 2016

Date

2016-09-14

Description

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.

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Transcript of interview with Mike and Susan Baller by Barbara Tabach, March 16, 2016

Date

2016-03-16

Description

In this interview, Mike and Susan Baller reflect upon their lives in Las Vegas, from growing up as teenagers amongst the tight-knit Jewish community, to mob influence on the city, and the impact of the city's growth. Mike shares stories about first arriving in Las Vegas to live, being a teenaged busboy at Binions Horseshoe to being related to Moe Dalitz -- in Michigan Mike drove a truck for the Dalitz dry cleaning business.

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