Advanced Search My Lists
You searched for: Topic Immigration and Ethnicity Contributor Minnesota Immigrants
Home

Minnesota Digital Library

Search Results Header

Search Results

1. 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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. Interview with Fred G. Anderson

Creator:
Anderson, Fred G.
Date Created:
1988-04-21
Description:
Fred Anderson was born in 1907 in Sweden. He came to the United States in 1926. He initially worked as a painter of homes and churches, specializing in stencil work and marbling technique. In 1948 he opened his own wallpaper and paint store in St. Louis Park.
Contributing Institution:
American Swedish Institute
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

24. 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

25. 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
Download JSON