Leticia Sanchez was born in Eagle Pass, Texas, in 1953. At the time fo the interview she resided in Crookston, Minnesota, where she worked for the Minnesota Migrant Council's Domestic Abuse Program. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family - language and bilingualism - generational differences in the Latino community - raising children - racism in education - community support programs.
In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on April 11, 1980, L. Ferne Goble Atwood discussed her family background. Born in 1895 in Illinois, where she was raised, Atwood attended Miami University in Ohio. Here she received her bachelor's degree in History, English, and Home Economics. In 1919, St. Cloud State president Joseph Brown brought her to the university to teach. Atwood described in detail her marriage to Allen Atwood in 1923, a local lawyer, as well as the close relationship she had with his family, who were very prominent in St. Cloud. The Atwoods also formed friendships with many St. Cloud State presidents, like George Budd, as well as other important figures, like Wheelock Whitney. Atwood and her husband's family were very involved with St. Cloud University, donating money as well as their old homes. Atwood voiced her opinions on the changes the University underwent before and after World War II, particularly her views on the decision to tear down the Old Main Building in order to make room for Stewart Hall. Atwood claimed that other than business interests, St. Cloud State University was a chief concern of the Atwoods.
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.
Interview with Lillie Looker. Lillie was born on July 30, 1889. Her parents came to Douglas County from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1870 and settled in Spruce Hill Township, Section 4, Prettyman Post Office. In the interview she discusses wagon trains from Philadelphia to Fort Buford, SD. Her father was born in 1848 and he worked an Indian Scout from age 16 and onward on westward migration wagon trains. She mentions Minnesota towns that no longer exist: Joy and First Center. She also discusses life on the farm and visits by Native Americans to the farm.
Lincoln Gada was born in India where he attended school and college. He worked in Singapore before coming to the U.S. in the mid-1990s. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Family background - education - experiences in Singapore - arrival and adjustment to Minnesota - Indian community in Minnesota - work experience in India and Minnesota - differences in work environments, promotional opportunities and resources between India and Minnesota - consulting work and traveling - prevalence of computers in India - marriage - differences between Indian and American parenting styles - family values - maintaining ties with family in India - participation in Indian associations - future goals - impressions of U.S. before and after moving here.
Linda Christianson (1952-) grew up in Barron, Wisconsin, and studied ceramics at Hamline University (St Paul, Minnesota), and the Banff Centre School of Fine Arts (Banff, Alberta, Canada), before returning to Minnesota to start her own ceramics studio and co-found the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. In this interview, Christianson discusses her childhood; ceramics education; her connections to the local and national pottery communities; and her thoughts on the past, present and future of the St. Croix Valley Pottery Tour. This interview was conducted by local oral historian and PhD Candidate from the University of Minnesota Anduin Wilhide. ""A Measure of the Earth: An Oral History of the Potters of the St. Croix River Valley"" explores the anomalous community of potters in Eastern Minnesota who host an annual cooperative tour for participating ceramic artists from around the world. This annual three-day event attracts art enthusiasts from across the country. Together the project's ten oral history interviews, representing diverse perspectives from within the local pottery community, tell the story of how, from the 1950s to today, Minnesota�s St. Croix River Valley has developed into a major center for pottery, and a destination for thousands nationally.
In this interview, Linn Firestone gives an account of Jewish and non-Jewish organizations in Minnesota during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He explains how he got involved in organizations, his role within organizations and the roles of other prominent individuals. Firestone describes his Jewish family background and education in St. Paul before going on to describe his professional and non-professional activism, including information of numerous organizations, some of which he was president of and others where he sat on the board. Some examples of organizations include the Jewish Family Services, Mount Zion synagogue, the St. Paul Jewish Community Center in the 1950s, the United Fund in the 1960s and professional legal organizations and initiatives relating to anti-discrimination in the 60s and 70s. This interview was conducted by Jeanne Boutang as a part of the United Jewish Fund and Council Oral History Project focusing on the West Side Flats/Lower West Side Jewish community in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
In this interview, Lionel Greenberg gives an account of his life as a Jewish Minnesotan and World War II veteran. He tells the dramatic story of how while as a navigator in the Army Air Corps during World War II, his B-24 collided with another B-24 over Bavaria. Miraculously surviving, Greenberg explains how he was taken prisoner for seven months and forced to march from prison to prison. The Russian Army liberated him from his final camp (Dulag Luft III), a place later depicted in the major motion picture The Great Escape. Greenberg's experience in Germany is described in great detail, with special emphasis on his Jewish perspective. He also explains the circumstances of his birth in Grafton, North Dakota, 1921, and how his poor Jewish family came to arrive there. Greenberg continues, describing his college experience at the University of Minnesota, subsequent jobs, enlisting in the Army Air Corps, training in Texas and Idaho, and the journey to Europe in detail. This interview was conducted by Brian M. Krasnow as a part of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest World War II Veterans Oral History Project.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Lisa Gada Norton was born in Minnesota. Her parents emigrated from India in the 1960s. Norton attended school in Minnesota and college in Wisconsin. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Parents, familiarity with parents' language, childhood memories, family values, Indian community, school experiences, SILC (School of India for Languages and Culture), religion, visits to India - discrimination, college experiences, vegetarianism - work experiences - advantages and disadvantages of being a first-generation immigrant's child - Indian culture.
Lisalan Thai was born in Da Lat, Vietnam. After experiencing the Fall of Da Lat and Saigon she left Vietnam with her son. She settled in Minnesota with the help of four Catholic churches and an adoptive family. She is a real estate agent. Subjects discussed include: Childhood - family - Fall of Da Lat - Fall of Saigon - immigrating - being "adopted" - divorce - going back to school - real estate - the American dream.
Beginning in 1998, the City of Duluth (Minn.) Sister Cities Commission collaborated with the Iron Range Research Center to record a series of oral history interviews. Independent scholar Dr. JoAnn Hanson-Stone acted as the lead interviewer. The voluntary, self-selecting participants were second-generation Swedish Americans whose parents settled in northeast Minnesota in the early 1900s. The interviews were initiated to create supplementary material for a planned exhibit, "A Long Way Home: Swedish Immigrant Life in Duluth and Northeast Minnesota, 1890-1940."
Born on June 25, 1919, Lloyd Klosowsky was married and a father when he was drafted into the Army shortly after the start of the war. He described his infantry training in Texas and his travel across the Atlantic Ocean on the ship Queen Elizabeth. He saw extensive action throughout the European theater as a sergeant in the 90th Infantry Division. He was involved in the North African campaign where he frequently experienced artillery barrages as well as guarded POWs. He participated in the D-Day landings although this portion of the interview is missing and only his last comments about the invasion are available. He was part of the liberation of France and the Battle of the Bulge and shared many stories about his combat experiences in both. He managed to escape serious injury even though he was wounded during D-Day and nearly lost his feet at the Battle of the Bulge. Klosowsky, with the rest of the 90th Division, helped pursue a German Panzer Corps into Czechoslovakia until the Germans surrendered. The 90th then prepared to invade Japan until receiving word that the war ended. Mr. Klosowsky returned to Duluth after his discharge from the service in December 1945. He died in Stillwater, Minnesota, on November 27, 1996.
Interview with Lloyd Sather. Lloyd's parents were (father's first name is unknown) Sather and Elnora Solem Sather. They were married in 1889. His parents settled near Nelson, Minnesota in 1881. Lloyd Sather married Ada Hanson in 1929.
Lois and her brother, Everett Johnson, share about growing up in the Whitewater Area and history stories they were told about the area. Lois also talks about her husband, Jim Sletten, who was a forest ranger and park manager.
This interview from 2005, captures the spirit of Lois Wohlin, who passed away in 2013. She tells stories of the Great Depression and a baseball field in the middle of dried up Lake Andrew! This a treasured interview by her daughters, grand-daughters and great granddaughters that still live nearby.
Interview Description: Lorraine talks about early life on the prairie of Sibley State Park and her family's history. Her stories take us back to earthen homes, or dug outs and what it was like to be a young woman working in the cities during World War II.
Lorry is an amateur historian who has written several books about Frontenac, Minnesota. She shares stories about Frontenac and her family ancestors who lived in the Whitewater area.
Interview with Lou Hendricks. Lou recalls his memories of obtaining electricity first from the mill and batteries, then REA (Rural Electric Association). He also recalls using iceboxes and obtaining ice from Lake Osakis.
In an oral history conducted by St. Cloud State University Professor of History Calvin (Cal) Gower on April 6, 1982, Louis Filippi described how his parents came from Italy before World War I and settled Keewatin, a town in Minnesota's Iron Range. Born in 1920, Filippi discussed life in the Iron Range and the camaraderie that he formed with other children whose parents also came from Europe. Filippi discussed his motivations for attending St. Cloud State after graduating from high school in 1939, including that two of his favorite hockey goalies, Frank Brimsek and Sam LoPresti, attended the university. Filippi chronicled his time at St. Cloud State, especially the teachers he particularly admired, such as Roland Torgerson and George Lynch. Filippi mentioned that he lived with other Iron Range men throughout his college career and that they tended to stick together. Filippi played football, baseball, basketball, and track. He also discussed the effects that events such as the Great Depression and World War II had on his college career. Filippi described his impressions of St. Cloud State. He discussed the socioeconomic backgrounds of most of the students, believing that most were of lower-income families. Filippi claimed that most of the students he knew were eager to have jobs while going to school. He also discussed the "esprit de corps" among the students, claiming that they had an immense pride in the school and were involved in supporting the school at most functions. Filippi felt the community was supportive of the university, but not strong and adamant supporters of its activities. After graduation from St. Cloud State in 1943, Filippi entered the service, despite having a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles to play football. When he finally returned from overseas in 1946, he opted out of his contract with the Eagles and moved to Little Falls, Minnesota, to work as a coach and teacher and as an NCAA referee.
Lerman Family history; Lerman's work in the US Post Office and the railroads; getting into law school at the University of Minnesota and his many years of legal practice as a labor lawyer. Lerman was also involved with the St. Paul Workman's Circle, and discusses labor-related activities in the St. Paul Jewish community, including Labor-Zionism. A PDF version of the transcript available at http://reflections.mndigital.org/cdm4/pdf-assets/jhs-lerman.pdf
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Libraries, Nathan and Theresa Berman Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
Louis Medina was born in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, in 1907, moved to the United States in 1916 and to Owatonna, Minn., in 1929, and got married in St. Paul in 1929. He worked at a variety of jobs and retired from Cudahy Packing Co. in 1973. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Early life in Mexico - struggle against poverty in the United States, which appeared to be a new land of promise - work in the beet fields, Twin City Rapid Transit Co., and the Northern Pacific Railway - marriage and children - life in the United States - and community involvement and social life, particularly the League of United Latin American Citizens.
Otterstad recounts when he first came to Beltrami County; his recollections on early Bemidji and its settlers, early Fosston, Leech Lake-Red Lake trail used by Native Americans, early mills, steamboats, homsteading, log transportation on Mississippi River, and Tom Joy.
Biographical Information: Sieling was a farmer from Perham, Minnesota and was director of the Lake Region Cooperative Electrical Association.Subjects discussed: Background. Background of Lake Region Co-op. How co-op expanded service. Assessing needs of region. Powerline proposal-general background; AC vs. DC line; routing of line; height of line. Communication vehicle for farmers over line. Energy needs. Infeasibility of underground line. Section lines. Farmer's complaint over lack of input on positioning of line. Routing of line; support rally. what the result of clearing up communication problem might be. Microwave towers. Meeting deadline to get line built. Alternative sources of power. View of current situation.
