Scope and Contents Jess Agraz (b. 1940) outlines his family genealogy and recalls growing up in Laredo, Texas. The family moved to Salt Lake City, where his father was attached to the Mexican consulate. He talks about going to school in Salt Lake and playing basketball before returning to Laredo to finish high school. He returned to Utah to attend the University of Utah and remained in Utah. He discusses his experiences at various places his father was assigned, contact with the members of the LDS Church,...

Scope and Contents Esperanza Aguaya (b. 1932) recalls her parents and their stories about various revolutions in Mexico. She explains how her parents came here from Mexico intending to stay one year and never went back. She and her brother, Gavino, remember their childhood in Bingham, a small mining town in Utah. Topics discussed include the differences in what girls and boys were allowed to do, street games, Hispanic culture, school, neighbors and friends from various ethnic groups, living conditions in...

Scope and Contents The interview continues with Gavino's being drafted in 1943 at the age of eighteen and sent to New Zealand. He talks about combat in New Guinea and the Philippines, the behavior of conquered Japanese during occupation, and the condition of Japanese cities. Other topics covered include women working for Kennecott, postwar working conditions at the mine, unions and strikes, being evicted from company houses to make room for mine expansion, employment practices at Kennecott, Father Miersman,...

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Mrs. Alvera (b. 1925) explains why her parents left Mexico to come to the United States, and talks about the family returning to Mexico for a brief period in the early 1940s. She reminisces about her childhood, religious education, dropping out of high school, her mother's work as a healer, and working for Purity Biscuit Company. Interviewed by Leslie Kelen, 28 pages.

Scope and Contents Archuleta (b. 1930) recalls his childhood in Colorado on the farm his father managed until the Depression, and then in a barrio in Grand Junction. He describes his mother's work with the sick and the difficulty finding a white doctor who would treat Hispanics. He talks about moving to Idaho and compares the discrimination in Pocatello and Grand Junction. Other topics covered include schooling, becoming a teacher, learning white ways, and getting his first teaching job in Salt Lake City....

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Benavidez (b. 1918) talks about her childhood in Colorado and Salt Lake City, where the family lived in an ethnically diverse neighborhood near the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad Station. She tells the story of her life as the child of LDS parents who did not agree about religion. Interviewed by Sandra Fuller, 43 pages.

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Cordova (b. 1925) recalls his childhood in Salt Lake City. Topics covered include the Depression, working in the family grocery store, religious training, service in the Navy, and the return to civilian life. Interviewed by Sandra Fuller, 28 pages.

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Florez (b. 1922) recalls her childhood in Bingham and on the West side of Salt Lake City. Topics covered include family life, neighbors, growing up Catholic, civilian life during World War II, marriage, raising children, labor unions, and the ethnic makeup of the West side. Interviewed by Sandra Fuller, 80 pages.

Scope and Contents Florez (b. 1932) talks about his father's experience as an immigrant, arriving in 1917 and working as a railroad and farm laborer. He recalls his childhood in the Depression when the family lived in an abandoned railroad car. Other topics covered include his mother as a healer, Hispanic culture, education, social and political activism, the Spanish-Speaking Organization for Community Integrity and Opportunity (SOCIO), Jim Baldwin, the National Urban Coalition, affirmative action, Senator...

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Garcia (b. 1919) repeats stories told in his family about the Mexican revolution and describes his work as a laborer in various business enterprises. Other topics covered include the Catholic Church, learning to cook in the army, growing celery, discrimination, the Paris store, and friends and family members. Interviewed by Leslie Kelen, 55 pages.