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1. Interview with Guadalupe Cruz

Creator:
Cruz, Guadalupe
Date Created:
1975-07-07
Description:
Guadalupe Cruz was born in 1894 in Tepatlitan, Jalisco, Mexico. Her parents were Braulio Jimenez and Silvina Gutierrez. She was married in 1914 and entered the United States at El Paso, Texas, in 1921. Cruz lived and worked in California, Arizona and Colorado. Upon the death of her mother, she returned to Mexico for eight months. In April of 1929 she arrived in Minnesota with her husband and immediately became involved with activities in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and in other activities of the Mexican-American community in St. Paul. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family and life in Mexico - the Mexican Revolution - travel and lice infestation on trains going to the border at Juarez, Mexico - life in the beet fields - life, activities and festivals for the early Mexican-American community in St. Paul - beginnings of activities of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church - leaders of the West Side community - songs sung for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on December 12 - and family history and family problems. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: In Spanish, transcribed into English. Cruz is one of the oldest members of St. Paul's Mexican-American community. She knew many of the first leaders and was involved with many of the first activities of the church and community.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

2. Interview with Shanti Shah

Creator:
Shah, Shanti
Date Created:
2004-10-29
Description:
Shanti Shah moved to Minnesota in 1974 and began meeting members of the Indian community. She was involved in the School of India for Languages and Culture [SILC] and the India Association of Minnesota [IAM] and became president of IAM in the 1990s. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Moving to Canada - getting married - coming to Minnesota and meeting members of the Indian community - becoming involved in IAM and SILC - funding for SILC - participation in the Festival of Nations and working in the cafT and the exhibit - participation of Indian children in the Festival of Nations - inception of the Festival of India - European views of India - involvement in the Trustee Advisory Council, which is part of IAM - serving on the board of IAM - gender roles - involvement in the Asian Indian Women's Association [AIWA] and the Minnesota Asian Democratic Association [MAIDA] - events involved in while serving as IAM president - importance of the arts - reasons for the success of IAM - and the younger membership of IAM.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

3. Interview with Shanti Shah

Creator:
Shah, Shanti
Date Created:
2000-03-19
Description:
Shanti Shah was born in India and immigrated to the U.S. as an adult. She is one of the original founders of SILC and has served as a teacher, administrator and board member. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Personal background; participation in SILC; experiences as a teacher, language instruction; facilitating outdoor activities; establishing SILC; first day; motivation; music instruction; enrollment changes; teaching methods; curriculum development; challenges and rewards of teaching; geography instruction; volunteers; organizational changes; social connections; outreach to adopted children; Festival of Nations; contributions of SILC to Indian community.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

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 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. Interview with Xang Vang

Creator:
Vang, Xang
Date Created:
2014
Description:
Interview with Xang Vang in which he discusses his work as a CIA operative during the Secret War in Laos 1961-1975 and his work in Minnesota as the Executive Director of the Lao Family Community of Minnesota. He also worked as a Hmong business entrepreneur and one of the first Hmong growers to sell produce at the St. Paul Farmers Market.
Contributing Institution:
Center for Hmong Studies
Type:
Moving Image
Format:
Oral histories

25. Interview with Cy Thao

Creator:
Thao, Cy
Date Created:
2014
Description:
Interview with Cy Thao in which he describes his work as a former Minnesota State Representative, his efforts as a Hmong business entrepreneur and artist and a co-founder of the Center for Hmong Arts and Talents.
Contributing Institution:
Center for Hmong Studies
Type:
Moving Image
Format:
Oral histories
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