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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.

Interview with Arthur "Art" Lurie by Cheryle Bacot on April 25, 1986. Lurie talks about his family and upbringing with Kenny Washington, who was the first African American to sign with the National Football League. Lurie discusses knowing everybody in Las Vegas in the 1950s, being in the service/retail sector and watching the city grow. He operated several businesses including grocery stores and the liquor department at Wonder World. He talks about his love of boxing, serving on the boxing commission, and advantages of living in southern Nevada.

Arthur C. Lurie lived in Las Vegas for 33 years at the time of this 1986 oral history. He and his wife Eleanor had relocated from Los Angeles area to help run his brother-in-law's food market. Over the years his career would include the grocery, bar (Art's Place) and restaurant businesses; including being co-owner of the liquor store at Wonder World. He shares memories of adjusting to the more laid back culture of small town Las Vegas and how he feels like a native after watching the city grow over the past decades. Art was a founding member of Temple Beth Sholom, where he served as an early vice-president. Being in the non-gaming sector provided gave him the opportunity to work with youth programs and he started the Golden Gloves gym in Las Vegas. He judged over 40 title fights and had a long career on the Nevada Boxing Commission. Arthur Lurie past away in 2014 at the age of 96.

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.

Interview with Harry Sax by Barbara Tabach on April 8, 2015. In this interview, Sax discusses his family history and upbringing in Chicago, and his military service in Munich. He returned to Chicago and became business partners with Michael Schulson, with whom he opened several Arby's outposts, and expanded to Las Vegas in 1968. He talks about life in Las Vegas in the 1970s and the competition in the fast food industry. He then talks about the reform congregation in Chicago and his connection to Judaism throughout his life. He describes himself as a "closet Jew" before becoming president at Congregation Ner Tamid in 2007. Sax discusses the programs at Ner Tamid for all ages, and his continued involvement in the community.

In 1939, Harry Sax was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son to first generation American Jews. He spent his childhood on Chicago's South, where his family belonged to a progressive Reform congregation. After graduating from Hyde Park High School, he continued his education at Indiana University. In college, Harry was a member of the ZBT Jewish fraternity, participated in a singing group, and was a cadet in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. Upon graduating from college, Harry was stationed in Munich, Germany as a second lieutenant in the Quartermasters Corps. In addition to his required military duties, he also participated in an after-hours acting group; through this group, he was hired as an extra and for small roles, including The Great Escape. When he finished his service, Harry returned to Chicago, where he connected with a high school friend, Mike Schulson. The two became partners and purchased Arby's franchises in Chicago and Las Vegas. Thus, in 1968, while his partner remained in Chicago, Harry moved to Las Vegas and opened two franchise locations in two weeks. Though it took a few years to stabilize the business and overcome competition, he opened a third location in 1972 on South Decatur, what was then the western edge of the city. Today, Harry has nineteen locations in Las Vegas, with additional franchises in Reno and Barstow, California, and employs nearly 300 people. After about twenty years as a "closet Jew" in the city, Harry reconnected with Judaism and joined Congregation Ner Tamid in the late 1990s. He served on its board, eventually becoming vice president and then president (2007-09). He also dedicated himself to have a bar mitzvah, following up on his Jewish education and confirmation as a teenager. Harry has also served on the Anti-Defamation League's board as well as an active member of the Chamber of Commerce.

Sharon Walker is a real estate investor, retired stockbroker and former loan officer. She was born on December 8, 1949 in Toledo, Ohio, and moved to Las Vegas with her family in 1963, where they started Walker Furniture, a store which they later sold to the Alterwitz family. Sharon's father, Julius Walker, was also in the casino business, becoming an owner of the El Cortez Hotel and Casino with Jackie Gaughan. Her mother, Anne Walker was a founding member of the first local Hadassah, The Women?s Zionist Organization. Sharon continues the family tradition of being active in Hadassah as well as being a Board Member of Jewish Family Service Agency. In November 2014 she was an honoree of Hadassah Leadership. In this interview, Sharon describes her adolescence in Las Vegas and the differences in culture as compared to her childhood in Toledo, Ohio. She also recalls the Walker Furniture business, her father?s careers, and her uncles Ed ?E? Walker and Lou ?Paddock? Walker.

Bernard ?Bernie? Kaufman and Barbara (Raben) Kaufman were married in 1961 in their childhood home of St. Louis, Missouri, at the ages of twenty-one and nineteen respectively. In 1968, they moved to Las Vegas, joining Bernie?s brother, Herb, in the growing city who had opened the first store. Bernie assisted in managing the family businesses four stores, until they were sold in 1982. At that time, he went into the car rental business; he sold that business in 2000 and then went into airport advertising. Barbara focused herself on raising their children, Carrie and Andrew, and once the children were in their teens, she went to work for her brother as a bookkeeper. In this interview, the Kaufman?s reflect upon their upbringing in St. Louis, where they met and married, and making the decision to move to Las Vegas. They discuss the experience of running the stores and the impact on business as the retail environment changed over the years. The Kaufmans also talk about their involvement with the Jewish community, including B?nai B?rith and Sisterhood, and how it?s grown over the years. They also discuss the impact of the Jewish community members in gaming as well as other sectors, and the increase of congregations over the decades.

Commencement program from University of Nevada, Las Vegas Commencement Programs and Graduation Lists (UA-00115).