Willamette Valley farmers, Ming Kee of Aurora and Ah Coe of Dallas, were two of Oregon's most prominent and well-respected hop growers from 1890 to 1930. However, due to the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was in force during that period, neither man could legally own the land where they grew hops.

Join us as we explore the experiences of these two pioneers of hop growing, their challenges and their contributions to the history of craft brewing in Oregon. This will include a video presentation by Ivy Lin, followed by a panel discussion featuring Bitter Harvest writer Putsata Reang.

About the Speakers:

Ivy C. Lin, originally from Taipei, Taiwan, she became a Portlander in 2002 and has been telling this city's lesser-known stories through video since 2007. Ivy's films have been screened at festivals throughout the Northwest, including "Beauty & the Sea," which won Best Documentary Short at the Northwest Filmmakers' Festival in 2015.

Putsata Reang, an award-winning Cambodian American journalist and author, and a graduate of University of Oregon's School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, the Guardian, and Mother Jones. She is currently at work on a memoir about her family's experience fleeing the genocide in Cambodia.

Other Panelists:

Tiah Edmunson-Morton, Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives curator
Betty Jean Lee, granddaughter of farmer Ah Coe
David Wagner, family friend of farmer Ming Kee
Patrick Harris, executive director of the Old Aurora Colony Museum

Bitter Harvest is part of Oregon Humanities' This Land project, which collects and connects stories about land, home, belonging, and identity by Oregon's communities of color.