Oral history interview with Gilbert and Edythe Katz Yarchever conducted on February 13, 2006 by Michael Geeser for the I Remember When: Recollections from Jewish Las Vegas Leaders Oral History Project sponsored by the Congregation Ner Tamid and the Las Vegas, Nevada Centennial Committee. In this interview, the Yarchevers talk about their roles in World War II and their involvement in the early history of Jewish temples in Las Vegas, Nevada. Edythe discusses her first husband's work on desegregation and her efforts in Holocaust education.
Sherrill and Samuel Coleman moved to Las Vegas during the 1990s after both enjoying a full life and numerous careers in other parts of the United States. They met each other through church in 1998 and married each other in April 1999. Now retired, both Samuel and Sherrill remain active in their church community. Samuel Coleman was born in Durant, Mississippi in 1928 to a sharecropping family. His father died when he was 13 months old, leaving his mother to raise seven children by herself. Over time, his family slowly migrated to Chicago and he joined them when he was 15. For eight months, Samuel worked a number of different jobs until he began to work for Burlington Railroad as a four cook. The United States Army drafted him in 1951 and sent him overseas to work in a motor pool for a military hospital in Korea, despite his status as a conscientious objector. At war’s end, he returned to work for Burlington. During his last 17 years with the railroad, Samuel successfully petitioned to join the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the union for railroad cooks, porters, and waiters, to improve the working and sleeping conditions at Burlington Railroad. He retired from the railroads in the 1970s and chose to pursue other careers. Until his official retirement in 1993, Samuel worked in real estate, as the owner of a liquor store, a firefighter, a restaurant inspector, and a deacon for his church. His daughter from his first wife moved to Vegas to pursue a career as a teacher and after a number of visits, Samuel decided to follow her in 1999. Sherrill Coleman was born in Newton, Kansas in 1941. Like many other African American women in her community, she worked as a housekeeper for a number of years. She and her first husband moved to Los Angeles County in 1964 where she took a temporary job in the elections department of the local government. In 1967, Sherrill became a file clerk for Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Social Services. By the time she left the department, she was middle management in the auditing department. She moved to Vegas in 1993.
Personal history of Las Vegas through the eyes of a public servant. Growing up in Las Vegas during the 1940s. Education history and childhood memories. Downtown. Experiences in the US Air Force: flying B-47s loaded with nuclear bombs; training. NV Test Site. Family jewelry business in Las Vegas. Election to the board of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce. Election to the Las Vegas City Council and the beginning of a career in politics. Jam auction. Tussle with the Clark County Commission over wastewater in the valley: details of the dispute, extended to the state and Environmental Protection Agency. Move to the County Commission and why? The Mob during the 1950s and 60s. The Mormon community in Las Vegas. Howard Hughes. Experiences sitting on the County Commission. Chairman of the Convention Authority. Remarks on Las Vegas' future water supply. Election defeat. Corruption on the County Commission (Erin Kenny). Distinguished Nevadan award. County Hospital. Quick Care Centers. Opinion on the growth of Las Vegas. Speedway Children's Charities. Dina Titus. Experiences with African Americans. Lucy Stewart. Beaver, NV.
Oral history interview with Carole Fisher conducted by Barbara Tabach on December 14, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Fisher discusses her family background and moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1979. Fisher talks about Nathan Adelson Hospice, programs that they provide for the Las Vegas senior community, and the increase of hospices in Las Vegas. She describes how Nathan Adelson Hospice is able to provide care for uninsured people, fundraising events they organize, and how their hospice differs from traditional hospital care. Lastly, Fisher discusses the significance of death in the Jewish religion.
Oral history interview with Rabbi Malcolm Cohen conducted by Barbara Tabach on December 15, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Cohen talks about the Las Vegas, Nevada Jewish community and the growth of Temple Sinai, which is a merger of sorts between two smaller congregations: Adat Ariel and Temple Beth Am.
In this roundtable discussion, 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, then 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.