Letter: Grateful for special collections librarians

Yanna Ok, a first-generation Cambodian American whose family came to Amherst in the 1980s, helped put together the exhibit “Cambodians in Amherst: A History of the Khmer Community” at the Amherst History Museum, next to the Jones Library.

Yanna Ok, a first-generation Cambodian American whose family came to Amherst in the 1980s, helped put together the exhibit “Cambodians in Amherst: A History of the Khmer Community” at the Amherst History Museum, next to the Jones Library. STAFF PHOTO/CAROL LOLLIS

Published: 10-08-2024 8:56 PM

The current Amherst Historical Society exhibit, “Cambodians in Amherst: A History of the Khmer Community,” is indebted to the special collections in Amherst and Northampton libraries. As Nov. 2 is the last day of our exhibit, we would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to those who carefully preserve archives of western Massachusetts history and who generously assisted our research into events of the 1980s, when more than 600 Cambodian refugees settled in western Massachusetts.

Thank you to Katherine Whitcomb, Jones Library Special Collections and Archives librarian. Katherine directed us to a wealth of resources including VHS recordings of Cambodian New Year celebrations, clippings, photos, personal papers, flyers and minutes of refugee sponsors and advocacy group meetings. Our exhibit also benefited from borrowing artifacts such as a model of the Khao-I-Dang refugee camp constructed by Fort River Elementary students.

Thank you to Dylan Gaffney, keeper of Local History and Special Collections at the Forbes Library. Dylan spent hours tracking down original negatives of Daily Hampshire Gazette/Amherst Bulletin photos that we were given kind permission to use in the exhibit. The photos had accompanied stories of surviving and escaping war and the challenges of making a new life in New England as told by members of the Khmer community to local reporters.

Our exhibit is just one of many enlightening stories preserved in our local libraries and by our local historical societies. Check them out!

Mick O’Connor, Yanna Ok, Seiha Krouch, Rebecca Fricke, Sokhen Mao, Joan Snowdon and Lauren Moeun

Cambodians in Amherst Committee, Amherst