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Basque Oral History Project Index Interview Tape Index
NAME: Jesus Sillonis
TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1
Side 1
0-5:30 Jesus’ parents were Eustakio Sillonis and Benita Barrenkoa, both from Natxitua. Both husband and wife were farmers on the baserri, although Eustakio and his father had been to the US briefly as sheepherders and moonshiners in Nevada. Jesus recalls his father telling him where many barrels of moonshine remain buried to this day—put there in order to avoid being caught by the government. His grandfather went to Nevada twice, and is responsible for the construction of the State’s first rock buildings. Eustakio and Benita worked their baserri, called Erdiko, until their deaths. They raised wheat, corn, 3 cows, and vegetables. They sold milk and a few other foods in nearby Ea; Benita picked the goods, and others took turns bringing them to market. Jesus’ grandmother lived and worked on the farm as well. As a boy, he can remember milking the cows, cutting grass to feed them, working the fields, and so on. His siblings are: Consuelo, Garbine, José Antonio, Francisco Javier, Maria Elisa, and Eugenio; Jesus is the second to last. He was born on January 2, 1945.
5:30-10:00 Everybody in Euskadi at the time was born, and recalls cigarettes, sugar and oil being rationed. The government would also take 5-7 bags out of every 30 for food rationing, after ministers came to each house with instructions for taking it to town. Jesus’ family never tried to hide food, and it was actually he who had to take the bags of beans and wheat downtown. Nobody went hungry, but there was not much variety in the food. There were many beggars wandering the towns, and Basques did their best to help each other. Some extremely poor people from Ea snuck in at night and dug up all the beans to feed their families.
10-16:00 Jesus started school when he was 6 or 7, and remembers walking the 1 km to the 1-room, all grade school every day. Classes were in Spanish—taught by imported teachers—and student cut their own sticks for beatings if they were caught talking in. Jesus’ father was always sick with stomach pains—he couldn’t keep food down—and thus his wife and kids had to compensate by doing a lot of the work. Teachers had a lot of power back then: he remembers one nice one (Garbine Larrinaga, Julian Achabal’s cousin) and a few mean ones. Since his father spoke a little Spanish, Jesus had little problem adjusting to the language in class.
16-20:00 For fun, Jesus can remember playing sports and games with his friends, then walking and bicycling (a present at age 16, and the biggest one he ever got) to other towns for dances. When he began working at age 14, Jesus gave most of his wages to his mother. He worked as a laborer for a construction company in Ea, setting cement and putting up roofs. He tried working on a ship, but was so sick, he did not continue. The ship was bound for Brazil, and Jesus describes his itinerary. After returning from Barcelona, he was drafted into the Navy (more ships!), where he had a miserable time. Jesus quips that he didn’t get paid enough to buy the matches for his cigarettes. Most of his friends were Basque, and even though they weren’t allowed to speak Euskera while on duty, they did it when they went to town. Every sergeant was a “dictator, just like Franco.”
24-30:00 When Jesus had finished his service, he returned home to Natxitua, and decided to join his 3 brothers in America. His younger brother had avoided conscription, and all three were making better money in the States than in the Basque country. His father had talked about the West, saying to come, make money, and retire in Natxitua—all the boys ended up staying. José Antonio and Francisco Javier worked in Colorado, but worked with sheep all over. Jesus’ father had made quite a bit of money in the US, and had used it to build apartments, which were bombed during World War II (ironically, it was his brother-in-law who ordered the blasting; his sister didn’t talk to her husband for many years after that). He was also jailed for 5 months.
Side 2
0-2:30 Eustakio was imprisoned near Burgos (Santa Maria jail), and his wife didn’t know whether he was dead or alive. Although he never talked about the experience much, Jesus knows that he was part of a chain gang building bridges. They only ate a few lentils, and most of it was rock—this is where his stomach was permanently messed up.
2:30-9:00 Jesus started in Bilbao, then went to Madrid, New York, Salt Lake City, and Twin Falls, arriving in March 1967. He was picked up by his boss, Glenn Patterson, who spoke no Spanish or Basque (he never learned a word of Basque, but told his Basque workers to learn English). There were 7 or 8 Basques herding the sheep, and so Jesus had little opportunity to expand upon his 2-word vocabulary (“beer” and “whiskey”). Since he had had a sticker for his Atlantic crossing, Jesus had found no trouble. Looking at the barren, cold landscape, from the car, Jesus didn’t know what to think, and was especially dismayed by the desolate sheep camp. His herding route went between Gooding and Wendell, which he discusses. Despite his separation from his family, Jesus felt better working with other Bizkaians.
9-15:00 Jesus worked one contract (3 years), spending time as both a herder and a camp tender. He got his green card immediately afterward, and learned most of his English dating women in Gooding. Shepherding was boring and miserable, with only Espe Alegria ’s Sunday radio program to entertain them in the desolate wilderness; they went to the top of a mountain each time to listen. Jesus recalls dealing with bears and coyotes (who kill for the blood, and favor the best lambs).
15-20:00 At the time he was a sheepherder, Gooding had a sizeable Basque community, and even though there was no organization, the dances were a lot of fun. There were no surviving boarding houses in town, but Jesus and his friends traveled around to other places. Once he was through with the contract, he joined José Antonio in Reno for construction work, laying pipes and foundations, until around 1989. Most of the Basques there were from France, but he was not good friend with many of them. Jesus’ entire crew was Basque, but the boss didn’t like the men speaking it. He mentions that Luis Basterrechea was working in Reno at the time as well.
20-23:30 In the late 80s, Jesus had several heart attacks and an open heart surgery, and was forced into retirement, so he moved back to Gooding, and his brother came a year or two later. Jesus has one daughter, Maria Jesus, with first wife Linda Bird. He was married once more for a month after his divorce from Linda, then again to Margie Erregible, a French Basque with whom he spoke mainly English. Jesus and Margie have been divorced for 13 years. He has been with Sheryl Simmons, a non-Basque who has been thoroughly converted to the customs and activities, for 11 years.
23:30-30:00 Jesus has been back to the Basque country 4 times since his immigration, the first being in 1977. He went on the Boise Basque Center charter flight, and enjoyed visiting his family and seeing fiestas. Jesus still felt very comfortable in Natxitua, but could not connect with the younger generations. He noticed many changes brought about by Franco’s death: harassment by Guardia Civil (he describes an altercation where he passed off his union ID as a driver’s license), insecurity, and so on. Nowadays, he notes, lifestyles in the Basque country have improved dramatically. He discusses his other trips: he and Margie’s honeymoon, his mother’s 80th birthday, and once again 15 years ago. Traffic has gotten much heavier in Natxitua. Jesus phones home several times a month. Maria has never been to the Basque country, and never had much chance to learn about the culture, but she does drive up from Salt Lake City every year for the Gooding picnic.
Tape 2
Side 1
0-6:00 Jesus talks about Gooding picnics attendees, who come from as far away as Florida to help out. Nowadays, he enjoys helping with lamb auctions, traveling to Basque picnics and festivals in other towns, and so on. It is “too late” for Jesus to retire in the Basque country, since he would lose his income after retiring on disability. He is not a citizen. Jesus plans to make several more trips to the Basque country, and enjoys taking his nephews from the Basque country hunting with him here in Idaho. He keeps his fishing poles in the truck at all times as well, and Sheryl is taking fly-fishing lessons as well. Jesus sees himself as a Basque through and through
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Alegria, Espe: ran
Boise Basque radio show
PLACES:
Barcelona, Spain
THEMES:
Conscription |
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