Juan Antonio Huron Jr. "Willie"

Name of your Interviewee in ________________ at the ____________________ (19__)

Atkins,Texas

March and April, 2013

Brian Trevino

Palo Alto College

History 1302 - Spring 2013

 

INTRODUCTION

Juan Antonio Huron Jr. was born in San Antonio on July 22,1949 to Maria and Juan Huron. He was just one child out of twelve. There were 4 boys and 8 girls. His brothers were Albert, Roy, and Richard. His sisters were Leela, Annie, Mary, Silvia,Ester,Eloisa, Rosemary, and Diana. He grew up in a house on Braubach on the south side of San Antonio. Were he grew up it was a closed net neighborhood with relatives living in the area for about 2 blocks. He went to high school at South Side high school. He was married to Alelita Garza for 18 years, and Tressey Lou Hudson in 1990. After his second marriage he moved to Alaska as part of the military. Which he was there until 2007 which he moved to Seattle, Washington. In 2011 he retired and moved back to San Antonio.

 

TRANSCRIPTION

Where did you do migratory labor?
We migrated from San Antonio, Texas to Decatur, Michigan. With two different families which the Uncle that we went with was the foremen of the farm that we went to cause he had done if years before we go in to it. We got in to it cause their was to many of us kids at home so mom and dad said lets go up north and put the kids to work in the summer. Actually it turned out pretty good we got a little education on how to work and how hard it is to make a dollar even back then.so long days. For us it was a vacation cause we had never been out of town for that matter. So going in back of a truck thru all these cities and towns and neighborhoods, roadside parks. It was fun. The trip it self was fun. After getting there then we met with the rancher and the foremen and met with all the families and what he wanted us to do. The camp he put us is he provided sleep accommodations on the farm and gave everybody their chores they would do on a day to day basis. But long days. My cousin and I go to know the rancher real well we were 15 years old then. After working us all day he still had to irrigate the future crop we were gonna pick that were still growing at night. So we worked all day and he would pick us up after supper. And then we would move all the irrigation pipes and stuff. … so he counted on me and my younger cousin. Thats what we did three times a week during the night we watered the fields. The next morning we all get up and go to the next field and pick asparagus,strawberries, apples cucumbers. We did a lot of cucumbers. Cucumbers was the money making. If you were gonna make any money it was cucumbers. There was a lot and they pay you I don't know what it was back then 35 to 45 cents a bushel which is not much. But we would always compete between all the male cousin who picked the most. Not just here and there but on a regular basis not just here and there. Cause what would would do is be picking on the fields drag your basket. You would fill it up and go dump it in a trailer. My aunt would be on the trailer counting all the baskets coming in and giving you a ticket. Thats how you got paid by turing in your tickets. But we would all compete who was the top dog. The fact that we competed we made a lot of money. When we got back my dad bought a brand new truck and paid cash for it. With the money we made that summer. Which was ideal for mom and dad you know they kept us off the street. Like I said it was a vacation we would go do different stuff. T a beautiful country up there I think its the land of a thousand lakes. There was lakes everywhere lots of farms always green. Even when we got all the irrigation and when were in the pickle season well cucumbers after working all day we would go to the plant he had a plant on the ranch well farm.the machine would wash and separate them we had to work several hours at night after picking all day it was hard work. I don't know what minimum wage was back then. I know it wasn't much. You know you went from picking cucumbers in the field during the day and and at night washing all the crops and putting them back together. It was a lot of fun for us but back then big families had to do something you know dad didn't have much education growing up he couldn't even write his name. He was how do you say street smart he had a lot of common sense. He could do anything he was a carpenter he could do anything. So he would teach us boys how to work and to get stuff done that was while we were here. In the summer then he would pack us all up to go up north to work. We only did it four or five years max. everybody stated growing up and doing their own thing. It was worth while keeping us together . When we stopped going we would the fact we got used to doing stuff as a family my dad would go to a pecan orchard. My dad would go talk to the rancher and we would be the ones to pick all the pecans it was 15 to 20 acres of pecan trees. I was the thrasher, I was the monkey I was the one who had to go climb the tree. Go thrash all the pecans when I got done I went to the next one my brothers and sisters would pick the pecans off the ground. They had kike a cane poll that was sixteen feet long you thrash the tree to pick the pecans. On summer he says im going to teach you guys how to pick cotton. We were all like what. We lived here in San Antonio he took us to Seguin to one of the ranchers and said I want to teach my kids what back breaking work is. That we went thru when we used to work the fields. So he but us with long sack and we started picking the cotton by had there was no machine back then. We only worked six hours cause it was the hardness of pulling the cotton bush it was packing it in to your sack the sack got heavier. And the heat got hotter. We were done actually in six hour we don't want to do any more. We said lets go home we are done. He just wanted to have us experience how hard it was to make a dollar. That money didn't grow on trees. That you really have to work for it. As kids then between the ages of 13-17 he thought us everything he could he thought us how to do roofs. And he was a carpenter by trade the would remodel houses. When he wasn't taking us out picking or migrating he would put us to work. With his carpenter work and leveling houses

How many hours would you work in a day?
Our day started early you would want to get most of your work while well in Michigan it never got as hot as it did down here.it was mostly in the mid 80's max 90's maybe. Out day started at six in the morning till about five or six in the afternoon. It was about a 10 -12 hr day that depended on how big the field was that we were working. When we would go down to the rancher and he told the foremen that he wanted these fields done on these days. Some fields would take us weeks to complete and others a few days. I most of our days were long but some days we would get out early ad go to the lake. And I keep referring to it as a vacation we used to love lunch time because my mom was used to cooking a lot she would make us breakfast and she would back us huge lunches.

Along with asparagus, cucumbers, apples what else would yall pick?
cherries...i cant remember what else. But the big money maker was cucumbers. Everything else was primed around the season

Who, What, Where, When

How many of yall went?
eight of us that went. We all didn't fit all in one truck. So my uncle only had a daughter and a son that went with him they had trucks with camper shells. Some went with my uncle Adolf and some with my mom and dad. But there was eight of us and ten with mom and dad.

Along with learning the value of a dollar what else did you learn?
probably the closeness of the family. Most of the families that went up there were large families. And just being together and learning how to cope together. One of the big things it kept us off the street and number 2 it brought us closer together. We did ok. None of us were harden criminals.

Who, What, Where, When

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Who, What, Where, When

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ANALYSIS

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ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection. Geographical and historical maps of continents, countries, counties, cities; maps relating to history and current news events. University of Texas Libraries.

Cost-of-Living Calculator. The calculator uses the Consumer Price Index to do the conversions between 1913 and the present. The source for the data is the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Consumer Price Index reflects the cost of items relative to a specific year. The American Institute for Economic Research. P.O. Box 1000. Great Barrington, Massachusetts. 01230.

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