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."

Ivory H. Blue II was born and raised Las Vegas, specifically in the Westside neighborhood projects during the 1980s and 1990s. He describes his early childhood and what he remembers as a strong sense of community. Though grade school had its challenges, Ivory excelled in sciences and came under the watchful mentoring of Dr. Eugene McGaugh, a professor at UNLV. Ivory graduated with a master’s degree and has a long career already with NV Energy. Theresa Harris, Ivory’s mother, was from Hawthorne, Nevada and his father, Ivory Blue I, was originally from Edwards, Mississippi.

Oral history interview with Laurents Bañuelos-Benitez conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez and Barbara Tabach on June 16, 2021 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. Laurents is a Las Vegas native, graduate of Clark High School, and son of Mexican and Salvadoran immigrants. He is currently an English teacher at Rancho High School and was a former student worker on the Latinx Voices project.

In this interview, the Straus? discuss the joys of growing up in Las Vegas during the 1960s and 1970s, and the changes within the community over time, especially in educational opportunities. Both talk about Joyce Straus? career as artist and art educator, and the influence she had on their lives. They also remember Heidi?s father, Jay Sarno, and the impact he had on the local gaming industry. There is also discussion of the founding of Congregation Ner Tamid, the role of Jewish women?s philanthropy within the community, as well as the establishment of The Meadows School.

Lori provides a wonderful narrative of her Judaism, her love of teaching children and her devotion to family and music. She talks about growing up in Las Vegas and becoming a bat mitzvah, a rarity for girls in 1973. Throughout her life, including the period where she moved around with her Air Force husband, she sought Jewish connections to help her feel at home no matter where she was.

It is evident that a keen wit and persistent tenaciousness to protect victims of crime have earned Judge Abbi Silver the reputation that elevated her to her current position as Chief Judge of the Nevada Court of Appeals. She is the first female to hold this position. Judge Silver is a lifelong resident of southern Nevada. She was raised in Boulder City, where her family was the only Jewish family at the time. Her father was a doctor and eventually the family moved into Las Vegas, where she graduated from Clark High School and then University of Nevada, Las Vegas (1986). Always an overachiever, she worked multiple jobs?waitress, Utah Jazz cheerleader, dancer?while earning her undergraduate degree and then her law degree from Southwestern University of Law, in Los Angles (1989). In this oral history, Judge Silver recalls being a law clerk for Honorable Earle White, Jr., joining the Clark County District Attorney?s Office and being assigned as the Chief Deputy DA for the Special Victims