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Oral History Commons™

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Combined Interviews

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Articles 571 - 600 of 1746

Full-Text Articles in Oral History

Interview No. 1110, Justo G. Montes Jul 2005

Interview No. 1110, Justo G. Montes

Combined Interviews

Mr. Montes briefly mentions his family and childhood; when he was eighteen years old, he came to the United States illegally, but shortly thereafter he enlisted in the bracero program; he often went through contracting centers in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Empalme, Sonora, and Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; the medical exams he underwent included x-rays and blood samples; he goes on to chronicle the various worksites, duties, daily routines, living conditions, amenities, provisions, payments, deductions, remittances, contract renewals, and recreational activities; in addition, he explains that he spent three years in Big Spring, Texas; he stayed there year-round and handled all aspects …

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Interview No. 1109, Luis Zamudio Jul 2005

Interview No. 1109, Luis Zamudio

Combined Interviews

Mr. Zamudio recalls his childhood in Moroleón, Guanajuato, México, and how he started working with his father in agriculture at age eleven; he states that, at age eighteen, he joined the Bracero Program; as a bracero he worked in Arkansas, California and Texas picking cotton and lettuce; additionally, he remembers what life was like in the bracero camps, how they had to cook their own food, and the hardships they endured in the fields; he describes how he renewed his contract, and the treatment he received from foremen; furthermore, he details how he was able to secure residency in the …

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Interview No. 1114, Pedro Cantor Jul 2005

Interview No. 1114, Pedro Cantor

Combined Interviews

Mr. Cantor recalls his childhood in Sacualco de las Torres, Jalisco, México; he remembers attending school as a child, but stopping his education because he was often hit by the teacher; additionally, he describes how he began working in agriculture at age fourteen, and how he decided to join the Bracero Program in 1956 with his brothers; he details the process he went through at the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, his trip to the border, and his experience entering the United States; he worked in California gathering lettuce and picking peppers; furthermore, he outlines how daily life was …

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Interview No. 1115, María Cantor Jul 2005

Interview No. 1115, María Cantor

Combined Interviews

Mrs. Cantor briefly recalls her childhood and the financial difficulties her family endured; she recalls that her father decided to enlist in the bracero program in 1946; she recalls how difficult it was for her father to become a bracero; her father was contracted approximately four or five times; she mentions that he went through a processing center in Empalme, Sonora, México; as a part of the process, he was medically examined, vaccinated and deloused; she goes on to talk about his payments and his correspondence with her mother; as a bracero, her father worked for the railroad and labored …

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Interview No. 1107, Faustina Flores Jul 2005

Interview No. 1107, Faustina Flores

Combined Interviews

Ms. Flores recalls growing up in Tapalpa, Jalisco, México, never going to school, and marrying Timoteo Flores when she was nineteen; she states that she never learned to write, but does read some; additionally, she relates how they were forced to move to Venustiano Carranza, Jalisco, México after having their eighth child due to a lack of work in their hometown; they later had three more children; she explains how her husband found out about the Bracero Program in the newspaper, and how he decided to join it in 1957; furthermore, she details how her husband traveled to the contracting …

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Interview No. 1117, Vicente Ramírez Jul 2005

Interview No. 1117, Vicente Ramírez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Ramírez briefly recalls his childhood and the financial difficulties his family endured; in 1955 he heard about a call for braceros and decided to quit his job for the chance to work in the United States; he traveled to the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, México; he details the harsh conditions he and other men endured while waiting there; in addition, he talks about how painful the physical exams were and how rudely they were conducted; as a bracero, he completed several contracts and labored in the fields of Salinas, California; he briefly details the living conditions, provisions, duties, …

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Interview No. 1116, Isidoro Ramírez Jul 2005

Interview No. 1116, Isidoro Ramírez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Ramírez recalls growing up in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, México, and attending formal schooling for a brief period; he states that his parents worked in agriculture, and that he began laboring with them at an early age; additionally, he remembers hearing about the Bracero Program from men who had returned from the Unites States, and deciding to enlist at age twenty-one; he details his experience in the contracting center of Empalme, Sonora, México, how he had to wait three weeks to sign his contract, and the humiliation of the medical exams; furthermore, he describes his trip to the border, and the …

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Interview No. 1144, Juan Sanchez Abasta May 2005

Interview No. 1144, Juan Sanchez Abasta

Combined Interviews

Mr. Sanchez briefly recalls his childhood and family; his father worked as a foreman for the railroads in México and helped his son gain employment there; Mr. Sánchez had worked on the railroads for sometime before hearing of the Bracero Program; because the program needed experienced railroad workers, he went to México, Distrito Federal, to begin the hiring process; he gives a detailed description of all the medical examination procedures, including vaccinations, delousing, and x-rays; in 1942, his first contract took him to work in California for South Pacific; for his second contract, he only had to get x-rays, and …

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Interview No. 1668, Dorothy Vale Roberts Apr 2005

Interview No. 1668, Dorothy Vale Roberts

Combined Interviews

Dorothy Vale Roberts was born near Pittsburgh, PA, in 1920; she graduated from Pennsylvania College for Women (now Chatham University); she describes applying for a job with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (now Federal Aviation Administration) in 1943 when Pittsburgh was building a new airport; she recalls her training in Flushing, Queens, NY, and later being assigned to Niagara Falls, NY with Bell Aircraft; she mentions she was transferred each time she was promoted, worked primarily as an airport traffic controller until she got married in 1949. Mrs. Roberts details her experiences at Niagara Falls, explains it was a small airport; …

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Interview No. 1654, Emmet E. Cook Sr. Sep 2004

Interview No. 1654, Emmet E. Cook Sr.

Combined Interviews

Emmet E. Cook, Sr. was born in Fort Worth, TX, on March 5, 1918; he became interested in aviation following Charles Lindberg’s flight across the Atlantic, he lived near Meacham Air Field; he attended Texas A&M and majored in mechanical engineering; he was failing so a took test for aviation cadet and attended Alan Hancock School of Aeronautics in Santa Maria, CA; he revealed that he was dismissed due to lack of facilities; he mentions he applied for the British Royal Air Force; he says he went back to Fort Worth to fly planes and got his commercial license; Mr. …

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Interview No. 1626, Judith Leonard Apr 2004

Interview No. 1626, Judith Leonard

Combined Interviews

She goes over the various doctors that worked in El Paso; she recalls the various hospitals at the time, the building of Providence Hospital; mentions that there were few Hispanic doctors, and reveals that the medical society was closed to them except for a few from medical families; she remembers Dr. Kalikian that trained her husband; she explains why her husband’s group eventually moved their office to Murchison St, closer to Sierra Medical Center. Ms. Leonard recounts travelling for her husband’s work, describes the career and interests of her children; she goes over her family’s love of opera and talks …

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Interview No. 1631, Cornelia Love Owen Apr 2004

Interview No. 1631, Cornelia Love Owen

Combined Interviews

Ms. Owen recounts the various physicians her father knew like Dr. Holman, his work at Hotel Du Catholic Hospital, Masonic, Southwestern General; she recalls going to Sullins College in Virginia with friends; she explains why she decided to go to Texas College of the Mines now UTEP; she gives information about her husband, sold oxygen and acetylene supplies for mining use; she describes living on Federal St. with her husband and son Dale, her son went to Southern Methodist University and later UTEP for his master’s. She provides background information on her father, born in Arkansas in 1868; she explains …

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Interview No. 1629, Robert M. Hardaway Mar 2004

Interview No. 1629, Robert M. Hardaway

Combined Interviews

In this interview, retired Brigadier General Robert Hardaway shares details of his remarkable life as an army surgeon, in particular his memories of World War II and the Korean War, as well as his continuing life-saving research. Hardaway entered military life in 1916, the year of his birth, as his father was the post surgeon at Camp John Hay in the Philippines. He spent his childhood traveling extensively as the army transferred his father successively to Paris, France, Denver’s Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, and St. Louis, Missouri. Eventually, Hardaway left home in order to pursue his medical …

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Interview No. 964, Bárbaro Chacón Delgado Dec 2003

Interview No. 964, Bárbaro Chacón Delgado

Combined Interviews

By the time Mr. Chacón became a bracero in 1946, thousands of people from the south of México had arrived in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, to begin the hiring process; from Chihuahua, people were sent to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas; the ranchers came to Fort Bliss to take as many braceros as they needed for work; he recalls that as a direct consequence of World War II, people in the United States suffered from food shortages and other such difficulties; he also remembers that although he never personally suffered from racist aggressions or discrimination, groups like the Ku Klux Klan …

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Interview No. 1055, Jesús Zamarrón Nov 2003

Interview No. 1055, Jesús Zamarrón

Combined Interviews

Mr. Zamarrón recalls his childhood in San Luis Potosí, San Luis Potosí, México, and his field work with his father at an early age; he recalls that he received one year of formal education; at age eighteen, he worked in construction, and he remembers how he had to cut stones; he relates how he was hired as a bracero, and his trip to the United States; in the Bracero Program from 1957 to 1966, he recounts what his daily life was like, and how the work was carried out; he also discusses how the braceros got along with each other, …

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Interview No. 1058, J. Guadalupe Verdín Arriaga Oct 2003

Interview No. 1058, J. Guadalupe Verdín Arriaga

Combined Interviews

Mr. Verdín recalls growing up in Purísima del Rincón, Guanajuato, México, and working with his father in the fields; he remembers receiving formal education up to the fifth grade; he joined the Bracero Program in 1959, and relates his experience during the hiring process; additionally, he discusses how he was chosen to be a cook in the bracero camps, and what his life was like as a bracero; he also worked in Arizona and California picking cotton; these activities he did until 1967; after the Bracero Program ended, he returned to the United States as an undocumented worker; he describes …

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Interview No. 1047, Vicente Ayala Arizmendi Sep 2003

Interview No. 1047, Vicente Ayala Arizmendi

Combined Interviews

Mr. Arizmendi recalls working in the fields of Tizapotla at an early age; he states that he never had the chance to attend formal schooling, and he learned to read and write as an adult; he describes joining the Bracero Program in 1956 after losing his crops and cattle; additionally, he details the work he did in Billings, Montana and California; he remembers working at a cannery, and picking corn, grapes, lemons, nuts, and pears; furthermore, he continues to explain why he labored as an undocumented worker after the program was terminated; he also discusses the problems he had with …

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Interview No. 1059, Filiberto Villaseñor Ocampo Sep 2003

Interview No. 1059, Filiberto Villaseñor Ocampo

Combined Interviews

Mr. Villaseñor recalls growing up in Tizapotla, Morelos, México; his father was a baker, but he remembers never having had an interest for the profession; at the age of twelve, he states that he helped his father work in the fields; he describes his childhood as being very hard economically, and talks about the work he did as a youth; he details how he found out about the Bracero Program, and what the hiring process was like when he went through it in 1955; additionally, he relates his experience at the contracting centers in Empalme, Sonora, México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, …

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Interview No. 1056, José Ramírez Solano Sep 2003

Interview No. 1056, José Ramírez Solano

Combined Interviews

Mr. Ramírez recalls growing up in Tizapotla, Morelos, México, and working from an early age on a farm; he remembers attending school to the third grade; later, he relates how he heard about the Bracero Program from men who went to the United States during the first years of the program; he joined the program in 1960, and describes the hiring process he went through in Empalme, Sonora, México; additionally, he details discrimination braceros suffered in Empalme and in the U.S.; he highlights how they were kicked out of church services, and how priest set up mass in Spanish for …

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Interview No. 1786, Ana Marie Koch Sep 2003

Interview No. 1786, Ana Marie Koch

Combined Interviews

Ana Marie Koch resided in Canutillo, Texas for most of her life, and she recalls her childhood memories about the town. Koch remembers her family history; her father had many occupations before buying a store in Canutillo called Central Market. As a child, Koch attended Lone Star Elementary; she sometimes arrived late to school from lunch break because she purposely hid in bushes near the school; she also explains some afterschool activities such as, going to church and playing house with dried red chilies; when she was ten, Koch would work at her dad’s store, and passed the time by …

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Interview No. 1065, Alberto De Loera Sep 2003

Interview No. 1065, Alberto De Loera

Combined Interviews

Mr. de Loera recalls his childhood and adolescence; in 1959, he decided to enroll in the Bracero Program; in order to begin the hiring process, he traveled from Aguascalientes to Empalme, Sonora, México; once he arrived at the processing center in Empalme, he underwent medical exams, including blood samples and x-rays; he also mentions that he was deloused and stripped in front of others as part of the medical procedures; upon being hired, he was transported by cargo train to the border along with thousands of other workers; the train had wooden benches, and he comments that the ride made …

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Interview No. 1050, Gregorio Flores P. Aug 2003

Interview No. 1050, Gregorio Flores P.

Combined Interviews

Mr. Flores recalls growing up in Tepoztlán, Morelos, México; he states that, after one year of formal schooling, he worked with his father doing farming chores; additionally, he remembers working in construction as a young man; he discusses being a bracero from 1959 to 1961; furthermore, he talks about his time picking melons in Arizona, fruits and vegetables in California and cotton in Texas; he details his time as an undocumented worker in Virginia and Dallas from 1980 to 1985; moreover, he compares what life was like for him as a bracero with what he experienced as an undocumented worker.

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Interview No. 1054, Miguel Ortega Aug 2003

Interview No. 1054, Miguel Ortega

Combined Interviews

Mr. Ortega recalls his childhood in Miacatlán, Morelos, México; he states that when he was twelve years old, he began working with his father in sugar cane fields; additionally, he remembers that he moved to Empalme, Sonora, México in 1957 to secure a bracero contract; he relates the help he received there while waiting to enlist in the program, and the process he encountered at the contracting center; furthermore, he remembers his trip to the United States-México border, and how he was treated at the processing center in El Centro, California; he details how the fumigation process was carried out, …

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Interview No. 1049, Eleuterio Flores G. Jul 2003

Interview No. 1049, Eleuterio Flores G.

Combined Interviews

Mr. Flores describes his childhood in Miacatlán, Morelos, México, and his lack of formal schooling; he relates that his father taught him to read and write; he also recalls his time in the Ingenio Azucarero, a sugar cane plantation; additionally, he discusses how his experience with the plantation helped him secure work as a bracero; furthermore, he remembers that, in 1956, he got permission from his work to join the Bracero Program; he details the work he did in California and Texas, and states that he picked cotton and gathered several other crops.

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Interview No. 1585, Cecilia Concha Estela Jul 2003

Interview No. 1585, Cecilia Concha Estela

Combined Interviews

Ms. Concha recalls what it was like growing up during the 1930s; her mother would shop in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, in order to avoid the rationing of food; she recounts her memories of World War II, while she was a high school student at St. Joseph’s Academy from 1941 to 1945; in addition, she describes the discrimination immigrants in El Paso, Texas, faced; she also details her employment opportunities during and after the war; her grandfather, Trinidad Concha, served as an assistant director to Porfirio Diaz, before arriving in El Paso, in 1896; he formed a musical group that crossed …

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Interview No. 1051, Sebastián Jaimes Gutiérrez Jul 2003

Interview No. 1051, Sebastián Jaimes Gutiérrez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Jaimes recalls his childhood and his early work in the fields; he explains how he attended school with a private teacher, and when two of his siblings died; additionally, he details his experiences before becoming a bracero, and how he once refused to marry a rich girl because he was poor; he discusses how he sold candies to survive in Empalme, Sonora, México while waiting to receive his first bracero contract; in 1952, he was hired as a bracero; he worked in Arizona and California; he states that, when his first contract was up, he returned to México and …

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Interview No. 1057, Bernardo Treviño Cervantes Jun 2003

Interview No. 1057, Bernardo Treviño Cervantes

Combined Interviews

Mr. Treviño recalls his childhood in Saltillo, Coahuila, México, and his work as a child on the farm; he remembers going through the hiring process in Zacatecas, Zacatecas, México, and signing his contract in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; additionally, he describes his trip to the border, and being sprayed with pesticide at the United States-México border; he states that he worked as a bracero until 1964 in Michigan and Texas; there, he picked and irrigated cotton and cut cucumbers; furthermore, he details what his daily activities were like, and the good treatment he received in the United States; he relates …

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Interview No. 1052, Víctor Martínez A. Jun 2003

Interview No. 1052, Víctor Martínez A.

Combined Interviews

Mr. Martínez recalls growing up in Miacatlán, Morelos, México; he remembers that, as a child, he helped his family with farming chores; they harvested corn, peanuts, and rice for self consumption and profit; he states that he stopped attending school at an early age due to the ill treatment he received from his teacher, and that he learned to read and write as an adult; additionally he discusses how his father opposed him going to the United States for work; due to this, he hired a coyote to take him to Empalme, Sonora, México so he could enlist in the …

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Interview No. 1048, Felipe Corona Jun 2003

Interview No. 1048, Felipe Corona

Combined Interviews

Mr. Corona recalls the death of his father when he was eight years old, and how he helped his mother to sell rice in towns around Mazatepec, Morelos, México; he states that later he labored in sugar cane fields; additionally, he remembers that, in 1943, he was hired as a bracero, but decided to stay in México out of fear of what would happen in the United States due to the Second World War; he details why he signed up again for the Bracero Program in 1955, and discusses the treatment he received as a bracero; additionally, he details how …

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Interview No. 988, Andrés Héctor Quezada Lara Jun 2003

Interview No. 988, Andrés Héctor Quezada Lara

Combined Interviews

Mr. Quezada quit school in order to go to the United States and work as a bracero; he was hired in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, but was sent to Querétaro, Querétaro to sign the job contract; his first contract took him to work in the Chicago Milwaukee Pacific Union railroads; after working there, he was sent to Kansas to work in the fields; while there, he organized a meeting to ask for better salary for the braceros; their pay was increased from 50¢ to 90¢ per hour; he was then sent to work in Missouri, where he had an accident while …

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