Erminia (Ermie) Gauna and Kitty Pacheco La Yarda Interview

Erminia (Ermie) Gauna and Kitty Pacheco La Yarda Interview

La Yarda (Lawrence, Kan.)

Mexican Americans -- Housing -- Kansas -- Lawrence

Mexican Americans -- History -- Kansas -- Lawrence

Mexican Americans -- Social conditions -- Kansas -- Lawrence

Sisters Erminia Gauna and Kitty Pacheco were interviewed by Helen Krische in 2006 as part of an oral history project to document the La Yarda and Mexican-American communities in Lawrence, Kansas. La Yarda was a neighborhood of worker housing provided by the Santa Fe Railroad for Mexican-American railroad workers; located near the Kansas (Kaw) River, the neighborhood was largely destroyed by a major flood in 1951. Erminia and Kitty grew up in North Lawrence and in East Lawrence, and attended the Baptist church. They describe their family's migration from Mexico to Lawrence, and share memories of their mother and father. Erminia and Kitty describe social activities in the Mexican-American community, living conditions in East Lawrence, their father's work for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), their parents' gardens, and their experiences picking potatoes. They share their memories of the Great Depression, and of the German POW camp in Lawrence during World War II. They describe speaking Spanish as children. Erminia and Kitty describe family foodways, and their experiences receiving healthcare. They also discuss their experiences with discrimination and segregation as part of the Mexican-American community in Lawrence.

Gauna, Erminia (Ermie)

Pacheco, Kitty

La Yarda Oral History Project

Watkins Community Museum (Lawrence, Kan.)

2006

Krische, Helen

Raymond, Emily

Published with the permission of Margaret Garcia on behalf of Erminia Gauna and Kitty Pacheco. This work is the intellectual property of the Watkins Museum of History, Lawrence, Kansas. The public may freely copy, modify, and share this Item for noncommercial purposes if they include the original source information. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

To access the video and audio recordings of this interview, go to https://archive.org/details/26-egauna-kpacheco-2006.

The Watkins Museum of History also holds items related to this collection.

Additional research on the La Yarda community is held at the Spencer Research Library at the University of Kansas.

MP4 (video recording)

MP3 (audio recording)

PDF (transcription)

Oral History

26-EGaunaKPacheco-2006.mp4 (video)

26-EGaunaKPacheco-2006.mp3 (audio)

26-EGaunaKPacheco-2006.pdf (transcription)

Lawrence (Kan.)

1920s - 1970s

Krische, Helen

Raymond, Emily

Gauna, Erminia (Ermie)

Pacheco, Kitty

MP4

01:01:31 (video)

00:52:01 (audio)

83 kbps

3748 kbps