Isabela Varela was born in Spain, but
her childhood was spent near Guadalajara, Mexico where her Spanish father, a teacher, became a local judge. At the age of fourteen she married Anselmo Herrera, a rancher,
and by l925 had four children, the youngest being her daughter Maria (Mary),
born in 1922 when Mexico was in a state of civil strife. At the center of the controversy was Pancho
Villa, known for his skirmishes along the Mexican and United States
border. According to Isabela, one
afternoon thirsty troops arrived at her husband's ranch and asked if they could
have water. Senor Herrera obliged them
and they proceeded on their way. The
following week different troops arrived at the ranch and asked if water had
been given to the group of the prior week.
Anselmo said it had and offered them water as well. But these two groups were enemies, and for
these acts of kindness he was shot and died from the gunshot wound.
Determined to start a new life for herself and
her young family, Isabela decided to leave Mexico for the United States. In Idaho, where she believed her children
would be safe, she found work as a cook in a boarding house for Mexican
workers. She taught herself English and
moved to Albany, Oregon where she felt there would be more opportunities for
herself and her children. There she met and married Benito Garnica, a laborer
for the Southern Pacific Railroad Lines.
The youngest daughter, Mary, attended St. Mary's Catholic elementary
school. Mary later married Pablo
Martinez, a native of Peru, moved to Salem, and had three children.
In the early l950s Isabella and Benito Garnica
divorced and she moved to Salem to be near her daughter Mary and her family. She married John A. Ott, a widower, who also
worked for the Southern Pacific. Isabela
and John resided in a small bungalow on SE 21st Street. John Ott was transferred to Portland but
eventually returned to Salem where he retired.
Their last home was on University Street in South Salem.
Isabela had
a strong work ethic and wanted her children and grandchildren
to have the same. She would take them out into the fields in
the summers to pick beans, hops, and string beans. She also worked in local canneries. She was
proud to be an American citizen and considered it a privilege to be able to
vote and would do so at every opportunity. She also respected the people and
culture of Mexico and stayed in contact with her son Luis who lived with his
wife and family in Guadalajara. As the
wife of a railway worker, she had access to a Southern Pacific pass that
authorized her to travel free to Mexico.
These trips continued every other year until her last one in l97l at the
age of seventy-six, twice taking her grandson David. She made it very clear that the American
family should never forget their Mexican relatives.
Isabela's
family was one of only four Hispanic families in Salem, but she never felt different or inferior. Always outgoing, she was attractive,
affectionate, humorous, and caring. Her
Salem neighbors enjoyed being with her.
She liked going to movies, listening to country western music, and
attending professional wrestling matches which were a primary source of
entertainment in Salem during the decades following World War II. She also enjoyed dancing, attending the
Crystal Garden dance hall. And, athough
her own education was limited, she encouraged her grandchldren to seek college
education.
This biography supplied by Dr. David Martinez, her grandson.
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