ALBANY, Ore. — At 95 years old, Mae Yih, the first Chinese-born woman in the United States elected to a state legislative chamber, enjoys staying active.
"I do yard work, and I practice piano every day to keep my fingers busy, and my son said to me, 'You have to walk 15 minutes a day, or you're never walk again,' so I'm pretty busy," Yih said.
She was motivated in college to stand up for what she believed in.
"The president of the small women's college in New York said to us every week during student assembly: 'Use your education. Be involved in the decision-making process,'" Yih recalled.
It's one of the reasons why her husband Stephen was so fond of her.
"We met after he graduated and got a job. In New York, he dated me, and he proposed the first time we dated. We were married in 1953," Yih said.
With her husband's job, Mae would soon find herself in Oregon. It was a place neither of them had ever heard of.
"He was assigned to Albany, Oregon. We didn't even know where Oregon was. We had to look it up on map," said Yih.
She became active on the school boards where her sons went to school and admits she was controversial.
"I say, 'The quality isn't good enough. Let's work harder.' They terminated a teacher who gave homework and I say, 'Please reconsider,'" said Yih. "I told them that if we don't have a chance to review the curriculum, do some checks and balances, I'm going to go home and watch TV."
She would get noticed and soon get an invitation from the Democratic Party to run for office.
"I was able to defeat a 14-year incumbent to be elected to the legislature. That's how I got started," said Yih.
Mae broke barriers to become the first Chinese-born woman in the United States elected to a state legislative chamber. She served 6 years in the House and 20 years in the Senate. She's very proud of her work, including helping to protect Oregon's covered bridges.
"I'm very happy we still have 50 covered bridges in Oregon and not lost them. They are cultural heritage of Oregon, and they are historic sites," said Mae Yih.
She even wrote a book about her life and one on her own life. She believes it's important for Asian Americans to keep breaking barriers, especially in politics.
"We need more elected Asian Americans in government to uphold equal opportunity and equal justice for all," Yih said.
And though Yih turns 96 this month, she doesn't plan on slowing down any time soon.
"I tell them, 'The test scores are so low. You better come up with an education improvement plan,' and they always say to me, 'Thank you, Ms. Yih' and no action, but I'm still very involved in the community," said Yih.
She retired from elective office in 2003. In 2019, she received the Legacy Award from the Museum of Chinese in America in New York, which celebrates the outstanding achievements of pioneers and leaders whose service paved the way for generations.
KGW's Breaking Barriers series features Oregonians making a difference in the world of sports, arts, government, business and more. You'll see stories throughout May featuring stories for Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander Heritage Month. You can watch them all here.