Isabel (Chavez) Gonzales La Yarda Interview

Isabel (Chavez) Gonzales La Yarda Interview

La Yarda (Lawrence, Kan.)

Mexican Americans -- Housing -- Kansas -- Lawrence

Mexican Americans -- History -- Kansas -- Lawrence

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

Isabel (Chavez) Gonzalez was interviewed by Emily Raymond on February 19, 2021, 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. Isabel grew up in East Lawrence, and recounts her childhood as part of Lawrence's Mexican-American community. She attended St. John's School, Central Middle School, and Lawrence High School; she also discusses her family's experiences as part of the St. John's Church congregation. She shares memories of childhood pasttimes, life without indoor plumbing, and her father's extensive vegetable gardens. Isabel describes her family's migration from Mexico to Lawrence, and discusses experiences of discrimination and segregation faced by the Mexican-American community in Lawrence.

Gonzales, Isabel (Chavez)

La Yarda Oral History Project

Watkins Community Museum (Lawrence, Kan.)

2021-02-19

Raymond, Emily

Published with the permission of Isabel Gonzales. 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 audio recording of this interview, go to https://archive.org/details/7-igonzales-20210219.

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.

MP3 (audio recording)

PDF (transcription)

Oral History

7-IGonzales-20210219.mp3 (audio)

7-IGonzales-20210219.pdf (transcription)

Lawrence (Kan.)

1920s - 1970s

Raymond, Emily

Gonzales, Isabel (Chavez)

MP3

0:41:21

192 kbps