Sara Phalen hopes a new program will help introduce many Mexican Americans in West Chicago to their cultural heritage. The 26-year-old West Chicago City Museum registrar has constructed a “Save Our History” exhibit, a collection of oral histories that explore Mexican immigrant life to West Chicago.

Phalen trained West Chicago High School students on how to conduct an oral history interview and collect stories from seven Hispanic-American families last fall. The exhibit is part of a new initiative coordinated by the museum to revive interest in the Mexican-American story.

“We just don’t know a lot about the Mexican families because they were never fully integrated into the community,” Phalen said. “I think it’s important to bring Mexican community members into the museum and expose them to the overall history, just as it’s important to bring in Anglo community members.”

Phalen recently completed the 2-D exhibit that will be displayed at the museum through August; it eventually will transition to a traveling exhibit that will be displayed at the West Chicago City Hall and other area locations.

In August 2007, the History Channel selected West Chicago as one of 27 cities nationwide to receive a $10,000 grant. The network started the “Save Our History” program in 2004 to raise awareness and support for local history education.

Few records have been kept of Mexican Americans in West Chicago. Phalen said many early immigrants were housed by either the railroads or Campbell’s Soup outside of the city. Many Hispanic Americans today are not aware of their own heritage and the long history of a Mexican presence in West Chicago.

“Sometimes it’s hard to make people understand why it’s important,” said Phalen, who earned degrees in anthropology and English at the University of Illinois. “I think when you individualize it and tell stories, someone may not care about the railroad. But if you talk about a certain engineer who lived here and their life and their story, I think people identify with it more.”

Students spoke with Antonio Del Real, the high school’s dean of students and a Mexican immigrant who came to West Chicago at age 11 with his older brother, Julio, who is the dean of students at Willowbrook High School in Villa Park.

“I really enjoyed learning more about somebody who’s lived in two different countries,” West Chicago High School senior Allison Fletcher said. “I can’t imagine how hard it was to learn a whole new language and culture. It was cool seeing where he came from, how he got here and where he is now.”

Phalen has spent nearly a year piecing together the seven-panel display. She will add video clips and audio of interviews conducted by the students. Eventually, the museum plans to launch a Web site that will archive the stories and paint a more accurate picture of Mexican immigrant life in the city.

Phalen said West Chicago has a rich Hispanic heritage, but one that until recently, few have acknowledged. Mexicans have been migrating to West Chicago for nearly a century — since the railroad brought the promise of new jobs. In the early 20th century, a lack of employment opportunities in Mexico led to a migration of workers to the United States.

Students from Mary Ellen Daneels’ Community Leadership class developed questions to ask Mexican community members last fall. Six students each conducted three interviews.

“(The program) promotes understanding between different cultures,” social studies teacher Mary Ellen Daneels said. “Many of the students are not Hispanic. It gave them some empathy and understanding of cultures that live in their community and respect for those cultures. It gives them an understanding of community as a whole and what makes West Chicago a unique community.”

Phalen also has spoken to fifth-graders at Turner Elementary School on the importance of cultural history preservation. Today, Hispanic Americans account for nearly half of West Chicago’s 27,000 residents.

“I thought it was important for me to tell them the history and to make them understand that they’re not alone — this isn’t something new,” Phalen said. “And to let them know the roots of Mexicans here in West Chicago.”

She also has seen the effects first hand. During an October trip to the border, Phalen attended an immigration rights rally and witnessed the rift that negative attitudes have drawn between white and Hispanic Americans. The students said tighter restrictions on immigration and stricter patrols have affected perceptions of new immigrants entering the country.

“You hear all these negative things about certain cultures, and you hear stories about what people had to go through,” West Chicago senior Natalie Ckuj said.

In addition to building Mexican cultural history, the museum continues to spread knowledge of West Chicago’s cultural diversity and will begin gathering oral histories of all immigrant groups. In 2007, the museum completed three immigration-related, projects including the “Building a Community” exhibit, a project designed to trace the origins of West Chicagoans of Mexican, English, Irish and German descent.

“We’re using the museum as a way to meet and understand the cultures, understand the similarities and value the differences between us,” Phalen said.