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From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Drafts for the Las Vegas Sentinel Voice file. On Black individuals serving in the U.S. military historically and now.
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From the Roosevelt Fitzgerald Professional Papers (MS-01082) -- Drafts for the Las Vegas Sentinel Voice file. On the need for more Black history courses.
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Part of an interview with Arthur "Art" Lurie on April 25, 1986. In this clip, Lurie discusses his family, childhood, and moving to Nevada.
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Oral history interview with Sarah Ortiz conducted by Rodrigo Vazquez on December 20, 2019 for the Latinx Voices of Southern Nevada Oral History Project. In this interview, Ortiz discusses being born and raised in Austin, Texas and spending the majority of her life there before attending the Columbia Publishing Course in Manhattan, New York. Ortiz describes her family's many moves throughout the city of Austin and the changes that have since happened in the city. Ortiz recounts her trajectory in the publishing industry, which led her from Manhattan back to Austin, and eventually to Las Vegas, Nevada. Ortiz is currently the program and festival director for The Believer magazine and the Black Mountain Institute. She writes about what she and her colleagues hope to achieve with the magazine and annual festival, and about the changes that she hopes to see for Las Vegas' publishing and literacy industry.
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Interview with Deanne Alterwitz-Stralser with contributions from her son Daryl Alterwitz on November 1, 2014. In this interview Deanne talks about her Jewish upbringing near the Illinois-Indiana state line, meeting her first husband Oscar, with whom she had four children, and the difficulties with keeping kosher. The family moved to Las Vegas from Gary, Indiana for opportunities in the furniture business. Daryl weighs in on his father's personality, business decisions, and their move to Las Vegas. They discuss the location of the store the Alterwitz's bought (Walker Furniture) and purchasing the building from Jackie Gaughan, and the different tastes in furniture in Las Vegas. Then they talk about the Jewish community and the division between the east and west sides.
On New Year's Day, 1931, Deanne Alterwitz-Stralser was born Deanne Friedman in Hammond, Indiana, the daughter of an insurance salesman and a stay-at-home mom. Deanne spent her childhood in Calumet City, just across the state line in Illinois, and was raised with a strong Jewish identity. At the age of sixteen, she met her first husband, Oscar Alterwitz, at an Alpha Zadik Alpha (AZA) dance in Gary, Indiana, and the two were married in 1950. Deanne and Oscar settled in Gary, where they had four children?Aimee, Larry, Daryl and Linda?and took over the Alterwitz family furniture business. Eventually, the couple grew the business to three successful retail furniture stores. However, a decline in the city's safety and opportunities forced the Alterwitz's to consider relocating, and in 1973, after a family vote, Deanne and Oscar moved their family to Las Vegas. Upon arrival, Deanne and Oscar bought Walker Furniture from original owners, George and Ruth Walker. Deanne used her artistic eye and training from the Art Institute of Chicago to lead the design and merchandising elements of the business. Socially, Deanne integrated into the local Jewish community, and ensured her children participated in Jewish life as well. Deanne and Oscar's children still remained involved in Walker Furniture operations, including Daryl, who serves as the company's general counsel; Larry, who is the company's president; and a daughter who now oversees the store's design and merchandising.
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