Qi-hui Zhai was born in Shanghai, China, on December 16, 1927. Her father was a biology professor at Central University in Nanjing and traveled between research institutions in Nanjing, Beijing, and Shanghai during most of her childhood. In 1945 Zhai entered Suzhou University, located temporarily in Shanghai at the end of World War II. The next year she transferred to Yanjing University in Beijing, and she graduated in June of 1949, six months after liberation. She was assigned to the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, and in 1959 the government of the People's Republic of China sent her to Russia for two years of study. For the first year she studied at the Institute of Zoology in Leningrad, and later at the Institute of Biochemistry in Moscow. Zhai arrived in Minnesota in June of 1979, the first of many visiting scholars from China to arrive at the University of Minnesota following normalization of diplomatic relations between the United States and China on January 1, 1979. She worked with Dr. James W. Bodley in the Department of Biochemistry at the University Medical School from mid-1979 to late 1981, conducting basic research on the reproductive system of the ladybug, in an attempt to develop a means of artificial rearing of the insect, a natural enemy of aphids, for control of aphids in agriculture. Subjects discussed include: Zhai discusses her father's background as a pioneer entomologist in China, and his work in establishing biology departments in several Chinese universities after spending thirteen years in study and research at Cornell University in New York - his many publications under the name C. Ping - problems of Chinese scientists in the 1980s in conducting basic research after the interruption of the Cultural Revolution - Zhai's research at the University of Minnesota on yolk protein synthesis in the ladybug, a continuation of her research in Beijing - her impressions of Minnesota - and her family in Beijing. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Zhai is an accomplished scientist from the People's Republic of China, and her visit to Minnesota is significant because it represents a new era of exchange between scientists in the state's research institutions and scientists in China. Her perspective is especially interesting because her father studied in the United States in the 1910s and was instrumental in advancing Western scientific knowledge in China after returning to his homeland in 1920.
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.
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.
This interview was conducted on February 19, 1989 by David Overy. Raynold John Winter was born March 15, 1918 in Watkins, Minnesota. He was drafted into the Army in 1941. His company trained in southern California as military police in the 506th MP Battalion and was assigned to guard Boulder Dam, which was later renamed Hoover Dam. His company, Company D, was reassigned to combat in Europe and retrained as infantry before being shipped overseas. Winter and many others were captured at the Battle of the Bulge. They became prisoners of war in Leipzig, Germany, where Winter was hospitalized for malnutrition before being liberated. Winter described how American planes bombed the prisoner camps and how American POWs got along with each other, the German guards, and French POWs. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his service. After the war, he married Catherine Klein of Watkins, where he worked for Kraft Foods. In 1958, they moved to Maple Lake, where he worked for Tem Tee Bakery. He became a member of the Northstar Baseball Hall of Fame as manager of the local Lakers team. Winters passed away at the age of 90 on December 2, 2008 at the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud and is buried in St. Anthony's Catholic Cemetery in Watkins. He was survived by Catherine, their six children, and many grandchildren and great grandchildren.
This interview was conducted on March 15, 1989 by David Overy. Donald Ursus Weiler was born July 12, 1923 in St. Cloud. He was drafted in spring 1943 and served as a machine gunner in the 34th Red Bull Infantry Division of the Army National Guard in North Africa and Italy. After being wounded in the leg during the Battle of Monte Cassino, he underwent an experimental treatment using a high-calcium diet at a hospital in North Africa. He spent a significant amount of time discussing how he would climb poles to listen for enemy movements and described at length the ways in which his unit would support riflemen and vehicle convoys as they advanced through Italy. While recovering and working in a military production factory in Iowa, Weiler met Thelma Ruth Lair, whom he married on January 27, 1945. Weiler lived his entire life in St. Cloud and had a long career as a service technician at the Typewriter Shop and later retired as a sales representative of Marco Business Products. As a recipient of the Purple Heart, Weiler dedicated time to supporting wounded and sick veterans at the St. Cloud Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He passed away on March 1, 2011 at the VA Center, and is buried at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery at Camp Ripley. He was survived by two sons who followed him into the military; two daughters, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A catalogue of courses offered by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota for winter and spring of 1983, and including course descriptions, registration information, and teacher biographies.
Second issue of the first volume of "The Minnesota Weaver" newsletter by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota for winter of 1982, and containing descriptions of upcoming workshops; reports on the Peter Collingwood workshop, the Minnesota Federation Annual Meeting, and the Fiber Source committee; and the articles "Introduction to Color for Weavers", "Warp and Weft Drawdowns", "The Good Old Reliable Piano Bench Theory of Color Harmony", "Color Theory Applied", "Color in Traditional Norwegian Folk Textiles", and "Color Use in Patterned Weaves".
Eighth issue of the fifth volume of "The Minnesota Weaver" newsletter by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota published in the summer of 1980 and containing descriptions of upcoming workshops, programs, and exhibits; a summary of the May annual meeting; reports from the Fiber Source and Fiber Fair committees, and from the newsletter editor; library and school news; and the columns "From Woods & Fields", "We Have a Past", and "Cooks Corner".
Fourth issue of the first volume of "The Minnesota Weaver" newsletter by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota for summer of 1983, and containing descriptions of upcoming workshops, exhibits, and conferences; a report on the Northern Fibre Arts Guild of Bemidji, and the Midwest 84 conference; and the articles "The Dobby Loom", "Craftsman's Creed", "Fiber Meets Microchip: The Compu-Dobby System", "Tying on - Two Methods", "Warp Yardage Counter for Sectional Warping", "Photography: The Professional and the Amateur", "Safety for the Dyer", "A Visit with Jim Ahrens", "Do It Yourself", "A Day in the Life of a Lizard", and "Tools for Spinners"; and flyers on spinning supplies, the Traditions Transitions Two juried exhibition, and the 1983 Fiber Fair.
Third issue of the first volume of "The Minnesota Weaver" newsletter by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota for spring of 1983, and containing descriptions of upcoming workshops and exhibits; reports on the Peter Collingwood workshop, the Fiber Source and Educations Committees, the Ely Guild, and the Midwest 84 conference; and the articles "Design", "On Design", "Symmetry as an Element of Design", A Perspective on Rug Design", "Design Process: Pursuing Design Ideas", "Design in Spinning: An Overview", "Handknitting with Handspun", and "Intellectual vs. Reactionary Design".
First issue of the sixth volume of "The Minnesota Weaver" newsletter by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota published in September of 1980 and containing descriptions of upcoming workshops, programs, exhibits including the juried exhibit "Traditions/Transitions" sponsored by the Guild, and the annual Christmas tree at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; biographies of Gerhardt Knodel, Suzanne Gaston, Edna Gonske, Lynne Anderson, and Ann Brewer; a summary of the May board meeting; reports from the president, treasurer, newsletter editor, Demonstrations chair, and the Fiber Source and Fiber Fair committees; school news; a draft and swatch of Bronson lace; and a flyer for a juried competition for table linens for the Minnesota Governor's Residence.
First issue of the seventh volume of "The Minnesota Weaver" newsletter by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota published in September of 1981 and containing descriptions of upcoming workshops, exhibits, the October guild meeting, and the Federation of Minnesota Weavers Guilds and Fiber Artists; a summary of the June board meeting, Wool Day, and the Midwest Weavers Conference; reports from the co-chairpersons, the treasurer, and the newsletter editor; school news; an introduction to study groups; the columns "On Tapestry" and "From Woods & Fields"; and a draft for double corduroy.
Second issue of the sixth volume of "The Minnesota Weaver" newsletter by the Weavers Guild of Minnesota published in October of 1980 and containing descriptions of upcoming workshops, programs, exhibits including the juried exhibit "Traditions/Transitions" sponsored by the Guild; a summary of the July board meeting; a list of State Fair winners; and a report from the newsletter editor.
