By Maya Baer, History Major, class of 2026

A Story of Achievement:

Herminia “MiMi” Sanchez was raised by Mexican immigrant parents and came of age during the 1950s in Lane County, Oregon. The differences between her and her parents shows a story of upward social mobility. Being that she was the only Mexican American girl in her graduating high school class during a time where non-whiteness was seen as a disadvantage, she had room for challenge and struggle, however, she rose to popularity in her class and was one of the most involved people in her year. It can be speculated that this is an example of forced Americanization, however, her story is significant in the sense she was able to achieve upward social mobility at a time where this was a challenge.

Family Story:

As the century was turning, Miguel A Sanchez was born in Texcoco, Mexico in 1897. It seems as if he moved around Mexico from Texcoco, to specifically near Culiacan, Sinaloa. His future wife, Herlinda Rangel was born in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico in 1900. It can be inferred that she stayed there until her marriage to Miguel given that they were married there and promptly moved to Mexico City together. That November of 1928, the newlyweds migrated from Mexico City to the United States. They crossed the border at Nogales, Arizona, a popular crossing point. Miguel was thirty one and Herlinda was twenty eight at the time of the crossing. One possible explanation for all of this movement is work, it can be argued that the move away from one’s hometown is the hardest due to lack of familial and community support. So, why stay away from ones support system while not making strong wages? A solution to this issue is to move to the United States where wages were higher. Culiacan is a northern state in Mexico about 800 miles to the United States border. Given the close proximity to the United States, and the issue of low wages, the solution was to migrate north. 

Miguel and his wife Herlinda ultimately settled in Bethel, which is a neighborhood 5 miles northwest of Eugene, Oregon. They welcomed a baby girl born in Bethel named Herlinda in 1929, one year after they immigrated. Miguel found labor work mainly in the railroad industry, but shifted gears through out his twenty years of documented employment. He had rented the same house for his family for over twenty years. His wife Herlinda worked as a housewife and mother. Five years after they had Herlinda, they welcomed Herminia, or MiMi. The couple only had their two daughters. In 1936, Miguel made the jump to get naturalized, however, Herlinda, the wife never was naturalized. This family had settled in Lane County permanently as they were present on at least three censuses from 1930 through 1950. They lived as a family until their daughters were married, and in 1957 Herlinda, the mother, died. 

Growing into America:

Herminia, the youngest daughter who was also known as MiMi attended Willamette High School. Looking at MiMi’s yearbook images, she definitely held popularity within her class. Specifically, in her senior class of 1952 copy she was noted as a student councilwoman, the vice president of the drama club, administrative assistant in the office, a member of the Spanish club, and was the editor of the school newspaper. This is significant because not only was she a member of several clubs, she was elected into leadership within all of them. As well, she assisted with administration allowing it to seem like she was loved by her peers, fellow student leaders, teachers, and administrators. 

It is possible that MiMi’s high performing high school experience was an example of acculturation. This is because her family fits in well with the trend of migration from Mexico to the American west coast, as well the increase of second generation Mexican American girls completing grade school in the United States. The contrast to her parents education levels, being that her father had no schooling experience and her mother had only completed school through the second year of high school could be another motivator, she could have wanted to do better than the previous generation. 

Young girls shared similar experiences, for example, Rose Escheverría Mulligan, another Mexican American girl who was from Los Angeles said, “we felt if we worked hard, proved ourselves, we could become professional people”.  While we do not know MiMi’s motivations, previous scholar’s findings support similar claims. 

This is a statement about Americanization, which is the process of acculturation which can be described as the assimilation of a group to another dominant group. This group would be white Americans. It could be possible that MiMi felt that she had something to prove to her predominantly white high school class. Looking through the yearbook photos of the senior class of 1952 at Willamette High School it can be inferred based on pictures and surnames that she was the only Latina in her high school class based on her last name, Sanchez. On a greater scale, based on the 1940 census, it seems like there were not many Mexican American families that had settled in Lane County by this year. The Sanchez family seems to be one of few that had a settled. This contrasts the married men who crossed the border into the United States to work. These men sent money earned home to their wives and children in Mexico, which required them to follow typical work migration patterns of the time to maximize personal profit, making them nomads. Specifically, of sixteen Mexico born migrants on the 1940 census who had already been present in 1935, only half were in Oregon. Of that six specified they were in the same location within Lane County, Oregon. MiMi’s incredible high school career stands out in many ways, especially within the context of her family’s history of creating their place in Lane County. 

Just two years after she graduated high school she married Robert Marxen, who was a white man the same age as MiMi. Both MiMi and Robert held jobs, MiMi being a bookkeeper and Robert working as a carpenter. It can be argued that MiMi held her popularity after high school because her wedding announcement took up over one quarter of a page in the local newspaper, with an incredible photo of the bride. MiMi

Sanchez, now MiMi Marxen, seemed to achieve the American dream, with being popular and hardworking in high school, to having a beautiful and well announced wedding. This could be a story of acculturation, but also it could be a story of hard work and personal ambition. So, as we see, MiMi worked incredibly hard and was able to achieve upward social mobility in a time where competition was strong. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Bethel, Lane, Oregon; Roll: 808; Page: 5; Enumeration District: 20-4

Oregon State Archives; Salem, Oregon; Oregon, Death Records, 1864-1967

Oregon State Archive; Salem, Oregon; Oregon, U.S., Naturalization Records, 1840-1982

Ruiz, Vicki. 2021. Latina Lives Latina Narratives: Influential Essays. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. 

The Eugene Guard, “MiMi Says Vows”, The Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon. September 12, 1954. Ancestry.com

“U.S., School Yearbooks, 1880-2012″; School Name: Willamette High School; Year: 1952

Year: 1930; Census Place: Bethel, Lane, Oregon; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 0005; FHL microfilm: 2341680. 

Year: 1940; Census Place: Bethel, Lane, Oregon; Roll: m-t0627-03368; Page: 9B; Enumeration District: 20-4