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Wyoming State Archives and Laramie County Public Library Host Sam Mihara

Details: Category: Archives News; Published: Friday, 01 September 2023 12:44

Wyoming State Archives and Laramie County Public Library Host Sam Mihara

Join the Wyoming State Archives (WSA) and the Laramie County Public Library for a special night with Sam Mihara as he talks about his experiences at Heart Mountain internment camp during World War II.

This event is sponsored in part by Wyoming Humanities. Mihara’s talk will be held on Friday, September 15, at 7 p.m. in the Wyoming State Capitol Auditorium located at 200 W 24th St, in Cheyenne. We also welcome virtual participants. To obtain a link to the online event, register through the WSA Eventbrite page, https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/wyoming-state-archives-speaker-series-834529.

When Sam Mihara was nine years old, World War II broke out resulting in the United States government using armed military guards to force over 125,000 people of Japanese descent to live in one of the 75 internment camps located in the United States.

Mihara will share his story of his family’s journey from San Francisco to Heart Mountain, Wyoming and life thereafter as chronicled in his book, Memories of Heart Mountain. Mihara will have copies of the book available for sale at the event.

Sam Mihara and his family returned to San Francisco after the war ended. He attended Lick Wilmerding High School, and University of California, Berkeley for his undergraduate degree and UCLA for his graduate degree, earning engineering degrees at both. This led to a career as a rocket scientist and employment with Boeing Company, where he served as an executive on space programs. Following retirement, Mihara became a national speaker on the topic of mass injustice in the U.S. and helped in the education and preservation of the Heart Mountain Historic Landmark. He is a board member of the Heart Mountain Wyoming Foundation and of the Japanese American Citizens League, SELANOCO Chapter. He has received many awards for his educational talks including Paul Gagnon Prize as the history educator of the year and the Japanese American Citizens League’s prestigious honor, The Biennium Award for Education.

The State Archives is hosting a variety of events in honor of American Archives Month, Family History Month, and Electronic Records Day in October.

On Thursday, October 12, at 7 pm, historian Rick Ewig will moderate a panel discussion titled, “Tom Horn: 120 Years Later,” to be held at the Laramie County Public Library in Cheyenne.

Published authors and panelists D. Claudia Thompson, Larry Ball, and John Davis will talk about Horn’s life, legacy, and relevance today as a hired gunman, Pinkerton agent, soldier, scout, interpreter, and cowboy during the late 19th to early 20th centuries.

Also, in October, Governor Dave Freudenthal will discuss his book, “Wyoming: The Paradox of Plenty, The Allure and Risk of a Mineral Economy,” at 7 p.m. in the Wyoming State Capitol Auditorium on the 30th.

To view upcoming events, check out the Wyoming State Archives events calendar at https://wyoarchives.wyo.gov/index.php/about-archives/events. Recordings of most WSA events are available on their YouTube channel, https://www.youtube.com/@wyomingstatearchives3567/videos.

The WSA collects, manages, and preserves Wyoming state public records that have long-term administrative, legal, and historical value. These records document the history of our state and the activities of Wyoming Government offices. The Archives also collects non-government records that contribute to the understanding of the state’s history.

For more information, contact Sara Davis, Wyoming State Archivist, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or call the WSA at 307-777-7826. The Wyoming State Archives is accessible according to the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines. If you require special assistance, please contact the Wyoming State Archives at 307-777-7826.