Dedee (DaVeen) Nave was born November 09, 1948 in Indianapolis, Indiana to David and Virginia Maurer and has a sister, Marilyn Maurer MacCollum. Their mother was a convert to Judaism who instilled them with a solid Judeo-Christian foundation. When Nave became the bride of a mixed marriage, she raised her daughter, Alisa, in the Jewish faith.
Josephine Gail Johnson was born in Goldfield, Nevada in 1912. Her stepfather, Sam Manor, was a section foreman for the Tonopah and Goldfield Railroad. Because of his position, the family moved to a company house in the town of Millers after the birth of Josephine's younger brother Sam, Jr. in 1920. Josephine and her family evenutually moved to Tonopah. Josephine later married George Byron Foster, and they had two children: Marjorie and Patricia. Josephine Foster passed away March 24, 2003.
Louis Wiener, Sr. ( -1946) was a tailor and prominent community member in Las Vegas, Nevada during the 1930s and 1940s. He moved to Las Vegas from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1931 and established a tailor shop on Fremont Street. Wiener died of a heart attack in 1946. His son was prominent attorney Louis Wiener, Jr.
Wiener, Jr., Louis. Interview, 1990 February 23. Transcript. OH-01974. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
Wendy Starkweather was born July 1, 1949 and was raised in rural Ogdensburg, New York. She attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York and became a teacher and librarian in New Hampshire. She married her husband, Peter, on August 26, 1972 in Schenectady, New York and the couple moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1978.
In this roundtable discussion video, members of Temple Beth Sholom discuss the history of the long-established congregation. Interviewees are Sandy Mallin, Oscar Goodman, Jared Shafer, Joel Goot, Arne Rosencrantz, Jerry Blut, Jackie Boiman, Gene Greenberg, and Flora Mason, with Shelley Berkley joining in later in the interview. Most of the interviewees have been involved in the leadership of the congregation. They discuss relationships with various rabbis over the years, and successful fundraising efforts to build the original synagogue. Other early leaders in the congregation were Edythe Katz-Yarchever, the Goot family, Stuart Mason, Herb Kaufman and Leo Wilner. Until the 1980s, Temple Beth Sholom was the only synagogue in Las Vegas, but after a dispute over the burial of a non-Jew, a new synagogue formed (Shareii Tefilla), and at nearly the same time, Temple Beth Sholom began investigating a move from their site on Oakey Boulevard. Most have nostalgia for the former location, but discuss the changes in the neighborhood that necessitated the move to Summerlin. Then they discuss the other initiatives that were borne out of Temple Beth Sholom, such as bond drives for Israel, B'nai B'rith, and the Kolod Center. They share other memories, and discuss the leadership and Sandy Mallin becoming the first female president of the temple. They credit Mallin with keeping the temple going through lean years, and helping to recruit Rabbi Felipe Goodman. The group goes on to mention other influential members of the Jewish community including Jack Entratter and Lloyd Katz, who helped integrate Las Vegas.
Interview with James A. Gay III conducted by Joyce M. Wright in 1973. Edited by Elizabeth Nelson Patrick, and transcribed for the project "Black Experience in Southern Nevada, Donated Tapes Collection," James R. Dickinson Library, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, December 1978. Arriving in 1946 from Fordyce, Arkansas, Gay became the first African-American mortician in Las Vegas. He later worked as Assistant Manager of the Sands Hotel and Casino and Union Plaza while serving as an executive board member of the Culinary Union. Instrumental in the Las Vegas community, Gay worked to improved race relations, addressing social, economic, and civic issues. Gay was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 1988.