Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, November 19, 1999
Binding generations together through culture, community
Continued from page 1A
settle in Oakland," Valerie Mendoza said
The first immigrants to the United States didn't even know Kansas existed much less Oakland until the railroad began moving them in at the turn of the century.
"The first substantial flow of immigrants came over to Topeka between 1907 and 1912," Mendoza said. "Since then, the Hispanic presence has continued to grow and even offers opportunities for the new wave of immigrants that are coming over even today."
She said the Mexicans provided the railroad with unskilled labor at a low wage, and that was what the railroad was looking for.
The Oakland community started out
The Oakland community started out small and grew to what everyone sees
today through a network that was formed among the immigrants to help one another surive and in the end succeeds said.
vive and in the end succeed, she said.
From their families' origins in Mexico to their grandparents' journeys to the United States and eventually Topeka's Oakland community, to their parents'
struggles against dis crimina- tion, the grandchild- child who attend the University of Kansas say theirs is a
story that never should be forgotten.
J. R. Mendoza, Topeka junior, said that his grandfather, John Mendoza Sr., came from Mexico in the early 1920s.
His grandfather died more than 30 years ago so his father has told him about his grandfather's life.
His father, John Mendoza Jr., recalled growing up in a small house next to the tracks in Oakland.
"My father's family didn't have much money while he was growing up," John Mendoza Jr. said. "There were eight children in the family to take care of, and it was a very difficult time for them."
J. R.'s father told him the Mexican community in Oakland played a major role in the survival of many Mexican immigrants, and Mendoza's family was no exception.
"Oakland was a close-knit community where everyone tried to help everyone else," J.R. Mendoza said. "My grandmother helped out by baking tortillas, doing other people's laundry and even picking vegetables in the fields."
To this day J.R.'s family is still active in the Oakland community,
J. R., who also is a Hispanic American Leadership Organization senator, said that he thought it was important never to forget how much his family had endured to give him the opportunities he had today.
"I appreciate all the things my parents and grandparents have been through over the years," J.R. Mendoza said. "I know they are extremely proud of all that we have accomplished, and the progress we have made going to college and even graduating from the University of Kansas."
A bridge between languages
Some things from Oakland already have faded throughout the years.
J. R. Mendoza said he regretted not learning how to speak Spanish, the one thing that was not passed down from his father's generation.
"Spanish was never really taught to me or my three sisters," J.R. Mendoza said. "Most people think because I'm Mexican I know how to speak Spanish, but that couldn't be farther from the truth."
Joanna Martinez said that she also regretted never learning how to speak Spanish.
Her father said growing up
with Spanish was important to him because he served as mediator between his father and the people who did not speak Spanish. You had to know both Spanish and English if you wanted to get anything accomplished in Toopeka.
"Once my children were born, learning Spanish was not as critical as when I was young," Joe Martinez said. "When my children were growing up, we spoke English at home and that's what they learned."
Spanish is still an important part of Oakland, where a lot of people speak it as their primary language, and an influx of
new Mexican immigrants during the past 10 years has helped to keep Spanish alive.
J. R. Mendoza also wished he knew more about his grandfather's past.
"There are so many questions I would like to ask him if I were given the opportunity." J.R. Mendoza said.
"I still have family members back in Mexico that I will probably never know because they did not choose to go.
A step toward Americanization.
For all of the good things Oakland provided for Mexican immigrants, Topeka still had its share of drawbacks.
Designed by Kristi Elliott
saw because they did not choose to come over with him."
because they have married into the community though the years.
"I can remember even up to the early '60s not being allowed to eat in restaurants or even swim in the public pools," Joe Martinez said. "It was important for Mexicans to stick together, and the Oakland community provided that support system."
Joanna Martinez said that, for both her grandfather and father, Oakland played an important role in the Mexican community's survival.
"When the first immigrants from Mexico came to Oakland, it was actually dominated by Russian and German immigrants who came to work on the railroad before them," Joe Martinez said. "Over the years the Mexican presence increased, and Oakland community has become what we all see today."
"I appreciate all the things my parents and grandparents have been through over the years.I know they are extremely proud of all that we have accomplished, and the progress we have made going to college and even graduating from the University of Kansas."
A step toward Americanization
Joanna Martínez remembers her father talking about discrimination. Moviesi
Just like J.R. and Valerie Mendoza's grandfather, Joanna Martinez's grandfather came from Mexico during the Mexican Revolution, leaving loved one's behind and only returning to Mexico once before he died.
Joe Martinez said it was not only the railroad that played an important role in the time of Mexican inmi
important role the lives of Mexican immigrants, but also the Roman Catholic church.
"The Church provided a place for immigrants to find support and people that understood their needs." Joe Martinez said.
J.R. Mendoza
Today, Our Lady of Guadalupe is still predominately Hispanic with members of other races joining
faced and, while she thinks society has come a long way, racism still exists today.
Topeka junior
In 1998, the University listed 594 students who were of Hispanic decent, a rise of 382 or 64.3 percent since 1984. Of the
For the second and third generations of Oakland, the nearby University of Kansas provided the next step in their families' Americanization.
594 students, 147 were graduate student. Valerie and J.R. Mendosa's father was one of a few out of the Oakland who got a chance to go to college.
"He actually got a partial scholarship to attend Washburn University, where he earned a degree in physics and landed a job with NASA out of college," Valerie Mendoza said. "He eventually went back to school at Kansas State University, where he earned his masters degree in urban planning."
Unlike John Mendoza Jr., Joe Martinez said that his father never understood his desire to go to college when he was young.
"I told my father I wanted to go to college, and he asked me why," Joe Martinez said. "He thought my job at Santa Fe was good enough, and I don't think he ever understood why I wanted to do anything else but work for Santa Fe."
Joe Martinez said the idea of higher education was something that was handed down from generation to generation
and with
most of the first generation of Mexicans not even having a high school education, a college education was not seen as important.
Joe Martinez finally did go to college, and that's where he found his calling as a court reporter, a job he has done for the last 25 years.
Joe Martinez said when he and his wife, Gina, were raising their four children, it always was understood that they all would have the opportunity to go to college, and each of them have. Three of the four have attended the University, and the fourth now attends Emporia State University.
"We wanted them all to go to college, but especially the girls," Joe Martinez said. "It's a lot easier for a man to find a blue-collar job then it is for a woman."
He said that he did not want the women to become dependent on their husbands and not have anything to fall back on if their marriages did not work out.
Valerie Mendoza said the research she had done on Mexican migration throughout the years indicated that a vast majority of next generation Mexicans would earn a college degree.
"People know a lot more about how the college system works and know a college education is not out of their reach," she said.
"The Hispanic community will continue strive in Oakland because of the presence of the Church, and the first immigrants who still live there today." Valerie Mendoza said.
Oakland's strong sense of history will guide future generations in learning their family roots.
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