The Hyleigh Pan collection of digital photos of Lao ephemera is a collection of 107 digital photos taken by Hyleigh Pan of Lao ephemera, most of which was encountered in Kansas. Photos are of news clippings about Laotioan diaspora, postcards from Laos, military uniforms and ephemera, and several book covers by Laotian and Laotian American authors. The dates of materials photographed range from circa 1900 to 2022. The collection also includes a spreadsheet of metadata describing the photos. With the aim of preserving the past, Hyleigh Pan initiated this project to gather photographic evidence of items that are important to the Laotian diaspora. Pan made a deliberate effort to locate objects that were often overlooked or undervalued, but held cultural significance, documenting a unique and meaningful aspect of the Laotian community's heritage.

Hyleigh Pan was born in Connecticut in November 2006 and now resides in Southern California. During her childhood, she spent a significant amount of time in Kansas visiting her grandparents Kongpheng Kora and Somchanh Kora, who operated a Lao grocery store called Kora's Oriental Food Market. Their real last name was Sangdeaungpheng, but they changed it to Kora when they received their U.S. citizenship in the 1980s. The store ceased operation when they retired in 2016. This is where she had the opportunity to connect with customers and gain insight into their experiences in Laos.

.64208 Gigabytes (108 digital files)

Property rights reside with the University of California. Copyrights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

The collection is open for research.