History Commons^™

Interview No. 1328, José Esequiel Adame

Combined Interviews

Mr. Adame very briefly describes his family and childhood; he recalls going to Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, with his father and brother, to enlist as braceros; in order to be allowed into the contracting center, they had to pay, and even then they still had to stay there for a week, and sometimes even longer; they also had to spend money just to sleep on the floor of a hotel while they waited for a contract; once called, they were stripped and medically examined; from there they were transported by cargo train to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México, and then taken to …

Valerie Rich Dixon

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Interview No. 1337, Natividad Cano

Combined Interviews

Ms. Cano very vividly describes her family, including aunts, uncles, and cousins, and what her childhood was like; her father, Alberto Valenzuela, worked for a rancher in México, and they often came to the United States to sell livestock; the rancher knew people who worked for the bracero program, and he recommended Alberto; in 1943, he traveled by train to Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, to enlist in the program, and he took his ID, birth certificate, and letters of recommendation with him; he worked primarily in southern Arizona with livestock, and he sent money home as often as he could; upon …

Interview No. 1361, Aristeo Ortega Acuña

Combined Interviews

Mr. Ortega briefly talks about his family; in 1957, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; initially, he signed up in Hermosillo, Sonora, México and then traveled to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; he recounts the entire process he underwent, including the requirements to pick cotton, necessary papers, long waiting times and medical examinations; as a bracero, he completed a total of four contracts and labored in Arizona and California cleaning, pruning, picking and loading apricots, lettuce, peaches, tomatoes and other citrus crops; he goes on to detail the various worksites, camp sizes, housing, accommodations, living conditions, …

Civil War, 1861-1865 - Politics, 1864 (Sc 1452), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid, scan and typescript (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1452. Letter, 20 February 1864, written from Orleans, Indiana, to "Bro. Will." The unknown writer, a politically active Republican, has very interesting comments about politics and slavery in Indiana and Kentucky.

Interview No. 1343, Pablo C. Flores

Combined Interviews

Mr. Flores briefly describes his family and the difficulties he faced during childhood and adolescence; in 1948, he went through the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, in order to enlist in the bracero program; in the hopes of obtaining subsequent contracts he often went through Empalme; there were usually thousands of men in line at the center; he stayed there anywhere from a few days to over a month, which made it extremely difficult to wait, because he did not have any money for food; moreover, there were soldiers at the center to help keep order, and they often …

A Response To John Sommerville’S 'The Decline Of The Secular University', William Vance Trollinger

History Faculty Publications

Introduction to William Vance Trollinger's plenary presentation:

I agree with Prof. Sommerville that in too many places the secular university has trivialized religion and religious commitment, and that it is high time for religion to be welcomed into our academic debates. I say this even while I take issue with some of the particulars in Prof. Sommerville’s book. I will give two examples related to our discipline of history.

First, Prof. Sommerville decries that “secularist humanities have declared war on metanarratives because of their hegemonic power.” But I confess that I am very pleased to see the demise of metanarratives …

Clarence Junior Whitfield

African American Funeral Programs

No abstract provided.

Interview No. 1381, Ramón Valencia

Combined Interviews

Mr. Valencia traveled to Empalme, Sonora to begin the hiring process for the Bracero Program carrying his birth certificate and school records. After waiting about twenty days in Empalme, he went to Benjamin Gil in order to take the train to Mexicali. The next step in the process was to travel to El Centro, California. Then in El Centro, California, the authorities conducted medical tests on the applicants. Finally, Mr. Valencia took a bus to Ventura California and started working in a little town named Saticoy. Mr. Valencia worked on the orchards of lemon, orange and strawberry earning salary was …

Interview No. 1335, Lucas Edmundo Benítez Cárdenas

Combined Interviews

Mr. Benítez vividly describes his family and childhood; in 1942, he learned about the bracero contracts and started exercising in order to build calluses on his hands, because he knew they would be checked; he details the medical exams he underwent and how he was bathed in a liquid he was unfamiliar with; shortly thereafter, he and other braceros were loaded on buses and taken to different cities throughout the United States; he was taken to Salinas, California, where he labored in the beet and lettuce fields, which he explains was very difficult; in addition, he talks about working for …

Interview No. 1339, Gregorio De La Cruz

Combined Interviews

Mr. de la Cruz briefly discusses his family and childhood; in 1954, the family moved to a place just outside of Empalme, Sonora, México, where he learned about the bracero program; he could not find work in México at the time, and he decided to enlist in the program; to begin the process, he went to Empalme to pick cotton and get a card and his name on the list of available workers; from there, he had to wait to be called, which could happen anywhere from ten days to one month; he describes waiting in line to be fumigated …

Interview No. 1354, Cuauhtémoc Z. Madrid

Combined Interviews

Mr. Madrid talks about his hometown and what his life was like growing up; when he went to the center to enlist, contracts were suspended after ten days, and no one knew why; even so, he and others continued to wait; they held on to the belt loops of the people in front of and behind them so no one would get in line in front of them; while waiting, he climbed a tree, picked dates and gave them to the men that did not have food; when contracts resumed, he could not pass, because his papers were not signed; …

Interview No. 1360, Antonio Olivares Samaniego

Combined Interviews

Mr. Olivares briefly talks about his family; after they moved to Hermosillo, Sonora, México, he heard about the bracero program; during the early 1950s, he decided to enlist in the program; he recounts the contracting process he underwent; although he was not medically examined in México, his hands and arms were checked to ensure that he was able to work; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona, California and Washington, picking and irrigating alfalfa, beets, cotton, pears, peas and tomatoes; he goes on to detail the various worksites, camp sizes, housing, accommodations, living conditions, provisions, routines, treatment, …

Interview No. 1382, Alberto Valenzuela Gonzalez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Valenzuela worked in the field at a young age after his father passed away. He worked in the field planting cotton and corn. During the rainy seasons his uncle would take them milk cows and then produce cheese to sell in the United States. Valenzuela found out about the bracero program through his boss, Francisco Jacquez. His boss offered him a job in Arizona. At the age of twenty-nine, he went to Nogales and was hired in the bracero program. His new boss was Carlos Rosten with whom he worked in the field. Valenzuela worked in the field in …

Interview No. 1600, Agustin Diaz Roldan

Combined Interviews

He states that he rotated working in Imperial Valley, Phoenix, Arizona, and Salinas, California from 1954-1960, renewing his contract eighteen months at a time with the same farm company, he picked cotton, lettuce, tomatoes, chilly, asparagus, and strawberries; he also worked as a cook for the farmers, he remembers men were given three meals with lunch being delivered to the fields, they were charged $1.75 a day for all three meals, he would work seven days a week; he recalls in detail the procedure he went through to become a bracero; he used oil and dirt to make his hands …

Shakers - Canterbury, New Hampshire (Sc 1459), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1459. Silhouette (5" x 7") of Canterbury, New Hampshire Shaker eldress Gertrude Soule, 1895-1988. Also, associated data.

Shakers - Canterbury, New Hampshire (Sc 1458), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1458. Silhouette (5" x 7") of Canterbury, New Hampshire Shaker eldress Bertha Lindsey, 1897-1990, and her dog Penny. Also, associated data.

Smith, Dennis M. (Mss 191), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 191. Paper concerning the naming of Bowling Green, Kentucky's elementary schools and cassette tapes of interviews conducted by Smith. Also, scrapbook materials relating to Mackie E. (Smith) Bennett.

Interview No. 1332, Horacio Andrejol Nogales

Combined Interviews

Mr. Andrejol briefly describes his family; for a time he worked illegally in California, but his employer helped him become a bracero toward the end of 1958; he then completed an eighteen month contract; although his boss wanted him to drive, as a bracero he was not allowed; he was then sent to Tijuana, Baja California, México, to arrange for legal residency; as a bracero, his primary responsibility was to feed and care for livestock; he initially returned to Empalme, Sonora, México, where he waited for fifteen days while he was sent money by his employer in the states on …

Interview No. 1341, Eberto Enríquez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Enríquez describes his family and what it was like growing up in Bacerac, Sonora, México; after learning about the bracero program, he took a bus to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, in order to enlist; he details the difficulties he encountered while there, as well as the medical exams and other procedures he underwent; from there, he was transported by train to Mexicali, Baja California, and then to El Centro, California; upon entering the United States, he was examined again, stripped naked, and fumigated; before being allowed to dress, he was photographed for his mica card; he …

Interview No. 1346, Francisco Gallardo González

Combined Interviews

Mr. Gallardo talks about his family and hometown; in 1954, he came to the United States and worked without proper documentation in Holtville, California; his boss took him to El Centro, California to obtain a contract with the bracero program; he explains what he went through, including medical exams and delousing procedures, before returning to work in Holtville; after his contract ended, he returned to México and went through the contracting process in Empalme, Sonora, México, which was much more difficult, due to the requirements and long waiting times; as a bracero, he labored in the alfalfa fields and orange …

Garrott, June Rose, 1932-2024 (Sc 1329), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1329. Newsletter, 1987, from Garrott, Beijing, China, to Sara Tyler, Bowling Green, Kentucky, reporting on her work in China. In 1961 she accompanied her medical missionary husband, Hobson Sinclair, to China, but through the years she taught English to Chinese students. Also associated data, 1961-1987 (3).

Stagner, Virginia Benton, 1907-2002 (Sc 1555), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1555. Letters from Virginia B. Stagner, Richmond, Kentucky, to Erba Heckel, Vinita, Oklahoma, relating to suitors, fashion, bobbed hair, and other aspects of their friendship. Includes an enclosure letter from Stagner's sister Rowena.

Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church, South - Logan County, Kentucky (Sc 1566), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1566. Record book containing register of pastors, 1905-1925, and church members, 1894-1946, for Pleasant Grove Methodist Episcopal Church, South located in Logan County, Kentucky. Also, original 1823 document conveying land for the meeting house, accounts of church conferences, and certificates of membership.

Guthrie, John James Morris, 1837-1897 (Sc 1554), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1554. Letter, 27 July 1866, from J.J. Guthrie, Paducah, Kentucky, to his cousin, Nannie T. Coleman, Cumberland County, Virginia, relating to courtship, family and friends.

Autographs - Musicians (Sc 1321), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1321. Piece of paper containing autographs of band leader Kay Kyser and some of his band members, who performed at the Bowling Green, Kentucky Armory on 3 July 1936. Includes some biographical data.

Flat Rock Methodist Church - Warren County, Kentucky (Sc 1325), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scans (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1325. Chiefly membership lists with some research notes, of the Flat Rock Methodist Church, Warren County, Kentucky. Includes copy of speech, about the church's history, given by Marietta Mansfield, 1995.

Slave Register - Warren County, 1853-1865 (Sc 1327), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and full text (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1327. Warren County, Kentucky “Register of Slaves Owned for Life,” listing name, sex, age, and other information about each slave as provided by the person holding a life interest in said slaves, along with the names of the owners in remainder who would subsequently inherit the slave(s). Includes link to typescript.

Cherry, Thomas Crittenden, 1862-1947 (Sc 1454), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid and scan (Click on "Additional Files" below) for Manuscripts Small Collection 1454. Report of Thomas C. Cherry, Bowling Green, Kentucky's Superintendent of Public Schools, on teacher Margaret Calvert. She is rated on eighteen professional and personal attributes.

Awbrey, Thomas, 1894-1973 (Sc 1556), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

Manuscript Collection Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Small Collection 1556. Correspondence between Thomas Awbrey, Fordsville, Kentucky, and President Lyndon B. Johnson relating to Awbrey's completion of an adult education class where he learned to read at age 71. Includes a newspaper clipping about Awbrey and information from the Lyndon B. Johnson Library, Austin, Texas.