Michael Tell, the youngest son of Jack and Beatrice Tell, is the publisher of the Las Vegas Israelite newspaper and the second generation of ownership. He briefly traces his Jewish ancestral roots back to Eastern European grandparents who settled in New Jersey and New York. He became a bar mitzvah in a conservative Jewish synagogue in New York City. At age sixteen, he accompanied his father, Jack Tell, westward to Nevada. The elder Tell was in pursuit of owning a newspaper and Mike was a perfect companion as Jack took over ownership of the Territorial Enterprise. Mike recalls it was a short lived venture and the family settled in Las Vegas, where his father went to work for Hank Greenspun at the Las Vegas Sun and then for Henderson Home News, owned by Morry Zenoff. In 1965, Jack Tell opened the Las Vegas Israelite. Meanwhile, Mike explored the lucrative business of concert promotions and opened a teen nightclub 1961 called the Twin Lakes Twist. He hired such talents of the era as Bobby Darin and Wayne Newton. Soon his business acumen grew and he moved Mike Tell Productions to Los Angeles. He tells the story of his last concert, booking Al Green, and being held at gunpoint. Then in 1979, he returned to work at the Israelite, which had a circulation of about 2000. The Jewish community was beginning to show signs of growth. He recalls running an ad in 1992 for High Holy Days services to be held at the Aladdin hotel. He used the word “Lubavitvh” in the ad and this sparked an interest in Las Vegas from the Chabad movement. He also recalls anti-Semitic episodes in Las Vegas, such as Ralph Englestad’s Hitler birthday parties and the presence of Skinheads. And he reflects on the changes in the community that he has observed over the decades.

Ike Lawrence Epstein’s office at the recently opened UFC headquarters is sunlit and handsomely decorated. A black and white photo taken by the famous British photographer David Bailey of the Kray brother adorns the wall. Lawrence, as everyone knows him, is the son of Kenny Epstein and Donna Goldstein. He was born, in 1966, and raised in Las Vegas. He attended Vanderbilt University (BA 1989, JD 1992) and then returned to live full time in Las Vegas with his law degree in hand. In addition to being COO of the UFC, he is active in the family business, the El Cortez Hotel and Casino. In this oral history, Lawrence recalls his grandparents, their careers in Las Vegas, and his youthful favorite holidays being Passover and Thanksgiving. He became a bar mitzvah in Israel, a tradition he continues with his own children with Michelle Epstein. Lawrence serves the community as a board member of Meadows School and on the Stadium Board. As an executive with UFC [Ultimate Fighting Championship], Lawrence observes the overall magnitude of sports in Las Vegas in 2017, how it came to this point with professional sports, and what he envisions as the future possibilities of the city as an international sports destination.

Born in 1939, Sharon Maurer-Schwartz’s life experiences have traversed a groundbreaking era: she’s a female, Jewish and a married to a Protestant lesbian. This oral history reveals what it has been like for her as she explored her Judaism and recognized her personal identity. Her Judaic foundation began in the Reconstructionist movement in Indianapolis, Indiana. She has never wavered from her religious identity, though she has belonged to various types of synagogues. She and Ande (Edna) Rice, who also participates in this interview, were legally married in California in 2008, but have been together since the 1980s. They raised Sharon’s daughter Julie, pursued careers and moved to Las Vegas in 1999. Ande is a Protestant and the topic of blended religious couples is discussed. Sharon is devoted to her life coaching business – Growth Unlimited – and to helping others.

When Melanie Greenberg was a young girl in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, she thinks it is likely that she crossed paths with her future husband at Hebrew School. However, it would be years later in college when they officially met – and fell in love and married in 1970. By 1976, Missouri was in the rearview mirror and career opportunities for her husband Gene Greenberg would lead them to Las Vegas. With their 18-month-old daughter Sari, they drove into Las Vegas for the first time, down Boulder Highway to Flamingo Road. Gene’s employer had arranged for a room at the Flamingo Hotel. As she explains, there many have been a better route, but it brought them to town and they stayed, raised their family, and became fixtures in the community since that moment. Among their first goals was finding a synagogue. Melanie’s magical touch has been felt in many places within the Las Vegas Jewish community: an active member of Temple Beth Sholom, the Jewish Federation’s Young Leadership and Women’s programs, organizer of Hebrew High, coordinator of L’Dor V’Dor activities for seniors, and Executive Director of Hillel from 1996 – 2003.

Jane Greenspun Gale-actor, activist, writer, magazine publisher, philanthropist, and farmer- has filled her life with accomplishments such as the Animal Foundation and Springs Preserve. It has also been a life filled with adventure - from “looking for John Lennon” during her time living and studying acting in London to learning to raise chickens on the acres of the Gilcrease Farm she owns with husband and photographer Jeff Gale. Everyone calls her Janie. Born Jane in 1949, she is the third of four children born to community leaders Barbara and Hank Greenspun. In this oral history, Janie captures the fun of growing up in Las Vegas under the watching eye of Hank. As a teen she and her friends cruised Fremont Street. Several years later she wanted to be arrested protesting the Atomic Test Site, when Hank diverted her into reporting about the event instead. Her Jewish foundation was at Temple Beth Sholom, where her parents were among the founding members. As the Jewish population grew, the tastes in synagogues grew to reflect the change. When Janie’s children preferred the Reform approach at Congregation Ner Tamid, a new family tradition began. She is proud of her background and shares loving stories of time spent with her grandparents as a child and pride in the heroic and dramatic story behind the naming of Hank Greenspun Plaza in Israel. Even her love story with Jeff is a tale made for movies. It unfolds in this engaging oral history interview along with anecdotes that are plucked from her personal history and preserve a reflection of growing up in Las Vegas, one of the Greenspun family of local fame.

Yvonne Fried, M.D., and Joan “Joni” Fried are the daughters of Milton and Esther Fried, the founders of Freed’s Bakery—the standard to which all other Las Vegas bakeries are held. When the Fried family moved to Las Vegas in 1955, Joni was born here, the fifth child, of the entrepreneurial Milton, a musician by night, and his industrious wife Esther, who guided the family business. As Esther’s 2006 obituary reads: in 1959 the couple opened “a snack bar, selling donuts and Danish, at the Panorama Market on West Charleston, while Milt played in the show band at the Sahara Hotel in the evenings.” For Yvonne and Joni, this made for a rather busy and interesting household to grow up in. Their Jewish upbringing was at Temple Beth Sholom. Photo above honors the multi-generations of the Freed’s Bakery tradition: (L-R) Joni Fried, Anthony & Sarah Fusco (Joni’s daughter) Max Jacobson Fried (Yvonne’s son) holding his son Lucas, and (far right) is his wife Emilia.