Daryl Alterwitz was born June 17, 1959 in Gary, Indiana to Oscar and Deanne Alterwitz. When he was thirteen years old, his family moved from Gary, Indiana to Las Vegas, Nevada and purchased Walker Furniture. Alterwitz graduated from Valley High School and attended the University of California Santa Cruz. He earned his law degree from Santa Clara University and a degree in taxation from New York University School of Law.
Stephen Kulifay interviews Patricia “Pat” Bryan (born in Alexandria, Minnesota on March 17, 1917) about her experiences living in Las Vegas. The two begin the interview by discussing her education at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Northwestern and her move to Las Vegas in 1947. Bryan also discusses her family’s involvement in the soda bottling business and eventual involvement in real estate. She goes on to describe a wide range of topics to include the first hotel properties, the entertainers at the time, the African American and Asian communities, the railroad, shopping, housing, brothels, banking, utilities, roadways, climate, and religion. The two also discuss the popularity of Las Vegas, with focus on tourists and gaming, the expansion and growth of the city, the cowboy attire worn in early days, the Helldorado parade, Nellis Air Force Base and government land, the beginning of University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and her thoughts on the future of Las Vegas.
On March 2, 1977, Sam Copeland interviewed Carol Forsythe about her experience living in Las Vegas, Nevada. Carol first describes the details with which she was familiar about her husband’s career as a firefighter, specifically facts about the growth of the Clark County Fire Department. Forsythe later talks about the development of the town when she first arrived in Las Vegas, and she later describes the different residences at which she and her family lived. She also describes the different changes in building and development over time in Las Vegas, and she mentions the early use of swamp coolers before air conditioning. The narration concludes with Forsythe’s description of the Helldorado tradition and its changes as well as her family’s Episcopalian faith and the churches they attended.
Temple Beth Sholom organized and led a bus tour of parts of Las Vegas that are significant in local Jewish history. Stops on the tour included Woodlawn Cemetery and the former Temple Beth Sholom campus on Oakey Boulevard. Narrator Arlene Blut gives the overview of the Jewish community, and Rabbi Felipe Goodman talks to tour participants at the cemetery. Former Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman speaks at the old synagogue along with Josh Abbey, whose mother created the stained glass windows at the temple.
Gilbert Shaw, better known as Gil, was raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Los Angeles, California, where he had his bar mitzvah. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the US Navy and became a combat correspondent. The next twenty-seven years was a military career in both the Navy and Coast Guard and included service in both Korea and Vietnam. His training as a journalist and photographer gave him a trained eye on the history around him. This gave him a keen eye on his experiences as a founding member of Las Vegas' first Reform Judaism synagogue, Congregation Ner Tamid.