Topic: Immigration and Ethnicity / Subject Headings: Oral History

1. 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

2. Interview with Alim Kassim

Creator:: Kassim, Alim; United States
Date Created:: 1998-03-27
Description:: Alim Kassim was born in Minnesota. His parents are of Indian descent but born in Kenya. At the time of the interview, Kassim was attending college. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language, schooling, Connections with relatives in Africa. Friendships at school. African, Indian and American culture at home-art, music, food. Religious instruction. Parents' friends. High school activities. Music interests. Future plans. Travels to India.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

3. Interview with Emiliano Chagil

Creator:: Chagil, Emiliano; United States
Date Created:: 4/7/2010
Description:: Emiliano Chagil was born in Guatemala in the city of San Lucas Tolimn. Chagil went to college in the city of Solol where he completed his bachelor's degree and later received his engineering degree at the University of San Carlos. He moved to Minnesota in 1980 because of the civil war in Guatemala. He later proved to be an influential leader for Latin communities in Minnesota and Guatemala. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - Guatemalan community and culture - financial struggles - Mayan and Christian religions - civil unrest - identity - landscape differences of Minnesota and Guatemala - Latino community in Minnesota - immigration - education - and refugees.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

4. Interview with Eloisa Echavez

Creator:: Echavez, Eloisa
Date Created:: 2010-11-08
Description:: Eloisa Echavez was born in Colombia as one of five sisters in her family. Echavez received her associate's degree in computer science and learned English through the Colombo Americano program. She completed her master's degree at Augsburg College in education and leadership for administration. She serves as a mentor and leader for the Latino community as director of La Oportunidad. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - religion - education's importance in her life as well as providing educational opportunities for others - culture - Latino community - leadership - bilingual benefits of learning Spanish and English - inspiration to help struggling Latinos - community programs - and communication for a unified Latino voice.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

5. Interview with Isadore Goldberg

Creator:: Goldberg, Isadore
Date Created:: 1976-05-12
Description:: Isadore Goldberg was born in Minneapolis in 1900. His parents came from Lithuania in about 1894 and married in Minneapolis in 1896. He graduated from North High School and the University of Minnesota Medical School and served in the U.S. Army in World Wars I and II. In 1926 he married Blanche Halpern, and they have two sons, Stanley and Arthur. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early childhood - family poverty - his newspaper route - education - early experiences in his medical practice - the Depression - anti-Semitism, especially in medicine - World War II - and religion. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Goldberg's wife, Blanche Halpern Goldberg, was also interviewed for this oral history project.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

6. Interview with Jong Bum Kwon

Creator:: Kwon, Jong Bum
Date Created:: 1994-05-06
Description:: Jong Bum Kwon was a member of a generation of Korean immigrants who characterized themselves as a 1.5 generation, in between the first generation of immigrants and the following generation who were born in the United States. This term refers to those who arrived to the United States at a very early age and did not retain much of their language or culture. At the time of the interview Jong was a 23 year old anthropology student at Macalester College. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Feelings of isolation in Beloit Wisconsin - sensing as a young child his father's unhappiness as a factory worker - taking care of his younger sister - his need to rebel against his parents expectations - his need to understand his father to understand himself - his recent trip to Korea - how his relationship with his parents has changed.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

7. Interview with Albert G. Minda

Creator:: Minda, Albert Greenberg
Date Created:: 1967-07 - 1967-11
Description:: Albert G. Minda was born July 30, 1895, in Holton, Kansas. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati in 1918, did postgraduate work at the Universities of Chicago, Columbia and Minnesota, and was ordained rabbi at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati in 1919. He served as rabbi at Temple Beth El in South Bend, Indiana, from 1919 to 1922, when he became rabbi at Temple Israel in Minneapolis. He was granted an honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1947 by the Hebrew Union College. In 1963 he was appointed Rabbi Emeritus at Temple Israel. He died in 1977. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Personal history, including his education, early rabbinical duties in Indiana, marriage and writing - history and development of Temple Israel - the Jewish community in Minneapolis, Talmud Torah, Jewish charity and community services - anti-Semitism and the status of Jews in Minneapolis - duties of a rabbi - and his travels, lectures and participation in Jewish and inter-faith organizations. COMENTS ON INTERVIEW: MHS received the interview material in 1972 from Mrs. Nathan Berman of the Minneapolis Federation for Jewish Service.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

8. Interview with Edward P. Schwartz

Creator:: Schwartz, Edward P.
Date Created:: 1976-02-25
Description:: Edward P. Schwartz was born in Minneapolis in 1903. He was a newspaper reporter, weekly newspaper publisher and publicist, particularly for show business. He inherited and expanded his father's business (Schwartz Printing and Ad Art Advertising). Schwartz played a leadership role in the Variety Club of the Northwest and the Variety Club Heart Hospital. He was also involved with the fund drive for building Mount Sinai Hospital, with Temple Israel and with Democratic Farmer Labor politics. He was also a founder of the Henry Miller Society. Schwartz and his wife, Mae, were married in 1928, and they have one daughter. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - his working career - intermarriage - anti-Semitism in local business and city affairs - the 1930s Depression - Temple Israel - the Variety Club of the Northwest and the founding of the Variety Club Hospital - Mount Sinai Hospital - the 620 Club and other Minneapolis restaurants - DFL politics, Hubert Humphrey's early career - and the Henry Miller Society. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Schwartz bar mitzvahed with Ernie Fliegel, who was also interviewed for this oral history project.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

9. Interview with Edgardo E. Rodriguez

Creator:: Rodriguez, Edgardo E.
Date Created:: 2010-10-25
Description:: Edgardo E. Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico. Rodriguez worked at Price Waterhouse as a senior accountant before being lured to International Multifoods as an assistant controller. Once retired, Rodriguez became the treasurer of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Chicano Latino Affairs Council (CLAC). He became involved with communities after joining the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), a nonprofit dedicated in helping communities of color with their businesses. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - religious influences - financial struggles - education - job history as an accountant - Minnesota weather and ethnic environment - MEDA involvement - Hispanic community and culture - Venezuela - helping Latino businesses - Small Business Champion of the Year for Minnesota and the Midwest - addressing education and documentation for the Latino community - importance of learning English and computer skills for Latinos - music and art - VocalEssence - and community participation.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

10. Interview with Jesus A. Patlan

Creator:: Patlan, Jesus Asencion
Date Created:: 1975-08-09
Description:: Jesus Asencion "Jesse" Patlan was born in Mexico City in 1940 and immigrated to Minnesota in 1960, settling in St. Paul in 1962. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life in Mexico - current conditions in Mexico - problems of language and cultural adjustment encountered in the United States - job discrimination against Mexicans in Minnesota - comparisons between the two countries. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

11. Interview with Eduardo Martinez-Yrizar

Creator:: Martinez-Yrizar, Eduardo
Date Created:: 2011-02-12
Description:: Eduardo was born in a small town in northern Mexico, but grew up in Mexico City. He came to Minnesota to attend graduate school to study animal reproduction. After finishing school and getting married Eduardo and his wife Jill briefly moved back to Mexico City before eventually settling in St. Cloud, Minnesota with their three children. Changing careers he worked his way up in the restaurant business and today is the owner of Mexican Village Too in St. Cloud. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Upbringing - importance of education in his life - moving to Minnesota - meeting his wife, Jill - struggling to get a job - changing careers - being underemployed - opening a restaurant - adjusting to the community - karate - his family - buying Mexican Village Too - the Latino community in St. Cloud - developing, branding, and marketing salsa - giving back to the community.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

12. Interview with Frank Fernandez

Creator:: Fernandez, Frank
Date Created:: 2011-01-17
Description:: Frank Fernandez was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fernandez attended Arizona State University majoring in political science. He later moved to Minnesota and attended Hamline University School of Law. He held several positions including executive director of the Nevada Association of Health Plans. Fernandez is currently the vice president of government programs for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, president and CEO of Blue Plus, and co-chair to the Diversity Council. He is married with two children. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Jobs held - family background - childhood - Latino community - diversity - playing soccer - religion - bilingual in Spanish and English - folkloric dance and traditions - racism - relationships - friendships - Minnesota weather - Comunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio - Latino Law Student Association - Hispanic Bar Association - Latino businesses - citizenship - Jovenes de Salud - working with high risk Latino youth - translating - National Society of Hispanic MBAs - fundraising - law school - and community involvement.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

13. Interview with Carl R. Valdez

Creator:: Valdez, Carl R.
Date Created:: 2010-10-19
Description:: Carl R. Valdez was born in the village of Penn Yan, New York. After high school Valdez joined the Air Force as a Russian linguist. He moved to Minnesota to attend Saint Thomas University and later became a school teacher for 22 years. He has worked in the ministry since 1991 working primarily with the Hispanic community. Valdez is married with six daughters. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - jobs held - Catholic religion - father's struggles - importance of education - military experience at the Black Sea - traveling - poem writing - Minnesota winter - issues with the Vietnam War - special education - languages - ministry - Mexican American Cultural Center - Latino community - baptism - Comunidad Latina Unida en Servicio - Lake Street with a strong Latino influence - growing Latino population - immigration topic - racial tension - and bilingual Mass.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

14. Interview with Carmen Robles

Creator:: Robles, Carmen
Date Created:: 2011-02-05
Description:: Carmen Robles was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn but grew up in Neillsville, Wisconsin. She went to school at Harvard. Robles has two children and one grandchild. She is the program director for the Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota focusing on Latino outreach. She works primarily with at risk youth through her program Jovenes de Salud (Youth Community Health Workers). SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - moving as a child - early marriage and children - working for Honeywell, Governor Arne Carlson, and various Latino organizations - her art - travel - being a Latino Republican - working with children - improving communities - perception of the Latino community - contributions by the Latino community to the state. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Along with her interview Carmen includes
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

15. Interview with Jose H. Trejo

Creator:: Trejo, Jose H.
Date Created:: 2010-04-11
Description:: Jose H. Trejo was born in Rosita, Mexico. Trejo and his family moved to Minnesota from Texas for better opportunities. He attended Austin Community College majoring in biology and later Mankato State University majoring in Spanish Studies. Trejo proceeded to teach at Red Wing High School for four years. He was the town supervisor for Eureka Township in Polk County, Wisconsin and served as director for Buckbee Mears Company. Trejo would later hold many more positions including working for the North American Free-Trade Agreement, as associate director for Metropolitan Interfaith Council on Affordable Housing, as director of the Saint Croix Falls Chamber of Commerce, for the Minnesota Human Trafficking Task Force, for the Cooperative Council on AIDS and HIV Prevention, and for the Agricultural Committee of the United States Department of Agriculture. He is currently working as director of the Breaking Free organization. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Jobs held - organizations - civil unrest - immigration - politics - trip moving to Minnesota - Minnesota weather - importance of education - discrimination in school - financial struggles - scholarships - teaching Spanish - bilingual in Spanish and English - active Latino community - civil unrest in Saint Paul - community involvement - Christian Science program - Neighborhood Watch - Spanish Speaking Affairs Council - Minnesota Migrant Council - lawsuits - funding - Minnesota Hispanic Chamber of Commerce - Chicano Liberation Front - Minnesota Hispanic AIDS - Hispanic Women's Conference - Migrant Health Program - Latino Employment Program - President Carter - human rights - diversity - and leadership.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

16. Interview with Joo Ho Sung

Creator:: Sung, Dr. Joo Ho
Date Created:: 1980-02-07 - 1980-11-20
Description:: Joo Ho Sung was born in 1927 in Taejon, Ch'ungchong Province, Korea. He was educated at Yonsei University and Medical College and arrived in the United States in July of 1954 to take residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Neward, New Jersey. After completing his residency he enrolled in July of 1957 at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City for graduate study in neuropathology. In July of 1961 he was appointed assistant professor at that institution, and in January of 1962 he was appointed assistant professor in charge of the neuropathology laboratory at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He became an associate professor in 1966 and a full professor in 1969. He was a leader in Minnesota's Korean community from 1962 to 1972. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: History of Koreans in Minnesota, with a focus on the period from 1962 to 1972 - development of community organizations including the Korean Student Association, the Korean Association, the Korean Medical Association, the Korean Bible Study Group, the Korean Christian Fellowship, the Korean Church of the Twin Cities, the Korean Community Church, and later denominational churches in the Korean community - exchange programs between the University of Minnesota and Seoul National University in the 1950s - and the role of Koreans in the 1970 Aquatennial in Minneapolis. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Sung was chosen by Korean leaders in Minnesota as the community's spokesman to assist Minnesota Historical Society staff in compiling a history of Koreans in the state. His interview provides valuable insights into the dynamics of the community.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

17. Interview with Hedy Tripp

Creator:: Tripp, Hedy
Date Created:: 2012-02-17
Description:: Hedy Tripp was born in 1948 in Singapore. Subjects discussed include: Early life in Singapore - family history - going to school in Singapore - getting married and divorced - coming to the United States - getting remarried in the United States - moving to Saint Cloud, Minnesota - worries about racism in Saint Cloud - teaching - comparing the educational systems in the United States and Singapore - working for groups such as the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum - having breast cancer - calling Minnesota home.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

18. Interview with Godan Nambudiripad

Creator:: Nambudiripad, Godan; Ramsey
Date Created:: 2000-05-17
Description:: Godan Nambudiripad was born in India and emigrated to the U.S. as an adult. He served as a teacher, administrator and board member and participated as an adult student at SILC. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Personal background; participation in SILC; experiences as a teacher, president, and board member; volunteer recruitment; personal benefits; teaching methods; curriculum development; challenges and rewards of teaching; social connections; enrollment increases; organizational changes; location changes; experiences as a student; parental perspective; secularity; favorite moments; Festivals of India; Festival of Nations; outreach to adopted children; imparting culture.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

19. Interview with Dorjee Norbu

Creator:: Norbu, Dorjee T.
Date Created:: 2005-09-30
Description:: Dorjee Norbu was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. He moved with his family to Mussoorie and then Rajpur. His mother moved to Minnesota in 1992. Norbu and the rest of the family followed in 1996. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, family, school experiences in India and the United States, expectations of Minnesota, first experiences in Minnesota, snow, differences in social relationships between Tibetans and Americans, similarities and differences between Tibetan, Indian, and American culture, making friends, attending college, Tibetan dance group, international students, Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts (TIPA), preserving Tibetan culture, community, challenges, including gangs and violence, differences between adults and adolescents, stereotypes, economic differences within the community, race, working on the Minnesota Tibetan Oral History Project.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

20. Interview with Jane Wilson

Creator:: Wilson, Lucia Jane
Date Created:: 2002-10-11
Description:: Jane Wilson came to Minnesota in the early 1940s. She taught English to Chinese immigrants at the Westminster Presbyterian Church for about twenty years starting in mid-1940s as a function of the Chinese Sunday School program. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Chinese Sunday School held by Westminster Presbyterian church in Minneapolis as a vehicle to teach English and other skills, her role as teacher, and other ways she helped the Chinese and Asian community - various celebrations she has attended.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

21. Interview with Harry Chin

Creator:: Gee, Chin Hong
Date Created:: 2002-08-20
Description:: Harry Chin was born in China in the early 1920s. He immigrated to Minnesota in 1940 as a paper son. During the war he worked as a riveter, and then he worked at a variety of Chinese owned businesses, primarily restaurants. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: His family - father's immigration to the United States - his own immigration to the United States - wartime work - other employers - Yep Laundry, Canton CafT, Kee's Chow Mein, Port Arthur CafT, House of Ming, Nankin - his marriage in United States - his marriage in China - winning Chinese lottery - homes he owned - resolving the paper son issue - helping family members immigrate.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

22. Interview with Alfonso de Leon

Creator:: de Leon, Alfonso
Date Created:: 1975-07-08
Description:: Alfonso de Leon was born in Antila de Nopales, Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1902. He traveled with a military band during the Mexican Revolution and in 1918 came to the United States, where he worked in a mine in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He got married in 1922 in Bridgeport, Texas, where their first child was born. From 1923 to 1929 he worked in beet fields in Wyoming, Colorado, Iowa and Minnesota. They moved to Minnesota in 1929, and he started working in the Armour Packing House. He became involved in Mexican-American community organizations and activities in St. Paul. He retired from Armour in 1965. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life in Mexico - the Mexican Revolution - life in Texas - work in the beet fields - the early Mexican-American community in St. Paul, including its organizations and festivals - his family - and personal views and philosophy of life. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English. This is an extremely valuable interview on the early history of the Mexican-American community on St. Paul's West Side.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

23. Interview with George Galvin

Creator:: Galvin, George
Date Created:: 1975-07-16
Description:: George Galvin was born May 25, 1910, in El Paso, Texas. He spent his early years living in various places, and in March of 1920 he came to Minnesota. As a young man, Galvin pursued a boxing career. In his adult years he held a variety of jobs and was active in organizing unions and the Minnesota branch of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC). SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family history - boxing career - unions he helped to organize - LULAC - his store and bar - employment record - future hopes and advice for younger people.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

24. Interview with Angel M. Fernandez

Creator:: Fernandez, Angel M.
Date Created:: 1975-08-08
Description:: Angel M. Fernandez was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in September of 1932. He came to the United States in 1956 in response to an advertisement by the American consulate in Mexico that offered opportunities for single men to go to the United States. He enlisted in the Air Force and soon was stationed at Fort Snelling. He was married in 1959 to Anita Morales Liscano. He held several jobs and at the time of the interview was an accountant for the Minnesota Department of Public Welfare. Subjects discussed include: Family history - life in Mexico - employment record - religion - alcoholism - adapting to marriage - experiences in the Air Force - educational systems in the United States and Mexico - adapting to life in the United States and to the English language - and advice to the young. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

25. Interview with Jigme Ugen

Creator:: Ugen, Jigme
Date Created:: 2005-08-31
Description:: Jigme Ugen was born in Kalimpong, India. He moved to Minnesota in 2000. Ugen has worked with many political organizations including the 2002 senate campaign for Paul Wellstone. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, family, Indo-Tibetan Buddhist Cultural Institute (ITBCI), Australia, identity conflicts, similarities and differences between Tibetan, Indian, and American culture, politics, Senator Paul Wellstone, immigration difficulties, assimilation, workers rights, unions, parenting, preserving culture, challenges, Tibetan Cultural Center, community, stereotypes, Tibetan politics, future of community, Regional Tibetan Youth Congress (RTYC), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Tibetan language, joint family living.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

26. Interview with Arturo and Elvira Coronado

Creator:: Coronado, Arturo
Date Created:: 1975-08-18
Description:: Arturo Coronado was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. His father was a successful railroad conductor in Mexico, but in 1915, when Arturo was ten years old, the family left the country because his father didn't want to be involved in the Revolution. They returned to Mexico later, only to go back to the United States again. He arrived in Minnesota in 1923 and held a variety of jobs, primarily tailoring and dry cleaning. Elvira Coronado was born in 1908, also in San Luis Potosi. Her father had an accident while in the United States seeking his sister, and the family came to join him in Houston, Texas. She came to Minnesota with her husband. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Immediate family, including names, birth dates and occupations - personal life history - the community in St. Paul - Arturo Coronado's dry cleaning business, and his work in organizing a labor union for that trade (1930-1946) - their first restaurant in St. Paul, La Casa Coronado, and their later restaurant in Minneapolis - Guadalupe Church - and advice for future generations.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

27. Interview with Alfonso Galvan

Creator:: Galvan, Alfonso
Date Created:: 1975-07-30
Description:: Alfonso Galvan was born in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico, in 1898. He fought in the Mexican Revolution and came to the United States in 1919. In 1923 he came to Chaska, Minnesota, and worked in the fields. He also worked as a butcher, for Armour for four years and for Swift for six years. He worked for Cudahy's for twenty-five years until 1954, when the plant closed. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: The Mexican Revolution - crossing the river and entering the United States - working for railroads, in farm fields and in the meatpacking industry - the first people in the West Side neighborhood of St. Paul - the Anahuac Society - celebrations on the West Side - his philosophy and advice to the young. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

28. Interview with Felicitas Herrera

Creator:: Herrera, Felicitas
Date Created:: 1975-08-05
Description:: Felicitas Herrera was born in Pirindaro, Mexico, in 1909 and came to the United States in 1920 by crossing the river at Laredo, Texas. She came to Minnesota to work in 1927 and continued to work throughout her life, while also being active in the Guadalupanas, who work to continue religious customs celebrating the fiesta day of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12. At the time of the interview she lived in St. Paul. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life in Mexico - various jobs in field work and meatpacking - religious life - and the Guadalupanas. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English. A photocopied newspaper column on Herrera is in the Mexican-American Project file in the oral history office.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

29. Interview with Aparna Ganguli

Creator:: Ganguli, Aparna
Date Created:: 1994-12-06
Description:: Aparna Ganguli was born and grew up in India. She attended school and college in India and received a graduate degree. She immigrated to the United States in the early 1960s. More recently, she received a doctorate in Minnesota and currently teaches at a university. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Background, experiences in India, childhood, college experiences, marriage, arriving and adjusting to the U.S.-cultural differences. Visits to India. Educational experiences in the U.S., work history. Experiences in the Indian community, School of India for Language and Culture (SILC), Bengali Association. Retaining and passing on cultural values, maintaining family ties.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

30. Interview with Indru S. Advani

Creator:: Advani, Indru S.
Date Created:: 1994-06-12
Description:: Indru Advani was born in a part of India which is now in Pakistan. He attended school and college in India. He did graduate work in Minnesota. Presently, he is retired. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Experiences in India before emigrating, experiences in Kenya, marriage and family, caste system in India, travels to India, family visits, memories of arriving in New York City and Minneapolis, religion, Indo-American Association at the University of Minnesota, experiences singing, socializing in the Indian community, work history, retaining and passing on cultural values, maintaining family ties, future plans, American values of home and homestead.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

31. Interview with Aparna Ramaswamy

Creator:: Ramaswamy, Aparna
Date Created:: 1997-07-20
Description:: Aparna Ramaswamy was born in India. She moved with her parents to Minnesota where she was raised and attended college. She studied classical dance in India, and has performed with the Ragamala Music and Dance Theater founded by her mother. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family life - interest in both Indian and American culture - studying dance in India - college life - Bharata Natyam dance - development and growth of the Ragamala dance company - participating in the School of India for Languages and Culture (SILC) in Minnesota - views on Hindu religious practice - Indian movies - melding professional plans with interest in Indian dance - importance of maintaining a sense of Indian culture.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

32. Interview with Deepak Nath

Creator:: Nath, Deepak
Date Created:: 1997-03-20
Description:: Deepak Nath was born in the U.S. His parents emigrated from India in the 1960s. He attended school in Minnesota and college in Massachusetts. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language, childhood memories, socializing with other Indians, maintaining ties to India - family values - discrimination, high school memories, religion, future plans, travels to India, Indian films - Babson Dance Ensemble (Massachusetts) - college life and experiences - balancing Western and Indian cultures, advantages and disadvantages of being a child of immigrant parents.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

33. Interview with Godan Nambudiripad

Creator:: Nambudiripad, Godan
Date Created:: 2003-07-06
Description:: Godan Nambudiripad came to Minnesota in 1981 with his family and became acquainted with the Indian community. He became president of the India Association of Minnesota [IAM] in 1990. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Moving to the United States - education - finding a job - becoming acquainted with members of the Indian community in Minnesota - involvement in the School of India for Languages and Culture [SILC] and the Hindu Mandir - early involvement in IAM - India Day activities and community involvement - participation in Festival of Nations volunteering activities - serving on the board of IAM, and eventually as president - meeting the Ambassador of India to the United States - community outreach and service programs - involvement in the IAM-sponsored speaker's bureau and experience speaking at various schools - community dance dramas - host family program for Indian international students - the Share and Care program - Literacy As a Movement for People [LAMP] movement and fundraising - IAM newsletter - the Children's Home Society - early history projects and lasting legacies - role of the internet - the Numbudiri caste - IAM membership - and maintaining Indian culture.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

34. Interview with Amy Cerna

Creator:: Cerna, Amy; United States
Date Created:: 2/25/2013
Description:: Amy Cerna was born in 1983 in Big Wells, Texas. At the time of the interview Cerna was studying business at Minnesota State Community and Technical College. She was married with three children and was a volunteer at Mujeres Unidas [Women United]. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - marriage - moving within the United States - education - Latino identity and community - Community services - working at MET, Inc.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

35. Interview with Gilbert de la O

Creator:: de la O, Gilbert; United States
Date Created:: 2010-03-39
Description:: Gilbert de la O was born in New Ulm, Minnesota. His family moved from Texas to Minnesota in search of work. He started working at the Neighborhood House, a community center, as a teen and continued for over fifty years. De la O is married with two children. He also served as the first Chicano ever on the St. Paul School Board. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background, community involvement - childhood growing up at the Neighborhood House child care center - revolution of 1910 - financial struggles - Our Lady of Guadalupe church - Jewish community - Latino community - lack of diversity - Black Bridge - racism in the classroom - the Chicano Movement with the Brown Berets - Chicano Studies at the University of Minnesota - serving in the Vietnam War - military order in his life - changing views towards being against wars - impact of sports - unemployment - growing diversity in Saint Paul - uniting the Latino community - education - and the West Side Boosters.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

36. Interview with Bless Say

Creator:: Say, Bless
Date Created:: 2011-05-11
Description:: Bless Say was born in Burma, August 8, 1950. She came to the United States in 2008. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life - family - school in Burma - dangers of being Karen in Burma - farming - Karen communities in Burma - fleeing to Thailand - refugee camps - moving to Minnesota - citizenship - working in Minnesota - learning English.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

37. 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

38. Interview with Charles Goldfus

Creator:: Goldfus, Charles
Date Created:: 1978-05-25 - 1978-05-26
Description:: Charles Goldfus was born Oct. 1, 1897, in north Minneapolis. Both parents were from Lithuania. In 1929 he married Sylvia Jacobs of St. Paul. Goldfus opened a liquor store in downtown Minneapolis in 1934, and in the 1940s he became a partner in the Dorset Hansen Catering Company. In 1947 he sold both businesses and moved to California. At the time of the interview, he and his wife lived in Palm Springs, California. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: His family's house on Lyndale Place, near 6th Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue - many north Minneapolis businesses and people in the Jewish community - receiving liquor license number 1 after the repeal of Prohibition, and opening his liquor store in February of 1934 in the Plymouth Building, 523 Hennepin Avenue - developing his own private brand labels, such as King's Favorite scotch - and entering the catering businesses.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

39. Interview with Gladys Jacobs Field

Creator:: Field, Gladys Jacobs
Date Created:: 1978-01-29
Description:: Gladys Jacobs was born in 1903 and raised in Minneapolis. Her father operated Jacobs Jewelry in Minneapolis, and her mother's family was involved in the G. Pflaum and Sons cigar factory in St. Anthony. Jacobs married Harold Finkelstein (of the Finkelstein and Rubin theater chain) of St. Paul in 1926. In 1936 they changed their last name to Field. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Growing up in a large German-Jewish family - her close relationships with her grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - incidences of anti-Semitism that she experienced - her involvement with the Minneapolis Art Institute, the Walker Art Center, and community and Jewish organizations - and her feelings about being Jewish.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

40. Interview with Blanche Halpern Goldberg

Creator:: Goldberg, Blanche Halpern
Date Created:: 1976-05-04
Description:: Blanche Halpern Goldberg was born in Minneapolis in about 1906. Her family had come from Politork, Romania, in 1900. In 1910 they moved to Hebron, North Dakota, returning to Minneapolis in 1921. She is one of twelve Halpern children. She attended West High School and the University of Minnesota, from which she received a bachelor's degree in education in 1926. Also in 1926 she married Dr. Isadore Goldberg, and they have two sons, Stanley and Arthur. Goldberg taught in Minneapolis public schools for a short time after World War II. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Immigration of extended family to Minneapolis - life as Jews in a small North Dakota town - anti-Semitism at the University of Minnesota and in teaching and medicine - education - the Depression - and child-rearing, including her two sons and her sister's two children. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Goldberg's husband, Isadore Goldberg, was also interviewed for this oral history project.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

41. Interview with Joe Campos

Creator:: Campos, Joe; United States
Date Created:: 2013-03-23
Description:: Joe Campos was born in 1963 in Amherst, Texas. After graduating from Area Vocational Technical Institute, Campos worked for the credit union before returning to Northland Community College. At the time of the interview Campos resided in East Grand Forks, North Dakota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - work - education - Latino community and identity - language - Latino traditions, celebrations, and holidays.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

42. Interview with Jesse Bethke Gomez

Creator:: Gomez, Jesse Bethke
Date Created:: 2010-07-19
Description:: Jesse Bethke Gomez was born in Robbinsdale, Minnesota and grew up in Brooklyn Park and in New Hope. Gomez attended the University of Minnesota majoring in sociology of law and Chicano Studies. He continued school at Metropolitan State University for his master's in management administration. Gomez is the executive director of the Chicanos Latinos Unidos En Servicio (CLUES). SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - immigration of parents - passion for music and arts - El Instituto de Arte y Cultura - Human Rights Act for Minnesota - farm work - population of Latino community in Minnesota - experiencing European and Latino cultures as a child - dance groups - having faith - education - non-profit organizations - CLUES - Consulate of Mexico in Chicago - English as a Second Language (ESL) - budget - focus groups - and Lake Street.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

43. Interview with Ben Brochin

Creator:: Brochin, Ben
Date Created:: 1979-07-01
Description:: Ben Brochin was born in Minneapolis on Sept. 2, 1909, to Solomon Brochin (1878-1958) and Anna Levinson Brochin (1883-1947), who came to Minneapolis from Lithuania in 1906. Solomon Brochin ran a grocery store (later a delicatessen) in North Minneapolis. Ben Brochin began work in his father's store as a child and later took over the business. Brochin's Delicatessen had four locations and finally closed in 1967. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: The North Minneapolis Jewish neighborhood - Brochin's store, with a vivid description of its contents - his father, an ardent Zionist, grocer, and agent for a steamship company that brought immigrants to the United States - boyhood work in the store, including selling newspapers - amateur boxing as a source of income for young men - celebrating the end of World War I at the Glass Block in Minneapolis - his father's practice of staking new immigrants to food on credit at his store - the Talmud Torah picnic at Longfellow Gardens and Zoo - and the Emanuel Cohen Center. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: The MHS photo collection includes a photo of Solomon Brochin in his store.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

44. Interview with Carlos Mariani Rosa

Creator:: Mariani Rosa, Carlos
Date Created:: 2010-07-26
Description:: Carlos Mariani Rosa was born in Michigan and grew up in Chicago. Rosa moved to Minnesota to attend Macalester College and soon married. He worked at the Minnesota Council of Churches and is now the executive director of the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership. He is currently a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives since 1990 and chair of the House K-12 Education Policy Committee. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - jobs held - racial tension in Chicago - diversity - importance of education - networking - factory work - scholarship for college - Minnesota weather - racial differences from Chicago and Minnesota - traveling - community outreach - racism - farmer issues - social issues - church - Hispanic Directors Association - National Institutes for Health - Chicanos Latinos Unidos En Servicio - politics - funding - Latino community - Cinco de Mayo - Lake Street - non-profit organizations - and community involvement.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

45. Interview with Francisco Morales

Creator:: Morales, Francisco
Date Created:: 2010-11-17 - 2010-12-15
Description:: Francisco Morales was born in Mexico City, Mexico before moving to California. Morales later moved to Willmar, Minnesota seeking better opportunities. He completed two years of welding school, one year of cosmetology school, and went to canine schools to train guard dogs. Afterwards he held several positions including corn detasseling. Morales currently works as a youth counselor for schools and has served for over 23 years. He has two children and resides in Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - relationships - youth outreach - Latino community - diversity - racism - visiting Mexico - Minnesota winter - being bilingual in Spanish and English - culture and traditions - lack of community in Minnesota - importance of education - Elm Lane - crime issues - business - social issues - Chicano-Latino Affairs Council - immigration experience - friendships - religion - and Somalian immigrants facing similar struggles as Latino immigrants.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

46. Interview with Amos Deinard

Creator:: Deinard, Amos; United States
Date Created:: 1978-12-10
Description:: Amos Deinard was raised near Lake Minnetonka and later resided in Minneapolis. He was a prominent Jewish figure in Minnesota. In 1933 he married his sister's close friend. Together they raised their son and daughter. Among the many positions he served he continued to improve the community by serving as member and chairman on the Fair Employment Practices Commission from 1947 to 1964. He considered himself a liberal in ""the true sense of the word."" SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Temple of Isr
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

47. Interview with Alberto Monserrate

Creator:: Monserrate, Alberto
Date Created:: 2010-12-29
Description:: Alberto Monserrate was born in Middlebury, Vermont. Monserrate grew up in Puerto Rico and England. He moved to Minnesota and attended the University of Minnesota majoring in sociology. He has held several positions including the state chair of the Minnesota Young DFL, Ameriprise, Board of La Oportunidad Incorporated, Prudential Securities as a financial advisor, and founding board of the KIPP Stand (Knowledge Is Power Program). Monserrate is currently a Latino Media owner of La Prensa, La Invasora, and LCN. He is currently serving on the Minneapolis School Board. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Jobs held - family background - being bilingual in Spanish and English - playing sports - crime exposure - Minnesota weather - scholarships - lack of Latino community in 1980s - racism - relationships - financial struggles - immigration - Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio - Latino non-profits - education - technology - Lake Street - community involvement - Latino businesses - Latino rally - anti-immigrant sentiment - English as a Second Language - Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

48. Interview with Jose Cung

Creator:: Cung, Jose
Date Created:: 1980-11-14 - 1981-02-13
Description:: Jose Cung was born August 24, 1940, in Saigon, South Vietnam. Her father was a businessman from North Vietnam. She grew up in Saigon and in 1958 enrolled at the University of Saigon. After one year she transferred to the University of Sydney in Australia, where she received a bachelor's degree in political science in 1963. In 1964 she married Tien Cung, a popular singer and composer as well as an agricultural economist trained in England. Their son Raphael was born in 1967. Before the fall of the South Vietnamese government, JosTe Cung was employed first by the Ministry of Social Affairs and later the Commission for Tourism. She also served as local coordinator for a research project of the Rand Corporation under contract by the United States Department of Defense. With the collapse of the government in April of 1975, the family fled Saigon on one of many barges used to take evacuees out to sea. The family was picked up by ships of the United States Seventh Fleet and taken to Subic Bay in the Philippines, and later to Guam. They spent about four weeks in a refugee camp at Fort Chafee, Arkansas, before they were released to a sponsor in Washington, D.C. Shortly after that, Tien Cung was offered employment by a foreign aid agency of the U.S. Department of State, and the family spent a year in Canberra, Australia. When the job was finished, the Cungs returned to the United States and settled temporarily in Dallas, Texas, where Tien's parents and sister, also refugees from Vietnam, had relocated. In 1977 the family moved to Minnesota, where Tien was offered a job with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. After arrival JosTe obtained employment in the city of St. Paul's Division of Manpower Services from 1977 to 1978 and again from 1980 to 1981. From 1978 to 1980 she also worked for the United Way. Cung was an early organizer and officer of the Vietnamese Cultural Association of Minnesota, which as early as 1977 sponsored a week-long conference, To Save and Maintain Our Culture
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

49. Interview with Jose Valdez

Creator:: Valdez, Jose A.
Date Created:: 1976-06-21
Description:: Jose Valdez was born in Texas in 1940 and moved to Minnesota to be director of the Minnesota Migrant Council. Subjects discussed include: Council history from 1969 to 1976 - its goals, structure, staff, function and funding - accomplishments - and possible future ventures.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

50. Interview with Crecencia Rangel

Creator:: Rangel, Crecencia
Date Created:: 1975-07-02
Description:: Crecencia Rangel was born in Mexico City in the early 1900s and married in 1921 in Aguascalientes, Mexico. She and her husband settled in St. Paul in 1928 after living in Kansas for some time. She worked in rural and urban Minnesota and was an active member of the Mexican-American community in St. Paul. Subjects discussed include: Early life in Mexico - the Mexican Revolution - working for the railroad in Kansas - work in Minnesota beet fields in Bird Island, Chaska and St. Bonifacius - problems and development of the Mexican-American community in St. Paul - social and religious groups - observance of special days among Mexican Americans - and her husband's appointment as Mexican consul in 1948 and his involvement in community affairs and in handling language problems and Mexican immigrants in St. Paul.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

51. Interview with Gummadi J. Franklin

Creator:: Franklin, Gummadi
Date Created:: 2004-07-31
Description:: Gummadi Franklin graduated from pharmacy school in India before immigrating to Minnesota in 1969. He became president of the India Association of Minnesota [IAM] in 1998. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Childhood - growing up in India - family - education - getting married - moving to Minnesota and finding a job - involvement with the Trustee Advisory Committee of the IAM - creation of the School of India for Languages and Culture [SILC] - various demographical branches of the IAM - importance of community - membership in the association - involvement in the Festival of Nations - serving as president of the association - fiftieth anniversary of India's independence celebration - involvement in relief projects - commercialization of the organization - future of the association.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

52. Interview with Jonathan Remund

Creator:: Remund, Jonathan
Date Created:: 1999-01-26
Description:: Jonathan Remund was born in India and adopted by a family in Minnesota. He attended school and college in Minnesota, and is currently pursuing a graduate degree. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Birth - early life - adoption - International Mission of Hope - education - citizenship - learning English - family - marriage - home ownership - travels to India - work experience in India - culture and values - socializing - future plans.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

53. Interview with Deep Shikha Gupta

Creator:: Gupta, Deep Shikha
Date Created:: 2005-06-23
Description:: Deep Shikha Gupta came to Minnesota in 1986 and completed her PhD in economics. She became involved with the School of India for Languages and Culture [SILC] and also the India Association of Minnesota [IAM]. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Growing up in India - having an arranged marriage - teaching economics - moving to the United States and completing her PhD in addition to raising two children - meeting other Indians in the community - involvement in SILC - involvement in IAM and participation in events such as India Day - personal rewards of involvement in IAM and problems faced by the Indian community - impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the Indian community - controversial issues faced by IAM - membership and future of IAM - second-generation Indian-Americans and identity issues - gender inequality in India and in the United States - and opportunities for women in the United States.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

54. Interview with Bash Singh

Creator:: Singh, Bash
Date Created:: 1995-01-12
Description:: Bash Singh was born in a city formerly in India and now in Pakistan. She attended school and college in India. She came to the U.S. and lived first in Tennessee and then moved to Minnesota in the early 1970s. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Experiences living in Saudi Arabia - discrimination in Tennessee - the move to Minnesota and adjusting to cold weather - operating her candy store - marriage - instilling Indian values - religion, Sikh Association of Minnesota - other family members' experiences in Minnesota - membership in the Indo-American Club and the Association of American Physicians from India (AAPI) - volunteer work - connections to family in India - retirement plans - the importance of family values, personal values - the American Dream.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

55. Interview with Jagadish Desai

Creator:: Desai, Jagadish
Date Created:: 2003-07-15
Description:: Jagadish Desai was born in India and came to the United States in 1959 to study chemical engineering. He came to Minnesota in 1962. He was one of the founders of the India Association of Minnesota [IAM], formerly known as the India Club. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Coming to the United States to study chemical engineering - initial difficulty finding a job - meeting and marrying his wife - moving to Minnesota - first job with Gould-National Batteries - housing and job discrimination - meeting other Indians through the University of Minnesota's Indo-American club - involvement with the International Institute, and subsequently the Festival of Nations - involvement in the foundation of the India Club - process of inviting speakers, musicians, artists, and others from India to speak and give performances in Minnesota - involvement in Bicentennial activities - meeting people of various ethnic backgrounds in Minnesota - becoming a United States citizen and involvement in politics - obtaining his law degree - and retirement.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

56. Interview with Guptan Nambudiripad

Creator:: Nambudiripad, Guptan
Date Created:: 1997-03-12
Description:: Nambudiripad was born in British Columbia. He attended college in Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language. Relations with extended family. Advantages and disadvantages of being the first generation born in American. Diverse cultures of India. Family's values, vegetarianism. Religion. Arma Chitra comic books. Experiences in Illinois. School experiences, discrimination, The School of India for Languages and Culture (SILC). College, work and volunteering experiences.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

57. Interview with Geeta S. McGibbon

Creator:: McGibbon, Geeta Saxena; United States
Date Created:: 1998-02-13
Description:: Geeta Saxena McGibbon was born in India. She and her parents moved to Massachusetts and then to Minnesota. She attended college in Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language, values, religion, schooling, discrimination, socializing as a family, activities in high school. Contrasting Indian values of parents and relatives in India, travels to India, work experiences, volunteering experiences. Advantages and disadvantages of being part of an immigrant family. Experiences as a mother.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

58. Interview with Huang Hai

Creator:: Hai, Huang
Date Created:: 1993-01-25
Description:: Huang Hai came to the United States in August, 1992. As a scholar and lecturer of Civil Art, he was invited by the Mingee International Museum of World Folk Art to be a part of a show about Hmong civil ornaments (silver jewelry). Following the close of the show, Huang Hai came to Minnesota where he is studying for a PhD in anthropology from the University of Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Huang Hai speaks of the Chinese Hmong culture in China and discusses his observations about life in the United States.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

59. 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

60. 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

61. Interview with Joe Huie

Creator:: Huie, Joe
Date Created:: 1979-03-25
Description:: Joe Huie was born in about 1892 in a rural village in the Taishan District of Guangdong Province in southern China. He immigrated to the United States at age 17, arriving in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1909. Through a friend from his village who had arrived earlier, Huie got a job as dishwasher in a Chinese-owned restaurant, the St. Paul Cafe, where he later worked as cook and manager and eventually became part owner. In 1915 he returned to China for a visit to his family and village. Upon his return to Duluth in 1917 he was drafted into the armed services but discharged almost immediately because of his lack of knowledge of the English language. In about 1920 he got a job at the Chinese-owned Arrowhead Cafe and worked there for more than a decade, sending remittances to Taishan for the support of his family and saving money for a future business of his own in China. In 1933 he returned to China and established a small business in Taishan. He remained there with his family until 1937, when the Japanese invasion of China threatened his business and he decided to return to Duluth. After World War II Huie again went to China and established a business in the provincial capital of Guangzhou (Canton). With the Communist victory in China in 1948, Huie realized that private businesses were in jeopardy and returned to Duluth with two sons. In 1951 they established the Joe Huie Cafe, which became a landmark in the city, attracting patrons from every walk of life. Huie operated his restaurant for 22 years before retiring in 1973 at the age of about 81. Because of restrictive American immigration laws and Chinese tradition, Huie's family remained in China during most of his years in Duluth before World War II. Although he brought two sons to Duluth in 1949, after liberalization of U.S. immigration law in 1943, it was not until 1954 that his wife and two youngest children arrived in the United States. His youngest child was born in Duluth after the family had been reunited. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Joe Huie's early life in China - his struggle to survive as a young immigrant in Duluth - his many inventions - and his interest in healing and folk medicines. Huie also provides information on the early Chinese community in Duluth. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Joe Huie is one of the few early twentieth-century Chinese immigrants to be interviewed for this oral history project, and he provides invaluable information on the experience of early Chinese immigrants in Duluth. Portions of the tape are somewhat difficult to understand, but for the most part Huie's spoken English is understandable.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

62. Interview with Augusto and Rebecca Sumangil

Creator:: Sumangil, Augusto
Date Created:: 1978-12-08
Description:: Augusto (Tito) and Rebecca Sumangil immigrated to the United States from the Philippines in 1969 as young professionals. Augusto grew up in Manila, on the island of Luzon, and is an accountant. Rebecca's home was in Antique Province, in the Visayan Islands of the central Philippines, and she is a registered nurse. Both found jobs very quickly in the Twin Cities, and Augusto is now employed by the Northrup King Seed Company, while Rebecca works at St. Barnabus Hospital. They have a young daughter, Anne, born in Minnesota. The Sumangils have been active in the Fil-Minnesotan Association, and Augusto is the editor of the organization's newsletter. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: The Sumangils discuss their early impressions of Minnesota and contrast the good reception they have had with the discrimination encountered by the old timers" in the Filipino community in the Twin Cities during the 1920s and 1930s. They also discuss the problems of child rearing faced by immigrant parents and point out that like many other young professional from the Philippines
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

63. Interview with Hyun Sook Han

Creator:: Han, Hyun Sook
Date Created:: 1979-01-03
Description:: Hyun Sook Han was born in about 1938 in Seoul, Korea. She was the oldest of ten children in her family, only seven of whom survived to adulthood. Her parents grew up in a rural area of South Korea but moved to Seoul as young adults. Her father was an office worker for an electric company. In 1945, when she was seven years old, Korea gained independence after 40 years of Japanese rule, but five years later the Korean War began. It was a period of severe hardship for residents of Seoul, who had to evacuate the city in January of 1951 and move with United Nations troops to the south. With widespread starvation and illness among the refugees, the three youngest children in her family died, and none of the others could attend school until they returned to Seoul in October of 1952. Seoul in 1952 was the scene of continuing food shortages and lack of adequate shelter, and although her father had a job, he was not paid initially. In 1958 she entered Ewha Women's University, and remembering the many abandoned babies and children she had seen during the wartime evacuation to the south she decided to prepare for a career in social work. After graduation from Ewha, she married and had a daughter, and in 1964 she accepted a job with International Social Services, an agency that handled American adoptions of racially mixed children born in Korea as a result of the American military presence. In 1971 she was selected by the U.S.-sponsored Council for International Programs for a four-month period of study and training at the University of Minnesota School of Social Work and the Children's Home Society of St. Paul. After her return to Korea she applied for a job at the Children's Home Society, and in 1975 she immigrated with her husband and two children to take a job in the agency's Korean adoption program. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Hyun Sook Han discusses her family background in Korea - hardships of the Korean War period - and the place of adoptions in the Confucian culture of Korea. She also describes the changing roles of men and women in the immigrant community in Minnesota - problems of child-rearing - difficulties for Koreans in forming friendships with Americans - the role of the church - and problems of many Korean wives of American soldiers in Minnesota. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Hyun Sook Han is an articulate representative of the women in the Korean immigrant community and provides valuable information on the changing family structure and special groups such as adopted children and servicemen's wives.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

64. Interview with Benigno Andrada

Creator:: Andrada, Benigno
Date Created:: 1978-10-09 - 1978-11-01
Description:: Benigno Andrada came to Minnesota from the Philippines in 1928 at the age of 16. His first job was as a waiter at the Minneapolis Athletic Club. In 1930 he married a Norwegian-American woman, and they had three sons. His wife died in 1956, and in 1957 he married his second wife, Belen, a Filipino woman. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: In the first interview, Mr. Andrada discusses his adjustment to life in Minnesota, his family, his jobs and the Filipino community in the Twin Cities. In the second interview he tells about the Philippine Echo newspaper, work during the depression and World War II, Filipinos who worked on the farms near Albert Lea and Chaska, Minnesota and his return trip to the Philippines in 1966.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

65. 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

66. Interview with Bounlorm Soumetho

Creator:: Soumetho, Bounlorm
Date Created:: 2012-09-22
Description:: Bounlorm Soumetho grew up in Laos but escaped to Thailand after his land was taken from him at the end of the Vietnam War. He was a former president of Lao Community of Worthington, Minnesota, and at the time of the interview was chairman of the Lao Buddhist Organization of Southwest Minnesota. Subjects discussed include: Family, marriage, financial struggles, education, unemployment, immigration to Thailand and the United States, Vietnam War, Minnesota's Lao community.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

67. Interview with Hue Van Lien

Creator:: Lien, Hue Van
Date Created:: 2010-10-29
Description:: Hue Van Lien was born in rural Vietnam. After his father passed away when he was 13 he moved to Saigon. At that time he began working for an electrical company and got married. He got his GED when he arrived in Minnesota and is now the president of Modern Manufacturing and Engineering, Inc. Hue has four daughters. Subjects discussed include: Childhood in Vietnam; Fall of Saigon; living in refugee camps; immigrating; learning English; charity work; Vietnamese culture; family; going back to Vietnam.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

68. Interview with Anita Astran

Creator:: Astran, Anita
Date Created:: 2010-09-06
Description:: Anita Astran was born in Bluffton, Ohio. She attended one year at a community and technical college. She married Rudy Astran and together raised two children. Astran worked as a scholarship advisor providing financial assistance to prospective students. She supports community organizations such as the YMCA, Centro Culture, Migrant Legal Services, and Migrant Health. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - education - her son's direction and career choices - her daughter's personality and interests - Christian influences - differences between Crystal City and Moorhead ethnically - using Facebook for a Crystal City social network - keeping in touch with family - discrimination and racism - relationships with neighbors - Moorhead community becoming more understanding of different cultures - Latino community - community organizations - deciding on living in Minnesota vs. North Dakota - and immigration.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

69. Interview with Idalia "Charly" Leuze

Creator:: Leuze, Idalia
Date Created:: 2009-08-11
Description:: Idalia Leuze was brought up in San Antonio, Texas and moved to Minnesota. Leuze was raised in Willmar and went to Ridgewater College (formerly Willmar Vo-Tech) studying legal administration. She worked for the Chamber of Commerce, Public Defender's office, as an interpreter, as a corrections counselor, at PACT 4 Families, and as director of West Central Integration Collaborative. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Childhood - family - Latino culture in Texas and Minnesota - religion - education - lack of diversity in Willmar - suing the Willmar School District over Latino student rights - dangerous living conditions - having to get tamale ingredients from Chicago - grand opening of Taco John's restaurant - Somali integration - visit to China - and funds and grants.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

70. Interview with Maria Argueta

Creator:: Argueta, Maria; United States
Date Created:: 2/23/2013
Description:: Maria Argueta was born in 1989 in Santa Tecla, El Salvador. She moved to Los Angeles at the age of five before later moving to Minnesota. At the time of the interview Argueta resided in Crookston, Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - Salvadoran community - ESL education - Salvadoran food, culture, and identity - Latino cultural retention.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

71. Interview with Miguel Diaz

Creator:: Diaz, Miguel; United States
Date Created:: 2/23/2013
Description:: Miguel Diaz was born in 1987 in Uriangato, Guanajuato, Mexico. He graduated with his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Concordia College. At the time of the interview was working on a Master's degree at North Dakota State University and was living in Moorhead, Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - Latinos in Pelican Rapids and broader Minnesota - Lutheran Social Services - Mexican cultural traditions, celebrations - cultural events in Pelican Rapids.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

72. Interview with Ruben Garcia

Creator:: Garcia, Ruben; United States
Date Created:: 2013-02-22
Description:: Ruben Garcia was born in Hart, Texas in 1960. After serving eight years in the military, Garcia graduated with an associate's degree in law enforcement from the University of Miami. At the time of the interview Garcia was living with his family and serving as a police officer in Moorhead, Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - childhood - language - Mexican cultural traditions - food - prejudice in the military - experiences with a family involved in the Ku Klux Klan - membership in Disabled American Vets.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

73. Interview with Eh Thweet

Creator:: Thweet, Eh
Date Created:: 2011-05-11
Description:: Eh Thweet was born in Burma in 1986. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life - Burmese military burning his village - struggle to pay for school - running from the Burmese army - finding food - landmines - fleeing to Thailand - living in a refugee camp in Thailand - religion - religious persecution - taking children from Burma to Thailand - coming to the United States - working for Catholic Charities - hopes of further education in Minnesota - Karen folktales.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

74. Interview with Olga Viso

Creator:: Viso, Olga; United States
Date Created:: 2/16/2011
Description:: Olga Viso was born in Melbourne, Florida. She attended Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida as an art major. Viso later attended Emory University for graduate school and afterwards became a curator at the High Museum. She later held the position as director of the Hirshhorn Museum for twelve years before becoming the executive director of the Walker Art Center. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - art as her passion - childhood - education - lack of diversity in Melbourne - Cuban exile - Cuban cooking - museum experience - Latino artists - Latino community - networking - community involvement - local art - immigrants - Walker Art Center as a resource for artists - organizations - global image of the Walker - multiculturalism - and embracing her heritage.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

75. Interview with David B. Limon

Creator:: Limon, David B.
Date Created:: 1975-08-05
Description:: David B. Limon was born in 1886 in Encarnacion de Diaz, Jalisco, Mexico. He came to the United States in 1913, arrived in St. Paul in 1923 and worked for the Burlington Northern Railroad for thirty-eight years, retiring in 1961. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: His work for the railroad - picking cotton in Texas - Mexican remedies for physical ailments - his home and family life - and advice for others. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

76. Interview with Ted Guerrero

Creator:: Guerrero, Ted
Date Created:: 2010-04-19
Description:: Ted Guerrero was born in Saint John's, Michigan. He was drawn to Minnesota to work on the farms and stayed for financial support offered by Moorhead State University. Guerrero received his bachelor's degree from Moorhead State University in guidance and counseling. Guerrero later worked for the University as a recruiter for minority students for over 35 years. He served as president of the Hispanic Caucus of Minnesota Education Association promoting bilingual education and ESL (English as a Second Language). Guerrero also served four years on the Minnesota State Board of Health under Governor Rudy Perpich. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - education - moving to Minnesota - jobs held - Minnesota winter - Hispanic music - speaking Spanish and English in the family - Latino culture - Tejano band - his five sons - education system in Minnesota - comparing North Dakota to Minnesota - cascarones - religion - Mexican food - diversity - racism renting a home - immigration - and networking.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

77. Interview with Hector Garcia

Creator:: Garcia, Hector
Date Created:: 2011-02-14
Description:: Hector Garcia was born in Mexico and raised in Mexico City. Garcfa graduated from the Instituto Tecnol=gico Aut=nomo de Mexico studying business administration. He moved to Minnesota in 1973 and later created MEX-US, a consulting company. Garcia worked as executive director for the Spanish Speaking Affairs Council and the National Conference for Community and Justice. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - campesino movement - childhood - pollution in Mexico City - poverty - racism - education - Latino culture - lack of diversity in Hawthorne, California - Minnesota weather - jobs held - businesses opportunities explored - North American Free Trade Agreement - decline of Mexican peso - anti-Semitism - wanting to help the lower class - organizations - Latino community - and the Legacy Fund.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

78. Interview with Viola Hoffman Hymes

Creator:: Hymes, Viola Hoffman
Date Created:: 1976-05-10
Description:: Viola Hoffman Hymes was born in Chicago and moved to Minneapolis at age 10 in about 1916. Her mother was born in Sweden, and her father was born in Romania and came to the United States at age 20. She graduated from West High School and the University of Minnesota, with a degree in education. She taught high school for five years before marrying Dr. Charles Hymes in 1930. They had two sons. Hymes was national president of the Council of Jewish Women and was elected to the Minneapolis School Board in 1963. She was an unsuccessful candidate for alderman in 1970 and was a founding member of the Citizens Committee on Public Education (COPE). She died in 1991. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early family life and family history - friendships - education - anti-Semitism - community service activities - the Depression - politics - marriage and family - and religion.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

79. Interview with Florence Glick Greene

Creator:: Greene, Florence Glick
Date Created:: 1979-08-13
Description:: Florence Glick Greene was born January 1, 1900, in Muscatine, Iowa. Her parents came from Laskova, Lithuania, a small town near Riga. Her father came to the United States in 1890, and her mother came with their four children more than three years later. Florence Glick married Louis Greene on January 23, 1926, and they had two daughters. She died November 24, 1985. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life in a small Iowa town - life in Minneapolis in the 1920s - work experience - anti-Semitism - the Depression - social and cultural activities - immigrants' poverty.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

80. Interview with Shepsel (S.R.) Roberts

Creator:: Roberts, Shepsel R.
Date Created:: 1976-03-05
Description:: Shepsel Roberts was born in Russia in 1914 and came to Minneapolis in 1921 with his parents and older brother and sister. He was educated at Yeshiva (Jewish school) in Chicago, married his wife Tibey at age 21 and has four children. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Immigration and poverty - his family's chicken business - selling newspapers as a boy - peddling - the Depression - his work as a shochet (ritual butcher) and mohel (ritual circumciser) - and the role of religion in his life.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

81. Interview with Nathan M. Shapiro

Creator:: Shapiro, Nathan M.
Date Created:: 1976-05-12
Description:: Nathan M. (Nate) Shapiro was born in Minneapolis in May of 1911. His father had come to Milwaukee several years earlier and then moved to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, to work as a coppersmith for Leinenkugel Breweries. Next his father moved to Minneapolis, established an auto repair business and later owned a confectionary. Shapiro graduated from North High School and worked at a Snyder's drug store, later becoming its manager. When Prohibition ended in 1934, he and his brother Monroe (Curly) opened Curly's nightclub. When his brother died in 1945, he sold it and went into the theater business and later the insurance business. He married his brother's widow and adopted their son and daughter. Shapiro was a regional officer in the Sertoma Club and a community fund raiser. He was also a close friend of Hubert Humphrey and active in the Democratic Farmer Labor Party. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background, including his grandfather's supervision of a distillery in Russia and his work as a peddler - his own childhood and education - business experiences - the breakup of a theater owners' monopoly in the 1940s in Minneapolis - concerns about child-rearing and Jewishness - anti-Semitism - intermarriage and strong concern for the relationship between the Gentile and Jewish communities (he and his children are Unitarians) - friendship with Hubert Humphrey - leadership in the Sertoma Club - and activity in the DFL. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Schwartz was very ill with cancer at the time of the interview.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

82. Interview with Lillian Besler Cohn

Creator:: Cohn, Lillian Bessler
Date Created:: 1976-02-25
Description:: Lillian Besler Cohn was born in Minneapolis in 1895 of immigrant parents (from Niomsk, Romania). Her father had been a miller. In this country he worked on a farm in New York and at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. In Minneapolis he worked as a miller with Pillsbury Mills but became ill. After recovering he was self-employed with various occupations, including making and selling grits, running a secondhand-tool store, locksmithing and making and selling umbrellas. Lillian Besler married Louis Cohn in 1917 and has one son, Victor. She has been active in study groups, Democratic Farmer Labor Party politics and the Soviet Jewry Action Committee. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Charitable organizations in the early Jewish community - her father's hard work and hard times - her lack of education (she quit school so that her brothers could be educated) - social life in the Jewish community - anti-Semitism - and prominent citizens in the Jewish community.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

83. Interview with Monoram Hang

Creator:: Hang, Monoram
Date Created:: 1992-07-30
Description:: Monoram Hang was a nine-year-old living in Phnom Penh when the Khmer Rouge came to power in Cambodia. His father was a Commander in the Army and was killed almost immediately. His mother had given birth only two days before and the whole family was made to leave their home and walk out of the city about 50 kilometers into the jungle. They were split up and sent to different work camps. Hang describes the children's team and the conditions in the camp. In 1984 or 1985, his brother helped him cross into Thailand where he lived without permission in a refugee camp. He then received medical training and met his American sponsor, coming to Minnesota in 1988.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Moving Image
Format:: Oral histories

84. 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

85. 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

86. 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

87. Interview with Rabbi David Aronson

Creator:: Aronson, Rabbi David
Date Created:: 1967-07-19
Description:: Rabbi David Aronson's father was from White Russia, and his mother was from Latvia. Aronson was born in White Russia and came to the United States with his family at age eleven. The family lived on New York's East Side. Aronson went to day school for one year, then high school, college and seminary. He became a rabbi at Beth El Synagogue in Minneapolis in September of 1924. At the time of the interview he was professor of rabbinics in the graduate school of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: The 1924 replacement of crosses by Stars of David on markers along Victory Memorial Drive for Jewish soldiers killed in World War I - family history - Jews living on Minneapolis's North Side - first impressions of Minneapolis - the status of Jews in the community - and Jewish organizations including Beth El, Talmud Torah, and Menorah and Hillel at the University of Minnesota. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: MHS received the interview material in 1972 from Mrs. Nathan Berman of the Minneapolis Federation for Jewish Service.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

88. Interview with Khon Kong

Creator:: Kong, Khon
Date Created:: 1992-08-14
Description:: Khon Kong was a lieutenant in the army in Cambodia at the beginning of the Pol Pot regime in 1975. He had to leave behind his wife and five children who are believed to have been killed. He was sent to work camps in Battambang Province to work in rice fields and to take care of orphaned children. Kong had to lie about his prior service in the army to avoid being killed by the Khmer Rouge. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge, he was in the Khao I Dang refugee camp in Thailand and came to America in 1981. He came to Minnesota after living with a sponsor in Missouri and Texas to find a better job. He held factory jobs, then went to school and became a social worker.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Moving Image
Format:: Oral histories

89. Interview with Chamreun Tan

Creator:: Tan, Chamreun
Date Created:: 1992-07-30
Description:: Chamreun Tan primarily grew up in Battambang City in Cambodia. He was working as a police officer in Phnom Penh City on April 17, 1975 when the Khmer Rouge came to power. He became separated from his parents and siblings and was sent to the village Phum Chhouk to work for the Khmer Rouge until 1979. He married in 1981. Tan attempted to leave Cambodia more than once and was sent back, eventually living in Thai refugee camps until coming to the United States in 1984. He has held a variety of jobs here and is currently a financial worker for Ramsey County.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Moving Image
Format:: Oral histories

90. Interview with Luz and Virginia Campa

Creator:: Campa, Luz; Campa, Virginia
Date Created:: 1976-07-02
Description:: Luz Campa was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1909. He came to Bridgeport, Texas, in 1914 and to Minnesota in 1929. In 1967 he opened a restaurant. Subjects discussed include: Life in Mexico, Bridgeport and Brownton - and how he got started in Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

91. Interview with Lourdez Ortega Schwab

Creator:: Schwab, Lourdez Ortega
Date Created:: 2009-05-10
Description:: Lourdez Ortega Schwab was born in El Paso, Texas before moving to Minnesota. Schwab worked at Housing Redevelopment Authority helping low income families. She currently works in a bank where she enjoys educating the Latino community about finances. Schwab also is serving in the Navy Reserves and is married with three children. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - childhood - opportunities in Minnesota - farm work - different racial perceptions from Minnesota to Texas - importance of education - relationships - immigration - Latino community - educating about banking - jobs held - Heartland Community Action Agency - being bilingual in Spanish and English - West Central Collaborative - mercado - Latino culture and foods - businesses - diversifying community - religion - citizenship - family ties - fishing memories - difficulties translating English to Spanish for her parents - quincea
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

92. Interview with Tenzin Chodon

Creator:: Chodon, Tenzin
Date Created:: 2005-09-05
Description:: Tenzin Chodon was born in Nyigo, Tibet. She moved with her parents to India in 1959. Chodon was a teacher in India until moving to the United States as part of the U.S. Tibetan Resettlement Project. She is one of the principal founders of the Tibetan Women's Association (TWA) in Minnesota. Subjects discussed include: Parents, family, traveling from Tibet, Tibetan Institute for Performing Arts (TIPA), Tibetan Children's Village (TCV), school in India, teaching in India, death of husband, separation of family, deciding to come to the United States, first jobs in the U.S., transportation, translating, community, immigration clinic, Tibetan Woman's Association (TWA), Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC), preserving culture, community, challenges, children, adjusting to the U.S., food, Buddhism, activism, differences and similarities between India and the U.S.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

93. Interview with Sylvia Garcia

Creator:: Garcia, Sylvia
Date Created:: 2010-12-22
Description:: Sylvia Garcia was born in Crystal City, Texas but grew up in a migrant farming family. She married and settled in Moorhead, Minnesota where she raised her two children. Sylvia has a bachelor's degree in American Studies from Moorhead State University. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - migrant farming - education - community - Latino and American culture - raising her children - Latino foods - prejudices - Latino education in Moorhead - Spanish/English language barrier and medicine - Somali and Latino relations.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

94. Interview with Rev. J. Pablo Obregon

Creator:: Obregon, Reverend J. Pablo
Date Created:: 2009-07-14
Description:: Rev. J. Pablo Obregon was born in Lima, Peru. Obregon attended Lutheran Bible Institute in southern California for ministry. He later attended Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota on his path towards becoming a pastor. He accepted a pastor internship in Willmar where he would meet his future wife. Obregon would become the Pastor Chaplain for Bethesda Health and Housing in Willmar. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - Peru's religious stance - Peru weather and culture - Chinese influence in Peru introducing rice to diet - holidays and New Year's celebrations - playing the guitar - education - teacher strikes and social injustice - learning English by watching television shows along with classes - calling to become a pastor - Minnesota weather - dealing with stereotypes - immigration - racial tensions and discrimination in Willmar - ELCA - and educating the community of Willmar about God and understanding different cultures.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

95. Interview with Val Vargas

Creator:: Vargas, Val
Date Created:: 2011-2-14
Description:: Val Vargas was born in Minneapolis. Vargas grew up in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota and later in New Brighton. She attended Oklahoma City University and studied accounting. She worked at Metropolitan Economic Development Association as a business consultant and owns the Vargas Company. Vargas is the founder and current president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Jobs held - family background - Catholic religion - lack of Latino community in Minnesota - Latino culture and foods - Lake Street - being bilingual in Spanish and English - financial struggles growing up - childhood - Chicanos Latinos Unidos En Servicio - Choices - lack of services for Latino community - growing Latino population - emphasis on Spanish language - layoffs - budget cuts - and politics.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

96. Interview with Ramon Leon

Creator:: Leon, Ramon
Date Created:: 2010-08-23
Description:: Ramon Leon was born in Mexico City before moving to the state of Mexico. Leon worked as a journalist in Mexico, but relocated to California and dedicated his time to business. He later moved to Minnesota for an opportunity to open his own furniture manufacturing company. He would soon wed in Minnesota and continued to build his businesses and help the Latino community establish their own businesses. Leon formed the Joint Committee on Immigration and was the chair of the board for Mercado Central. He envisioned Latinos solving their social issues through community programs, businesses, and involvement. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - education - jobs worked - climate and social differences of California to Minnesota - bonding with Latino community - business - financial struggles - religion - Mex-Am Vending - Latino Economic Development Center - financing - protecting the local Latino businesses - Latino Scholarship Fund - immigration issues - and the Institute for Economic Development of the Americas.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

97. Interview with Roberto Trevino Jr.

Creator:: Trevino, Roberto Jr.
Date Created:: 2010-12-15
Description:: Roberto Trevino Jr. was born in Eagle Pass, Texas. Trevino moved to Willmar, Minnesota for better educational and financial opportunities. He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Baylor University. Trevino was the director of human resources at a turkey processing plant in Marshall, Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - farm work - religion - growing Latino community in Willmar, Minnesota - financial struggles - differences between Willmar and Moorhead - racism - childhood - family reunion - bilingual in Spanish and English - retaining traditions and cultures - economics - Ecumenical Council - County Fair Board - immigration - Willmar Area Multicultural Marketplace Group - politics - and community involvement.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

98. Interview with Rafael E. Ortega

Creator:: Ortega, Rafael E.
Date Created:: 2011-02-28
Description:: Rafael Ortega grew up in New York City. He received his bachelor's degree from Fordham University and his master's degree in social work from the University of Minnesota. Ortega is the first minority to be elected to the Ramsey County Board (5th district) and the first Latino to a county board in Minnesota in 1994. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family and early life - Puerto Rican parents - growing up on the Lower East Side - growing up in the era of social unrest and protest - being one of a few Latinos in college - student activities and organizations and racial issues in college - coming to Minnesota to do his master's - CLUES [Comunidades Latinas Unidas en Servicio] - challenges facing the Twin Cities Latino community in the 1980s-early 90s - getting Latinos appointed to state wide posts - Ramsey county commissioner - his children - campaigning - Highland Park neighborhood.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

99. Interview with Federico Saucedo, Senior

Creator:: Saucedo, Federico Sr.
Date Created:: 1975-12-22 - 1977-10-16
Description:: Federico Saucedo, Sr., was born in Real de Catorce, San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in 1891. He came to the United States and settled in St. Paul in 1916. Subjects discussed include: He recalls family history and the Mexican Revolution and discusses early Mexican families in St. Paul and organizations such as the Anahuac Society, El Comite Patriotico, and the Comite de Reconstruccion. He also describes his work in silver and coal mines in Mexico, with a railroad in Illinois, and in a meat-packing company in St. Paul from 1922 to 1952. Note: Interview is in Spanish.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

100. Interview with Henry Capiz

Creator:: Capiz, Henry T
Date Created:: 1975-06-25
Description:: Henry Capiz was born in St. Paul on Feb. 18, 1926. He was drafted into the Army in 1944, graduated from college in 1957 with a degree in pharmacy and became chief pharmacist at St. Luke's Hospital in St. Paul in 1960. He was president of a parent-teacher association, commander of a Veterans of Foreign Wars post and a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserve. Subjects discussed include: Educational experiences - background of his parents and family - military service - and civic and social organizations.
Contributing Institution:: Minnesota Historical Society
Type:: Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:: Oral histories

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