During the early 1970s, the boom of Las Vegas included many single people following family who had already settled there. Among those was Martin (Marty) Wilner. Marty?s parents were Leo and Mickey Wilner. Leo moved to Las Vegas to become the Executive Director at Temple Beth Sholom, the only synagogue in town. Marty, who was born and raised in California, had recently earned his doctorate in psychology at the University of Houston. He became a counselor at UNLV. Not long after, Marty met Linda at a Jewish Singles event. Linda was a divorced, mother of three children, who had moved from California to find comfort in living near her parents. Robert Wilner is one of her three children. He was adopted by Marty and works with his mother in the real estate business. In this interview, they recall together the Las Vegas of the 1970s. For Robert, he remembers his bar mitzvah, and growing up with Jewish friends under the careful eye of his grandparents. As an adult, he has enjoyed a successful career as a real estate agents working with his mother. For Linda, the success of real estate was being part of one of the most robust housing markets in the country. She and Robert recall an extensive list of visionaries who developed the valley, as well as the inherent challenges of water, unions and maintaining their high level of ethics.

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.

Oral history interviews with James Dean Leavitt conducted by Claytee D. White on September 27 and October 4, 2022 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Leavitt recalls his role in establishing a medical school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), now known as Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine. Leavitt was elected to the Board of Regents in 2004 while Jim Rogers was interim Chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), and he suggested the creation of an ad hoc committee Health Science Center Committee. In 2009, Leavitt became Chairman of the Board of Regents, Dan Klaich became Chancellor, and in the following year, Dr. Mark Doubrava joined the board. In May 2014, the planning dean was hired, Dr. Barbara Atkinson, and the UNLV School of Medicine was officially established on August 22, 2014.

Oral history interview with the Congregation Ner Tamid roundtable conducted by Barbara Tabach on September 21, 2016 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In this interview, Rabbi Sanford Akselrad and five members of the congregation discuss the founding of Congregation Ner Tamid, the first reform synagogue in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1974. They go into detail on how the synagogue was formed, the building-hopping they did until they built their current structure, and the funding it took to get to that point. The interviewees reveal a few donors, such as Morris Dalitz and Frank Sinatra, who helped to build their synagogue and school. The interview ends with meaningful stories and memories the members have relating to Congregation Ner Tamid.

Oral history interviews with Michael Green conducted by Barbara Tabach on February 26, 2018 and April 04, 2018 for the Southern Nevada Jewish Heritage Project. In the first interview, Green discusses his family background and growing up in Las Vegas, Nevada. He talks about his Jewish ancestry and the significance of religious communities in Las Vegas. In the second interview, Green discusses the growth of the Jewish community in Las Vegas, and the history of the Jewish heritage in Southern Nevada.

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

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