memories of former times

Interview Description Robert A Gonzalez (62) talks with daughter Erica Gonzalez (32) about his life. Facilitator Subject Log 01:20 Robert talks about watching :Ozzie & Harriet "on television and fantasizing about a better life. 04:50 Robert talks about his experience working on farms when he was younger. He says that's where he learned to hate grapes. 08:52 Robert talks about the Vietnam War draft and getting drafted. 13:00...

Interview Description Javier interviews his mom, Martha, about her time coming to the US and working in the fields with her mother and siblings. Facilitator Subject Log 1:17 Martha's mom was a farmworker. Her father worked in a bakery. Martha remembers waiting to see what her mother brought her from "the other side." 4:24 Her mom and dad separated. Mom took the kids and they crossed the border to live in Texas. 10:57 Worked through rain...

Interview Description Edgar Griffin tells his granddaughter, Christina Ramaya about his family background and military service as a paratrooper. Edgar remembers his wife and father-in-law. Facilitator Subject Log 02:00 Edgar first went to school in Mexico and then finished in the US when his family moved. 04:24 During military service, Edgar volunteered for infantry training in order to stay in the US long enough to see his mother who was immigrating...

Interview Description Fina Guevara (64), talks with facilitator, Carolina Correa (30s), about her parents and why she is so proud of them. Facilitator Subject Log 01:00 Fina came in to talk about her parents, Irene Casada Montagno and Antonio Montagno. They raised Fina and her 3 siblings in Los Angeles. 04:43 Fina talks about her parent's backgrounds. Her father, originally from Mexico didn't speak English. Her mother had a strong influence on her....

Interview Description Barbara Gutierrez, 64, tells StoryCorps Mobile Facilitator Alejandro De La Cruz, 28, about the difficulties she experienced growing up as a Latina in the predominantly White west side of Los Angeles, about her parents, and about her work in education. Facilitator Subject Log 2:25 BG talks about her parents' background and her father's business, a jewelry factory. Father was a WWII veteran. 5:50 BG talks about her school...

Interview Description Ana Hepler, 59, talks to her daughter Tracy Hepler, 26, about her immigration to the United States, including the difficulties she encountered on the road, and her first months in America. Facilitator Subject Log 4:55 AH's plans of going to America. 7:20 AH's problems encountered as she traveled through Mexico on way to Los Angeles: being abandoned by bus driver, being denied shelter by woman who had previously promised to help...

Interview Description Sandra Heralda, 59, talks to her sister Gracie Apodaca, 60, and her niece Corina Apodaca Lash, 32, about the community she grew up, her education and work life, and her mother. Facilitator Subject Log 5:55 SH recalls when she first grew aware that her family was poor and of her socioeconomic status. At her first job at City Hall, people would be surprised that someone had brown eyes. 11:00 SH remembers some of her favorite...

Interview Description Etelvina Hernandez (81) is interviewed by her daughters, Monica García (47) and Maribel Barrera (45) about her childhood in México, her life in the U.S. and her job with Mary Kay Cosmetics. Facilitator Subject Log 1:39 Etelvina nació en Michocan; su abuela; no le gusta el rancho 5:34 getting trouble in school; started working at 14 years old; hours she worded; money that she earned 18:41 making food: tortillas and...

Interview Description Lourdes Hernandez (54) talks with facilitator Nina Porzucki (30) about her modest beginnings to attaining a law degree from Harvard. Facilitator Subject Log 00:50 Lourdes was born in Mexico to a single mother named Elgracia. Her mother's family were farmers and impoverished. 04:00 Lourdes traveled with her family to Calexico, TX when she was five-years-old and that's where she began school. She describes the first day of school...

Interview Description Facilitator Alejandro interviews Jesse about his family history, and the car accident that killed his parents, leaving his brother Pedro, to raise 10 kids. Facilitator Subject Log 13:53 Sometimes people ask Jesse how long he has been in Texas, thinking he came recently. He tells them 8 generations. 14:29 Jesse thinks back to himself at 19 and doesn't know if he would've been able to do what his brother Pedro did....