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Articles 91 - 120 of 162
Full-Text Articles in Oral History
Interview No. 1633, Frank W. Gorman Jr.
Interview No. 1633, Frank W. Gorman Jr.
Combined Interviews
Frank W. Gorman, Jr. was born in El Paso on June 20, 1924. His parents were Frank Gorman and Eloise Knotts. His father was from Chattanooga, TN, and his mother was from Lucas, TX, but had been raised in Mexico. He describes his grandfather’s mining work in Durango and Guanajuato during the Mexican Revolution. Mr. Gorman’s father was a Lieutenant during WWI, and met Eloise in El Paso when he came to start a supply company. Mr. Gorman attended El Paso High School and then served in the Navy, but the war ended before he could be sent overseas. After …
Interview No. 1637, Louis B. Mckee
Interview No. 1637, Louis B. Mckee
Combined Interviews
Louis B. McKee is the son of Robert E. McKee, founder of the R. E. McKee General Contractors in El Paso, TX; he was born in El Paso in 1933; and graduated from Austin High School; he explains why he went to University of New Mexico, and studied civil engineering; he mentions completing Navy ROTC, being a Marine Corps Officer a few years; he recounts his family, working for the family’s construction company; he reveals why he later quit the company, disagreed with the direction of new non-family leadership that didn’t have the experience; he mentions the company was moved …
Interview No. 1422, Luis Zamudio
Interview No. 1422, Luis Zamudio
Combined Interviews
Luis Ruiz Zamudio was born in Moroleón Guanajuato, México on August 19th, 1935. Moroleón was a town known for creating shawls (rebozos) and according to Luis, 99% of the townspeople work in one form or another in creating shawls. When Luis was between the ages of 8-10 years old, he began making bobbins and spools for shawl making. However, shawl manufacturing did not pay enough and Luis’s parents had to still take care to plant a plot if corn every year. When he was in the 6th grade, he and his siblings left school to start working full time. Luis …
Interview No. 1628, Ariel Rodriguez
Interview No. 1628, Ariel Rodriguez
Combined Interviews
Dr. Rodriguez recalls time while in the Army, went to Vietnam to work in a field hospital for a year, also worked in civilian ones; he describes later duties at Ft. Bragg, NC, then Puerto Rico; he mentions service during the invasion of the Dominican Republic; he recalls coming to El Paso in 1969, describes the conditions at William Beaumont Army Hospital during its building. He recounts how he became the Associate Dean at Texas Tech Medical; he goes over the interview process and his office; he describes the programs he developed, setting up clinicals for students; he states that …
Interview With John Tucker, Paul Hillmer
Interview With John Tucker, Paul Hillmer
Hmong Oral History Project
John Tucker was born in Akron, Ohio in 1945. An eagle scout, he was given the opportunity to travel the world, which fueled his international perspective. He graduated from Case Western Reserve University in 1967 and then joined the Peace Corps. He was assigned to Thailand where he spent three years working on a malaria eradication program. While there he was recruited by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). He spent the early part of his career working for USAID in Laos and Thailand as a refugee Relief and Resettlement Officer. He was one of 15 USAID employees in …
Kathleen Cohen, Kathleen Ann Francis Cohen, James B. Crooks
Kathleen Cohen, Kathleen Ann Francis Cohen, James B. Crooks
Creating a University: UNF Oral History Project
UNF Oral History Project Interview of Kathleen Cohen by James B. Crooks on February 8, 2008
Emil Kmetec Interview, Professor Emeritus, College Of Science And Mathematics, Wright State University, Lewis Shupe, Emil Kmetec
Emil Kmetec Interview, Professor Emeritus, College Of Science And Mathematics, Wright State University, Lewis Shupe, Emil Kmetec
Wright State University Retirees Association Oral History Project
Lewis Shupe interviewed Emil Kmetec on February 7, 2008 about the founding of Wright State University and the development of the College of Science and Mathematics. In the interview Dr. Kmetec discusses his career and his decision to come to Wright State as a founding faculty member.
Interview With Kao Kalia Yang, Paul Hillmer
Interview With Kao Kalia Yang, Paul Hillmer
Hmong Oral History Project
Kao Kalia Yang was born in Ban Vinai refugee camp and came with her family to Minnesota in July 1987, when she was six years old. Attending school in St. Paul and graduating from Harding High School, Yang was accepted at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, and went on to earn an MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Columbia University. In 2008 Coffee House Press published her memoir, The Latehomecomer, which tells the story of her family in Laos, the refugee camps of Thailand, and their new life in Minnesota. Central to this story is Yang’s grandmother, who embodies the …
Interview No. 1347, Alejandro Hernández
Interview No. 1347, Alejandro Hernández
Combined Interviews
Mr. Hernández talks about his family and how much he suffered growing up; he initially learned about the bracero program through the radio; in 1950, he and a friend went to Chihuahua, México to earn money picking cotton; from there they went to the contracting center in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México, which was situated in an abandoned racetrack; among the thousands waiting, they found some friends that were already on a list of workers; two men from the list were missing and they easily took their place; Alejandro describes crossing into El Paso, Texas, where he was stripped, examined and …
Interview No. 1380, Cecilio V. Rodriguez
Interview No. 1380, Cecilio V. Rodriguez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rodriguez worked with his father picking cotton, corn, beans, and peanuts when he was a child. Rodriguez obtained a letter to get hired in the bracero program when he was in Obregon, Sonora. At the age of eighteen, he entered to the United States through Nogales. He picked cotton in Avondale, Arizona and returned to work as a bracero the following year in Stockton, California. Rodriguez worked picking tomatoes in Stockton and earned a salary of $8.00 per week. He was hired for the last time in 1962 in San Benito, California and worked picking tomatoes for Heinz Company. …
Interview No. 1386, Jose S. Velazquez
Interview No. 1386, Jose S. Velazquez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Velazquez managed to fake his age by saying he was eighteen years old in order to be hired in the bracero program. His first destination was a ranch in Colorado, in which he and other four braceros worked picking cotton; the treatment of his bosses was excellent. He returned as a bracero and worked in Manteca, California and Artesia, New Mexico. Mr. Velazquez returned without documentation to the United States and worked in the states of Texas and Chicago. He worked without documentation in the United States for approximately twenty years. Velazquez worked in the metal casting over two …
Interview No. 1329, Cándido Alarcón
Interview No. 1329, Cándido Alarcón
Combined Interviews
Mr. Alarcón very briefly discusses his family and childhood; he learned about the bracero program through his friends; when he was roughly twenty-six years old, he decided to join the program in order to give his wife and daughter a better life; he explains that each town had a raffle to see who would travel to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, in order to enlist; from there he traveled to Calexico, California, where he was stripped naked and medically examined before being deloused; he describes the process as humiliating, because he was treated like an animal; moreover, he …
Interview No. 1330, José Natividad Alva Medina
Interview No. 1330, José Natividad Alva Medina
Combined Interviews
Mr. Alva talks about his childhood, family, and father, who was abusive, which led him to seek a life outside of his home very early on; growing up, he worked picking cotton in various places throughout México, and this eventually led him to enlist in the bracero program; he details the process he went through to get the necessary paperwork for the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; from there, he and the other men were loaded in cargo trains, about one hundred per box car, and transported to Calexico, California; he was treated so badly that he wanted to …
Interview No. 1333, Sara Arrieta Hernández
Interview No. 1333, Sara Arrieta Hernández
Combined Interviews
Sara’s father, Pedro Arrieta González, worked as a bracero; she vividly describes how poor she and her family were while she was growing up; there were times when they went days without eating, until her father was able to send them money from the United States; they were always happy to have him back home; prior to becoming a bracero, he made brooms; he repeatedly mentioned how fond he was of the United States, especially because it was so different; his first contract was in 1942, the year before Sara was born; she comments that virtually every time he returned …
Interview No. 1342, Jose M. Espinoza
Interview No. 1342, Jose M. Espinoza
Combined Interviews
Mr. Espinoza recalls the harsh conditions he experienced while growing up in Coalcomán, Michoacán; at an early age he started working with his parents harvesting corn and beans; Mr. Espinoza became a Bracero in the year of 1957, he came to the United States to work along with 3 home town friends; he remembers traveling by train along with many others, Mr. Espinoza recalls getting stripped of his clothes and fumigated in Caléxico, California; Mr. Espinoza remembers having some of his personal belongings taken away because they were not allowed to bring anything besides the clothes they had on; Mr. …
Interview No. 1345, Jesús García Estrada
Interview No. 1345, Jesús García Estrada
Combined Interviews
Mr. García briefly recounts his childhood; when he was roughly fourteen years old, he moved to Bácum, Sonora, México, which was where he learned about the bracero program; several men picked cotton there in order to obtain papers for the workers’ lists in Empalme, Sonora; consequently, he did the same, and he details the process he underwent while there, including the humiliation of being stripped and medically examined; after that, he and other braceros were given lunch and transported by train to Mexicali, Baja California, México; as they were about to arrive, the train slowed, and people offered them milk …
Interview No. 1344, Jesús Gallegos
Interview No. 1344, Jesús Gallegos
Combined Interviews
Mr. Gallegos recalls what it was like growing up in his hometown of Ecuandureo, Michoacán, México; when he was sixteen years old, he moved from Sinaloa to Sonora, México, to work; while there, he learned about the bracero program, because many men worked there to obtain papers for the workers’ lists in Empalme, Sonora; in 1961, he acquired the necessary documents, but he was too young and gave it away; the following year, he was able to go to the contracting center in Empalme, where he waited for three weeks to be called; he recounts how difficult it was there; …
Interview No. 1351, Pedro L. Lechuga
Interview No. 1351, Pedro L. Lechuga
Combined Interviews
Mr. Lechuga briefly mentions his family; he recalls hearing rumors about men earning a lot of money in the United States; in 1952, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; although his wife was against it, she knew he had to leave; he went through the center in Chihuahua, México, and he describes the necessary documents and medical exams he underwent; when crossing the border in El Paso, Texas, he endured further assessments; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas cleaning, pruning and picking beets, cotton, cucumber and green …
Interview No. 1355, Zenon Martínez Banda
Interview No. 1355, Zenon Martínez Banda
Combined Interviews
Mr. Martínez recalls hearing people talk favorably about the bracero program and wanting to enlist; while in his early twenties, he decided to join the bracero program; he describes the requirements and necessary paperwork to enlist; additionally, he recounts going through the center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México and entering the United States through Hidalgo, Texas; he also went through the center in Chihuahua and Sonora, México and entered through El Paso, Texas and Nogales, Arizona, respectively; Zenon also describes the medical exams and fumigation procedures he underwent; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona, California and …
Interview No. 1348, Isidro Herrera Ortega
Interview No. 1348, Isidro Herrera Ortega
Combined Interviews
Mr. Herrera talks about his hometown and working in agriculture and with livestock while growing up; he knew about the bracero program when it first started in the early 1940s; a number of men joined and returned, including his father and some of his uncles; Isidro decided to follow in their footsteps and enlisted in 1955 with the hopes of having a better life; to begin the contracting process, he traveled by bus to Irapuato, Guanajuato, México; later, he also went through the center in Empalme, Sonora, México; the center in Irapuato was situated on an old military camp, and …
Interview No. 1364, Jorge Ortiz Marquez
Interview No. 1364, Jorge Ortiz Marquez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Ortiz talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; when he was eighteen, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he describes the contracting process he went through in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, including the long waiting times and medical exams; from there he was transported in a cargo train to El Paso, Texas; he explains that roughly one thousand five hundred men were transferred daily; once in El Paso, he was taken to a center called Rio Vista, where he underwent further assessments and delousing procedures; afterward, he was fed, but the food had …
Interview No. 1367, Ana María Perla
Interview No. 1367, Ana María Perla
Combined Interviews
Mrs. Perla talks about her family and the difficult financial situation they faced, which led to her father’s decision to enlist in the bracero program; she remembers getting letters from him to let the family know how he was doing and how much he missed them; her mother even took a family portrait to send to him; Ana was especially excited, because she was able to get a new dress for the occasion; when he returned home, between contracts, he made dolls out of old rags for her to play with; he also enjoyed cooking for the family and making …
Interview No. 1369, Alfonso Ramirez
Interview No. 1369, Alfonso Ramirez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Ramírez briefly talks about his family and what his life was like growing up on an ejido; when he was thirteen years old, he began working for a railroad company in Chihuahua, México; he also continued laboring in the fields and caring for the animals on the ejido; shortly after, his father enlisted in the bracero program and completed roughly six contracts in Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas cleaning, pruning and picking beets and lettuce; in 1964, during the last year of the program, Alfonso also joined the program; he describes going through the contracting process in …
Interview No. 1370, Jaime Rivas
Interview No. 1370, Jaime Rivas
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rivas briefly talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; after completing his military service in 1959, he heard about the bracero program contracting in Empalme, Sonora, México, and he went with his brother; he explains that they waited for one month to pick the cotton; they needed to obtain papers to enlist, but they did not have any more money and had to leave; they paid three hundred pesos to get on another list of available workers in Durango, and they went though the contracting center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; several thousand men were …
Interview No. 1373, Alfonso Romero Hernández
Interview No. 1373, Alfonso Romero Hernández
Combined Interviews
Mr. Hernández briefly talks about his family; in 1958, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he submitted his birth certificate and proof of military service in order to put himself on the local list of available workers; as part of the contracting process, he was stripped, medically examined and vaccinated; as a bracero, he completed four contracts and labored in the fields of Colorado and New México cleaning, pruning and picking beets and cotton; he goes on to detail the various worksites, housing, provisions, duties and remittances; while working in the beet fields of Greeley, Colorado, he had …
Interview No. 1365, Efrén Pacheco A.
Interview No. 1365, Efrén Pacheco A.
Combined Interviews
Mr. Pacheco briefly talks about his family; in 1956, when he was twenty-one, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he went through the contracting center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México, where he waited for roughly ten days; he paid to sleep in a hotel during that time; those who did not have money slept outside; the men were loaded into trains without seats and transported to Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México; they were forced to stand, and they did not stop for restroom breaks throughout the duration of the trip; once they arrived at the border, they had to stand …
Interview No. 1368, Lorenzo Perla
Interview No. 1368, Lorenzo Perla
Combined Interviews
Mr. Perla talks about coming to work in the United States during the late 1940s without proper documentation; in 1949, while working in New Mexico, he was taken to El Paso, Texas to obtain documents through the bracero program; he describes the process he underwent in El Paso, including medical exams and delousing procedures, which made him feel like he was looked down upon; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Michigan, New Mexico and Texas, picking beets, cabbage, cotton, cucumbers and lettuce, and he completed three contracts; in addition, he worked as a cook and drove tractors; …
Interview No. 1372, Nicolás Rodríguez
Interview No. 1372, Nicolás Rodríguez
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rodríguez briefly talks about his family and what his life was like growing up; he recalls recruiters for the bracero program going to Culiacán, Sinaloa, México and giving out papers to enlist in Empalme, Sonora, México; at the time, he had a wife and children to support, and he decided to join the program; he describes the entire process he underwent in Empalme, including necessary documents, waiting for fifteen days and being stripped and medically examined; from there he was sent to the border at Calexico, California by train, where he endured further exams, including x-rays, injections and several …
Interview No. 1371, Lauro Rivas
Interview No. 1371, Lauro Rivas
Combined Interviews
Mr. Rivas recalls hearing people talk about the bracero program when he was young; he had great illusions of coming to the United States and having a better life; in 1957, when he was seventeen years old, he decided to enlist in the bracero program; he initially went through the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, but he was unable to obtain a contract; later that same year, he went through the center in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, México; as part of the process, he had to present proof of military service, and he also endured medical exams, which included blood samples …
Interview No. 1383, Jesus G. Varela
Interview No. 1383, Jesus G. Varela
Combined Interviews
Mr. Varela started working with his father doing agricultural work and caring for animals. He got a job with a friend of his father learning carpentry and blacksmithing earning $0.40 per week. Mr. Varela found out about the bracero program listening to the radio in the town of Guadalupe Victoria. He traveled to Durango, Mexico to get hired in the bracero program when he was eighteen. With only $200 pesos Varela traveled on train to Guanajuato, Mexico. The next destination was El Paso, Texas where the authorities made another revision before continuing the journey to Caldwell, Idaho. Varela worked picking …