Oral history interview with Karin Sporn conducted by Claytee D. White on May 25, 2023 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Karin Sporn grew up in Germany when her father was a member of Hitler's army. As a young woman, she converted to Judaism, and she shares how it was a difficult path. Much of her study and sacred rituals were done in Israel, and she shares that many signs along the way gave her encouragement, and she learned from others around her in Israel who shared their stories with Sporn. Eventually, her travel business brought her to Las Vegas, Nevada. After selling her and her husband's business, Sporn discusses how she was then free to volunteer for Jewish and civic organizations, and the leisure to sculp and to write her memoir, Just Peek Over the Fence.
Leonard Gang (1935 - ) and Roberta Gang (1940 - ) are both natives of New York, though different boroughs and Jewish traditions. The couple met in 1960 while students at Cornell University and married in 1961. Two years later, Len graduated from New York University School of Law. Leonard had fallen in love with Western United States as boy on a family vacation. So when a notice was posted for a law clerk with the Supreme Court of Nevada, he knew he wanted to apply. When he presented Bobbie with a choice of Alaska or Nevada, she flatly responded that Nevada was as far west as she was willing to move. Thus, began their long and influential residencies in both Carson City and Las Vegas. In Las Vegas, Temple Beth Sholom was quickly a welcoming place to be for the Gang family. While Leonard?s law career flourished, Bobbie realized her energy and commitment to become an advocate for the benefit of the vulnerable. Over the years, she actively participated in the political campaigns of others and even entered the political arena herself, which she discusses in this oral history. During Leonard?s successful legal career, he held positions as Deputy District Attorney and Deputy Public Defender in Clark County and was in private practice. From 1971 ? 1974, he was District Court Judge in Clark County before returning fulltime to private practice. By 1988, Bobbie and Leonard had become forceful lobbyists including representing Nevada Women?s Lobby among others. In 2012, Bobbie received the Virginia Cain Progressive Award from the Washoe County Democratic Party for her leadership and dedication to the rights of others. In this oral history, the Gangs highlight their tireless efforts, the long list of political and civic leaders that they worked alongside of, some of Leonard?s high profile cases, and their Jewish heritage. They are parents of three: Lynne Moore, Karen Schnog, and Joshua Gang.
Oral history interview with Mindy Unger-Wadkins conducted by Barbara Tabach on October 28, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Unger-Wadkins discusses her childhood in Las Vegas, Nevada, working in Yucca Mountain, Nevada Power, land development with her brothers, and her leadership in the Jewish community.
Oral history interview with Gene Greenberg conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 12, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Gene Greenberg discusses moving to Las Vegas, Nevada, working in television ad sales, and becoming executive vice president and general manager of KVBC-TV. He also talks about his ties to the Jewish community, his parents being holocaust survivors, and about his family life.
Newspaper clippings and business collateral for Kraft-Sussman Funeral Home. Kraft-Sussman is the only Jewish-owned and operated funeral home in southern Nevada.
Part of an interview with Lynn Leshgold Rosencrantz on January 7, 2016. In this clip, Rosencrantz discusses relocating to Las Vegas and teaching education.
Oral history interview with Valerie Wiener conducted by Barbara Tabach on January 20, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Wiener discusses her childhood and being raised in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1950s as well as the academic path that led her career into politics. Throughout Wiener’s interview, she highlights the traditions of the small, but growing Las Vegas Jewish population in the 1960s. Wiener also discusses her community service work and her life mantra of giving.
Oral history interview with Shelley Berkley conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 13, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Berkley shares her family history, from her great-grandparents’ immigration to the United States to her immediate family’s migration from New York to Las Vegas, Nevada. 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.
Oral history interview with Lori Chenin Frankl conducted by Barbara Tabach on June 07, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Frankl talks about Judaism, her love of teaching children and her devotion to family and music. She talks about growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada and becoming a bat mitzvah.