Advanced Search My Lists
You searched for: Physical Format Oral histories
Home

Minnesota Digital Library

Search Results Header

Search Results

1. Interview with Ann Zuvekas

Creator:
Zuvekas, Ann
Date Created:
1976-07-14
Description:
Ann Zuvekas was director of Migrant Health Services, Inc., from 1974 to 1976. Subjects discussed include: Migrant Health Services, Inc., including its history, organization, funding, objectives, services, innovative projects and achievements, new programs, goals, and areas needing improvement.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

2. Interview with Virginia Zontelli, Ironton, Minnesota

Creator:
Zontelli, Virginia
Date Created:
1936-03
Description:
Interview with Virginia Zontelli. She briefly relates some of her personal history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

3. Interview with Qi-hui Zhai

Creator:
Zhai, Qi-hui
Date Created:
1980-01-04
Description:
Qi-hui Zhai was born in Shanghai, China, on December 16, 1927. Her father was a biology professor at Central University in Nanjing and traveled between research institutions in Nanjing, Beijing, and Shanghai during most of her childhood. In 1945 Zhai entered Suzhou University, located temporarily in Shanghai at the end of World War II. The next year she transferred to Yanjing University in Beijing, and she graduated in June of 1949, six months after liberation. She was assigned to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and in 1959 the government of the People's Republic of China sent her to Russia for two years of study. For the first year she studied at the Institute of Zoology in Leningrad, and later at the Institute of Biochemistry in Moscow. Zhai arrived in Minnesota in June of 1979, the first of many visiting scholars from China to arrive at the University of Minnesota following normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and China on January 1, 1979. She worked with Dr. James W. Bodley in the Department of Biochemistry at the University Medical School from mid-1979 to late 1981, conducting basic research on the reproductive system of the ladybug, in an attempt to develop a means of artificial rearing of the insect, a natural enemy of aphids, for control of aphids in agriculture. Subjects discussed include: Zhai discusses her father's background as a pioneer entomologist in China, and his work in establishing biology departments in several Chinese universities after spending thirteen years in study and research at Cornell University in New York - his many publications under the name C. Ping - problems of Chinese scientists in the 1980s in conducting basic research after the interruption of the Cultural Revolution - Zhai's research at the University of Minnesota on yolk protein synthesis in the ladybug, a continuation of her research in Beijing - her impressions of Minnesota - and her family in Beijing. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Zhai is an accomplished scientist from the People's Republic of China, and her visit to Minnesota is significant because it represents a new era of exchange between scientists in the state's research institutions and scientists in China. Her perspective is especially interesting because her father studied in the United States in the 1910s and was instrumental in advancing Western scientific knowledge in China after returning to his homeland in 1920.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

4. Interview with Paul Robert Zerky, Timothy Township, Minnesota

Creator:
Zerky, Paul Robert
Date Created:
1939-01
Description:
Interview with Paul Robert Zerky. He briefly relates some of his personal history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

5. Interview with Antonio and Petra T. Zepeda

Creator:
Zepeda, Antonio; Zepeda, Petra Trevino
Date Created:
1975-07-31
Description:
Antonio Zepeda Cardona was born in San Juan de Allende, Coahuila, Mexico, in 1902. He came to the United States with his family in 1907 and was raised in Rio Hondo, Texas. He was married to Petra Trevino Zepeda in Mexico at age sixteen, and in 1923 they came to the United States. He worked for the railroad for three months then came to Minnesota to work in the beet fields. He died in 1977. Petra Trevino Zepeda was born in Cuatro Cienigas, Coahuila, Mexico in 1906. She helped her father harvest his crops and take them to sell in the marketplace in Piedras Negras. She married Antonio Zepeda at age thirteen. Subjects discussed include: Their childhood and immediate family in Mexico - courtship in Mexico - the Mexican Revolution - crossing the border - job history - their twelve children - people and festivals on St. Paul's West Side - and advice for younger people. Mr. Zepeda also explains techniques for harvesting sugar beets. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

6. Interview with Heladio "Lalo" Zavala

Creator:
Zavala, Heladio; United States
Date Created:
10/18/2010
Description:
Heladio "Lalo" Zavala was born in Asherton, Texas. Zavala decided to move to Minnesota to attend Moorhead State College and studied social work and Spanish. He became involved with the Latino community by becoming the chairman of Migrant Health Services, executive director of the Minnesota Migrant Council, and CEO of Midwest Association of Farmworker Organizations. Zavala is married with three children. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - Latino culture in Texas - agriculture in
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

7. Interview with Carl Zapffe, Brainerd, Minnesota

Creator:
Zapffe, Carl
Date Created:
1936 - 1939
Description:
Interview with Carl Zapffe. He very briefly relates some of his personal history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

8. Interview with Robert Zan

Creator:
Zan, Robert
Date Created:
2011-05-11
Description:
Robert Zan is the son of Mahn Ba Zan who was a prominent leader in the Karen struggle for independence. In turn Robert Zan was a leader in Karen struggles for independence. He is the author of a concise history "Mahn Ba Zan & The Karen Revolution", published in 1993. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early memories of Burmese atrocities against the Karen - family - his father Mahn Ba Zan founder of Karen National Defense Organization and leader of the Karen resistance - becoming a solider - fighting
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

9. Interview with Hazel Leona Cameron Zanke, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Zanke, Hazel Leona Cameron
Date Created:
1937-03
Description:
Interview with Hazel Leona Cameron Zanke. She relates some of her personal and family history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

10. Interview with John Frederick Zander, Brainerd, Minnesota

Creator:
Zander, John Frederick
Date Created:
1939-03
Description:
Interview with John Frederick Zander. He relates some of the personal and family history as well as some family genealogy of both his wife, Elizabeth, and himself. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

11. Interview with Arturo Zamora

Creator:
Zamora, Arturo
Date Created:
1976-07-15
Description:
Arturo Zamora was born in Benjamin, Texas, in 1925, one of eleven children. He came to Cloquet, Minnesota, in 1931 with his parents and settled in 1938 near Hollandale, Minn., where his family has owned a farm since 1940. Zamora has worked at Wilson Meat Packing Co. in Albert Lea since 1945 and operates a restaurant near Albert Lea with his three brothers. Subjects discussed include: Family and early life - work in the meatpacking industry - Club Azteca, League of United Latin American Citizens and Knights of Columbus in Albert Lea - and his restaurant.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

12. Interview about Albert Zahn, Brainerd, Minnesota

Creator:
Zahn, Bertha
Date Created:
1938-03
Description:
Interview with Bertha Zahn, wife of Albert Zahn. She relates some personal history, family history, and family genealogy for both her husband and herself. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

13. Interview with Robert Yu

Creator:
Yu, Robert
Date Created:
1979-02-01
Description:
Robert Yu was born in about 1915 in the city of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China. During his childhood his father was postmaster general of China. As the eldest son, Yu enjoyed a favorable position in the family, and his father set aside a considerable sum of money to enable him to study in the United States after graduation from college. While studying at the University of Nanjing, Yu met his future wife, Victoria (Yu), and after their marriage Yu's father agreed to send them both to the United States. Robert and Victoria Yu arrived in the United States in about 1939. Although Robert Yu had intended to attend graduate school after his arrival, he had not made arrangements with any specific university. In Seattle, where they disembarked, they met a Chinese graduate of the University of Wisconsin who suggested that Yu attend the University of Minnesota and offered to accompany them to Minneapolis. After their arrival Yu applied to the University of Minnesota and was accepted as a graduate student in the College of Business Administration, and he later transferred to the College of Agriculture, where he majored in agricultural economics. While Yu was a student at the university, two sons, Robert and Victor, were born to the family. Yu completed his master of arts degree in 1941, but because of the Sino-Japanese War he could not return to China immediately. He took a job for a short time at the Pillsbury Company in Minneapolis and then took a job in Washington, D.C., where a third child, Joyce (the interviewer for this oral history interview, and who was interviewed for the project as well), was born. In Washington Yu worked as a Chinese-area specialist at the Department of Agriculture. During World War II the United States planned (but never carried out) a landing on the Chinese coast, and Yu provided information on Chinese agriculture in the proposed landing area. In 1947, with the war over, the Yu family returned to China, where Yu took a job as vice-president of the Farmers' Bank of China in Shanghai. As rampant inflation and civil conflict made living in postwar China increasingly difficult, the family returned to the United States in 1949 and settled in southeast Minneapolis, the area where they had lived during Yu's time at the university. Yu again took a job with the Pillsbury Company for a short time, but next he became a vice-president of First National Bank of Minneapolis. In 1979 Yu retired from that job and accepted a teaching position in Taiwan. While Victoria Yu also decided to live in Taiwan, where many relatives live, all three Yu children have remained in the United States. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Yu discusses his family background in China - his first trip to the United States, and his fears that he and his wife would be turned away by immigration officials - first impressions in Seattle - Chinese student life at the University of Minnesota's Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses during World War II, when the students were cut off from family resources - political views in the Chinese community in Minnesota - views toward normalization of U.S.-China diplomatic relations in 1979 - discrimination toward Chinese people - and problems of child rearing in the immigrant community. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Yu reflects the views of the intellectuals from northern China (Mandarin speakers), most of whom came either as students to the University of Minnesota or as political refugees settling in Minnesota after World War II. He is particularly perceptive about divisions within the Chinese community and about changing views of Chinese settlers over the years.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

14. Interview with Joyce Yu

Creator:
Yu, Joyce
Date Created:
1979-06-04
Description:
Joyce Yu was born in 1946 in Washington, D.C., where her father was employed as a Chinese area specialist by the U.S. Department of Agriculture during World War II. Her parents, Robert and Victoria Yu, arrived in the United States from China in about 1939. They lived in southeast Minneapolis from the time of their arrival until 1941, while Robert Yu was a graduate student in agricultural economics at the University of Minnesota. Two sons, Robert and Victor, were born to the family during this period. The elder Yu completed his degree in 1941, but the family could not return to China because of war conditions in the Pacific, and they moved to Washington. In 1947, after Joyce's birth and the war's end, the family returned to China, where Robert Yu accepted a job as vice-president of the Farmers' Bank of China in Shanghai. Postwar conditions in China grew increasingly unstable, however, and the family returned to the United States in 1949, when Joyce was two and a half years old. The Yus settled in southeast Minneapolis again, and Joyce spent most of her childhood and youth in this neighborhood. She attended University High School and the University of Minnesota, from which she received a bachelor of arts degree in sociology in 1968. After graduation she was employed by the university's Office of Student Affairs from 1968 to 1973, and she also completed a year of graduate study in educational psychology. From 1973 to 1975 she worked for VISTA on the West Bank in Minneapolis. In the fall of 1975 she went to Taiwan for a year of study in Chinese language and tai chi (martial arts). Upon her return to the United States, Yu worked as student internship coordinator at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, and in August of 1977 she took a job with the Otto Bremer Foundation in St. Paul, working as a program officer, reviewing and evaluating grant proposals. In 1979 she left the Bremer Foundation to become the director of the Women's Funding Assistance Project for the Ms. Foundation, and in 1981 she was appointed executive director of the Ms. Foundation. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - class and regional differences within the Chinese community in Minnesota - family structure and child rearing in the state's Chinese settlement - and the developing ethnic consciousness of young Asian Americans at the University of Minnesota during the 1960s. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: This interview provides valuable information on the northern intellectuals (Mandarin speakers) in the Chinese community in Minnesota, the subgroup in which Yu grew up. It also provides insight into the experience of Chinese families who have settled in the state since World War II, and of Asian students at the University of Minnesota in the 1960s.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

15. Interview with Holly Young, Whitewater State Park Oral History Project, Bismark, North Dakota

Creator:
Young, Holly
Date Created:
2021-05-03
Description:
Holly Young is a Dakota beadwork artist who shares about her journey discovering the stories of her ancestors through learning traditional beadwork. The Whitewater State Park Oral History project began in 2017 to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of the State Park.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

16. Interview about George W. Young, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Young, Freeman
Date Created:
1936-09
Description:
Interview with Freeman Young, son of George W. Young. He very briefly relates some of his father's personal history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

17. Interview about Isaiah Young, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Young, Edward
Date Created:
1936-02
Description:
Interview with Edward Young, son of Isaiah Young. He gives a lengthy account of some of personal history of both his father and himself. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

18. Interview with Sok Yorm and Phorm Phuong

Creator:
Yorm, Sok
Date Created:
1992-07-31
Description:
Sok Yorm and Phorm Phrong are a married couple who lived and grew up in Battambang. In 1975, they were farmers and had two children, ages 11 and 12. They were separated by the Khmer Rouge and not allowed to see one another. Mr. Yorm had to bury three dead bodies from their village who were killed by the Khmer Rouge. The family was reunited after the Vietnamese entered Cambodia in 1979 and spent five years in Khao I Dang refugee camp. Their eldest daughter was delayed in coming to America, but they are all now living in Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Moving Image
Format:
Oral histories

19. Interview with John and William Ylinen, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Ylinen, William; Ylinen, Hilda
Date Created:
1936-09
Description:
Interview with William Ylinene and his wife, Hilda. They relate some their personal and family histories. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

20. Interview with Yang C. Ying

Creator:
Ying, Yang Cha
Date Created:
1991-11-20
Description:
Yang Cha Ying immigrated to the United States on October 7, 1980. Prior to his immigration he was an assistant to the mayor of Por Far, Laos. Yang Cha Ying also served as a soldier from 1950-1953. Currently, he is retired, though he acts as an advisor for the police when making domestic calls. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Yang Cha Ying describes his life in Laos, particularly the time he spent fighting in the wars, in detail. He talks about his adjustment to life in the United States and his role as an advisor for the police in domestic situations, explaining cultural differences. Yang Cha Ying hopes that the youth of his culture will learn to respect the elderly. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Interview translated by May Herr.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

21. Interview with Lawrence Yetka, Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society Oral History Project, St. Paul, Minnesota

Creator:
Yetka, Lawrence Robert, 1924-2017
Date Created:
1990-12-20
Description:
Interview with former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Yetka. He was on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1973 until 1993. Subjects covered: his childhood, lawyers and public service, Hubert Humphrey, political history, and being on the Court. Interviewed by law professor Steve Young.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota State Law Library
Type:
Moving Image
Format:
Oral histories

22. Interview with Lawrence Yetka, Minnesota Supreme Court Historical Society Oral History Project, Cloquet, Minnesota

Creator:
Yetka, Lawrence Robert, 1924-2017
Date Created:
2014-10
Description:
Interview with former Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Yetka. He was on the Minnesota Supreme Court from 1973 until 1993. Subjects covered: his father and some history of Cloquet, Minnesota politics in the 1920s-1930s, his time in the Legislature, his years on the Court, his life after leaving the Court, and more political history. Interviewed by attorney Tom Boyd and retired Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Paul H. Anderson.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota State Law Library
Type:
Moving Image
Format:
Oral histories

23. Interview with Yoeuth Yan

Creator:
Yan, Yoeuth
Date Created:
1992-08-13
Description:
Yoeuth Yan was a student in 1975 when the Khmer Rouge regime began. He was sent out of Battambang City and was not allowed to join his family in Posat Province. He fell ill with malaria while working on the youth mobile team and, after recovering, was able to locate his mother and siblings. He then learned that his father had been taken by the Khmer Rouge and killed. Yan became sick with malaria again, but was still made to work in various camps throughout the regime including a reeducation" camp. After the Vietnamese soldiers arrived in 1979
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Moving Image
Format:
Oral histories

24. Interview with You V. Yang

Creator:
Yang, You Vang
Date Created:
2000-01-18
Description:
You Vang Yang is the mother of May Hang and is the daughter of Nhia Vang. Her maiden clan name is Vang and she married into the Yang clan. She is sixty years old and has nine children. She is widowed. She immigrated to the U.S. twenty-four years ago. She was born in Xuv Npuv, Laos. She is a White Hmong by birth, Blue Hmong by marriage. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Biographical information and religious affiliation. Childhood-school attendance, duties at home, community service, skills taught, social activities as a child, aspirations as a child. Hmong women's roles-decision making inside and outside of home and clan, women in leadership roles and how they are seen in the community, what women do to support their families, family planning, when women feel respected or disrespected. The war and living in refugee camps-memories of fleeing Laos, of refugee camps, difference in treatment of men and women in the camps. Adjustments since coming to the U.S.-skills needed to adjust, learning English, skills from Laos and Thailand that are adaptable or useable in the U.S., citizenship, leadership roles for women in the U.S. versus Laos, public contributions by Hmong women. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: All interviews were recorded in Hmong. Transcripts in both English and Hmong are available for each interview.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

25. Interview with Xeng S. Yang

Creator:
Yang, Xeng Sue
Date Created:
1991-11-13
Description:
Xeng Sue Yang is a Hmong man, 44 years old. He was a soldier for the CIA (1960-1975) and farmer in Laos. Since arriving in the United States in 1979, he has lived in Minneapolis. Presently he is a story teller and a musician. He is married to Khou Xiong Yang. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Xeng Sue Yang talks of his life as a CIA soldier in the Vietnam War and his feelings of patriotism. Tales of adjustment to life in the United States are related as well as observations regarding the differences in the legal systems of the two countries. Xeng Sue Yang concludes the interview with a statement of hope to keep his culture alive. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Interview translated by May Herr.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

26. Interview with Toua Yang

Creator:
Yang, Toua
Date Created:
2012-09-29
Description:
Toua Yang was born in Xhiangkhouang, Laos. He escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand, where he spent ten years before coming to the U.S. At the time of the interview Yang was a mental health case manager for Lyon, Redwood Falls, Yellow Medicine, and Murray counties. Subjects discussed include: Escaping Laos - experiences in refugee camp - adjusting to life in America - family - health issues in the Hmong community - Minnesota's education system and the achievement gap.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

27. Interview with Terry Yang

Creator:
Yang, Terry
Date Created:
2012-09-16
Description:
Terry Yang was born in 1956 in Luang Prabang, Laos. He and his family escaped to a refugee camp in Thailand in 1979, where they lived for one year before moving to the United States in 1980. At the time of the interview Yang was the President of the Yang Wang Meng Association of United States, a national organization dedicated to connecting the Hmong community, building Hmong leaders, and preserving Hmong culture. He was also on the board for the Walnut Grove PTA. Subjects discussed include: Escaping Laos - experiences in refugee camp - adjusting to life in America - family - Hmong cultural preservation and community-building.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

28. Interview with Sua V. Yang

Creator:
Yang, Sua Vu
Date Created:
2000-01-22
Description:
Sua Vu Yang is the mother of MayKao Hang and the daughter of See Lee. Her maiden clan name is Vu and she married into the Yang clan. She is fifty-one years old and has five children. She has graduated from high school and completed other courses. She studied for two years at Northeast Metro. She is employed making hearing aids for the deaf. She is separated from her husband whom she married when she was fifteen. She immigrated to America about twenty-three years ago. She lived in Huab Xis Vees, Seng Khouang, Laos. She is a White Hmong that wears Phuam Paj. Subjects discussed include: Biographical information and religious affiliation. Childhood-school attendance, duties at home, community service, skills taught, social activities as a child, aspirations as a child. Hmong women's roles-decision making inside and outside of home and clan, women in leadership roles and how they are seen in the community, what women do to support their families, family planning, when women feel respected or disrespected. The war and living in refugee camps-memories of fleeing Laos, of refugee camps, difference in treatment of men and women in the camps. Adjustments since coming to the U.S.-skills needed to adjust, learning English, skills from Laos and Thailand that are adaptable or useable in the U.S., citizenship, leadership roles for women in the U.S. versus Laos, public contributions by Hmong women. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: The interview was conducted predominantly in Hmong. The Hmong transcript and an English translation are bound together for this interview.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

29. Interview with Nhia Y. Yang

Creator:
Yang, Nhia Yer
Date Created:
1991-11-15
Description:
Nhia Yer Yang is a shaman, 60 years old. Prior to immigrating to the United States in 1980, he was a soldier and the mayor of his village. He is Xeng Sue Yang's older brother. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Nhia Yer Yang describes his life and his duties as both a soldier and a mayor in Laos. Nhia Yer Yang also discusses his current role as a shaman and the help that he gives to people. He concludes the interview with a concern for the future generations of Hmong people. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Interview translated by May Herr.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

30. Interview with Mao T. Yang

Creator:
Yang, Mao Thao
Date Created:
1999-11-01
Description:
Mao Thao Yang is the mother of Mai Vang Thao and the grandmother of Bo Thao. She is fifty-two years old, married and has three children, two are living. In Laos, she lived in the village of Tha Cho (Thaj Chauv) and her mother was of the Lee clan. She is of the group of Hmong that lived in Xieng Khouang. Her family was poor and she didn't have an opportunity to attend school. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Biographical information and religious affiliation. Childhood-school attendance, duties at home, community service, skills taught, social activities as a child, aspirations as a child. Hmong women's roles-decision making inside and outside of home and clan, women in leadership roles and how they are seen in the community, what women do to support their families, family planning, when women feel respected or disrespected. The war and living in refugee camps-memories of fleeing Laos, of refugee camps, difference in treatment of men and women in the camps. Adjustments since coming to the U.S.-skills needed to adjust, learning English, skills from Laos and Thailand that are adaptable or useable in the U.S., citizenship, leadership roles for women in the U.S. versus Laos, public contributions by Hmong women. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: The interview was conducted predominantly in Hmong. The Hmong transcript and an English translation are bound together for this interview.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

31. Interview with Kim Yang

Creator:
Yang, Kim
Date Created:
1999-12-01
Description:
Kim Yang is the half sister of Bao Vang. Born Va Vang in 1969 in Long Cheng, Laos, her family immigrated to the U.S. in April, 1980 from Ban Ve Nai (Npaab Vib Nais). She finished high school and studied computer programming for six months. She has been married for fifteen years and has five children. Currently, she works as a computer programmer. One of her duties is adapting forms to make them easier for the Hmong to use. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Biographical information and religious affiliation. Childhood-school attendance, duties at home, community service, skills taught, social activities as a child, aspirations as a child. Hmong women's roles-decision making inside and outside of home and clan, women in leadership roles and how they are seen in the community, what women do to support their families, family planning, when women feel respected or disrespected. The war and living in refugee camps-memories of fleeing Laos, of refugee camps, difference in treatment of men and women in the camps. Adjustments since coming to the U.S.-skills needed to adjust, learning English, skills from Laos and Thailand that are adaptable or useable in the U.S., citizenship, leadership roles for women in the U.S. versus Laos, public contributions by Hmong women. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: The interview was conducted predominantly in Hmong. The Hmong transcript and an English translation are bound together for this interview.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

32. Interview with Ger Yang

Creator:
Yang, Ger
Date Created:
1992-04-03
Description:
Ger Yang immigrated to the United States with his family in 1979 at the age of six. Ger Yang is married to Sheng Cha. Presently he is a full time student at St. Paul Technical College, studying to become a lab technician. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Ger Yang talks of his expectations for life in the United States, with special emphasis on going to college and beginning a career. Ger discusses briefly the roles his parents and elders play in their family.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

33. Interview with Ge Yang

Creator:
Yang, Ge
Date Created:
1992-09-10
Description:
Ge Yang in an 18 year old senior at South High School. He immigrated to the United States with his parents in 1975. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Ge Yang talks about his life in Minnesota, and what it means to be a Hmong man. Ge Yang discusses various aspects of the Hmong culture, in particular the traditional customs of marriage and also the importance of the Hmong culture to him and how it affects his future. He advises all young people to stay away from gangs and to listen to the advice that their parents offer to them.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

34. Interview with Tenzin Yangdon

Creator:
Yangdon, Tenzin
Date Created:
2005-09-24
Description:
Tenzin Yangdon was born in Rajpur, India. She moved to Minnesota in 1996. Yangdon graduated from high school in Minnesota and is pursuing her undergraduate degree at Hamline University. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, family, being sent to boarding school, differences and similarities between schools in India and the United States, family separation, coming to Minnesota, initial reaction to Minnesota, making friends, deciding to go to college, selecting a college, selecting a career, Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), Middle-Way, autonomy, independence, Tibetan politics, Students for a Free Tibet (SFT), Westerners and the Tibetan cause, community, college experiences, Tibetan Cultural Center, preserving culture, differences and similarities between Tibetan, Indian, and American culture, working on the Minnesota Tibetan Oral History Project.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

35. Interview with Ahmay Ya

Creator:
Ya, Ahmay
Date Created:
2011-05-11
Description:
Ahmay Ya was born in 1987 in Sanchaung in Rangoon, Burma. She graduated from the University in Burma in 2003-2004. She immigrated to the United States in 2008 as a Karen refugee. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life - her father the revolutionary Mahn Nyein Maung - family and how the Karen people name their children - her childhood in Rangoon - her mother working as a trader while her father was in prison - being questioned by the authorities - escaping from Burma - volunteering to help deliver babies, and helping other refugees - coming to the United States alone - getting an education and working in Minnesota - her father's book Against the Storm: Across the Sea" and her father's imprisonment and release - hopes for herself and the Karen - working with the Karen in Minnesota and mental health issues - "
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

36. Interview with Ong V. Xiong

Creator:
Xiong, Ong Vang
Date Created:
2000-01-17
Description:
Ong Vang Xiong is the mother of Yer Moua and is the grandmother of Mai Neng Moua. She is fifty-four years old and has been married twice. Her first husband was from the Vue clan and her second was from the Moua clan. She had three children with her first husband and two with her second. She was born in Mong Nha, Laos, fled to Thailand and then immigrated to the U.S. in 1990. She is a White Hmong. She received no formal education. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Biographical information and religious affiliation. Childhood-school attendance, duties at home, community service, skills taught, social activities as a child, aspirations as a child. Hmong women's roles-decision making inside and outside of home and clan, women in leadership roles and how they are seen in the community, what women do to support their families, family planning, when women feel respected or disrespected. The war and living in refugee camps-memories of fleeing Laos, of refugee camps, difference in treatment of men and women in the camps. Adjustments since coming to the U.S.-skills needed to adjust, learning English, skills from Laos and Thailand that are adaptable or useable in the U.S., citizenship, leadership roles for women in the U.S. versus Laos, public contributions by Hmong women. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: The interview was conducted predominantly in Hmong. The Hmong transcript and an English translation are bound together for this interview.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

37. Interview with Khou Xiong

Creator:
Xiong, Khou
Date Created:
1991-11-13
Description:
Khou Xiong is a Hmong woman, 61 years old. She was a mother and housewife in Laos. She moved to Minneapolis in 1979 and presently completes Hmong handiwork sent from Laos, whose profits from sale are returned to Laos. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Khou Xiong talks of her immigration and acclimation to the United States. She notes differences in family relations, particularly in the behavior and attitudes of her children in the United States and those still in Laos. Khou Xiong ends the interview with a piece of advice for Hmong women. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Interview translated by May Herr.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

38. Interview with Sinmin and Betty Wu

Creator:
Wu, Sinmin
Date Created:
1979-12-02
Description:
Sinmin Wu was born June 1, 1931, in the city of Yixing in Jiangsu Province, China. Betty Wu (Yun Aur) was born December 15, 1938, in the city of Tianjin, in Hebei Province. Both left China for Taiwan during the Communist Revolution in the 1940s. They were married in Taiwan in 1959 and soon left for Malaysia, where Sinmin became a teacher in a Chinese girls' high school. Their first child was born in Malaysia. Sinmin went to the United States in 1961 for graduate study in mathematics at Southern Illinois University. He received a master of arts degree and accepted a teaching position at the University of Minnesota, Morris, in 1965. Betty and their daughter arrived in Morris in 1966. Two additional children have been born to the family in the United States. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: The Wus discuss the experience of Chinese Americans in small towns outside the Twin Cities area - their activities and sense of acceptance in university and community affairs - development of their children's identities in an area where few other Chinese live - and the role of Asian families in resettlement of a Vietnamese refugee family in Morris in late 1979 and 1980. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: This interview focused on acculturation in a small town as opposed to an urban area, on family life, and on the concerns of a transplanted Chinese family for the future of their children. It should be noted that although they have no worry about the Americanization of their children, they also want their children to know their own cultural heritage and language.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

39. Interview with Judd Wright, Brainerd, Minnesota

Creator:
Wright, Judd
Date Created:
1936-03
Description:
Interview with Judd Wright. He relates some of his personal and family history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

40. Interview with Hanny L. Wright, Regional Oral History Project, Moorhead, Minnesota

Creator:
Wright, Hanny L.
Description:
Hanny Wright was born on the island Tjoeme on the west side of the Oslo Fjord on October 27, 1899. She came to the United States as an infant. Mrs. Wright describes her association with St. Ansgar Hospital Auxilliary, of which she was a president for many years. She has also helped organize the Moorhead Camp Fire Girls.
Contributing Institution:
Heritage Education Commission
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

41. Interview about Seth Tennis, Brainerd, Minnesota

Creator:
Wright, Carl
Date Created:
1938-10
Description:
Interview with Carl Wright, grandson of Seth Tennis. He relates some of the personal history, family history, and family genealogy of his grandfather. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

42. Interview with Howard Woo

Creator:
Woo, Howard F.
Date Created:
1981-10-09
Description:
Howard Woo was born in 1905 in San Francisco and came to Minnesota with his adoptive parents in 1906. His father, Yee Sing Woo (Woo Yee Sing, in Chinese name order), arrived in Minneapolis in 1882. He was a pioneer settler, successful businessman, and early leader in the Chinese community. The elder Woo married May Seen Liang (Liang May Seen) in San Francisco and brought her to Minneapolis in 1893. Both were active in the Chinese Sunday School at Westminster Presbyterian Church, a Sunday afternoon meeting place for early Chinese immigrants and their families attending religious services and English classes. Howard Woo attended Emerson School in Minneapolis during his elementary years and graduated from West High School in 1922. He entered the University of Minnesota in 1923 and received a bachelor of arts degree in 1927. He returned to the university to study architecture (which was then available only at the undergraduate level) and received a bachelor of architecture degree in 1931. Also in 1931 Woo married Lolita Young, a Chinese American from Portland, Oregon. Few jobs were available for architects during the Depression, and Woo turned to the family restaurant, known as John's Place, for employment. With the onset of World War II Woo found a job at the Twin Cities Ordnance Plant, as a gauge engineer, and later in the war years he worked as a draftsman for the Maico Corporation, which had a government contract to develop a metal detector for shrapnel. It was not until after the war that Woo was able to use his architectural training. In the early 1950s Woo became a partner in a newly formed industrial design company, Harold Darr Associates. The firm was quite successful but was dissolved in the early 1960s when Harold Darr joined the Char Lynn Company. Woo again returned to John's Place, which had become one of the Twin Cities' most popular Chinese restaurants. He remained at the family restaurant until it was closed in 1967 because the owner of the property wanted to build a parking lot in its place--a great loss to the Twin Cities community. After John's Place was closed, Woo retired to pursue a number of personal interests, including book collecting, particularly first editions and works of fine presses in which the craftwork is of special interest. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents' background - his father's many businesses, including the Hand Laundry, Canton Cafe, Yee Sing and Co., and Yuen Faung Low (John's Place) - his mother's curio shop - his early life in Minneapolis - his years at the University of Minnesota - discrimination against Chinese in the Twin Cities during the early years of settlement - and intermarriage among the third generation. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: No oral history collection on the Chinese community in Minnesota would be complete without the testimony of Howard Woo. He was probably the first Chinese child to live in the state, and his father was an important leader of the Chinese community in Minneapolis.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

43. Interview with Sherby R. Woods, World War II Veterans Collection, St. Cloud State University, Milaca, Minnesota

Creator:
Woods, Sherby R., 1918-2007
Date Created:
1990-02-18
Description:
This interview was conducted on February 18, 1990 by Richard Olson. Sherby Roy Woods was born August 17, 1918 in Iowa. After moving to Minnesota, he worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps and the lumber industry as a heavy equipment operator in northern Minnesota. Woods was drafted into the Army on October 14, 1941 at the age of 23. During the war, he was attached to Company B, 6th Armored Infantry Regiment, 1st Armored Division. Discharged as a Technician Fifth Grade, Woods worked in heavy equipment and demolitions during campaigns in North Africa and Italy. Woods shared his opinions of Allied soldiers and Axis Power POWs and what he described as the poor training given to replacement troops. He also described how the war changed the U.S. military, including his improvised invention of a more efficient automatic transmission system for light tanks. After returning to the U.S. in 1945, Woods married Cora Lillian Moe, attended heavy equipment maintenance school on the GI Bill, and began a long series of treatments for a facial injury at the Veterans Administration hospital. He worked on heavy equipment for Milaca County until his retirement. Woods concluded the interview with a discussion of contemporary events such as apartheid in South Africa and stated that embargos are a more effective tool than war. He passed away on January 23, 2007 at the age of 88 and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Milaca, Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:
St. Cloud State University
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

44. Interview with Robert Wood, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Wood, Robert
Date Created:
1936-07
Description:
Interview with Robert Wood. He relates some of his personal and family history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

45. Interview with Joseph Church Wood, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Wood, Joseph Church
Date Created:
1938-12
Description:
Interview with Joseph Church Wood. He gives a lengthy account of some of his personal and family history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

46. Interview with Guy Wood, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Wood, Guy
Date Created:
1936-03
Description:
Interview with Guy Wood. He briefly relates some of his personal history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

47. Interview with Michael Hong Wong

Creator:
Wong, Michael Hong
Date Created:
1979-06-07 - 1979-07-03
Description:
Michael Hong Wong was born in Austin, Minnesota, in 1948. His grandfather emigrated from Guangdong Province in southern China to Albert Lea, Minnesota, in 1927, by way of Canada and Seattle, Washington. At the time of Michael Wong's birth, his grandfather, father, and uncle were partners in a Chinese restaurant in Austin, but a few years later the family moved to Fargo, North Dakota. Because this city was a crossroad in the movement of military personnel during and after World War II, business opportunities were good, and the elder Wongs worked at the Pheasant Cafe, one of five Chinese restaurants in Fargo during the 1940s and early 1950s. When Wong was about five years old, the family moved back to Minnesota, where they established the Wong Cafe in Rochester. Wong attended public elementary schools in the city and graduated from John Marshall High School in 1966. He entered the University of Minnesota the following fall and graduated in 1970 with a bachelor of fine arts degree, majoring in painting. Later he returned to the university for graduate study and received a master of fine arts degree, with a major in photography, in 1975. During his undergraduate years at the university, Wong was actively involved in the Asian American Alliance, organized on the campus during the 1960s. In 1976 Wong returned to Rochester and worked in the family restaurant, while his wife, Isabel Joe, completed an internship in dietetics at Methodist Hospital. In 1977 they returned to the Twin Cities, and Wong taught for two years at the Minnetonka Art Center (now the Art Center of Minnesota). He also engaged in freelance photography and was one of the early members of the Minnesota Asian American Project, a pan-Asian organization in the Twin Cities area. In 1980 and 1981 Wong was employed by Weigen Graphic Center in Minneapolis and also continued his work as a freelance photographer. He has frequently photographed special events in the Asian community, including those of the most recent arrivals, the Indochinese. He also participated in the collection of photographs for an exhibit entitled Asians in Minnesota" that opened in the spring of 1982 at the Minnesota Historical Society and was sponsored by the Society
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

48. Interview with Isabel Suzanne J. Wong

Creator:
Wong, Isabel Suzanne Joe
Date Created:
1982-06-08
Description:
Isabel Suzanne Joe was born in 1950 in north Minneapolis. Her father was born in China and came to the United States as a young man, returned to China to get married, and served in the U.S. military in Europe during World War II. After the war his wife and their son came from China to join him in Minnesota, and in the late 1940s and early 1950s several other children were born while the family was living in north and northeast Minneapolis. Isabel Suzanne Joe married Michael Wong, whose interview is also part of this oral history project. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Her family's background in China - their reasons for coming to the United States - growing up as the only Asian family in northeast Minneapolis - her brothers and sisters - and various degrees of acculturation within the family. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Isabel's young child is present at the interview and interrupts the interview at times.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

49. Interview with George Wolhart, Brainerd, Minnesota

Creator:
Wolhart, George; Wolhart, Emma
Date Created:
1938-08
Description:
Interview with George Wolhart and his wife, Emma. They relate some of George's personal and family history as well as a genealogy of their children. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories

50. Interview with Wilbert T. Wolford, Crow Wing County, Minnesota

Creator:
Wolford, Wilbert T.
Date Created:
1936-04
Description:
Interview with Wilbert T. Wolford. He relates some of his personal history. This interview is part of a Works Progress Administration (WPA) in Crow Wing County during the years 1936-1939. This outreach effort sought to record personal accounts of the lives of early Crow Wing County pioneers and settlers.
Contributing Institution:
Crow Wing County Historical Society
Type:
Text
Format:
Oral histories
Download JSON