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On March 2, 1972, collector R. A. Grau interviewed former Justice of the Peace, Alma Athella Huffman (born May 2nd, 1909 in Bunkerville, Nevada) in her daughter’s home in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview covers the history of Southern Nevada. Alma also offers an in-depth description of early life in Bunkerville, Nevada.

Flora Mason (1940- ) is a Las Vegas, Nevada philanthropist and community leader. She was born Florica Esformes to a Sephardic Jewish parents who emigrated from Greece to New York. This Mediterranean influence can be seen in the meals she serves for the Jewish holidays. Flora?s grandfather had a pushcart business in New York and her father became a produce broker, which led the family to Miami, Florida. She graduated from high school in Miami and also met Stuart Mason there. The young couple married in 1958. They had been married for 58 years when Stuart passed away in 2012. In this oral history, Flora recalls her life?from witnessing signage that read: no blacks, no dogs, no Jews in the South to meeting her husband while a teenager to raising her three children in Las Vegas. Along the way, she has always found time to form fast friendships and to inspire productive community organizations. v For example, Flora and Stuart founded the Las Vegas Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation in 1970. It was a disease that their daughter Deborah had suffered from. They also established the Mason Undergraduate Peer Coach Program at University of Nevada, Las Vegas Libraries in 2006. Flora was the first woman elected by the general membership to serve on the Temple Beth Sholom Board of Directors. She has served on the National Board of Directors of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, been involved with the Jewish Federation of Las Vegas, the Anti-Defamation League among many other Jewish and non-Jewish community organizations. Flora?s college education began at the University of Miami and focused on completing both her undergraduate and graduate degrees at UNLV, where she majored in English literature. She then became a lecturer in the UNLV English department from 1985 to 1993. Flora and Stuart Mason had three children: sons William and James who joined the family?s successful three-generation commercial construction business Taylor International, and daughter Deborah. In this oral history, Flora shares the joy of being a grandparent, her love of travel, and the opportunities of meeting Israeli dignitaries over the years. She also candidly reflects on dealing with grief and the Jewish rituals surrounding death.

On March 2, 1980, Steven E. Pilgram interviewed river runner, Georgie Clark (born on November 13, 1910 in Chicago, Illinois) at Sambo’s Coffee Shop in Las Vegas, Nevada. This interview is an in-depth discussion about the Colorado River area, including changes, and new rules and regulations. Georgie also recalls working as a real estate agent and as a ferry command, civil servant in World War II.

On February 10, 1979, collector Tom Mattingly interviewed his neighbor, professional engineer geologist and registered surveyor, Ernest Henry Clary (born May 21st, 1906 in Lincoln, Nebraska) in the collector’s home in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview covers Mr. Clary’s personal and professional life and the history of Nevada, including, the early above-ground atomic tests, presidential visits and the crash of Carole Lombard’s plane. All persons present during the interview, include: Tom Mattingly, Ernest Clary, Mary Mattingly, and Matt Mattingly.

During the 1950s, Dr. Jacob Paz grew up in an agricultural environment in Israel where he attended a very famous high school in Israel called Kadoorie where Yitzhak Rabin was a student. After his graduation, Jacob joined the Israeli army building his skills so that he could get into technical school after he fulfilled his army service. For two years he attended technical school and then started working for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission in Dimona, Israel making atomic bombs in the 1960’s. After working in Dimona, Jacob was accepted into UC Davis and moved to the United States to study veterinary medicine. After one semester, he realized that he preferred history and left California for New York City, There he earned degrees in Jewish history and chemistry from the Jewish Theological Seminary. He quickly moved onto graduate school and earned his master’s degree in marine science and environment from CW Post, Long Island University in Greenvale, New York. In 1972, he returned to I