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Basque Oral History Project Index Interview Tape Index
NAME: Rosa Mari Ińarra Lete
TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1
Side 1
0-5:30 Rosie was born in Bergara, Gipuzkoa, on September 16, 1939. She went to school until the age of 12, and then returned home to baserri Gorostola to help with farm chores. Rosie has 2 brothers and 2 sisters; she is the middle child. The schoolhouse, a small building next to the fronton (now a residential area), was downtown, and she began going there when she was 6. Aside from the volume of work to be done at home, her father was ill—one reason she only got 6 years of education. Rosie had to work in the fields and deliver milk and eggs around town every day. When she was a child, industry was just making inroads in Bergara’s economy, but the town really only prospered after she had left at the age of 20. On Sundays, Rosie and her friends would often go downtown for dances and movies, and Bergara celebrated its feast day on Pentecost. There are three churches in town, San Pedro, Santa Marina and a seminary; with services every half hour between them, it was easy for Rosie’s pious family to attend mass every week. She didn’t leave the baserri until after her marriage to Elias Lete on April 23, 1960.
5:30-10:00 Some of the paperwork for Rosie to come to America had been completed before the wedding, and some had to be done afterwards. The couple finally left in June 1960. Elias was a neighbor from baserri Lezarra in Bergara, and had gone to Idaho in 1952. When he returned in 1959, they began dating and were soon engaged. Prior to coming to the US, she didn’t know anything about the country; Rosie was happy to come, and has not regretted it yet. She and her husband crossed the Atlantic by ship, with Elias’ brother and his wife, who had married at the same time. They set sail from Le Havre (they had reached this French port by train), arrived in New York, then bussed to Nampa. Rosie’s first impressions of America were less than fantastic: it was summer, and very hot. But people had said that it always took time to get acquainted to a new land, and when the babies started coming, it didn’t take her long to be happy. At the time she arrived, Nampa was not even half the size it is today, and was quite run down. Rosie is happy to see the town improving,
10-12:00 In those days, there were many Basques in Nampa, and the couple initially stayed in Elias’ cousin’s Basque boarding house there. They provided food, and the bedrooms were upstairs. Rosie and Elias lived at this house for 2 weeks, then moved to Caldwell, where her husband had found a job with Simplot. They got two houses, one for each of the Lete couples, and stayed there until October, when they were transferred to Grandview. Rosie stayed there for 1.5 years, traveling to Mountain Home for the birth of her first child. Grandview was too small, however, so the Letes decided to move back to Nampa in October, where Elias found a job in a slaughterhouse; he stayed there 11 years.
12-17:30 Rosie learned English mainly by watching TV and reading the newspapers. There were times when it was difficult to operate in English, such as when she went to prenatal care appointments, but a nice woman of Naparoa descent. It is Rosie’s experience that you can always find someone to help you no matter where you go. Her children were born in 1961, 1963, 1964 and 1970, all but the first in Nampa. Rosie sought a job in 1976, after her youngest child started school, working for the State until 1989. She started out in the cleaning department, but was later promoted to the position of office supervisor. Afterwards, when Elias quit his job for health reasons, the couple’s business has been purchasing, repairing and renting residential properties.
17:30-20:00 Rosie and Elias always spoke Euskera with their kids, who are fluent as a result, and her oldest daughter even married a Basque. Some of her grandchildren speak more Basque than others, but they all understand the language pretty well. Rosie’s oldest son didn’t speak a word of English when he started school at age 6, but learned quickly after a year of academic struggle. The Lete girls danced with the Oinkaris, but the boys have shown little interest. The family used to go to the Basque Center more frequently than they do now, since they like to entertain their grandchildren in a variety of places. While Rosie has been invited to join Aiztan Artean (a Boise women’s group) several times, it is too far away to be practical
20-25:00 Rosie generally goes to church every Sunday, but sometimes on Saturdays. She admits that it was initially a challenge to understand the Bizkaian dialect of most Boise Basques, but after she got used to it, there was no problem. She was at first quite surprised by the number of Basques in Idaho, but acknowledges that this makes her happy. She and Elias have made many new Basque friends because most of them immigrated in much the same way, and some of her best friends now are those Basque men and women she met during her first few days in America. It was a different experience for Rosie to separate her Basque identity from her American work persona, but she adapted well, and became a US citizen in 1971. This decision was provoked by a family trip to Euskadi in 1971, when her passport was different (even her children asked her to change it!). There were many Basques naturalizing at that time, and she recalls the rigorous questioning. A lady who had helped her advise her to say: “my children were born here, and I want to be a citizen”, which is exactly what she did. Rosie is an active voter. She has been back to Bergara 4 times, in 1971, 1980, 1985 and 1992. The first time, the whole family went, then just Rosie and her youngest child, then with Elias to visit her daughter who was studying in Donosti.
25-30:00 Rosie keeps in close contact with her family in Euskadi, as does Elias; mostly telephoning now that the technology exists. Her brother came to visit in 1988 with his wife and children, and one of those nephews came last year (and vows to return). Rosie’s family always has a good time in America, but quip that when she returns to Bergara, she speaks with a Bizkaian accent! In her leisure time, Rosie has made an art form out of “grandmothering” her 5 five grandchildren, ages 12, 10, 4, 4 and 7 months.
Side 2
0-7:00 Rosie explains that when she returns to Bergara, she finds things are different to what she was accustomed to—not necessarily good or bad—and that she feels more at home In Idaho now after being acclimated to American life very early. On trips to the Basque country, she has a good time, but is always ready to go home. Rosie’s oldest son has obtained a 4-year college degree, and her younger daughter has a Masters and studied in France. Rosie explains that there are big differences in Euskadi from when she lived there, but since she is so distant, they are difficult to formulate into words. She mentions being impressed by the close care children receive in Euskadi, and is proud of the fact that she as well has never left her kids in anyone else’s care. Americans could learn from this, as well as from the Basque country’s lower divorce rate. For Rosie, family comes first, one reason why she has avoided joining organizations that would separate her from her family. She discusses her opinions on marriage and divorce.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Aiztan Artean: Boise Basque
women’s group
PLACES:
Atlantic Ocean
THEMES:
Citizenship |
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