Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Interview No. 1757, Carrillo

Combined Interviews

Her last name is Carrillo and she was born in Mexico, and she arrived at Cuidad Juarez when she was 5 years old when she turned 12, she moved to, El Paso Texas. She was a home stay person and she helped with all the duties in the house, she is the middle child she has 3 older brothers and 3 younger brothers. Before she was married, she was working at a factory where they packed eggs and she worked in the fields picking pecans. She got married at the age of 22, with her husband that she met in …

Interview No. 1762, Leyva Bustamante

Combined Interviews

In April of 1970, Leyva started working at Farah. Everyone at Farah despised their job, and she didn't understand why at first, but after two months, she realized what was right and what was wrong. Leyva, like many other Farah employees on Paisano, was fed up with the unfair treatment and low pay after only a week on the job.

She initially assumed that the hiring process was simple and that Farah employed anyone who was willing to work. Soon after, Leyva recognized that Farah had employed a large number of individuals, and that they needed to balance the number …

Interview No. 1778, Herrera

Combined Interviews

She said her husband worked for Farah, but they treated him very poorly, and were told to keep working with the bad consditionds. All they could do was keep working, but eventually tired of the abuse. She says that his His job at Farah included cutting metals that left a lot of metal debrie, which were labor intensive and heavy jobs. She claims that before the union there was no one to turn to for help and his husband was part of the union. They believed a union would improve their situation, but it didn't work. When you were hired, …

Interview No. 1764, Lezema

Combined Interviews

Lezama started her journey with Farah in the year 1959 and worked there for nineteenth years. She used to make jeans and sew other clothing items. Her first time in the company was when she was 17 years old, and she worked there for three months before taking a break and going back to the company for the next nineteenth years. Lezama mentioned that in her nineteenth years in Farah she never earned the 3 dollars that they promised her she would earn if she stayed with the company for a couple of consecutive years.

While working at Farah her …

Cliff Pelloni: The King At Burger King, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Cliff Pelloni meets virtually via Google Meet with Cassie Kotrch to discuss his time on East Campus as a student at Western. He also describes the time he won Homecoming King.

Interview No. 1751, Hernandez

Combined Interviews

Hernandez began working at Farah on April of 1972. Everyone at Farah left 2 moths after and she mentioned that those two months were enough for her to know what was right and what was wrong. Hernandez saw and experience many unjust things in those two months. She didn’t know how bad the situation inside the company was until she started to work there and realized that what the people were saying was right and even worse than what they described it as.

The worse part of the Farah company were the managers and their lack of experience in retail …

Interview No. 1755, Gandara

Combined Interviews

He says that he stared working with his father after returning from the ARMY. He says that when he was working, they had a union that sometimes will fire people for nothing and they will have to legally open a case against that and he says that in order to get a response you needed to wait a long time. He says that one of his duties in the job was cutting ropes into different sizes. There is another woman interview that is his wife and she says that women were a minority in their job and they had to …

Interview No. 1765, Garcia

Combined Interviews

Garcia has lived and worked in El Paso, Texas. She mentioned that poverty in Mexico is worse than the poverty in the United States. Garcia left Mexico 5 years ago to get a better life in the USA. She left her children with her mother and got on the train to get to El Paso, Texas. She first arrived to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and stayed with a family during a couple of weeks, while she gathered her papers to get a passport. After she got her passport she went to El Paso and started working and sending money back to …

Interview No. 1766, Hernandez

Combined Interviews

The audio is unintelligible

Interview No. 1772, Perez

Combined Interviews

She was working at Farah and she says that they will treat them really bad and that they were told that this was the best job that they could ever had. The least they can do was to continue to work but they eventually got tired of how they were abused. Her responsibilities at Farah included cleaning and cutting, which was a labor-intensive task. She claims that prior to the union, they had no one to turn to for assistance. They believed that the union would improve their situation, but it didn't work out that way. When they were employed, …

Interview No. 1779, Del Palacio

Combined Interviews

Del Palacio was a worker at Farah during the 1970’s. She first started to work for the company when the working conditions were not as bad. Soon things in the company starting to go South. Her quota became higher and higher every week and she was not able to meet the quota many times. Her boss didn’t care if it was literally impossible to complete that many tasks in a short period of time, he just wanted the work done no matter what.

Many of the workers at Farah during that time lived in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Those workers had …

Interview No. 1784, Hernandez

Combined Interviews

She was born in Alamogordo, New Mexico, May 12, 1929. She had a very big family and she got to meet her grandmother and she was living in Ciudad Juarez, so they moved from Alamogordo to Juarez to be with her. Her grandmother used to have a son that had an accident in a mine, and they got a lot of money for compensation, but the son of her uncle spent everything. She was only 6 years old, and her grandmother died when she was 10 years old, they weren’t living with her, but they lived close, so they visit …

William Virgo: Grad School In His First Grade Classroom, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

Campus School, U High, and WMU Alum William Virgo sits with Cassie Kotrch in Heritage Hall to share his stories and memories from his time as a student at Campus School, U High, and Western as both undergrad and graduate.

Denise Hunt And The Impact Of Band, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMu Alum Denise Hunt sits with Cassie Kotrch in Heritage Hall to share memories and stories of her time as a business student at WMU on East Campus.

Phillip Vanderweg: Leading The School Of Art And East Hall Studios, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Emeriti Director School of Art Phillip VanderWeg sits with Cassie Kotrch to discuss memories and stories from when the School of Art (formerly Art Department) occupied space on East Campus, including studio spaces of East Hall. He also elaborates on the transition from Department to School that he oversaw.

Renaissance Man Steve "Mongo" Kaniuga And The Architecture Of East Campus, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Steve "Mongo" Kaniuga shares memories and stories of his time as a student on East Campus over a phone call with Cassie Kotrch.

Joseph Pillion: A Career In Speech With A Stutter And Life With Dr. Van Riper, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Joseph Pillion meets virtually via Zoom with Cassie Kotrch to discuss his time at WMU starting in Dr. Van Riper's speech therapy to becoming a WMU student and graduating. He also shares details and memories of his time on East Campus and living with Dr. Van Riper.

Iola Dunsmore And Wmu In The 1940s, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Iola Dunsmore speaks with Cassie Kotrch over the phone to share some of the stories and memories she has of her time as a WMU student in the 1940s.

Steve Abid In The Fight Against Landlords And Parking And Becoming A Teacher, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

Steve Abid sits with Cassie Kotrch at the Zhang Legacy and Collections Center to discuss his time at WMU as an education and business student as well as his memories and the promise he made to never teach Spanish.

Kathy Scheiern: International Business On East Campus, Goat Eyes, And More, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Kathy Scheiern meets virtually over Zoom with Cassie Kotrch to discuss some of the memories and stories she has of her time on WMU's East Campus as a student at the College of Business.

Jay Weessies And His First Home In Ernest Burnham Hall, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Jay Weessies meets virtually over Zoom with Cassie Kotrch to discuss his time at WMU's College of Business while it inhabited East Campus and his many memories as a student.

Nick Fugedi And The Artistic Freedom Of East Hall, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU alum Nick Fugedi speaks with Cassie Kotrch over Zoom about his time at WMU as an art student with a studio in East Hall.

Dale Manske: Father/Son Bond And A Career Through Wmu, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Dale Manske meets virtually with Cassie Kotrch to discuss his connection to WMU and the memories he has of his time there and on East Campus.

Michael Dixon And His Moment Of Unexpectedly Doctorate Material, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Michael Dixon sits with Cassie Kotrch to discuss his many years as a WMU student (from undergrad to doctorate student) and the many memories from his time on East Campus.

Suzanne Witthoff: Trailblazing At Wmu, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Suzanne Witthoff meets virtually with Cassie Kotrch over Zoom to discuss her time at WMU College of Business when it occupied East Campus. Suzanne shares memories and stories she has of her time at WMU in the 1960s.

Peter Boylan: Judo Club And International Experiences, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Peter Boylan meets with Cassie Kotrch virtually to discuss his memories and stories of East Campus during his time as an undergrad and graduate student at WMU. He also talks about the Judo Club he was part of on East Campus.

Bob Coffman And A Love For East Campus, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU alum Bob Coffman meets with Cassie Kotrch virtually to discuss his time at the College of Business when it inhabited East Campus.

Robert Argue And A Unique Feeling Of Belonging, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Alum Robert Argue meets with Cassie Kotrch to discuss his time as a business student on East Campus.

Jane Baas: Student To Professor, A Career Dancing On East Campus, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

WMU Professor Emerita and WMU Alum Jane Baas meets with Cassie Kotrch via Zoom to share stories and memories of her time as a student, professor, and dean at WMU, specifically teaching while Dance occupied portions of East Campus.

James Mclin And Life In Vandercook, University Libraries

East Campus Oral Histories

James Mclin meets with Cassie Kotrch virtually to discuss his time as a student of the Business College while it occupied East Campus as well as his time living in Vandercook Hall.