Mavis Yess was born on August 25, 1951, in Waseca, Minnesota. She is Caucasian and never moved from her childhood home of Waseca, a predominantly white town. Her father, Roy Andrew Yess, was born in 1924 in Waseca. Her mother, Ordella Luella Yess, was born in 1925, also in Waseca. Mavis has seven brothers and sisters born between 1940 and 1959: Gerold Raymon Yess, Barb Ann Herme, Loretta May Lau, Janice Marie de la Cruz, Judy Black, Roger Allen Yess, and Leroy Andrew Yess.
Mavis went to school in a one-room school/farm house during her elementary years. There were a couple other grades in there with hers. She and her family grew up in a house without electricity or running water. Because there was no running water, they had to wash clothes manually on a washboard, and hang them to dry in the house on nails or outside on a clothesline.
Roy, Mavis’s father, was the head of the household. Ordella, Mavis’s mother, was a stay-at-home mom and caretaker. Mavis was taught to earn her own keep by having to raise a calf in order to get a bicycle, and she saved her own money for a car. Her brothers had more luxuries, by being males; they didn’t have to pay for the things that they wanted, while the girls did.
Mavis met Ralph, her current husband, in 1973, and married in 1974. They began having children one year later, Laurie in 1975 and Lisa in 1978. Mavis currently lives in Waldorf with her husband Ralph.
| Videos | Transcripts |
|---|---|
| Childhood Memories(WMV) | Childhood Memories |
| School(WMV) | School |
| Dating(WMV) | Dating |
| Roles in Family(WMV) | Roles in Family |
| Family Car and First Car(WMV) | Family Car and First Car |
| Marriage(WMV) | Marriage |
| Sexism in the Workplace(WMV) | Sexism in the Workplace |
Note: Videos play best in Windows Media Player version 9 or newer.
Group Members Natasha Pribyl, Laura Rasmussen, Lisa Brandenburg-Wenn, Carly Johnson
