Oral History Commons^™

Interview No. 1391, Nicasio Cortinas Ortíz

Combined Interviews

Mr. Cortinaz Ortíz briefly recalls his childhood and the financial difficulties he and his family endured; he talks about his hometown and working in agriculture while growing up; he married ten days before he joined the bracero program; when he was twenty-five years old, he heard about a call for braceros and decided to enlist in the program; he traveled to the contracting center in Monterrey, México; he details the harsh conditions he and the other men endured while waiting at the center; his first contract took him to work in the cotton fields of Texas; he goes on to …

Interview No. 1284, Cayetano Loza Ornelas

Combined Interviews

Mr. Loza talks about the hacienda where he grew up and how it gradually changed over time, eventually becoming a city; in addition, he explains what it was like living and working on an ejido; in 1942, government officials went to ranches in buses to enlist and take people for the bracero program; he describes the indecision many men faced with regard to joining the program, working on the hacienda, or taking over an ejido; although he never became a bracero, his brother, José, and two sons, Juan and Manuel, did; Cayetano discusses how his sons were able to get …

Interview No. 1285, María Concepción Loza-González

Combined Interviews

Ms. Loza-González talks about her family and what it was like for her growing up; her older brother, Juan, worked as a bracero in Michigan and Texas; he often sent money home to his mom to help care for his siblings and send them to school; María describes how hard it was for the family to survive while he was gone; the entire family had to adapt to his absence, including changes in their daily chores for working the land and caring for the animals; it was especially difficult to wait for word from him, because the mail took so …

Interview No. 1289, Lucina González Loza

Combined Interviews

Ms. González talks about her family and what her life was like growing up; in 1938, when she was fifteen years old, she married Cayetano Loza Ornelas, who was twenty-two years old; a year later, they had their first son, Juan; they went on to have thirteen children in total, six boys and six girls, but one son passed away; two of their sons, Juan and Manuel, enrolled in the bracero program; Juan enlisted when he was roughly thirty years old, and two years later, Manuel joined him at the age of twenty; although they did not earn much, the …

Interview No. 1283, Matiana Ibarra Quintana

Combined Interviews

Ms. Ibarra recalls her childhood and learning to read at the age of fourteen through a cultural mission program; by the time she was twenty, she was married and pregnant with her first child; her first born son was two years old when her husband enlisted in the bracero program; he went to Irapuato, Guanajuato, México, and waited for fifteen days before getting called; while he was gone she suffered greatly; shortly after he left, their son became very ill and ultimately passed away; it was not until later that she learned the day her husband left for the United …

Interview No. 1288, J. Carmen Quezada Morales

Combined Interviews

Mr. Quezada talks about his family, his parents in particular and their variety of trades; when the bracero program started in 1942, he often heard people talk about it; many men were afraid of being taken to war if they enlisted; in 1949, he joined the program, and he went with a group of friends to the contracting center in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México; he describes the long waiting time and the medical exams, including injections and blood samples; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California, Colorado, Texas, and Wyoming, picking, cleaning, and pruning different fruits and vegetables; …

Interview No. 1280, Librado Briceño Domínguez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Briceño talks about his family and what life was like growing up on a ranch; his older brother, Guadalupe, and a number of his friends and cousins worked as braceros; when Librado was roughly twenty-three years old, he decided to enlist in the bracero program with his brother; they left for Empalme, Sonora, México, and Librado left behind his wife and two children; he describes the process of getting his name on the list of available workers, which included payment, even if not using a coyote; while waiting in Empalme, sometimes for up to two months, he worked on …

Interview No. 1287, Mercedes Pérez Salazar

Combined Interviews

Ms. Pérez talks about her family and what life was like growing up with her grandmother; in addition, she remembers always having to carry water home from the well, which was far away; she describes meeting José Biurquis Hernández and their ensuing courtship; when she was twenty-four years old, they were married; they lived with his mother and sisters, and they all got along very well; José worked selling ice and sweet potatoes in town; a year later, José and Mercedes had their first daughter; not long after, he was not making enough money, and he decided to enlist in …

Interview No. 1281, Plutarco Chávez Ruiz

Combined Interviews

Mr. Chávez talks about his family and growing up on a ranch; when he was roughly sixteen years old, his older brother enlisted in the bracero program; a number of his friends did as well, so he often heard about the program; by the time he was twenty-four years old, he was married and had two children; hoping for a better life, he also enlisted as a bracero; he describes the difficulties he faced in Empalme, Sonora, México, and what it was like for him while he waited there; in addition, he underwent brief physical exams while there and much …

Interview No. 1282, Dionisio Hernández Canchola

Combined Interviews

Mr. Hernández recalls that sometime during the late fifties or early sixties, he enlisted in the bracero program, and he went through a contracting center in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México; he comments that he went with one of his brothers-in-law, but they were separated during the x-ray portion of their processing; they did, however, meet up later while in the United States, and they picked cotton together; as a bracero, Dionisio labored in the fields of California and Texas until the program ended in 1964; he goes on to briefly recount the different worksites, housing, payment, treatment, and recreational activities; …

Interview No. 1286, Beatriz Martínez Hernández

Combined Interviews

Ms. Martínez briefly mentions her family and childhood; during her adolescence she worked helping a woman cook and clean; Beatriz describes meeting her husband and the four year courtship that ensued; they eventually married when she was roughly sixteen years old, and they stayed in Manuel Doblado, Guanajuato, México; in 1953, her husband enlisted in the bracero program; he went through the contracting center in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México, where he endured long lines and physical exams before obtaining a forty day contract; at the time, he and Beatriz had three children and lived on their own; his family knew he …

Interview With Mrs. Elizabeth Newton Daniel, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections Oral History Collection

Mrs. Elizabeth Newton Daniel interviewed by Marvin Goss, April 27, 2007. Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog!

Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections Oral History Collection, Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections

Finding Aids

This collection consists of the transcripts, original cassette tape recordings of public speeches, lectures, and oral history interviews spanning from 1962-2007. Interviews were conducted and recorded by Georgia Southern University’s Department of History and Zach S. Henderson Library Special Collections. Those interviewed are mostly locals to Bulloch County and neighboring counties. Interviewees discuss their personal and family lives, historical events they were a part of, and circumstances surrounding their successes. The public speeches and lectures originated from an assortment of sources.

Find this collection in the University Libraries' catalog.

Interview No. 1185, Simón Acosta

Combined Interviews

Mr. Acosta remembers how he heard about the bracero program in Sinaloa, México, and how he traveled to Sonora to get contracted; he relates how he had to pick cotton to earn his card for contracting and how the process was conducted in Empalme, Sonora, México; moreover, he states how the processing center at El Centro, California worked, how he was fumigated with a spray, and that he had blood drawn when crossing the border into the United States; he recalls working in California picking beets, oranges and cutting lettuce; furthermore, he goes on to discuss how daily life was …

Interview No. 1053, Alberto Mendoza Torres

Combined Interviews

Mr. Mendoza recalls his childhood in Tizapotla, Morelos, México, and memories of his father, a soldier in Emiliano Zapata’s army during the Mexican Revolution; he remembers the hardships he suffered while working the land his father left him, and the impact bad weather had on his farming; additionally, he details how he worked in factories, and his decision to join the Bracero Program; he enlisted in 1959, and relates the process he went through to get hired in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, as well as the fumigation performed on him at the United States border; he describes working in Arizona, California, …

Rydell, Alice And Vandewege, Mary Oral History Interview: General Holland History, Geoffrey Reynolds

General Holland History

No abstract provided.

Interview No. 1317, Luz María Sosa

Combined Interviews

Mrs. Sosa briefly recalls her family and childhood; she remembers hearing stories about her father working in the United States; she recalls that when her father first heard about the bracero program he rode his horse to the neighboring town to invite and encourage other men to enlist; she briefly details the process, including lists of eligible workers and modes of transportation to and from the center; her father travelled by bus to the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; Mrs. Sosa states that many of the men went without eating so as not to lose their place in line; …

Interview No. 1157, Aurelio Pereída Rodarte

Combined Interviews

Mr. Pereída recounts the various difficulties he faced during his childhood and adolescence; he was married by the time he was seventeen years old, and he had a tumultuous relationship with his wife; after they separated, he took on full responsibility for both of his children; prior to enlisting in the bracero program during the late forties he worked illegally in Texas; he chronicles going through processing centers in Chihuahua and Sonora, México, and being transported in cargo trains used to carry coal; in addition, he also underwent medical examinations and delousing procedures; as a bracero, he worked in the …

Interview No. 1154, Alberto Miguel Marcial

Combined Interviews

Mr. Marcial briefly mentions his family and childhood; his father and grandfather died, leaving his mother alone, but she later remarried; Alberto’s step-father worked as a bracero, and when he returned from a contract, Alberto decided to leave as well; he walked for two days to get a contract in Oaxaca, México; from there he was transported by train to Irapuato, Guanajuato, México, where he stayed for a few days; when leaving Oaxaca, people told him to buy cigarettes if he could, because they were scarce in the United States due to the war; he was able to sell them …

Interview No. 1308, Roberto Oceguera Licea

Combined Interviews

Mr. Oceguera Licea briefly recalls his hometown; he moved to Calexico where he heard about the bracero program; in 1955, he traveled to the processing center in Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; his first contract was in Newman, California where he labored in the melon fields; he briefly discusses and compares the camp size, living conditions and provisions at El Centro, California and Newman, California; he worked in the tomato fields of Imperial Valley, California; he labored in the asparagus fields in Stockton, California; he labored in the grape and pear orchards of Geyserville, California; Mr. Oceguera Licea mentions that many braceros …

Interview No. 1323, Ramón Bravo García

Combined Interviews

Mr. Ramón Bravo García briefly recalls his childhood; his parents relocated to Baja California, Mexico to work in the agricultural fields; he recalls going through the contracting center of Empalme, Sonora, Mexico; his first contract took him to work in the asparagus fields of Stockton, California; he did not complete the contract; in 1948, he married a childhood acquaintance; shortly thereafter, he obtained his second bracero contract in Pueblo Nuevo, Mexico; he describes the medical exams and required documents; as part of the process, he was stripped and deloused, which he found humiliating; his second contract took him to work …

Interview No. 1067, Roberto García

Combined Interviews

Mr. García talks about going to school as a young boy and the different cities he traveled to in order to continue his education; eventually, he had to stop going to school, because the family did not have the money, and he began working instead; shortly after, he married, and in 1959, he enlisted in the bracero program; he explains that he signed up on the list of available workers in Cuernavaca, Morelos, México, which in turn allowed him to get to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México; he waited there for over a month with thousands of other …

Interview No. 1068, Higinio López

Combined Interviews

Mr. López talks about his family and what his life was like growing up on a ranch; in 1947, he came to work in the United States without proper documentation; after three years, immigration officials sent him back to México; during the early 1950s, he married and started raising a family; by the time he enlisted in the bracero program he had two children; he went through the contracting center in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México; oftentimes, he went with groups of other men so the process would not be as bad; even so, he describes crossing into the United States as …

Interview No. 1069, Ignacio I. Álvarez

Combined Interviews

Mr. Álvarez briefly talks about his family; one of his uncles worked with the bracero program, which later led him to do the same when he was twenty-five years old; he describes getting on the list of available workers before going to the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, where his hands were examined for signs of manual labor; from there, he was sent by bus to Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, where he was given a thorough medical examination; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of Arizona and California, irrigating and picking cotton, cucumbers, lemons, oranges and tomatoes; …

Interview No. 1072, Juan Contreras

Combined Interviews

Mr. Contreras initially learned about the bracero program through a friend and went to enlist; a few weeks later, he received a telegram telling him to go to the Buena Vista station in México, Distrito Federal, where he volunteered for Exterior Relations; later, he traveled by train to the United States; Mexican soldiers watched over the seven cars with roughly eighty men in each; by the time they reached El Paso, Texas, only three or four cars were left; he did not have to endure any physical exams; however, he later went through the center in Irapuato, Guanajuato, México, and …

Interview No. 1070, Luz Maria Ayala

Combined Interviews

Ms. Ayala talks about her father, and how prior to enlisting in the bracero program, he worked with mules and sold cheese in México; he went through the contracting center in Empalme, Sonora, México, where he waited up to nine months for a contract; while waiting, he and a group of men put up an overhead covering where they could sleep and have shade; as a bracero, he labored in the fields and on the railroads when she was a young girl; while he was gone, the family suffered greatly, because there was often no food or money; he returned …

Interview No. 1074, J. Jesus Gomez L.

Combined Interviews

Mr. Gomez talks about coming to the United States without documents and working in Texas for a year and a half when he was sixteen years old; later, during the 1950s, he returned to the United States with the bracero program; he talks about what he endured in order to obtain a bracero contract, including physical exams and delousing procedures; the men who did not pass the exams were sent back; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California; he goes on to detail the various worksites, camp sizes, housing, provisions, routines, treatment, payments, deductions, friendships, correspondence and …

Interview No. 1081, Margarita López

Combined Interviews

Ms. López talks about her hometown in Calvillo, Aguascalientes, México, and how much it has grown since she was a child; in 1950, when she was fifteen years old, she married Higinio López; he was twenty-four at the time; they grew up in the same town, but on different ranches; Higinio had begun working as a bracero prior to their marriage, before he and Margarita had even met; after they married, they lived on his ranch, and he continued working as a bracero; in 1952, they had their first daughter; by 1956, they had two children and moved to Mexicali, …

Interview No. 1082, Alejo López

Combined Interviews

Mr. López briefly talks about his family; one of his older brothers enlisted in the bracero program, and in 1954, Alejo also joined; to begin the contracting process, he went through the center in Mexicali, Baja California, México, where he was stripped and examined; moreover, he offers a detailed description of the exams he endured; he later went through the center in Empalme, Sonora, México; from there he was transported by train to Mexicali, where he was deloused like an animal; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California, cleaning, pruning and picking asparagus, lettuce, strawberries and tomatoes; …

Interview No. 1073, Pedro De Alba G.

Combined Interviews

Mr. de Alba recalls that people went into town to recruit for the bracero program; his parents encouraged him to join, and in 1955, he enlisted; one of his brothers was also a bracero, and they worked together twice; Pedro went through contracting centers in Monterrey, Nuevo León and Empalme, Sonora, México; as a bracero, he labored in the fields of California and Texas, cleaning, pruning and picking carrots, cotton, lettuce and tomatoes; he goes on to detail the various worksites, camp sizes, housing, accommodations, amenities, provisions, duties, treatment, payments, deductions, remittances, correspondence and recreational activities, including trips into town …