10/12/2026
An October 11, 2026 Olympia Historical Society sponsored book/author event and community conversation attracted an engaged audience and stimulated thoughtful discussion. Inspired by the recent Legacy Washington published book "New Land: Southeast Asian Refugee Immigrants Finding Home in Washington" author Ed Echtle shared his experience researching and writing the book. He shared several poignant stories of Vietnam War refugees reaching the United States and adjusting to a new way of life in Washington. After Ed's presentation, Olympia Mayor Pro-Tem Yến Huỳnh moderated an audience question and answer conversation. Several attendees shared stories of being refugees and adjusting to the challenges of a new life in the United States. Then discussion soon turned to the experience of the second generation of Southeast Asian immigrants' desire to retain their culture while finding success in 21st century America. Another topic generating thougthful comments was the question about what do we want future generations of Southeast Asians to remember and keep of the history of their ancesters' immigration story. The Olympia Historical Society expresses our sincere appreciation to Ed Echtle of Legacy Washington in the WA Secretary of State's office and Mayor Pro-Tem Huỳnh. We also thank all those in attendance for their interest, comments, questions, and sharing. We were honored that the first refugee elected to the WA State Legislature My-Linh Thai attended the program. Thai represents the 41st Legislative District based in the eastside Seattle suburbs.
If interested in knowing more, copies of the "New Land" book may be downloaded free of charge at the WA Secretary of State website at this link: https://digitalarchives.wa.gov/DigitalObject/Download/66e01ad1-a7f6-49a2-bbfb-c01772867020.
