TAPEMINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1, side 1
*Note: Frank has prepared notes for the interview. He reads his notes, allowing the interviewer to interject a question wherever necessary.
0-4:00 His father, Hilario Malaxetxebarria, was born on 14 January 1890 in Markina, Bizkaia. Hilario’s baserri’s name was “Nieves Aldekoa Goikua”. He immigrated to the United States in 1905, at the age of 15 (the year is not certain), and died in Gooding, Idaho on 31 October 1955. Frank tells the story about how Hilario decided to leave his home and come to the United States after an argument with his father. He never returned to the Basque country, but only because he did not have the money to do so. Frank’s mother, Juanita Urriolabeitia, was born in a baserri called “Eizar,” also known as “Eizaguirre” in Markina on 4 January 1900. She immigrated to the United States in 1920 with her brother, José, to work for the owners of a mine in Cornucopia, Oregon. Cornucopia lies between Baker and Halfway, Oregon. She later went to work at a Basque boarding house, an ostatu, in Twin Falls, Idaho, where she met Hilario. They had not known each other in Markina. They married in Twin Falls on 3 December 1921.
4:00-6:00 After they married, Hilario and Juanita moved to a sheep camp in the desert west of Rogerson, Idaho, where he herded sheep. Frank was born on 15 August 1922. Father Arregui came to visit soon after Frank was born to inform Juanita that since she and Hilario were third cousins, their marriage was not legal in the eyes of the Catholic Church. The couple convinced the priest to allow them to marry, and were married a second time.
6:00-9:45 In 1922, Juanita went to Twin Falls to run a boarding house she had purchased from her brother. The boarding house was called the Eureka Hotel, and like many Basque boarding house owners at the time, she was a bootlegger. When the police came to check her house for illegal alcohol, Juanita hid it in a hole underneath the rug on which she sat rocking her baby. In 1923, she asked her husband to leave the sheep business and join her at the boarding house. He agreed. On 4 March 1924, Frank’s younger sister, Anita, was born in Twin Falls. Anita died of ptomaine, or food poisoning, on 28 March 1928. He tells the story. Backing up, Frank says that his mother died on 1 September 1990.
9:45-13:45 He explains that when his parents were working together at the sheep camp, his mother cooked and made the long treks to bring fresh water to camp while his father herded the sheep. Upon her arrival in Cornucopia, Frank’s mother cried every night and could not eat. She drank milk to sustain herself at first, then asked José to move to Twin Falls to live and work with their other brother at his boarding house. When she was married and living in the desert, she was very afraid of cowboys and wild animals. Juanita had heard stories of wild animal attacks and violence between cowboys and sheepherders, and was deathly afraid of being left alone at the sheep camp. Frank gives a few examples. He tells the story of handball player from Markina who was living at Lorenzo Zelaya’s boarding house in Twin Falls. The man was dragged by cowboys, but survived.
13:45-16:45 Frank’s brother, Joe, was born on 12 January 1926 in Castleford, Idaho. His other sister, Gloria, was born on 30 November 1931 in Rupert, Idaho. While they were growing up, Frank and his siblings spoke only Basque at home. His parents sold the boarding house and reentered the sheep business somewhere around 1923-1926. Frank’s mother had saved some money, which she used to help pay for the band of sheep.
16:45-18:30 Frank started the first grade in 1927 at the Bickel School in Twin Falls. He did not speak English when he started school. His family lived right across the street from the school, and Frank used to go home twice a week during morning recess to eat the fresh bread his mother baked. Before long, several other children started to go with him, prompting the teacher to pin a note to Frank’s shirt. His mother did not speak English, but the note simply asked her to discourage her son from leaving school.
18:30-21:15 In the spring of the following year, his father pulled Frank out of school and moved the family to Gar Bridge, Nevada, where he ran the sheep. His father was the oldest boy in the family and had only gone to school for four days. In 1928, the family moved to Rupert, Idaho, to be closer to his father’s newly purchased band of sheep. His father had lambing sheds in Rupert and let the sheep graze near Leadore, Idaho. Frank restarted the first grade in Rupert. He started learning English in school. His father could speak enough English to do his business, but spoke only Basque at home. It took Frank a year or two to grow accustomed to the English language.
21:15-26:15 Frank’s father lost his sheep during the Great Depression. The bank repossessed them. Frank tells the story. The outfit was taken over by another Basque and is still running today. The family moved back to Twin Falls, where his father went to work as a sheepherder for the Robinson outfit from Buhl. Frank went to school at St. Edward’s Catholic School. He backs up to explain how his father changed his name to Frank Berria, informally, to make it easier for non-Basques to pronounce his name. The family has been Berria ever since.
26:15-30:00 In 1932, the family moved to Castleford, Idaho. His father sharecropped 50/50 on the farm of Pedro Inchaustegui’s widow, Teresa, and Frank enrolled at a one-room country school. They rode horses to school, which had a shelter and hay for the horses. Frank went through the fourth and fifth grade in the same year, which made up for his having to repeat the first grade. The Goitiandia family [see Gloria Goitiandia Gamboa’s interview summary] had passed through that school just before Frank got there. (Aside: Gloria Goitiandia Gamboa’s father was a palankari).
30:00-32:00 In 1935, the Berrias moved to Clearlakes, Idaho, where his father sharecropped 50/50 on a rented farm and his mother cooked for the Cavanaugh sheep outfit. Mr. Bordewick, the publisher of the “Times-News” newspaper in Twin Falls, owned the farm. Frank tells a story about going to school in the winter with his brother.
Tape 1, side 2
0-2:00 From 1935-37, Frank herded a farm flock of sheep for the Madalenas, an Italian family. He mentions some of the unique challenges associated with herding a farm flock. He and his brother learned to swim in the Snake River, doing their best to avoid the undertow.
2:00-4:45 In 1937, the family moved to Gooding, Idaho, where his father sharecropped again. He decided to bring Frank Lecona, his cousin, in as an equal partner in the farm. Frank graduated from Gooding High School in the spring of 1940. Looking back on his high school years, Frank calls them a “mixed bag.” Every day when he and his brother came home from school, his father would have work ready for them to do. Because of his schedule, the only sports Frank could play were boxing and tennis. He boxed for four years and played tennis in the mornings before school.
4:45-9:00 Frank describes the Basque communities in the towns in which he has lived. Twin Falls had a large Basque community. There were three major boarding houses: Lorenzo Zelaya, Francisco Zabala (nick-named “Legartza” – see minute 25), and Santa Bilbao owned them. He gives a schedule of when bands of sheep were shipped from July to the 15th of August. As the herders and camp-tenders had their bands shipped, they would come to town. For the five-month span before lambing started again in the spring, boarding houses in Twin Falls would have 15-20 men. Many herders slept two to a bed because there were not enough rooms. During those five months, the herders spent nearly all of their wages from the previous year. If they went into debt at the boarding houses, the sheep company would have to pay their debt before they were allowed to go back to the lambing sheds. Sheep owners would compete to hire each other’s best herders every winter. In later years, the sheep owners realized that in order to keep their best herders, they could not afford to let them stay in town for so long. Winter vacations were cut to one month. Frank said that the boarding houses had “a gold mine” – men willing to spend all their money during their vacation.
9:00-21:30 In Rupert, a lady named Chatazia ran the major boarding house. In the winter, she usually had between 10 and 15 men living at her house. In Shoshone, there were six boarding houses: Kantakuek (Pagoaga family), Berriochoa, Beitia, one run by a man named Txomin, a place they called “Frank’s”, and one more. In Hailey, there were two year-round houses: David Inchausti’s house, and Julio and Mari Astorica’s “Realto.” In the summertime in Hailey other boarding house owners would open temporary houses: Lorenzo Zelaya from Twin Falls, and a man from Burley, Idaho. Frank remembers playing at Zelaya’s summer boarding house and seeing a large, two-story still [distillery] when the rest of the building burned to the ground. In Ketchum, Gloria Batiz and her husband “Prux” owned the only boarding house. In Jerome, there were two boarding houses: Mercedes Gojenola’s and another couple who had worked at Lorenzo Zelaya’s house. In Castleford, “Txistu” and “Txistuzia” ran a boarding house. In Pocatello, a man nicknamed “Rubio” owned a boarding house. Frank’s mother helped at Lorenzo Zelaya’s place and helped care for him until he died. He remembers the boarding houses as gathering places whenever Basques got together. Frank’s family would visit them whenever they were in town. Good food, games of muz, “muz widows” chatting groups for women whose husbands were playing cards, and other attractions providing entertainment. In the winter, boarding house owners would honor each other by attending each other’s dances. Boarding houses provided a place for immigrants to socialize and share news from the Basque country. Common language, types of work, and cultural heritage made a boarding house the “nucleus of the Basque society. If it hadn’t been for the boarding houses, [Frank doesn’t] think we’d have a Basque community like we do today.” He describes the atmosphere in a boarding house. Herders would gather on the porches in front to tell stories and watch passersby. Frank remembers how the front ledge of the Twin Falls Bank and Trust, a bank in the middle of town, was a popular place for people to sit and chat. He underscores the centrality of the boarding house to the survival of Basque culture in the United States.
21:30-26:15 Frank tells a story about a Basque picnic in Ketchum in 1940 or 1941. Lamb, wine, sourdough bread, and dancing were staples. Ketchum was similar to Hailey in that Basque boarding house owners would come from other towns to open Basque clubs in the summer for herders and other people who happened to pass through. A couple nicknamed “Pío” and “Pía” from Rupert owned one such club. There were also many boarding houses in Boise.
26:15-32:00 After graduating from Gooding High School, Frank’s parents sent him to Twin Falls Business University. Money was tight and Frank was dissatisfied with the quality of the education he was receiving, so he decided to withdraw after four months. At the time, he was working at a bowling alley. He set up pins for 3 cents a line. Frank was interviewed by the Utah Construction Company, which was headquartered in San Jacinto, Nevada. San Jacinto is on the Little Salmon River between Jackpot and Contact, Nevada. He describes the Utah Construction Company. The company owned many cattle and sheep ranches. Frank kept the books for 14 different ranches, and another man was the bookkeeper for another 14. It was claimed that the UC could run cattle from Utah to California without leaving land that it owned or had a right to be on by a previous arrangement. Frank talks about the 45 cowboys working for the company.
Tape 2, side 1
0-3:30 Backing up, Frank relates the stories of his father and grandfather’s disagreement, and his mother’s conversation with the priest who told her she was not actually married. He tells the stories in Basque to give them more meaning.
3:30-15:15 Frank describes his job at the Utah Construction Company. He was the bookkeeper for 14 ranches and was in charge of the commissary where they bought their goods. It was Frank’s job to keep tabs on how much each ranch was spending for the purpose of cost accounting. The cost for meals for each worker was not to exceed 43 cents per meal. The 43 cents covered all the basic food needs. Two ranches, the Rancho Grande and Vineyard Ranch consistently ran over budget. Archie Bowman, a senior accountant, was Frank’s supervisor. Frank describes what it was like to live in a bunkhouse with the cowboys and other workers. (He mentions two employees, Ghometz and Gómez. The two were brothers but were referred to by different surnames because they looked different. The former had light skin, the latter dark). Beavers were a constant problem because they dammed the ditches that irrigated the wild hay fields. Runaway horses were also a problem, forcing the ranch foreman to chase after them on horseback. Frank met a Basque man who worked at the Middle Fork Ranch, but denied that he was Basque. He tells the story of how he discovered that the man was actually Basque. The ranch foreman at the Vineyard Ranch was John Fordeen (sp.). Frank suspected that he was also Basque.
15:15-16:15 On the subject of Basques denying their heritage, Frank says that it was not because Basques and cowboys did not get along at that time. Rather, it was because some Basques did not want to admit to their heritage in front of non-Basques. Frank surmises that some Basques wanted to fit in with their non-Basque coworkers and did not want to have to speak Basque in front of others. They did not want to stand out as different. Frank worked for the UC from 1940 to August of 1941.
16:15-20:30 Frank explains why he left the Utah Construction Company. It was his custom to visit his parents in Gooding occasionally on Sundays. After a meal and a conversation with his father, his father asked to see Frank’s 1931 Ford Cabriolet. He describes the car. Frank’s father questioned Frank about his savings, which he thought were not as high as they should have been. His father asked Frank to come back the next week. The following Sunday passed in much the same way, but after some small talk Frank’s father told him that he had found Frank a job as a sheepherder. Frank resisted initially.
20:30-26:00 In October 1941, Frank went to work as a sheepherder for Bill Smith, who eventually bought the Wood Creek Sheep Company. Smith’s foreman was Ted Lecona. Frank was not happy to leave his job at the UC, but held his tongue out of respect for his father.
*Note: the interview on 12 December breaks here. It resumes two days later.
Frank starts with a few memories of being called a “black Basco” as a child. He often wound up in fights as a result, but his mother told him that there was no reason to fight over name-calling. Catholics were also harassed and called “cat-lickers.” Frank experienced more discrimination in larger cities like Twin Falls. He did not experience any at all in Rupert. Frank says that in his experience smaller towns have more familiar, accepting communities. In larger towns, similar to the experiences of Irish immigrants in the past and Mexicans today, larger communities simply do not want newcomers.
26:00-32:00 Frank talks about his experience as a sheepherder. The work was new to him. He did not have anyone to cook for him, so Frank felt quite alone in the desert east of Wendell, Idaho. The Smith operation was based in Shoshone but the lambing sheds were in Wendell. Frank’s band had about 2000 head. He herded from 1941 to 1944, leaving because he was drafted during the Second World War. He describes his typical days as a sheepherder. Herders were numerous and had to be very careful not to mix their bands if they ran into each other. His workday ran from sunrise to sunset. Methods of herding changed from season to season. The band slept closer to the camp wagon in the spring, but moved farther away, sometimes miles, in the summer. The best time to control and direct the sheep is when they are moving up off the bed ground first thing in the morning. Otherwise, they disperse and are harder to control.
Tape 2, side 2
0-8:00 Frank explains how to set a direction for the sheep with help from sheep dogs. The dogs help corral the sheep, keep them on track, and monitor them while the herder goes back to camp to have lunch. After lunch, the herder goes back out to his sheep to direct them to a place where they will bed down for the evening. Sheep often gravitate toward a hill or small rise to sleep. Around sunset, the herder goes back to camp. If the process is done correctly, the herder will return to his sheep the following morning and find them near where he intended them to bed down. It took Frank a long time to learn the process. He explains why. Frank learned by trial and error until he went to work for Felix Zelaya, who had an old man named Jack to teach young herders how to herd sheep. Frank gives an example of something he learned from Jack. Frank gives a timeline of his work with Smith and Zelaya, and describes each of their operations as well as the areas on which they grazed their sheep.
8:00-13:00 Frank used a hat to signal to his dogs, who were trained to go long distances and function on visual commands. He talks about the use of dogs to herd sheep. According to Frank, a good dog is worth more than the sheepherder. A bad dog, however, makes a herder’s job that much more difficult. When working with two dogs, the less experienced dog will learn from the more experienced one. Backing up, he says that the lessons he learned from Jack were informal. If a herder paid attention to Jack’s stories he would learn a great deal.
13:00-18:45 Frank explains the practice of timing the lambing season by mixing the bucks and ewes at a certain point in the fall. He provides a detailed timeline for late fall and winter. During the lambing season, it was not uncommon for 180 ewes to deliver in a single night. Frank describes a “drop sled” to carry the delivering ewe to a special corral. It was important to make sure the ewe recognized her lamb, because the ewe would not allow an unfamiliar lamb to nurse. He explains some of the techniques herders would use to make a ewe adopt a lamb.
18:45-30:00 After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, the Selective Service Administration initiated the draft. Sheepherders were deferred to 4-C classification. In the spring of 1944, Frank quit working for Bill Smith and went to work for Felix Zelaya. After leaving the Smith operation, Frank was immediately reclassified to 4-A. Zelaya offered to get him deferred again, but Frank chose to enlist in the US Navy. He went to boot camp in Farragut, Idaho. After a shortened boot camp, he boarded a 21-car train to Port Hueneme, California. The first seven cars went to the Navy, the next seven to Amphibious Navy, and the third seven to the Marines. Frank was in the second group, meaning that he would have to take a beach. He describes the process of storming a beach, a process that was perfected during the war. Frank boarded a “victory ship” which had been built by women. Victory ships had naval troops, but were commanded by the Army and run by the merchant marine. Some victory ships were produced so quickly that they fell apart. They arrived in Pearl Harbor and left again in a convoy. His ship blew a boiler and was left behind to be picked up by a second convoy. The first convoy had been headed for the Philippines, but the second was going to Okinawa, Japan. Frank was the chaplain’s assistant during the voyage to Japan. He describes his job.
30:00-32:00 Frank’s ship hit and secured the beach at Buckner Bay in a place called Katchin Hantis. They established a seaplane base in less than thirty days. Frank remembers the typhoon that brought 180 mile per hour winds and rain raging over the bay.
Tape 3, side 1
0-7:30 Frank and other servicemen hid in an ammunition dump during the typhoon. He remembers the campaign to take Okinawa. Many ships, planes, and soldiers were lost on both sides. Frank recalls the “Suicide Cliffs,” where Japanese soldiers refusing to surrender jumped to their deaths. He recounts the number of soldiers lost by the US Marines, Army, and Navy. Kamikaze pilots posed a unique threat. After the war, Frank was held back because he was in charge of the administrative office. Some natives helped in the office.
7:30-8:30 After his discharge in June 1946, Frank went to work for an accounting office. He married Shirley Robinson in December 1946 and had two children, Cheryl and Toni. Cheryl died in an automobile accident at 18, and Toni lives in Boise. Frank and Shirley separated in 1957 and divorced the following year. After the divorce, Frank went to live at the Letamendi boarding house in Boise, Idaho.
8:30-12:00 In 1947, Frank purchased an accounting office, Faulkner Accounting Agency in Gooding, and made his brother, Joe, a full partner. They changed the name to Berria & Berria. The office dealt primarily with ranchers, farmers, and agricultural clients. After tax season, Frank and his brother decided to sell the business and go back to learn more about taxes.
12:00-14:30 In November 1948, Frank started working for the Internal Revenue Service as a Deputy Collector. He ended up spending about 10 years working on organized crime and another 10 on political corruption. After 1967, he worked as a troubleshooter. In 1951, his title changed from Deputy Collector to Revenue Officer/Revenue Agent. In 1955, he was promoted to Criminal Investigator. He was posted in Boise.
14:30-16:00 Frank met Helen Elguezabal during a muz tournament at the Boise Basque Center in January 1958. She was serving refreshments. He remembers their first date and courtship. They married in Boise in September 1958, and adopted Juani Berria in 1963.
16:00-27:00 In 1962 and 1963, Frank became involved in the Organized Crime Division of the IRS. He mentions Moe Dalitz’ involvement in organized crime. For two years, Frank worked undercover in casinos in Las Vegas. He describes his undercover work. Taxi cab drivers were major informers to casino owners, telling them who came in and out of town. In 1965, Frank decided to enter the IRS Career Program. After interviewing in New York City, Washington DC, and Cincinnati, he accepted an offer in Washington DC. Frank tells the story of interviewing in New York. He used an anecdote from his years as a sheepherder during the interview.
27:00-30:00 In August 1966, Frank and Helen moved to Virginia so that Frank could start working in Washington. In addition to other responsibilities, he trained newly hired criminal investigators. The following year he took a position as a Strike Force Representative, joining a strike force of IRS, Justice Department, and other agencies against organized crime in Buffalo, New York.
Tape 3, side 2
0-6:30 Frank continues his explanation of working on the strike force against organized crime. To illustrate the discussion he refers to “selective persecution.” The work was very dangerous, and people thought that anyone who worked against the mafia was crazy. He gives insight into the nature of organized crime. As a scare tactic, Frank was almost run over by the same black car twice. In 1968, he rose to the position of Strike Force Coordinator for all IRS representatives on all strike forces. He helped set up strike forces in New York. He describes his job. He traveled some 250,000 miles by airplane that year.
6:30-15:45 In August 1969 Frank became Chief of the Criminal Investigative Division [IRS] for Alabama. He stayed in the position until 1972, working primarily on investigations of political corruption. Frank received calls from politicians every day until he started referring the callers to a federal committee. The callers never talked to the committee. Frank gives an example of one of the investigations: Ponchatrain Causeway, New Orleans, Louisiana. In August of 1972, he became the Chief of the Criminal Investigative Division [IRS] for Cleveland, Ohio. The problem of organized crime also existed in Cleveland. In 1974, he received the Federal Employee of the Year Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement. His work had a major impact on reducing usury (“shylocking”). (Frank gives an anecdote from his work in Alabama).
15:45-18:30 Frank lays out the structure and function of a criminal investigative division.
18:30-23:15 On 2 November 1975 Frank was selected for the Senior Executive Development Program. Participants in the program studied management style and effect across the country. The next year, Frank became the Assistant District Director of North Carolina. He held the position from 4 April 1975 to 2 January 1978. He explains the responsibilities of the position. (Backing up, Frank talks a little more about his work in Alabama).
23:15-30:00 He explains how he became the Director for the State of Alaska on 3 January 1978. He worked there until December 1980. As he was preparing to leave the position, Frank was offered directorships in other states. He was granted an extension of the years he could serve and accepted position as the Director for the State of Idaho. He retired on 30 April 1982.
Tape 4, side 1
0-3:15 Frank and his wife settled west of Kuna, Idaho. Looking for more to do, he started doing odd jobs for farmers in the area. He worked for Lloyd Noe, whose wife is of the Corta family in Jordan Valley, Oregon, for a year. In 1986, he opened his own fiscal and management consultant business, traveling all over the country as a consultant. Frank’s special interest was auditing grants from the US government to Indian nations. From 1986 to 1992, he conducted only two investigations in Idaho.
3:15-12:30 On 31 September 2001 Frank and Helen Berria celebrated 43 years of marriage. His main interests today are staying healthy, watching over his family and learning to write in Basque. He loves spending time with other Basques, making trips to the Basque country, and speaking Basque. He is enrolled in a Basque language class at the Basque Museum & Cultural Center (BMCC) once a week. He is taking the class primarily so that he can write letters in Basque to friends and family in the Basque country. Frank has cousins on the Urriolabeitia side of the family. He took his first trip to Euskadi in 1989 and tried to find relatives on his father’s side. He found many relatives in Markina and saw his father’s baserri. He now keeps in touch with about ten people in the Basque country, two of which are on his father’s side. As he learns how to write Basque, he will write to his relatives more often. Frank would like to send emails to the younger relatives in the future, which could be forwarded to older relatives. He has enjoyed speaking Basque on his trips to Euskadi, and talks about the differences between Bizkaino, Gipuzkoano, and Batua.
12:30-13:45 Frank attributes some of his ability to maintain the Basque language to his years as a sheepherder. He worked with Basque immigrants and spoke Basque with them.
13:45-17:30 Frank is a member of the BMCC and the Basque Center. He was president of the Basque Center in the early 1960s and remembers some of the members of the board of directors at the time: M. Carmen Totorica and Dorothy Aldecoa. He recalls some details from his years on the board. Frank decided to join the Basque Center because he wanted to be around other Basques. He enjoyed the dances, dinners, muz tournaments, and speaking Basque.
17:30-22:30 With regard to his daughters, Toni and Juana, Frank exposed them both to as many elements of the Basque culture as possible. Toni has been active on the board of directors for the Basque Center, and is considering buying a baserri in the Basque country. While Frank is proud of his Basque heritage and feels strongly about it, he identifies himself as an American first. The United States is his country. His experience as a soldier has made him very proud of being an American. Even so, he considers himself “a Basque through and through.” For Frank, the balance has not been difficult to find. He underscores the effect that fighting during World War II had on his sense of self-identification.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
“Chatazia” – owned a boarding house in Rupert.
“Pío” and “Pía” – owned a Basque summer club in Ketchum. They were from Rupert.
“Rubio” – owned a boarding house in Pocatello.
“Txistu” and “Txistuzia” – owned a boarding house in Castleford.
“Txomin” – owned a boarding house in Shoshone.
Aldecoa, Dorothy – mentioned in connection to the Basque Center.
Arregui – Basque priest.
Astorica, Julio and Mari – owned the Realto boarding house in Hailey.
Batiz, Gloria and “Prux”– owned a boarding house in Ketchum.
Beitia – owned a boarding house in Shoshone.
Berria, Anita – sister.
Berria, Gloria – sister.
Berria, Joe – brother.
Berria, Juana – one of Frank’s daughters.
Berriochoa – owned a boarding house in Shoshone.
Bilbao, Santa – owned a boarding house in Twin Falls.
Bordewick – the publisher of the Times-News newspaper.
Bowman, Archie – senior accountant for the Utah Construction Company.
Cheryl – one of Frank’s daughters.
Dalitz, Moe – mentioned in the context of organized crime.
Elguezabal, Helen – wife.
Fordeen (sp.), John – the ranch foreman at the Old Vineyard Ranch.
Goitiandia – Frank remembers this family from his childhood.
Gojenola, Mercedes – owned a boarding house in Jerome.
Inchaustegui, Pedro and Teresa – Frank’s father sharecropped on their farm.
Inchausti, David – owned a boarding house in Hailey.
Jack – an old herder with a burro; worked for Felix Zelaya and was a font of sheepherding information.
Lecona, Frank – father’s cousin and sharecropping partner in Gooding.
Lecona, Ted – Frank’s foreman at the Wood Creek Sheep Company.
Madalena (sp.) – Frank herded a farm flock for this Italian family.
Malaxetxebarria, Hilario – father.
Middle Fork Ranch – one of the Utah Construction Company’s ranches.
Noe, Lloyd – owned a farm near Kuna.
Old Vineyard Ranch – one of the Utah Construction Company’s ranches.
Pagoaga – owned the Kantakuek boarding house in Shoshone.
Rancho Grande – one of the Utah Construction Company’s ranches.
Robinson, Shirley – Frank’s first wife.
Selective Service Administration – managed the draft during World War II.
Smith, Bill – owned the Wood Creek Sheep Company for a period of time.
Times-News – name of a newspaper in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Toni – one of Frank’s daughters.
Totorica, Gloria – mentioned in connection to the Basque Center.
Urriolabeitia, José – mother’s brother.
Urriolabeitia, Juanita – mother.
Zabala, Francisco – owned a boarding house in Twin Falls.
Zelaya, Felix – Frank herded sheep for Mr. Zelaya.
Zelaya, Lorenzo – owned a boarding house in Twin Falls.
PLACES:
Alabama – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
Alaska – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
Basque Center, Boise, Idaho – Frank is a member. Has served on the board of directors and as president.
Bickel School, Twin Falls, Idaho – Frank’s first school.
Boise, Idaho – mentioned in several contexts.
Buffalo, New York – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
California
Castleford, Idaho – brother, Joe Berria’s, birthplace.
Cavanaugh sheep company, Clearlakes, Idaho – mother cooked here while her husband sharecropped.
Cincinnati, Ohio – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
Clearlakes, Idaho – father sharecropped here.
Cleveland, Ohio – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
Cornucopia, Oregon – mother’s first residence in the United States.
Eureka Hotel, Twin Falls, Idaho – mother ran this boarding house.
Farragut, Idaho – location of Frank’s boot camp.
Faulkner Accounting Agency, Gooding, Idaho – Frank bought this agency and renamed it Berria & Berria.
Gar Bridge (sp.), Nevada – Frank lived here with his family as a child.
Gooding High School, Gooding, Idaho – Frank graduated in 1940.
Gooding, Idaho – mentioned in several contexts.
Hailey, Idaho – location of a Basque community.
Idaho – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
Jerome, Idaho – location of a Basque community.
Jordan Valley, Oregon – Lloyd Noe’s wife was a Corta from Jordan Valley.
Katchin Hantis, Buckner Bay, Japan – Frank helped set up a seaplane base here for the US Navy.
Ketchum, Idaho – location of a Basque community.
Kuna, Idaho – Frank and Helen owned a farm here after he retired from the IRS.
Basque Museum & Cultural Center, Boise, Idaho – Frank is an active member and volunteer.
Las Vegas, Nevada – Frank did some undercover work for the IRS here.
Leadore, Idaho – father sent his sheep out to graze here. Lambing sheds in Rupert.
Markina, Bizkaia – parents’ birthplace. Father: Nieves Aldekoa Goikua. Mother: Eizar or Eizaguirre.
New York, New York – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
North Carolina – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
Okinawa, Japan – Frank was stationed here during World War II.
Pearl Harbor – location of a major US naval base. Bombed during World War II.
Philippines – Frank was almost stationed here during World War II.
Pocatello, Idaho – location of a Basque community.
Ponchatrain Causeway, New Orleans, Louisiana – mentioned as one of Frank’s cases during his career with the
IRS.
Port Hueneme, California – Frank boarded a naval ship to fight in the Pacific.
Robinson sheep company, Buhl, Idaho – father went to work here after losing his sheep during the Depression.
Rogerson, Idaho – Frank’s father herded sheep here.
Rupert, Idaho – sister, Gloria Berria, was born here. Father had lambing sheds here.
Shoshone, Idaho – location of a large Basque community.
Snake River – Frank and his brother learned to swim in this river.
St. Edward’s Catholic School, Twin Falls, Idaho – Frank went to elementary school here.
Twin Falls Bank & Trust, Twin Falls, Idaho – a popular spot to sit and chat.
Twin Falls Business University, Twin Falls, Idaho – Frank studied here briefly.
Twin Falls, Idaho – Frank’s birthplace.
Utah Construction Company (UC), San Jacinto, Nevada – former employer.
Washington, DC – mentioned as one of Frank’s posts during his career with the IRS.
Wendell, Idaho – Frank herded sheep in the desert east of Wendell.
THEMES:
“Suicide Cliffs”
Amphibious Navy
Basque boarding houses
Basque clubs and organizations
Basque dialects
Euskadi
Family
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Irish immigrants
Justice Department
Kamikaze pilots
Language
Merchant Marine
Mexican immigrants
Non-Boise Basque communities
Organized crime
US Army
US Marine Corps
US Navy
Usury
Victory ships
World War II
