Oral History Commons^™

Interview No. 1426, Antonio Aragón

Combined Interviews

Mr. Aragón talks about what life was like growing up, including the various schools he attended; his father joined the bracero program and worked in Michigan; the money he sent home took too long to arrive, and Antonio was forced to leave school due to lack of payment; with his military schooling, he was able to obtain a recommendation to enlist in the program in Empalme, Sonora, México; he describes the medical exams he underwent there and in the United States, including delousing procedures; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California planting, cleaning, pruning, picking and packing …

Interview With Pa Sher Yang, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Pa Sher Yang discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s as well as refugee resettlement in Thailand and the United States.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang; translated and transcribed by Mai Vang.

Interview No. 1401, Porfirio B. García

Combined Interviews

Porfirio García was born in a town (rancho) called Tendeparacua in the state of Michoacán, México. His parents were also field workers who taught Porfirio and his two brothers how to make tiles for homes, a job that Porfirio worked in until a chance to enter the Bracero Program came to him. The chance to join the Bracero Program came when the governor of Morelia gave the township of Tendeparacua cards to enlist men for the program. Porfirio has worked in many states such as Arkansas, California, Washington State and Texas picking various produce. At the end of the war …

Interview No. 1458, Eusebio Sanchez Lara

Combined Interviews

Eusebio Sanchez Lara started working since he was a child because his parents died. His four brothers and him started working as farmers. Sanchez heard about the bracero program and was hired in Empalme, Sonora. Sanchez worked in Santa Ana, California picking cucumbers, tomatoes, pumpkins and chili. Sanchez renewed his contract in Santa Ana for three consecutive years. Sanchez also worked picking broccoli and lettuce in Phoenix, Arizona; He remembers that picking lettuce was the work that he liked least. He got hired for the last time in 1974 and worked in Yuba City picking tomatoes and peaches.

Interview No. 1453, María Guadalupe Salcedo Gudiño

Combined Interviews

Ms. Salcedo talks about what her life was like growing up; she vividly recalls having to collect buckets of water on a daily basis from a river that was relatively far away; when she was sixteen years old, she met a man on her ranch, and soon after, they married; his parents passed away when he was eleven years old, leaving him the home where he and María lived; by 1955, they had three children, and he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he left with a group of men from nearby ranches; ultimately, he went through contracting centers …

Interview No. 1428, Luis Barozio Ceja

Combined Interviews

Mr. Barozio talks about his family and what life was like growing up; he also chronicles the movement from working as peons to owning a small piece of land on an ejido; during the early forties, while studying as a veterinarian at the university in México, Distrito Federal, he ran out of money, and he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he describes the medical exams he underwent as part of the contracting process; because he had been a student up until he enlisted, he took a number of his books with him when crossing into the United …

Interview No. 1434, Pedro Domínguez Castillo

Combined Interviews

Mr. Domínguez describes his childhood; he went to school in a different town but had to stop, because his family needed help with their fishing; when he was sixteen he heard about the bracero program; he ultimately decided to enlist in 1958, out of economic necessity; at the time, he was married and had one daughter; he traveled with a group of fifteen men to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; while there he underwent medical examinations and had to wait for only three days to obtain a contract; he completed a total of three contracts and labored in …

Interview No. 1432, Tiburcio Delgado Garfia

Combined Interviews

Mr. Delgado briefly discusses his family; some of his relatives and neighbors enlisted in the bracero program; his uncles returned to México with enough money to buy land and animals; he decided to join the program in the hope of providing more for his wife; Tiburcio offers a detailed description of the process to get on the list of eligible workers; moreover, in order to enlist, the men had to pay between four and five hundred pesos; he had to give up part of his land in order to get a loan to enroll in the program; later, when men …

Interview No. 1443, Salvador Morales Quiroz

Combined Interviews

Mr. Morales talks about going to school as a child and how he primarily spoke Purépeche or Tarasco and very little Spanish; growing up, he heard about the bracero program and how men earned more money in the United States, especially given the dollar to peso ratio; during the midfifties, he decided to enlist as a bracero, and he later obtained another contract in 1960; he mentions getting on the list of available workers and waiting for a month before leaving; because he knew he would buy clothes in the United States he only took a small bag with one …

Interview No. 1435, Clara Eligio Tenorio

Combined Interviews

Ms. Eligio briefly talks about her family; she later married at the age of sixteen; her husband served in the bracero program and completed two contracts; he left with her brother, which helped her feel more at ease; in the United States her husband picked tomatoes and was gone for a few months at a time; while he was away she made nets to sell, which was how she survived; moreover, she was also able to catch and sell fish to supplement her income; she lived with her mother-in-law, and they had a good relationship; Clara was also able to …

Interview No. 1429, Audelia Bentura Cortéz

Combined Interviews

Ms. Bentura describes what her life was like growing up; her family was very poor, and they suffered greatly; she briefly recounts her courtship with her husband and how he asked for her hand in marriage with his parents, who were also fishermen; after Audelia married she went to live with her in-laws; she helped her mother-in-law with household chores, including preparing meals for the family and the help and cleaning the fish; after eight years of marriage and four children, her husband enlisted in the bracero program, with one of her brothers; they labored in the fields of Texas; …

Interview No. 1430, Vicente Campos Cruz

Combined Interviews

Mr. Campos vividly describes his childhood and spending most of his time fishing with his family; in 1952, he came to the United States without documentation and worked in Los Angeles, California for roughly six months; he was eventually stopped by immigration officials and sent back to México; some time after, he married, and he and his wife began having children; in 1960, he decided to enlist in the bracero program in order to better provide for his family; he describes the process of providing the list of available workers to government officials and going to the contracting center; as …

Interview No. 1437, Nicolás Grimaldo Andrade

Combined Interviews

Mr. Grimaldo talks about his family and hometown; when he was growing up, his parents did not own the land they worked, which was problematic; during the early fifties, one of his older brothers enlisted in the bracero program and worked in Michigan; Nicolás would pick up the letters and money his brother sent home; in 1955, at the age of twenty-two, he decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps and become a bracero; he describes the process and necessary paperwork to enlist at the contracting center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; on two separate occasions, while passing though Chihuahua, …

Interview No. 1442, Roberto Meléndez López

Combined Interviews

Mr. Meléndez talks about his family and growing up on an ejido where he learned to work the land and care for animals; when the land did not produce enough crops to maintain the family, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; his father was too old to work, and he had to help support the family; in 1955, he went to Monterrey, Nuevo León, México with the necessary paperwork and joined the program; as a bracero, he worked in Arkansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas and Wisconsin picking, irrigating and driving a tractor in the beet, corn, cotton and tomato …

Interview No. 1439, Hilario Martínez Cortez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Martínez talks about his family and life growing up on an hacienda; moreover, he weeps upon recollecting his early childhood and his father’s subsequent death; he also remembers one of his older brothers trying to enlist in the bracero program but not being accepted; sometime later, Hilario began working as a tailor, but he did not make enough money, which led him to enroll in the program; his family did not want him to go, because they were afraid he would not return; even so, he went through contracting centers in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Monterrey, Nuevo León, and Empalme, …

Interview No. 1425, Santos Alejandro González

Combined Interviews

Mr. González talks about growing up on an ejido and the various difficulties he and his family faced; in 1952, he and his cousin came to work in the United States without documents, because they did not know about the bracero program; two years later, in 1954, Santos was able to enlist as a bracero in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; the contracting process was especially difficult due to the examinations and delousing procedures he underwent; he describes how he and other men suffered and how they were treated like rented animals; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of …

Interview No. 1431, Santos Cruz Hernández

Combined Interviews

Mr. Cruz briefly talks about his family and his parents in particular; he recalls the difficulties they faced living on an ejido; in 1942, he learned about the bracero program and how some men worked on the railroads; a few years later, in 1945, he decided to enlist in the program; he usually traveled by bus to the contracting centers with groups of fifteen to thirty men; roughly eighty men from his ejido joined the program; from the center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México, he was transported to Hidalgo, Texas, where ranchers picked the workers they wanted; as a …

Interview No. 1447, Rosalío Padilla Barajas

Combined Interviews

Mr. Padilla talks about his family, how they became part of an ejido and what life was like for them; he also offers a detailed description of the agricultural restructuring occurring during the midthirties; life was extremely difficult, and some of his brothers enlisted in the bracero program; Rosalío eventually decided to follow in their footsteps after he and his family faced problems with the ejido; as part of the contracting process, he underwent medical exams and was stripped and deloused; after bathing, he and other men were kept naked and told to exercise in an attempt to determine …

Interview No. 1445, Roman Olivares Hernandez

Combined Interviews

Olivares Hernandez traveled to Monterrey with his father. Hernandez studied in Monterey, México until high school. After he studied, he traveled to the United States to work without documentation. In 1958, Olivares was hired in the bracero program. The first place where Olivares worked was Allenton, Michigan picking cucumber. His bosses treated him well and were very happy about that. The food offered in the fields was really good, once the braceros complained about the food and his bosses fixed the problem. Olivares is very disappointed because the American government did not give him his retirement money and he is …

Interview No. 1455, Orfa Noemí Soberanis González

Combined Interviews

Ms. Soberanis describes growing up on an hacienda with her family, including the different homes she lived in and moving around a lot; she remembers helping her mother run the household and making tortillas; when she was nineteen years old, she met her husband, who was four years older than her; he asked for her hand in marriage, and they had to wait for six months before getting married; she vividly recounts all the various details of the wedding, from her dress and shoes to the church and great party that followed; they lived in a home her father-in-law had …

Interview With Pang Her Vang, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Pang Her Vang discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang.

Interview With Wang Her, Peter Chou Vang

Hmong Oral History Project

Interview with Wang Her discussing his experiences during the "Secret War" in Laos in the mid-1960s to early 1970s.

Interview conducted by student interviewer, Peter Chou Vang.

Pierre Allaire, Pierre Allaire, James B. Crooks

Creating a University: UNF Oral History Project

UNF Oral History Project Interview of Pierre Allaire by James B. Crooks on May 23, 2008

James Hughes Interview, Professor Emeritus, Department Of English, Wright State University, Lewis Shupe, James Hughes

Wright State University Retirees Association Oral History Project

Lewis Shupe interviewed James Hughes on May 22, 2008 about the founding of Wright State University and the development of the English program. In the interview Dr. Hughes discusses his career and his decision to come to Wright State as a founding faculty member.

Interview No. 1601, Esteban Chavez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Chavez recalls that in 1943 he tried to go as a bracero but was rejected because of his age; once he turned eighteen he was contracted along with his two older brothers; he recalls it taking two days to sign his contract, consequently they slept on the floor near the train; he recalls the health check by Mexican doctors, having their hands inspected, and being disinfected for lice; he recalls working in El Paso, making .40 cents a pound, and driving large machinery; he remembers fifty men sleeping in a barrack, using the river to bathe, and not having …

Interview No. 1399, Rodolfo Balderrama

Combined Interviews

Rodolfo Balderrama had some ranches in Satevó Chihuahua, México. He heard of the Bracero Program from a few ranch hands who had worked in the program. Coupled with curiosity and poverty, Rodolfo decided to try the program for himself. He experienced the lengthy entrance portion of the Bracero Program where his hands were closely examined for callouses, nicks and cuts; signs that proved he worked on a ranch/farm. Rodolfo was given x-rays to determine if he had tuberculosis and was searched in his head for lice. He traveled to many cities around the United States while working for the Bracero …

Interview With John Chester - Vhp 080, John Chester

Winthrop University Oral History Program

In his April 3, 2008 interview with Kristin Malone, John Chester details his service overseas in Europe during WWII. Included are stories of interactions with German soldiers and the rules and regulations of the United States Military. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.

Interview No. 1400, Ezequiel García

Combined Interviews

Ezequiel García entered the Bracero Program in 1952 when he was 20 years old. As a bracero in the Bracero Program, Ezequiel pick various fruits, vegetables and plants such as sugar beets, tomato, cabbage, lettuce, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower and tobacco. Ezequiel earned $0.75 cents an hour for his work in the Bracero Program and worked for several different employers for lengthy amounts of time. He recounts nothing but fond memories and feels grateful to his employers who treated him well. Ezequiel found the procedures for entrance to the Bracero Programs in order and without problems. Ezequiel worked very hard …

The Avenger - April-May 2008, Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum

The Avenger

No abstract provided.

Interview No. 1624, J. Halbert Gambrell

Combined Interviews

In this interview, J. Halbert (“Hal”) Gambrell shares his memories of his colorful family, early El Paso, and his military experiences during both World War II and the Korean War. Born in El Paso in 1920, Gambrell entered this world in the family home due to his physician father’s decision to avoid local hospitals overflowing with Spanish Influenza patients. His father had recently returned from service in France during World War I; earlier he had served under General Jack “Black” Pershing during the latter’s 1916 punitive expedition into Mexico in Pershing’s ill-fated attempt to capture Pancho Villa. Gambrell continues to …