Events & Programs
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History Revealed: Romanian Contributions
March 10, 2022 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
Romanian Contributions to the Minnesota Landscape
with Vicki Albu, Gina Popa & Dana Voller
History Revealed Series
Thursday, March 10, 2022, 7:00 pm
In partnership with the East Side Freedom Library
Live presentation on Zoom
Register in advance for this meeting, register on Zoom here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
For questions, please email events@rchs.com
The Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in MN (HORA) will share information about Romania and Moldova’s history, geography, tourism and traditions. The presentation will also include information about the history of Romanian immigration to Minnesota and the current Romanian American community.
Image: Early Romanian immigrants. Courtesy of HORA.
The Ramsey County Historical Society, in partnership with the East Side Freedom Library, the Ramsey County Roseville Library, and other community organizations, will present a series of programs and events during 2022 that will center on the experiences of indigenous people, African Americans, and immigrants in Ramsey County from the 1800s through the current day, Making Minnesota: Natives, Settlers, Migrants, and Immigrants. These programs focus on the too often lost, erased, forgotten or misrepresented histories and stories of Ramsey County and the state of Minnesota. We expect these presentations to enrich and complicate our understanding of the development of the county and the state that we call home.
Speakers:
Vicki Albu is a co-founder of Heritage Organization of Romanian Americans in Minnesota (HORA), Romanian Genealogy Society (RGS), and the Dakota County Genealogical Society. Her interests in genealogy and immigration led her to pursue a degree in History. She researched and wrote the screenplay for the award-winning documentary, “A Thousand Dollars and Back: Recollections of Early Romanian Immigration to Minnesota.”
Gina Popa (HORA President) has dedicated her life to educating young minds. Her teaching career spans almost 4 decades working with students of all ages, from pre-school to young adults, in Europe and the United States. She currently teaches ESL (English as a Second Language) in St. Paul. In 2019 she was a finalist for the MN Teacher of the Year.
As a founder of HORA and its current president, Gina believes that what brings Romanians together is the ACASA (at home) feeling that we are all longing for. “I think geography is relative. Romania is in our hearts and in our minds and it’s in our power to bring it here with us. That is HORA’s role, to invite everyone to experience the unique Romanian culture, history, and traditions right here in Minnesota.”
Dana Voller (HORA vice-president) came to Minnesota and the US in 2003. She has a French and English teaching degree from the University of Pitesti, Romania and a Masters in ESL from Hamline University, Minnesota. Her first job was with Peace Corps, Romania, and that is where she discovered her passion about sharing her cultural and linguistic heritage. She is currently a learning and development consultant for Wells Fargo and HORA’s vice president. Dana has been happy and proud to volunteer and share her knowledge of Romanian history, culture and language through the HORA language classes and events.