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This interview was conducted by Lorraine Ferra. Simon Frank (b. 1905) tells about his family, his upbringing in the congregation B'nai Israel, his father's early jobs, meeting his wife, and his children. He also relates some of the differences he perceives between the culture today and the culture that existed while he was growing up. 29 pages.

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David Freedman (b. 1947) talks predominantly about his high education and rabbinical training. He also gives his impressions of the leadership, demography, stratification, and needs of the Jewish community since his arrival in Salt Lake in 1980. 52 pages.

Scope and Contents Two interviews were conducted by Leslie Kelen. In the first interview, Alberta Freshman (b. 1907) recalls her childhood in Salt Lake City and New York, and discusses becoming an elementary school teacher. In the second interview, she talks about her family background, the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Adolph Hitler. She also remembers various minority groups in Salt Lake City and speaks of the changes she has seen take place in education over the course of her 46 years as a...

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Jack Goodman (b. 1913) talks about growing up, his schooling, and his career in journalism. He recalls working for the New York Post and the New York City Radio Station during World War II, and coming to Salt Lake City, Utah, to work for KALL Radio after the war. He talks about politics in Utah, the civil rights and socialist movements, and his move from newspaper and radio to television. 71 pages.

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Abraham Guss (b. 1904) talks with Leslie Kelen about growing up in Russia, emigrating to Salt Lake City, his involvement with the local Jewish community, being a school teacher in Montefiore, serving as president of both Montefiore and B'nai Israel, and his time in the insurance business since 1924. 61 pages.

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Doris Guss (b. 1909) grew up in Idaho and Ogden, Utah. She talks about the Jewish community in Ogden and mentions the synagogue, BethShalom. She also speaks of her husband, Samuel, and his recent death of cancer. An interview with Samuel Guss a year before his death is contained in folder 7.

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This interview was conducted by Leslie Kelen. Doris Guss is present, and her comments are marked by the initials "DG." Samuel Guss (b. 1904) remembers growing up in Poland, the German occupation after World War I, and emigrating to the United States. He talks about Jordan Meat and Livestock Company, changing times, and troubles with unions. A member of congregation Montefiore, he briefly comments about the differences between that group and congregation B'nai Israel. 61 pages

Scope and Contents Mrs. Hertz is present for this interview. Her comments are included in the transcript. Eugene Hertz (b. 1910) recalls his childhood in Germany and working as a traveling salesman there. Both Hertz and his wife talk about anti-Semitism in Germany before 1933 and conditions after Hitler came to power. Mrs. Hertz recalls the pogroms in Germany just prior to World War II, particularly "Krystalnacht," which took place on 8 November 1938. Eugene Hertz talks about translating German letters and...

Scope and Contents When first interviewed by Leslie Kelen in 1978, Victor Kassel (b. 1920) recalled his childhood in Brooklyn, the anti-Semitism he experienced, his experiences in the military during World War II, and his entry into the field of geriatrics. During the later interviews, Kassel speaks at length about geriatrics, discusses Medicaid and Medicare, the development of nursing homes, talks about his view of the Jewish community in Salt Lake, and his habit of making "outlandish" or controversial...

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Lorraine Ferra conducted two interviews with Esther Kline (b. 1906), who talks about growing up in Salt Lake city, including her memories of Pioneer Day, local businesses, Kaplan (the local kosher butcher), the Bamberger Railroad, and her father's work as a junk peddler. She also talks about some of the early distinctions between the congregations B'nai Israel, Monefiore, and Shaary Tzedick. The transcript for this interview may not be complete. 69 pages.

Scope and Contents In her interviews with Leslie Kelen, Esther Landa (b. 1912) talks about her childhood, her parents and grandparents, going to school at Mills College during the Depression, and working for a school in public relations. She also speaks of her memories of Jewish refuges in Salt Lake before World War II. She discusses the involvement of her father and grandfather in the Utah Junk Company and in the Eastern Iron and Metal Company (EIMCO). Also included are descriptions of her involvement in...

Scope and Contents Betsy Lesser (b. 1922) tells Leslie Kelen about her childhood, and about her grandfather, Utah Governor Simon Bamberger. She recalls her memories of Mills College, World War II, the night of VJ Day, the Bamburger Railroad, Utah Coal Company, and the tensions between German Jews and other ethnic Jews. She also talks about segregation as she remembers it. She tells stories about family members, remembers going to high school at Rowland Hall, and talks about first hearing Hitler on the radio....