1951 Flood

Interview with retired newspaper proofreader and typesetter Agustin Rocha about his life. Born in 1912, Rocha recalls his early life in Texas and Illinois, his father's railroad work, moving to Iowa to work beet harvests, his education, and working for the Belmond (Iowa) Independent newspaper setting linotype. He also discusses moving to Kansas City circa 1940, working as a linotype operator as a drafted soldier in World War II, suffering a concussion at D-Day, and returning home to work for the Kansas City Star and Kansas City Kansan. He also shares memories of the 1951 Flood, participating in organizations including the American Legion, and his marriage and family.

Interview with Hoffman-Cortes Construction Company executive vice-president Carlos Cortes about his life. Born in 1907, Cortes recalls his mother's European Jewish background, his Mexican father's work as an engineer for Shell Oil in California, attending grammar school in Mexico, and working for the University of California library. He also discusses his interest in history of the Western United States, his evolving role in his construction businesses, life during the Great Depression, and being ineligible for the World War II draft. He also shares his views on illegal immigration, bilingualism, religion, and politics.

Interview with Carmen Rangel about her life and the history of her family in the Argentine neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. She recounts her parents' early life in Leon, Mexico, their immigration to Kansas City by way of Newton, Kansas, and her own early life in Argentine where she attended St. John the Evangelist and St. John the Divine schools. She discusses the social life of the area, including church fiestas, neighbors on 24th and 25th Streets, local businesses along Strong Avenue and facing anti-Mexican discrimination. She also shares memories of her brother's service in World War II and the impact of the1951 flood on her family.

Interview with Dolores Rodriquez, born in 1935, about her life in Kansas City's Westside neighborhood. She recalls the neighborhood of her childhood, attending Adams and Switzer schools, attending the Guadalupe Church, and big fiestas put on by the Guadalupe Center. She also discusses Westside businesses and people, her memories of World War II and the 1951 flood, having to leave jobs due to pregnancy, and later opening a restaurant with her husband Gilbert. She also recalls participating in the annual fiesta at Crown Center, and shares stories of her father's work as a healer.

Interview with University of Kansas social welfare professor Elvira Ramirez about her life and work. Born in 1937, she recalls her parents' settling in Kansas City after immigration from Mexico, living in the Central Industrial District near her father's job at the Armour packing house, attending Riverview Grade School, and speaking Spanish at home. She also discusses her family's relationship with area Catholic churches, rivalries and conflict between different neighborhoods, being a minority at Wyandotte High School, and her memories of the 1951 Flood.

Interview with Ester Gonzalez about her life and experience working for the Social Security Administration. She recalls memories growing up in a Mexican-American family in the Argentine neighborhood, including the 1951 flood, attending segregated schools, her father's patriarchal view of her work and education, and starting work at the Social Security Administration after graduating high school. She discusses her role shifting into civil rights and equal opportunity in the SSA, and her involvement with IMAGE (Incorporated Mexican American Government Employees) and the Federally Employed Women's Organization.

Interview with Esther Franco about her life and her work in education administration in Kansas City. She discusses her parents' roots in Mexico and Guatemala and their move to Los Angeles, and the family's moves through California due to her father's role as a minister with the Church of the Nazarene, and growing up speaking Spanish in Mexican-American communities. She recalls marrying her own minister husband, and their work with the church and as educators in California, Texas, and the Kansas City area. After working as an elementary school teacher in the Kansas City School District, she went on to develop their bilingual education program, and she shares thoughts about the needs of Hispanic and other Kansas City students and their families.

Interview with Harry Brown about his family, childhood, and education in Kansas City, Missouri, working for the William Volker Company, and later being joining the civilian war effort by working for North American Aviation and Technicraft assembling and inspecting aircraft and aircraft components at their Fairfax Airport facilities. Mechanical aspects of the job and test flights are discussed in detail. He also discusses his day-to-day life as an adult, his rejection from the draft, and the 1951 Flood.

Interview with Harry Infante about his life and his career in architecture. Born in 1931, Infante discusses his early life in Kansas City's Westside neighborhood, businesses and neighbors in the area, memories of the 1951 flood, and his experiences with the Boy Scouts in his youth and his adulthood. He also discusses his marriage, his career in architecture, and his interest in helping develop areas of the Westside then in decline.

Interview with Henry Villarreal, owner of the Villarreal Theater, about his life Born in 1932, he recounts his parents' immigration to the Kansas City, via Oklahoma, from the Mexican state of Chihuahua, and their settling in the Armourdale neighborhood before being forced out by the 1951 Flood. He discusses attending segregated classes at Mount Carmel School, how his family was affected by World War II, and the impact of the 1951 Flood on his family and the larger community. He shares memories of spending the night in Penn Valley Park after the flood, moving to Kansas City's Westside, and spending a year and a half in Brooks Army Hospital in Texas after suffering an injury in the army; as well as stories of marriage and family, and purchasing the Park Theater, later renamed the Villarreal Theater, where they screened Spanish-language films.