Mexicanos in Oregon: Their Stories, Their Lives

Acknowledgements

8 Mexicanos in Oregon Acknowledgements We are grateful to the many people who have contributed to this project. First on our list are the dozens of individuals who generously gave of their time to share their stories with us. Without their collaboration this book would not have been possible, and to them we say a humble mil gracias. Numerous students pitched in along the way, some interviewing and providing technical assistance, some transcribing, some chasing down sources, and some helping us make contacts: San Juana Acosta, José Luis Torres, Diego Mesa, Jennifer Bishop, Jessica Rojas, Ricardo Larios, José Otañez, Octavio Merecías, Marco Antonio Chávez, and Laura Cristal Magaña, our heartfelt thanks to all of you. To Evelyn Reynolds and Barbara Wegner, who scanned and copied, oversaw student assistants, taught us many technical tricks and on and on, our gratitude is great. To Dwaine Plaza, who shared his knowledge and bibliography with us, your voice lies between the lines of this book. To Mary Braun at the OSU Press, thank you for guiding us through this and for believing in us; without your nudging we might not be writing this. To our editor Jo Alexander, for her competence, and to Judy Radovsky who did the layout, for her sharp eye and patience, and great attitude, our deepest gratitude. We acknowledge also the generosity of the folks and institutions who gave us permission to use their photos (some at no cost—you know who you are!): Larry Landis at the Oregon State University Archives, Gwyn Fisher, Paulina Hermosillo, Justo Rodríguez, Javier Lara at OCIMO, San Juana Acosta, Carlos García, the Northern Lincoln County Historical Museum, Rocío Acosta-González, the UCLA Library, Scott Rook at the Oregon Historical Society, Drew Vattiat at The Oregonian. To the Oregon Council for the Humanities who gave E. Gonzales-Berry the opportunity to present her research to communities across Oregon, and to Oregon State University for a sabbatical that gave her the time she needed to dig into archives, to read, and to write, she is grateful. And of course we can never communicate to our familias how deeply we appreciate their support, their care, and their love even when we didn’t have time for them because we were busy “working on our book.” ...