This digital story recording was created in conjunction with the Smithsonian's Museum on Main Street program and its Stories from Main Street student digital storytelling initiative. The project encourages students and their mentors to research and record stories about small-towns and rural neighborhoods, waterways, personal memories, cultural traditions, work histories, as well as thoughts about American democracy. These documentaries, websites, and interviews are then shared on Smithsonian websites and social media.
Students at Mineola High School in Texas developed content-rich websites that explored "journey stories" in their community. Participating students interviewed family, friends, and other local residents as part of their official Youth Access Grant local history projects, supported by Museum on Main Street in 2013-14.
Speaker 1 (00:00): How did you come to United States?
Speaker 2 (00:08): He walked the desert.
Speaker 1 (00:08): Walked desert.
Speaker 3 (00:10): Five days.
Speaker 2 (00:11): Five days, walking.
Speaker 1 (00:13): Wow. Okay.
Speaker 2 (00:31): Mainly where we lived in Mexico, around the age of 16 or 17, most men leave to United States. They come here to United States for financial reasons, and they stay here for maybe one or two years, and then they go back and they do something with that money. They build a house, they buy maybe a car or something like that, and then they come back.
Speaker 1 (01:02): What was it like growing up?
Speaker 2 (01:19): Basically, what he said is he worked outside taking care of cows, sheep, goats, basically outside. One thing that he wants to add is it was very difficult when he brought his family here. One, because I mean, there was five of us.
(01:43): Oh four. My mom or his wife had a three month old baby. She had to walk and crossed the border with her in her arms, and once we or the family crossed over, he had a job that paid him a $150 a week. The only thing he could afford was a home, basically the same, no windows, no air conditioning. It was very, very hot during the summer, over a hundred degrees. His children were basically dehydrated, sick, and he had no money to take them to the hospital. So basically he was barely feeding them, so it was very difficult at the beginning.
Speaker 1 (02:43): What were your financial resources like?
Speaker 2 (02:53): He worked in a plantation.
Speaker 1 (02:58): Did you immediately find housing or find housing to rent or buy?
Speaker 2 (03:10): Like a year later. He's begin to buy a house a year later.
Speaker 1 (03:19): Okay, and what was the neighborhood like?
Speaker 2 (03:37): It was calm, quiet. It was good.
Speaker 1 (03:40): How did you get along with neighbors in your community?
Speaker 2 (03:51): It was good. He was good with the neighbors and neighbors were good with him.
Speaker 1 (03:56): Okay. Now, how long did you stay in your first home?
Speaker 3 (04:10): 12 years.
Speaker 2 (04:10): 12 years.
Speaker 1 (04:14): Did you find a job immediately or was there one here waiting for you?
Speaker 2 (04:24): Immediately, he found a job.
Speaker 1 (04:28): Okay. Did he have to go out and look for it or did he receive it waiting for him to get here?
Speaker 2 (04:34): He had to go look for it.
Asset ID: 2022.33.06.a-e
Find a complete transcript at www.museumonmainstreet.org
