Houston Asian American interviews online

Gene and Hedy Lee of Houston, Texas

A fascinating variety of oral history recordings featuring members of Houston’s Asian community are now available online.

These recordings form a collection of oral history interviews conducted by the Chao Center for Asian Studies at Rice University. This collection includes audio recordings and transcripts of interviews with Asian Americans native to Houston conducted by Chao Center staff and student interns in 2010.

This collection features the following Asian Americans native to Houston: Edward Chen, Esther Quan, Gene L. Lee, Lewis Yee, Jane Gee, George Gee, Viola Chan, Wea Lee, Eugenie Chen, and Hannah Chow. The interviewees include one of the first Asian Americans elected to office in Harris County, a former rocket scientist and high school chemistry teacher, a founding member of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance, a World War II veteran, and the publisher of a Chinese newspaper in Texas and owner of the first Chinese printing company in Houston. Also included are several recording the KPFT “Echoes of China” radio program produced by Andy Lai, dating from 1980-1981.

Finding aid to Houston Asian American Archives oral history interviews collection is available at http://library.rice.edu/collections/WRC/finding-aids/manuscripts/0573.

See also:

Edward C.M. Chen Family Collection, 1920-2010, MS 561. Finding aid: http://library.rice.edu/collections/WRC/finding-aids/manuscripts/0561

Gene & Hedy Lee Chinese language newspapers & photographs, 1962-2010, MS 556. Finding aid: http://library.rice.edu/collections/WRC/finding-aids/manuscripts/0556/

New exhibit online: Lovett World Tour

Color postcard featuring the R.M. Munster, on which Dr. and Mrs. Edgar Odell Lovett of Rice Institute traveled during their world tour, 1908-1909.

Around the World with Edgar Odell Lovett!

This exhibit features  items  collected on the 1908-1909 world tour taken by Rice Institute President Edgar Odell Lovett, his wife Mary Hale Lovett, and Secretary for Rice’s Board of Trustees, Carrington Weems.

The mission of the tour was to research the best characteristics of the world’s top universities and plan the academic, administrative, student and physical structure of the Rice Institute.

There will be more exhibits on this site soon – stay tuned!

Houston waterways project underway!

Port of Houston map showing downtown shipping activity and proposed modifications of channel widths to the Houston Ship Channel

Fondren Library is collaborating with the Houston Metropolitan Research Center / Houston Public Library and the Houston Yacht Club to publish archival materials online which help tell the story of Houston’s fascinating waterways.

Did you know that Buffalo Bayou all the way downtown at Main St., near Allen’s Landing, was the original home of both the Houston Yacht Club and the Port of Houston?

Since the 1890s, both organizations grew and moved down the bayou and into the bay.

Both organizations worked to make Houston a great seaport, with business interests and recreational and social pursuits intertwining in the early 20th century.

The Port is now second in total tonnage in the U.S., the Houston Yacht Club hosts international championships and Olympic sailing trials.

Ms. Fairfax Moody at the helm, Houston Yacht Club photo

The first batch of Rice and Houston Yacht Club materials are online in Rice’s digital repository. These are larger items, such as maps, which can be viewed in great detail with the JPG2 zoom and pan feature.

The Houston Metropolitan Research Center’s materials are online at http://digital.houstonlibrary.org – search keyword “waterways”.

An online exhibit and  more items  to come in Spring 2011!