272 American Archivist / Vol. 48, No. 3 / Summer 1985 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021

Documenting a Mexican American Community: The Example

THOMAS H. KRENECK

Abstract: The Mexican American population is one of the most significant minority groups in the nation, yet archivists and historians have been negligent in documenting its development. The Mexican American community in Houston, , has been developing for one hundred years and today may well number as many as five hun- dred thousand people. Since 1978, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) of has been addressing this situation by systematically building a collection of materials relative to the history of Houston's Mexican American populace. These materials include the papers of prominent Mex- ican American Houstonians, Mexican American families, as well as local Chicano organizations and institutions. Additionally, HMRC has established a supplementary oral history project especially designed for its Mexican American community. To im- plement this collection strategy, HMRC staff members have actively built a local sup- port network and have become involved in public outreach. As one of the few such programs in the , HMRC's Mexican American project could serve as an example for other appropriate institutions dealing with the heritage of this important ethnic group.

About the author: Thomas H. Kreneck is the assistant archivist of the Houston Metropolitan Research Center of Houston Public Library and head of its Mexican American archival compo- nent. A native of South Texas, he received both his B.A. and M.A. degrees from the and a Ph.D. in history from Bowling Green State University. He has been one of the principal figures in the development of HMRC since August 1976. Among the many specialized programs within HMRC that he has directed is the historic photographs project in which over one and one-half million visuals of Houston and its environs have been assembled. He serves as associate editor of The Houston Review, a journal of the history and culture of the Gulf Coast. In addition, he has published on Texas and Mexican American topics in regional periodicals. As adjunct lecturer at various Houston universities and colleges, he is involved in the teaching of American history and is likewise a faculty member in the Institute of Texas Studies, sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association and the University of Texas at Austin. Documenting a Mexican American Community 273

SINCE THE SUMMER OF 1978, the Houston Arturo Rosales of the University of Metropolitan Research Center (HMRC) Houston and Professor Alberto of Houston Public Library has been ac- Camarillo of Stanford University. Ap- tively and systematically collecting prised of HMRC's definition as the cen- Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 materials which document the history of tral, urban research facility of the the Houston Mexican American ex- nation's fifth-largest , Rosales and perience. This effort has been received Camarillo urged that HMRC begin to with more than a modest amount of en- focus attention on Houston's massive thusiasm by the local Hispanic popula- Hispanic community. tion as well as by academicians and In consultation with Rosales and laypersons who are involved in under- Camarillo, Don E. Carlton (then head of standing the development of Spanish- HMRC), Louis J. Marchiafava (then oral speaking peoples in the United States. history coordinator and now head of Such response has enabled HMRC to HMRC), and the author identified some assemble a sizeable body of historically basic information sources about Mexican valuable research material. Accordingly, Americans already on deposit in the since 1980, this program has been holdings which could be used as a base described at various professional archival for expansion. For example, within the and academic conferences. Seminars on Texas and Local History Department, community history have also featured the through which all HMRC materials are program as an example of Texas ethnic referenced, there was a sizeable collection archives. This explanation of HMRC's of printed primary and secondary books, Mexican American Collection—its reports, and periodicals relative to genesis, design, successes, and short- Hispanics in Houston. These items in- comings—will enable individuals and in- cluded such basic sources as newspapers stitutions to draw from HMRC's ex- and Houston city directories in which perience in addressing the preservation of residents of all ethnic groups were listed the Mexican American twentieth-century as were their places of residence and oc- past, a field which both archivists and cupations dating back to the 1860s. This historians have long neglected. Institu- type of printed primary material is as tions and individuals collecting in other essential as the regular census for ethnic fields might also find value in this demographers and students of barrio recounting of the experiences of HMRC. growth. Within various manuscript and By the summer of 1978, the Houston archival collections already accessioned Metropolitan Research Center had been there was material dealing with Mexican in operation as a division of Houston Americans of the area. The records of the Public Library for several years and had Santa Fe Railroad in the Houston- been active in its mission of locating, ac- Galveston region contained company quiring, preserving, and making available correspondence, contracts, and instruc- to scholars and educators documentary tions regarding the hiring of Mexican na- materials relative to the Houston urban tionals between 1929 and 1945. The region.' At that time several academi- railroad, a traditional employer of Mex- cians were already doing research in the ican Americans, is a prime example of holdings. Among these individuals were agency or business papers dealing with two young Chicano historians, Professor the target group. In addition, HMRC's

'Don E. Carleton, "A Cooperative Urban Archives Program: The Houston Metropolitan Research Center," Midwestern Archivist 6 (no. 2 1982): 177-195. 274 American Archivist / Summer 1985

developing county records collection pro- and comprise a recognizable unit in the vided data. HMRC is the regional region's work force. Not only do Mex- depository for a seven-county area in the ican Houstonians impact the economic, state-sponsored Regional Historical demographic, and cultural scenes, but, Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 Resource Depository system, and the unlike most other national minorities, Mexican American presence was reflected they also translate their numbers into in such items as school census reports. political representation as city coun- Likewise, statistical information could be cilmen, justices of the peace, county con- gleaned from HMRC's growing munici- stables, precinct judges, and state pal records holdings deposited by legislators. Also, the Mexican American numerous city departments. One simply community is serving as the foundation had to be imaginative in the use of for other Spanish-speaking people who already accessioned materials to realize are increasing their numbers in the city. what they had to offer relative to While each city and region across the Houston Hispanics. United States has its own special set of Still, as of the summer of 1978, the circumstances which may differ in degree holdings did not reflect much of the from those of Houston, it is certain that human side of the Mexican American many communities must increasingly community's development. There was no count Hispanics as a potent force. This material generated by Mexican presence must be addressed by each Americans about Mexican Americans. region's institutions, not excluding ar- Such a perspective is absolutely necessary chival and historical agencies. for a balanced understanding of any peo- Background research indicates that ple. Mexicans had first started to come to As historians, staff members under- Houston as early as the 1870s and 1880s, stood that no immigrant nationality in both from Mexico and from the sur- Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast rounding areas in Texas. Although merited analysis more than the Mexican Houston dates from the early nineteenth Americans. They are distinctive because century, it had been founded and first of geography, history, and present cir- peopled by non-Hispanics immediately cumstances. With Texas a part of Mexico after the Texas war for independence; prior to 1836, only American Indians thus, it did not possess an indigenous predated Hispanic presence. Only a single Hispanic influence as did other urban meandering river separates Mexico from areas such as San Antonio. By 1900, the Lone Star State, and people of Mex- however, there were approximately one ican origin have traditionally moved back thousand Mexican Americans in and forth between the two regions so that Houston. The real flood tide of such im- it has been difficult to establish a clearly migrants to Houston began after 1910 demarcated cultural boundary. Mexican with the Mexican Revolution so that by Americans are the authentic bridge be- 1930 their number reached as high as fif- tween the United States and its most im- teen thousand. By the 1920s there was a portant southern neighbor. Today, ex- small but viable entrepreneurial class cept for blacks, no other ethnic group among this group. In the main, however, forms such a large, identifiable body. In the people had come to labor in the outly- the Houston metropolitan region Mex- ing agricultural regions, in the recently ican Americans number in the hundreds developed in- of thousands. They have their own neigh- dustries, or with the railroads. borhoods, preserve the Spanish language, The Houston Hispanic community Documenting a Mexican American Community 275

began to develop on the north and east Michigan, which mainly collected materi- sides of town near their places of employ- als dealing with the great migrations of ment in the railroad yards and along the Europeans between 1820 and 1920. Each

ship channel. Their growth patterns project targeted similar community-level Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 paralleled the rest of Houston; that is, the records and encouraged the use of oral real surge came after and as a result of history to address ethnic development.3 It World War II. Their numbers have was clear from these programs that ar- grown so rapidly that it is impossible to chivists should ignore the misconception estimate the current size of the Chicano that ethnic peoples were somehow il- community. Some experts maintain there literate peasants who left no written are as many as five hundred thousand legacy. The search for grassroots materi- people. It may be the third-largest Mex- als required imagination and direct com- ican American center of population in the munity involvement.4 nation, and the country's fifth-largest With this basic understanding, HMRC concentration of Hispanic peoples.2 staff members formulated what they felt Archival repositories in the United was a systematic approach to collecting States, of course, had not totally ignored which, with little modification, they ethnic materials in their collecting have followed ever since. They decided to endeavors. A survey of the literature pursue four basic types of materials. quickly revealed that, reflecting America These included papers of individuals in- as a nation of immigrants, American ar- fluential in the development of the chival institutions had already accom- Houston Mexican American community, plished enough work in the field to help papers of Mexican American families, provide a collecting strategy which and records of local Mexican American HMRC could adapt to its local setting organizations and institutions; these ex- and specific needs. Perhaps the most isting records were supplemented by prominent examples included the materials from an oral history project. American Jewish Archives in Cincinnati, Although the sources targeted were Ohio, which had actively assembled traditional in nature, staff members documentation on the American Jewish decided to be activists in implementing experience since the late 1940s; the Im- the collection policy. They publicized migration Studies Collection at the their efforts and established a program of University of Minnesota, which concen- community outreach to convince the trated on people in the United States with Houston Mexican American populace roots in southern and eastern Europe and that they were sincerely interested in the Middle East; and the Bentley Histori- preserving the materials which accurately cal Library of the University of documented their history so that this

2For stylistic purposes, I use the terms Mexican American, Chicano, and Hispanic interchangeably. While Mexican American and Chicano specifically denote a person of Mexican descent living in the United States, the term Hispanic can also be applied to other peoples originating from the former New World col- onies of Spain. Although exact numbers are impossible to ascertain, Houston apparently ranks behind Los Angeles and San Antonio in Mexican American population. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and San Antonio lead Houston in total number of Hispanics. 'Jacob R. Marcus, "The American Jewish Archives," American Archivist 23 (January 1960): 57-61; Rudolph J. Vecoli, "The Immigration Studies Collection of the University of Minnesota," Ibid. 32 (April 1969): 139-145; Robert M. Warner and Francis X. Blouin, Jr., "Documenting the Great Migrations and a Century of Ethnicity in America," Ibid. 39 (July 1976): 319-328. 'Richard N. Juliani, "The Use of Archives in the Study of Immigration and Ethnicity," American Ar- chivist 39 (October 1976): 469-477. 276 American Archivist / Summer 1985

heritage could be understood by and The first type of material—papers of shared with the other groups who make prominent individuals—was probably up the population. Such a policy was the easiest to identify. While people who necessary in addressing a people who had have been in a position to assemble a Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 traditionally been objects of prejudice large body of historically valuable and discrimination and who, despite materials are easy to locate, the difficulty years of paying taxes, had seen little arises in negotiations for these papers return from public agencies in dealing with the persons or their heirs. The staff with their needs. The staff believed that quickly contacted and accessioned the through personal contacts and use of the papers of the notable Houstonian Leonel media they could convince people to Castillo, former city controller and place their materials with HMRC. United States commissioner of immigra- It is important to stress that these items tion and naturalization under President were not located in places that were readi- Jimmy Carter. Likewise, they acces- ly identified and inventoried as most ar- sioned the papers of Ben T. Reyes, chival agencies might hope. They were in former Texas state legislator from Harris people's trunks and attics, and word of County and currently the only Mexican mouth became perhaps the most effective American Houston city councilman. method by which such documents made These collections cover many aspects of their way to HMRC. Also, part of the Mexican American civic and political community network included branch history since the 1960s and are currently librarians of Houston Public Library subject to research restrictions. Felix within the Hispanic neighborhoods. Tijerina, successful restaurateur from the These colleagues, often bilingual and 1930s through the 1960s, was another rooted in the local area, took interest in prominent Houstonian of Mexican de- the archival program. They carried the scent whose papers were acquired. He message to people who might otherwise was four-term national president of the have remained uninformed and on occa- League of United Latin American sion accessioned valuable material for Citizens (LULAC) and a friend of gover- HMRC. nors of Texas and presidents of the Houston television, radio, and the United States. His program, called the printed media proved to be extremely "Little Schools of the 400," was a generous in publicizing this program. pioneer effort in bilingual education and Both major daily newspapers as well as served as a model for Project Head Start. suburban Hispanic-oriented weeklies Tijerina's papers were in the possession printed articles on HMRC's efforts. of his widow, Janie Gonzalez Tijerina, Radio talk-show hosts had the staff after he died in 1965. After lengthy, dialogue with their listeners. Especially serious negotiations regarding the care important, however, were the Mexican and disposition of the documents, she American public service television pro- placed the papers with HMRC for re- grams which afforded ample time to ex- search and educational purposes. Mrs. plain the project. In the beginning, such Tijerina, a longtime business woman in coverage had to be solicited; however, the her own right, included many of her own media in Houston quickly became recep- papers with those of her husband. Lydia tive to HMRC's overtures. In a media- Mendoza, an internationally-known oriented society, nothing lends more singer since the 1930s, also contributed credibility to an archival collecting pro- her papers to HMRC. She may well be gram among the general population than the most important cultural figure in the for people to see it on television. Mexican American population living to- Documenting a Mexican American Community 277

U McALLEN, Cine EL TEXAS Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 I MIERCOLESS 8 DEE AGOSTO,, DE 1951 "I • 4

t • DOS FUNCIOSES A LAS 7:30 Y 9:30 P. M. • 4 * ESPECTACULOS SELECTOS, PRESENTA Ala Incomparable I - La Unical

> La Formidable Cancionera! La Mimada del Pueblol i \ EN PECfCNA! ' "LA ALOINDRA DE LA FRONTERA' L1DIA MENDOZA!

\• BesandOigaloa LCantaa Cruz r • Invierno en Abril La Que Se Fue Yo Fui El Culpable • Que me Importa t Un Dia Nublado E TODAS ESTAS GANCIDNES ESTAN \ GRAVADAS POR LIOEA MENDOZA I EN DISCOS FALCON -• •— , * Vienen Tambien con India Mendoza 4 LAS POPULARES CANC1ONERAS Hermanas MENDOZA JUANITA ± MARIA • LA VERSATIL VEDETTE ^ PIANISTA Y GUITARRISTA * Tambien el Comico Parodista y Buyanguero < \ ''CHAPULIN" j • ^ Por la Pantalla: UNA BONITA PELICULA ^ \

Flyers such as this 1951 advertisement of a performance by Lydia Mendoza well illustrate the variety of entertainment for Mexican American audiences. Lydia Mendoza Collection, Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library. 278 American Archivist / Summer 1985

day. Her materials include items normal- covers most of the episodes and events in ly associated with such artists—flyers, the family's life from the parents' migra- clippings, photographs, music, and other tion from the state of San Luis Potosi,

memorabilia assembled over her many through the father's work experience Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 years of activity. with the railroad and in business, to the Although generally not as large as the involvement of the children in social and collections of prominent people, family civic organizations in Houston. papers may be the most meaningful type Altogether, the Gomez Papers document of documents for the Houston Mexican in microcosm the acculturation of an en- American experience. The principle is tire generation of Hispanic residents. simple. Not everyone has been in a posi- The first Mexican American-related tion to amass a large body of papers ap- collection HMRC obtained was the propriate for historical research. Just Chairez Family Papers which spans the about everyone, however, has retained first decades of this century. This dona- items relevant to the activity of his or her tion was indicative of the positive family that are important to historical response to the collecting policy. scholarship. Members of the extended family con- Some family collections, of course, are tributed one document box of personal quite extensive and are a real bonanza correspondence, hand-written music, when accessioned. These larger donations organizational records, community clearly illustrate that in so many ways la flyers, and photographs dealing with familia, the basic social unit among Mex- neighborhood events that cast light on a ican Americans, has preserved the culture portion of little-known Mexican over the many decades of adversity. One American cultural development. Their of the earliest, most complete family col- material included several striking photos lections that HMRC received was the taken in the 1920s that indicated the rich Melesio Gomez Family Papers which reward that awaited the institution that reflect the experiences of its members for chose to document this pioneer field of over half of the twentieth century. The Southwestern and American history. The younger daughter of the family, now in Chairez relatives were the first people in her seventies, realizing that the docu- the network that began to build in sup- ments she had treasured in her lifetime port of HMRC's effort. might be subject to loss, destruction, or In the majority of cases, however, dispersal after her passing, responded to family collections include no more than a HMRC's call for contributions. She cor- few documents. Such small collections of rectly reasoned that the archives would material seem to be the norm in the provide her family with the service of Houston Hispanic community. People housing the family records so that with only a few historically significant descendants and others could utilize them items have been responsive as they feel in a central location in perpetuity. In that they too will be contributing to the turn, she felt that many of those papers preservation of their community's past reflected the larger historical develop- through donating something they have ment of the community and would be a cherished for many years. gift to posterity from her parents. Such A woman who had resided in Magnolia papers are not donated lightly by people Park, a predominantly Mexican Ameri- of a culture whose family structure is can Houston suburb, contributed a half- such that they hold sacred remembrances dozen, hand-printed grocery circulars of things past. The Gomez Collection from the 1930s. These circulars adver- Documenting a Mexican American Community 279 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021

This 1928 photograph of a popular Houston singing and dancing group is representative of items from family collections which document the tenacity of Mexican American culture in the urban regions. Chairez Family Collection, Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library. tised the merchandise of La Casa Verde, his college graduation picture had ap- Magnolia Park's leading grocery store peared in its social column. After keeping catering to Hispanic clientele during that the magazine in his closet for fifty years, period. They list the food commodities he decided to make it a part of his com- for sale and their prices. One can gain munity's history. The issue contained some insight into the diet of the com- short stories, poetry, and news features.5 munity during the Great Depression from A women contributed several Houston just these few items. Another senior resi- baseball posters from the 1930s and dent donated a single issue of a Houston 1940s. She had saved these circulars, Spanish-language literary magazine pub- items that are usually printed to be read lished during the 1920s. No library had and discarded, because her late husband bothered to keep issues of this periodical. was one of the players. Such documents The donor had retained his issue because present an interesting slice of Mexican

!HMRC has assembled several numbers of this magazine, Gaceta Mexicana, through single donations and has microfilmed them so that this resource can be made available to other interested research institu- tions. As an aside, microfilming is the primary method, at this time, of cooperating with other institutions relative to the Mexican American holdings. Also, one might say HMRC cooperates with other institutions by not collecting outside the geographic region of Houston. 280 American Archivist / Summer 1985

American cultural history probably not historically important material. This recorded elsewhere. Three different group represents the oldest living genera- donors contributed single items, each tion of Houston Hispanics, people well

dealing with the founding and early days into their seventies and eighties, and the Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 of the oldest mutualista (mutual aid HMRC staff consciously decided to ad- society) in the Houston area. This mutual dress this group first. aid society, called Sociedad Mutualista Mutualistas (mutual aid societies) are Benito Juarez, began in 1919. These three perhaps the most basic institution for documents include the society's earliest self-help and self-determination in the regulation booklet, its earliest known Mexican American community. Such membership roster, and a photograph, groups have existed in Houston since ap- circa 1920, of its leadership recruiting proximately 1919 and have reflected the members among local Mexican Ameri- most fundamental concerns and objec- cans. In this manner, significant aspects tives of Chicanos over the years. One that of the twentieth-century Hispanic ex- placed its records with HMRC is called perience can be preserved one item at a Union Fraternal. The materials begin time. An ongoing commitment, persever- with its founding in 1941 and contain ance, and resourcefulness in letting pro- brochures, pamphlets, minutes, financial spective donors know what their local ar- data, and correspondence, mostly in chival institution wants are necessary for Spanish. success in collecting. Another important group whose The records of organizations and in- records are included in the holdings is the stitutions are quite similar to manuscript League of United Latin American holdings. It soon became clear, however, Citizens (LULAC). In Houston, LULAC that there have been so many Mexican dates from the early 1930s. Among other American grass-roots clubs and groups in LULAC materials are the papers of Houston that it would take an ongoing LULAC Council #60. Established in commitment to deal with them all. The 1934, it is the oldest council in the area. first of several examples is El Club Its records include correspondence, Cultural Recreativo Mexico Bello. This financial reports, membership informa- group was founded by upwardly mobile, tion, scrapbooks, pamphlets, meeting aspiring middle class young men in 1924 minutes, and photographs—standard and is still in existence. We accessioned materials in any organizational archives. their records by directly contacting the Records of businesses owned and/or president of the club, caucusing with the operated by Mexican Americans or which founding members who were still active, employed Mexican Americans are impor- and negotiating a custodial arrangement tant for research. Staff members began to for their meeting minutes, financial contact Mexican American photographic reports, correspondence, membership ap- studios whose negative and print files plications, membership lists, and scrap- provided a wealth of visual documenta- books which had mainly been preserved tion on the community. They located by one of the group's oldest members. Mexican American professional photo- Club contacts of this nature intro- graphers who were active in Houston as duced HMRC to the elders of Hispanic far back as the 1920s, when that ethnic Houston, people not necessarily widely community first became truly viable. In- known in non-Hispanic circles but whose deed, this aspect was perhaps the most opinions and assistance are absolutely surprising feature of the Chicano Collec- vital in gaining entree to people with tion. The several Houston commercial Documenting a Mexican American Community 281

photographers whose prints were have proven to be a disappointing area in "discovered" for historical research in- HMRC's collecting strategy. Houston's clude Luis Suarez and Jesus Murillo from Hispanic churches date from 1911 with the 1920s, and Manuel Cantu from the the establishment of Our Lady of Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 1930s. While none of their complete Guadalupe Catholic Church, and the ma- negative files survived, hardly a Mexican jority of Mexican Americans historically American collection is accessioned from have been of the Roman Catholic faith. those decades that does not contain a Because the parish registers are of such photograph bearing the distinctive recent origin, officials of the Diocese of signature of one of those three artists. Galveston-Houston have been reluctant Mexican Houstonians retained a great to allow microfilming of these records for many photos taken by these men, prob- general research purposes at HMRC. ably because of the strength of lafamilia Perhaps this complication can be re- which has ensured that its members solved in some manner to facilitate ac- would preserve visual reminders of peo- cessibility to such quantifiable data. In ple and events. the meantime, individual church Other accessioned business records in- members, Protestant as well as Catholic, clude materials from newspapers and have helped to fill the void of the funeral homes owned by or serving religious record through the donation of Hispanics. Early mortuary records at fugitive materials such as flyers, bro- HMRC include files from the Morales chures, programs, anniversary publica- Funeral Home dating from the 1930s. tions, and other documents related to These papers contain a wealth of infor- their religious institutions. mation on the deceased, and when han- HMRC's policy regarding oral history dled in an aggregate, impersonal manner and the Mexican American community can reveal much about the history of the focuses on two types of interviews: the community. Knowing how people died rather traditional episodic format and can tell a scholar a great deal about how what has been termed the "Origins of the they lived. Barrio" questionnaire. There is an effort The Mexican American community in to supplement almost every item or col- Houston has produced local newspapers lection with an oral history session. Oral since at least the 1920s, but, unfortunate- interviews are not without their problems ly, mainstream institutions did not see fit —there is no perfect tape. The staff con- to retain complete files of them. Much cedes that their interviews suffer from work needs to be done in terms of most of the deficiencies of all oral locating and preserving such important histories. Often times, however, there is printed primary material. Staff members no record of an event or an institution discovered issues from a 1930s newspaper other than human memory, and no item called El Puerto in the possession of its or collection is so complete that it cannot publisher who is now well into his seven- be greatly improved through an accom- ties. He allowed them to microfilm the panying oral history with the donor ex- issues he had saved from 1935 and 1938. plaining gaps in the written evidence. For They have also compiled complete runs example, HMRC accessioned the papers of more recent newspapers such as Papel of John J. Herrera, longtime Houston at- Chicano, an organ of the Chicano move- torney, civic activist, and past national ment in Harris County during the 1970s. president of LULAC. Although his col- Although crucial in documenting the lection is substantial, it is supplemented Mexican American past, church records with eight hours of interviews that span 282 American Archivist / Summer 1985 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021

5 a « 2

C au

•R.2

Q 3 « o K

E •"

•§o -£a

60 CO

O 00 ra 113

Sj!

sis i 60 2 o •

<« « OS

T3 3 O •g o a c -a o •» « is 2 ••i Documenting a Mexican American Community 283

VOTE FOR Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 THE "GOOD NEIGHBOR CANDIDATE" John J. (Johnny) Herrcra FOR STATE SENATOR Special Election April 19, 1947 I AM FOR:-- Legalized Horse Races Sale of Liquor by the Drink Adequate Labor Legislation Higher School Teachers Pay Your Vote Will Be Appreciated

Donated by AVENUE PRINTING SHOP 903 Washington 20-M

The papers of local activists such as attorney John J. Herrera, supplemented by oral interviews, can reveal much about the political development of the Hispanic population. John J. Herrera Collection, Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library.

almost the entire period of twentieth- a questionnaire developed by Professor century Mexican American development Louise Kerr of Loyola University in from his vantage point. Records dealing Chicago. Kerr explores the areas of with Houston's role in the important pro- migration to the community, family cess of repatriation of people to Mexico history, and the degree of cultural during the 1930s are almost nonexistent. assimilation. The staff adjusted her An oral history conducted with Juan model to fit the Houston situation, and Carrion, a man who made that trek as a they have been actively administering it youth to and from Mexico, chronicles to as many people as they can locate who that struggle in human terms and in a came to Houston prior to 1930. The manner impossible to discern through im- foundations of the barrios were laid by migration reports. people of the Mexican Revolution In another case, HMRC's staff has generation, 1910-1930, and their profiles been unable to locate the records of need to be obtained in a uniform manner. Houston's earliest known Mexican Many of the older members of the American community institution, a Mexican American populace com- chapter of the Woodmen of the World municate more precisely in Spanish. founded in 1908. Interviews with a few of HMRC was fortunate in finding and its first members, however, have shed making effective use of volunteers to con- light on this organization, its aims, pur- duct these interviews. Utilization of such poses, and the people who were involved community volunteers not only serves to in its beginnings. The advanced age of obtain more valuable tape recordings, these surviving members mandates a high but also is crucial in building popular priority for this project. support for the program. As mentioned The "Origins of the Barrio" format is previously, community outreach is ab- a standard interview created by adapting solutely vital to the success of an archival 284 American Archivist / Summer 1985

collecting policy in the Mexican tivities that other people in our society American community. have. Often times it has been possible to con- Acquiring collections and interviews

duct a more specific, episodic interview within the Hispanic community involves Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 with a person after conducting one using many of the same techniques one uses the standardized format. One such case when soliciting papers and oral history involved a man who had come to sessions with any other group. One must Houston in 1913 and had worked for the contact the person directly or indirectly Southern Pacific Railroad for over forty and explain the situation. Some transac- years. His work, family life, and migra- tions are brief while others take time tion experiences well encapsuled an entire depending upon the individual. Always it generation of Houstonians; however, he entails the courtesy and tact required of was also an amateur comedian during the an acquisitions archivist. One must con- 1920s at a local Hispanic theatre. In a vey to the potential donors the desirabili- subsequent interview he related his time ty and advantages of having their papers on the stage as a young man, shedding or recollections preserved in an archives light on early Chicano vaudeville, an as well as the sincerity of the archival in- almost unknown area of social history. stitution in documenting the history of This example represents one of many the Mexican American community. possibilities that await an active ar- This appears to be an ironclad rule: the chivist/historian in the oral history seg- nature of gathering Mexican American ment of a good collection program. collections necessitates local effort. One might conclude this mention of Remote mainstream institutions have had oral history with a simple dictum: it is im- little positive effect on the life of the portant, but generally it is supplemental. average barrio resident; thus, that person This article has noted some of HMRC's rightly feels such an institution has lit- better interviews; there are others that did tle relevance and merits little of his con- not go as well. The memories of people in fidence. Also, efforts by local institutions the Hispanic community fade just as any can insure immediate response to the per- other group's might. Interviews with son's needs. The archivist is only a Mexican Americans have the same limita- telephone call or short drive away. Viable tions that one encounters with any peo- regional institutions should be encour- ple. One should not have the misconcep- aged to take the lead in establishing local tion that oral history is the primary seg- holdings whenever possible. ment of a Mexican American collection, Public educational programming has especially in an urban area. Additionally, directly resulted from HMRC's Mexican good interviews are a result of thorough American archival component. The preparation, background research, and a growing body of LULAC materials, for professional understanding of oral example, has served as the catalyst to history technique. bring together the Mexican American The numerous, historically valuable Studies Program of the University of materials and interviews to be obtained in Houston, Houston LULAC Council #60, the Chicano community are certainly not and HMRC to sponsor jointly a con- limited to the few examples cited above. ference entitled "LULAC in Historical Suffice it to say that the more the Perspective, 1929-1984," on 11 February resourceful archivist looks, the more he 1984. Held at the Houston Public or she will find. Mexican Americans have Library, it was a daylong affair featuring been involved in the same range of ac- ten speakers—six academicians and four Documenting a Mexican American Community 285

past national LULAC presidents. The tion to this program as a cultural, educa- conference analyzed the League of tional, and scholarly resource. It has been United Latin American Citizens over its part of an escalating interest in ethnic col-

fifty-five years of existence as perhaps the lecting across the United States since the Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/american-archivist/article-pdf/48/3/272/2747294/aarc_48_3_171t58027k165340.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 most important Hispanic organization in 1970s. Certainly, there has been increas- the United States. Concurrently, HMRC ing activity in the development of Mex- mounted a display of documents on ican American-related archival sources, deposit—"LULAC over Fifty Years in especially in the Southwest. Among the Houston: An Archival Exhibit." The more impressive ones are the Mexican public response was gratifying as several American Collection at the University of hundred people, Hispanic and non- Texas at Austin and the Chicano Studies Hispanic alike, attended the conference Research Center at the University of over the course of the day. Such efforts California at Los Angeles.6 Other ap- can thus serve to increase the historical propriate institutions should be encour- consciousness of the Mexican American aged to begin similar programs to help community as well as simply to preserve meet the needs of future research. There its documentary evidence. is much to be done as scholars continue Perhaps this outline of HMRC's ap- to turn their attentions to the growing proach to Mexican American archival presence of the Hispanic in this society. collecting will lead to wider public atten-

'F. Arturo Rosales and David William Foster, eds., Hispanics and the Humanities in the Southwest: A Directory of Resources (Tempe: Center for Latin American Studies, Arizona State University, 1983), pp. 104, 252.