Laura Sussman was born March 26, 1956 in Cleveland, Ohio where there was a robust Jewish community. She moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1997. The Jewish Community Center (JCC) hired her as its first executive director. She was a director for eight years, then executive director at Temple Beth Sholom. Sussman met her wife, Wendy Kraft, through their work with the JCC and love followed. Several years later, in 2009, so did their new business, Kraft-Sussman Funeral and Cremation services.
Person
Oral history interview with Elaine Galatz conducted by Barbara Tabach on April 22, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Galatz discusses her work as a past Jewish Federation president, her marriage to renowned attorney Neil Galatz, and her career as an accomplished horsewoman.
Archival Collection
Albert "Al" Goot was president of Temple Beth Sholom in Las Vegas, Nevada from 1955 to 1956. He helped build the first synagogue in Las Vegas in 1946: the Jewish Community Center at 13th Street and Carson Avenue. Goot owned several local businesses including Hollywood Furniture on South Main Street (during the 1960s) and two markets in downtown Las Vegas. His brother was Max Goot, another Las Vegas business owner.
Person
Oral history interview with Jay Poster conducted by Barbara Tabach on August 26, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Poster describes his growth through his career in funeral services and his respect for the Jewish traditions of burial and grieving. He also talks about his participation in the ShabbaTones Band at Congregation Ner Tamid, and Desert Winds, a community based performance organization.
Archival Collection
The Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project Community Collection is comprised of organizational records, photographs, event programs, and ephemera donated by members of the Southern Nevada Jewish community as part of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas University Libraries’ Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Materials document the history of the Jewish community and Southern Nevada from 1941 to 2017. The collection provides information about family life, religious rituals, community events, and local businesses and organizations.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Arlene Blut conducted by Barbara Tabach on May 28, 2015 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Blut discusses her involvement in local and national arts, being an actor and promoter/director of theater events, and recalls her experiences in Las Vegas, Nevada’s Jewish community.
Archival Collection
Oral history interview with Lynn Rosencrantz conducted by Barbara Tabach on January 07, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. Rosencrantz discusses her various job changes including: jeweler designer and multi-media artist; teacher of deaf children; buyer at her family’s business, Garrett's furniture store. She also talks about being a longtime member of the Las Vegas, Nevada Jewish community.
Archival Collection
An invitation to Temple Beth Sholom's 40th anniversary celebration at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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