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276. Interview with Francis J. Tsai

Creator:
Tsai, Francis J.
Date Created:
1979-01-04
Description:
Francis (Frank) Tsai was born in 1948 in South Bend, Indiana. His father, Hong-ji Tsai, had graduated from Purdue University in engineering in about 1937 and had stayed on to work for the Studebaker Corporation. During World War II the senior Tsai joined the United States Marines and was stationed as a liaison officer in Shanghai. While in Shanghai he married the daughter of family friends. After the war he returned with his wife to South Bend and the Studebaker Corporation. The company's executives planned to send Tsai's father back to Shanghai to manage a planned Studebaker plant in that city, but with the Communist victory in China in 1949 those plans were abandoned, and the family remained in South Bend. In 1951, when Frank was about three, the family moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan, and six years later they moved to the Twin Cities area, where Tsai's father had been offered a job by the Honeywell Corporation of Minneapolis. Tsai grew up in the Minneapolis suburbs of Glen Lake, where he attended the Immaculate Heart of Mary Elementary School, and St. Louis Park, where he attended Benilde High School. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a bachelor's degree in child psychology in 1970, and in 1972 he received a master's degree in public health from the university. During 1972 and 1973 Tsai worked as a health educator at the Neighborhood Health Center in San Francisco's Chinatown, a project funded through the Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington, D.C. He returned to Minneapolis in the fall of 1973 and accepted a position at Northeast Community Organization, working on a health planning project under a grant from Hennepin County. From 1974 to 1976 Tsai served as a public health counselor for the Minneapolis school district, and in 1977 he accepted a position as health analyst for the Minnesota Department of Health. While working at the state health department, Tsai began to work with early organizers of the Minnesota Asian American Project, a pan-Asian organization designed to serve the needs of the Asian-American community. In 1978 he became the first president of the organization and spearheaded efforts to establish an Asian cultural center in the Twin Cities. He left the state health department to work full-time at South Side Community Enterprises, where he focuses his efforts on raising funds for the project. In 1979, when adequate support for the project failed to materialize, Tsai accepted a job in Chicago as director of a feasibility study for the Cooperative Health Plan, a private, for-profit stock company offering a prepaid health plan. Later, after implementation of the company's health plan, he became director of the company. Subjects discussed include: Family background in Shanghai - child rearing in the immigrant community - intermarriage of second- and third-generation Chinese - the structure of the Chinese community in Minnesota - political attitudes - discrimination - and initiation of the pan-Asian Minnesota Asian American Project (MAAP), and efforts of its members to develop an Asian cultural center in the Twin Cities. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: As president of MAAP, Tsai had contact with leaders of various class and regional groups in the Chinese community, as well as with leaders of other Asian groups. His perspective on the Chinese and larger Asian community therefore reflects his broad experience with both the older Asian immigrant groups and those who have arrived recently. He is also very perceptive in his observations concerning the second and third generations.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

277. Interview with Frank C. Guzman

Creator:
Guzman, Frank C.
Date Created:
1975-07-14
Description:
Frank Guzman was born in Mexico in 1934, moved to the United States, served in the armed forces, and was director of Migrants in Action, Inc., of St. Paul at the time of the interview. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: The Migrants in Action program, including its foundation, history, present status and hopes for the future - and personal history.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

278. Interview with Frank Chavez

Creator:
Chavez, Frank
Date Created:
1975-07-07
Description:
Frank Chavez was born in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1928. He moved to Minnesota in 1934 and worked in the beet fields with his parents. After high school he joined the Navy, and in 1960 he went into the printing business in St. Paul. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: His family - business - and the Navy.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

279. 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

280. Interview with Frank Rodriguez

Creator:
Rodriguez, Frank
Date Created:
1975-06-27
Description:
Frank Rodriguez was born March 28, 1920, in Sheridan, Wyoming, moved to St. Paul at age two, and was educated in the St. Paul schools. Subjects discussed include: Family life on the lower West Side of St. Paul while he was growing up during the Depression - his interest in athletics - his activities with the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party - his work with the Hod Carriers' Building and Common Laborers' Union, Local 132 - his involvement in Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and various civic organizations - and the importance of his Mexican heritage.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

281. Interview with Frederico "Fred" Saucedo, Junior

Creator:
Saucedo, Frederico Jr.
Date Created:
1976-08-11
Description:
Frederico "Fred" Saucedo, Jr., was born March 1, 1934 on St. Paul's West Side and grew up there as the youngest of six children. He joined the Marine Corps in 1952 and was president of the men's club at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church. He married Sylvia Ruiz, and they have four children at the time of this interview. Subjects discussed include: Personal history - history of the men's club at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church - role of the Catholic church in the Mexican-American home and family
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

282. 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

283. 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

284. 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

285. Interview with Ger Yang

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

286. Interview with Ge Yang

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

287. 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

288. 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

289. 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

290. 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

291. Interview with Gregory Gonzalez

Creator:
Gonzalez, Gregory
Date Created:
1975-06-24
Description:
Gregory Gonzalez was born in Oklahoma in 1920, came to St. Paul in 1924, entered the military in 1942, attended Macalester College in St. Paul, and works for the Minnesota Department of Revenue. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Establishment of the Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish Credit Union in 1948 - personal history and work experiences - and views on the community.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

292. 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

293. 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

294. 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

295. Interview with Gyatsho Tssering

Creator:
Tssering, Gyatsho
Date Created:
2005-07-29
Description:
Gyatsho Tssering was born in Sikkim. He was one of the principal founders of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) in Dharamsala, India. Tssering moved to the United States in 1999 to join his wife. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, family, Tibet, Buddhism, Indian Foreign Services, community, Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA), Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), Tibetan Government in Exile, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, raising children, Tibet House, Tibetan Museum, early Tibetan communities in India post 1959, Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota (TAFM), preserving Tibetan culture, challenges, future of community.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

296. Interview with Gyen Gedun Kalsang

Creator:
Kalsang, Gyen Gedun
Date Created:
2005-09-04
Description:
Gyen Gedun Kalsang is from the village of Makham in Tibet. At the age of 16 he joined Norbulinpa Monastery. He traveled to many monasteries inside and outside of Tibet. Kalsang left Tibet in 1959 and traveled to India. He has been a member of various monasteries including Drepung (Lhasa), Ramoche Jowo Minthuejee (Tibet), monasteries in Dalhousie and Kalimpong (India), and the Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Tibet, monastery experiences in Tibet, India and the United States, Buddhist practices, moving to the US, differences between monasteries in Tibet and elsewhere, schedules of a monk, spirituality, Tibetan medicine, Western medicine, living in the U.S., community, relationship between monastery and community, challenges of monastery. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: This interview was conducted in Tibetan and transcribed in English.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

297. Interview with Hared Mah

Creator:
Mah, Hared
Date Created:
2004-06-03
Description:
Hared Mah grew up in Somalia and lived in Kenya before moving to the United States in 2001. He attended Wellstone International High School and was accepted at the University of Minnesota. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Problems with the police in Kenya; growing up in a chaotic environment in Somalia; coming to the United States; going through New York, Chicago, and Minneapolis; the importance of learning English; family in the United States; first impressions of the United States; differences in public transportation; getting lost in the Mall of America; studying American history; adopting American culture.
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

298. Interview with Harold Kee

Creator:
Kee, Harold
Date Created:
1980-02-08
Description:
Harold Kee was born April 6, 1899, in a rural village in the Taishan District of Guangdong Province, China. He arrived in St. Paul in 1911 to join his father, a partner in Quong, Gin, Lung & Co., importers of Chinese silks, porcelains, and other goods. The business closed soon after Kee's arrival, and he and his father moved to Omaha, Nebraska, where the elder Kee operated a Chinese restaurant with a friend. In Omaha Kee attended public school, and after their return to Minnesota the next year he enrolled in the Lyndale Grade School in Minneapolis. He graduated from Central High School in that city in 1918 and attended the University of Minnesota. In 1915 his father returned to China to stay, and Kee became a partner in the New Canton and New China restaurants in St. Paul. He also served as interpreter for the U.S. Immigration Service from the 1920s to the 1960s. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Kee discusses the early Chinese community in St. Paul - the common practice in the largely male settlement of bringing young sons to Minnesota at the age of 11 or 12 to help with the family business - Kee's own experience as a boy arriving in St. Paul at age 12 - his education and business enterprises - and his work as translator for the U.S. Immigration Service. COMMENTS ON INTERVIEW: Because of Kee's early arrival in the state and residence in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, he is an excellent source of information on the early period of Chinese settlement in Minnesota. As an employee of the Immigration Service, he knew immigration law better than others in the early settlement, and he has been described as one who took care of the first generation" by helping them with problems concerning their own papers or those of relatives they wanted to bring to Minnesota. It should be noted
Contributing Institution:
Minnesota Historical Society
Type:
Sound Recording Nonmusical
Format:
Oral histories

299. 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

300. 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
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