Ramon (Raymond) Enrique Romero, Sr., La Yarda Interview
Mexican Americans -- Housing -- Kansas -- Lawrence
Mexican Americans -- History -- Kansas -- Lawrence
Mexican Americans -- Social conditions -- Kansas -- Lawrence
Ramon (Raymond) Romero was 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. Ramon discusses his school experiences in Lawrence, how he met his wife, and his work experiences including his military service. He discusses his parents' strategies for providing for their family, including gardening and sewing clothes. He describes his experiences with healthcare in his youth. He also discusses his experiences with cultural assimiliation, especially regarding speaking Spanish.
Watkins Community Museum (Lawrence, Kan.)
Published with the permission of Virginia Romero, on behalf of Ramon (Raymond) Romero. 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/21a-rromero-sr-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.
Ramon Romero was also interviewed as part of an oral history project to record memories of World War II. A transcription of that interview can be accessed at https://www.kansasmemory.org/item/211750.
21a-RRomeroSr-2006.mp3 (audio) and 21a-RRomeroSr-2006.pdf (transcription)
21b-RRomeroSr-2006.mp3 (audio) and 21b-RRomeroSr-2006.pdf (transcription)