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Transcript of interview with Mark Fine by Barbara Tabach, November 18 and December 2, 2014
Interview with Mark Fine in two sessions, November 18 and December 2, 2014. In the first session, Fine begins by talking about his sons and their business interests, then discusses his own childhood growing up in Cleveland. Fine moved to Arizona as a teenager and attended the University of Arizona for college. After college, he moved to New York city, and describes his employment at Chemical Bank, and then at the investment firm Loeb, Rhoades. He was married and started a family in New York City, then moved to Las Vegas to assist in his in-laws' (the Greenspuns) business ventures, which included real estate development and Sun Outdoor Advertising. Fine talks about Las Vegas in the 1970s and building Green Valley and Summerlin, the "social engineering" aspects of developing a community and the importance of building incrementally. In Part II of the interview, Fine discusses his family history and raising his children in Las Vegas. He talks about the growth of the Jewish community and ph
Mark Fine was born in 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio, and was raised with a strong Jewish identity. When Mark was in fourth grade, his parents moved the family to Shaker Heights, and again moved to Arizona during his senior of high school. Upon graduation, Mark enrolled at the University of Arizona and became a member of the ZBT fraternity; determined to graduate in four years, he finished in 1964 with a degree in business administration with an emphasis in real estate. Though never having been, Mark took his degree to New York City and established a career on Wall Street, first working for Chemical Bank. In 1969, Mark married Susan Greenspun, and soon after, the couple had their first child. By this time, Mark had taken a new position with Loeb, Rhoades and Company, and worked there for nearly five years in their corporate finance department. In 1973, Mark moved to Las Vegas to assist his father-in-law, Hank Greenpun, with his nonnewspaper business operations, largely under the auspices of American Nevada Corporation. Mark soon capitalized on this passion for real estate and community development, leading several integrated real estate projects to create the Green Valley area, the city's first large-scale master-planned community. Mark went on to launch a similar project in Summerlin, and at one point, he was leading the development of the country's two fastest selling planned communities (Green Valley and Summerlin). Ultimately, Mark became one of state's prominent real estate developers, and continues to lead significant projects positively impacting the city's growth and appeal. His fundamental goal has always been to create a sense of place, to develop thriving communities with generational stamina. His success in this endeavor is recognized, in part, with the naming of Mark L. Fine Elementary School. Over the years, Mark has also been an important member of the Jewish community, among the "second generation of pioneers," coming after those heavily involved with the hotels during the 1950s and 1960s. He served on the Temple Beth Sholom board of directors, and initiated events to bring older and younger generations of the Jewish community together in meaningful ways. Mark has five children?Alyson Marmur, Katie Erhman, Jeffrey Fine and Jonathan Fine and Nicole Ruvo Falcone?and is married to Gloria Fine.
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Transcript of roundtable interview with members of Temple Beth Sholom by Barbara Tabach, January 14, 2015
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.
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Transcript of interview with Henry Kronberg by Barbara Tabach, February 26, 2015 and April 13, 2015
Interview with Henry Kronberg by Barbara Tabach in two sessions, February 26 and April 13, 2015. In the first session Kronberg talks about his childhood in Germany and Poland and his experience being imprisoned by the Gestapo, and transported to a concentration camp. He survived the Holocaust and met his wife, and they moved to the United States in 1946. He discusses being reunited with his sister in Las Vegas after decades of searching, and moved his family to Las Vegas in 1962. Kronberg talks about becoming involved with Jewish life here, and his wife, Lillian's involvement at Temple Beth Sholom. In the second session, Kronberg discusses purchasing Stoney's, a loan and pawn shop, including some of the clientele and merchandise. He also discusses other social and environmental concerns like anti-Semitism and water resources in Southern Nevada.
Henry Kronberg was born in 1920 and spent his early childhood in a town on the border of Poland and Germany, about 40 miles from Krakow. For years he felt uncomfortable telling his story of surviving the Nazi concentration camps of World War II. Today his name is linked to the Sperling Kronberg Mack Holocaust Resource Center in Las Vegas. And in his soft-spoken manner, Henry recalls his ordeal of loss of family and survival during this most heinous of situations through backbreaking labor and ingenuity. At the end of the war, Henry met the love of his life, Lillian, also a survivor. The two married in 1946 in Frankfurt and immigrated to New Jersey where she had relatives. He describes their difficulties and the various jobs he held until becoming an excellent baker. Then in 1962 an interesting choice took him to a bar mitzvah in Canada. While there the dinner conversation lead him to a great discovery?his sister Lala had survived and was living in Las Vegas. Soon he moved his wife and daughter to Las Vegas. His first foray into business was with his brother-in-law. However, soon it was important to be independent and to control his own destiny. He purchased a going concern, Stoney's Pawn Shop, from Dr. Alexander Coblentz, one of the city's first doctors. He became the fourth owner of Stoney's and operated it until selling it to Steven Mack in 1998. Henry and his wife were active in the Jewish community. They joined Temple Beth Sholom and became fast friends with many of the early leaders of Las Vegas and became a respected member of the secular and Jewish communities.
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Newsletter from Congregation Ner Tamid, March 2015
Newsletter from Congregation Ner Tamid, March 2015
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Transcript of bus tour of "Jewish Las Vegas" by Temple Beth Sholom, May 17, 2015
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.
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Transcript of interview with Marshall Mack Dawson by Robert Maichle, November 1, 1979
On November 1, 1979, Robert Maichle interviewed Marshall Mack Dawson (born 1938 in Las Vegas, Nevada) about his experiences living in Las Vegas. Dawson first talks about his early education, his family, and the Old Las Vegas Mormon Fort. He then describes the changes he has noticed over time, the atomic testing, the Helldorado parades, Red Rock, the development of the Strip, and the changes in the Downtown area. Dawson also discusses some of his work for Nevada Power, the early movie theaters, his opinions on journalism, and various other topics.
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Transcript of interview with Oscar Goodman by Claytee D. White November 10, 2014
Oscar Baylin Goodman (1939- ) is the former mayor of the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, serving 12 years until 2011, when he swore in his wife of over 50 years, Carolyn Goodman. Oscar Goodman is the official ambassador of Las Vegas, and the chairman of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) Host Committee. He is also known as one of the best criminal defense attorneys in the United States, and spent 35 years defending alleged Mob figures such as Meyer Lansky, Frank Rosenthal, and Anthony Spilotro. Goodman is the primary visionary and a member of the board of directors of The Mob Museum in downtown Las Vegas, which opened in 2012. Goodman was born June 26, 1939 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He earned his undergraduate degree from Haverford College in 1961 and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1964. That same year he moved to Las Vegas and in 1965 he was admitted to the Nevada State Bar. He served as Clark County?s chief deputy public defender from 1966 to 1967. Goodman was elected as mayor of Las Vegas for the first time in 1999. During his three terms (the legal limit), he contributed to the economic and cultural development of the downtown area by supporting projects such as the arts district and Union Park, a high-rise residential and business project he helped to secure 61 acres of land for. He helped to begin what he called the ?Manhattanization? of downtown, which included the construction of taller buildings for better use of the area?s prime real estate. In this interview, Goodman discusses the role of Judaism in his life, from childhood to adulthood to parenting his own four children. He touches on his involvement with Temple Beth Sholom, including serving as its president, as well as in local development projects like the Lou Ruvo Cleveland Clinic Brain Health Center, Smith Center for the Performing Arts, and Mob Museum. In addition, Goodman discusses the impact of Jewish residents on the city and its development, and mentions leaders in the gaming industry, legal profession and in politics.
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Transcript of interview with Todd S. Polikoff by Barbara Tabach, August 30, 2016
In 2015, Todd S. Polikoff was named the President & Chief Executive Officer of the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas. (The organization is now known as Jewish Nevada). Todd is a graduate of Stockton University and earned his MBA at Cleveland State University. He has three children: Samuel, Shira and Jordan. Born in 1971 to a steelworker and hairdresser, Jack and Judy Polikoff, Todd grew up in Philadelphia, became a bar mitzvah there, and shocked his mother when he explained he was putting college on hold to move to Israel. In addition to stories about these life memories, Todd also traces his career path to decision-making to a meaningful trip to Moscow a where a defining moment helped him understand his own relationship with Judaism. To the time of this interview, Todd has invested over twenty years in leadership of Jewish Federation and AIPAC in states that include New Jersey, Delaware, Texas, Ohio and Nevada.
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Transcript of interview with Charlene Herst by Barbara Tabach, September 09, 2016
In 2014, Charlene, n?e Friedkin, Herst retired from her state government career, settled into volunteer work, being a mother and grandmother, and being a grant writer for others. After thirteen years in Carson City, she came back home to Las Vegas. Charlene was eight years old when her parents, Patricia and Richard Friedkin, moved their family to Las Vegas from northern California. She remembers vividly the hot day that they arrived and moved into a rental house in the desert across from Woodlawn Cemetery. Her father, formerly in the grocery business, found work at Vegas Village. Two years later they moved ?into Las Vegas at the very edge?which was Oakey.? She recalls people she has known since those first years who have been instrumental in the growth of Las Vegas; the challenges of being a divorced single mother of four; and the career path that began with an invitation from Gene Greenberg to apply for a part time position at Channel 3, where he was sales manager. At Channel 3 she quickly went from part time to full-time. She started the Community Projects Board, which brought together nonprofit organizations together at the studio in the 1980s to identify and develop marketing campaigns that addressed social issues in the community. Initiatives included Baby Your Baby and Smoking Stinks. While working for Channel 3, she also attended UNLV and received a communications degree in 1995. In 1997 she worked at Sierra Health Services in public relations. Then in October 2001, Charlene started her career in state government as the Nevada State Health Division?s Manager of the Tobacco Program. Over the course of her thirteen year career with the state, she was promoted to positions that continued her dedication to improving the quality of life of all Nevadans. She was instrumental in the implementation of the Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act (2006); improving prevention services to women; reducing the rate of substance use and abuse in the state. The date of her retirement, October 10, 2014, was officially proclaimed in honor of Charlene Herst by Governor Brian Sandoval.
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Transcript of interview with Agnes Gauger by Coleen Mancini, February 24, 1977
On February 24, 1977, Coleen Mancini interviewed the claims manager for the Culinary Workers and Bartenders Insurance Fund, Agnes Gauger (born Coleen Evans on November 21, 1926 in Arkansas) in her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mrs. Gauger’s daughter, Traci Sturdivant was also present during the interview. This interview covers significant changes and growth in Southern Nevada, including gambling and other industries, family life and recreation, and early atomic tests. Mrs. Gauger also discusses housing in the Las Vegas, Howard Hughes, McCarran Airport, medical facilities and education in Southern Nevada.
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