Dave was born in Boise on 29 May 1947, to Julian Lachiondo of Ibarrangelua, Bizkaia and Lydia Gandiaga of Mountain Home. He describes his father’s immigration to the United States, his struggles in establishing a successful ranch, his marriage, and his commitment to helping out the Idaho Basque community. David was was named for his uncle and his paternal grandmother, and paints an enthusiastic portrait of Basque and Catholic life near the Basque block of Boise: playing the accordion, serving mass several times a week, performing in various festivals, growing up with extended family and so on.
Dave’s conception of Basque and American life as parallel universes continued throughout his school years, as the little boy who loved amuma’s house so much he ran away from school daily earned a PhD and joined the administration of his old school district. He shares several poignant anecdotes regarding his father’s dedication to education. After a few years in California, Dave returned to Idaho to wed Patricia Smedley and to raise 2 daughters, Diana and Alicia.
Today, Dave continues to play the accordion, and has joined the Biotzetik choir with his wife. Even though Patricia is not Basque, she enjoys attending the various cultural events that Boise hosts. The family has visited Euskadi a few times, and Diana and Alicia have taken great interest in their heritage by studying the language. One day, Dave himself hopes to spend a year in the Basque country in order to master the language of his parents.
TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1
Side 1
0-4:30 Dave discusses his parents: Lydia Gandiaga was born in Mountain Home on January 29, 1917, and Julian Lachiondo was born July 27, 1915, in Ibarrangelua, Bizkaia. Julian had come to Wyoming to be a sheepherder in 1931. He worked for the Gerard Sheep outfit until about 1937. He had been a cabin boy in a merchant ship before coming, but found out his father was in the US while stationed in Milan. Julian’s mother had passed away when he was 6, and he had been living with his grandmother until finding outside employment at the age of 14. Julian had never seen his father until he was 16, because this man had only come back to Ibarrangelua from the US once (time enough to conceive Julian); the other 2 Lachiondo sons were already in the US. Julian’s father got him a job working for Julian’s maternal grandfather in Mountain Home.
4:30-11:00 Julie talks about her mother: Lydia was born in Mountain Home, but spent her summers in Indian Cove where her father’s sheep outfit was based. She met Julian, who was in her father’s employ, in Indian Cove, and the couple got married after he had returned from the war. Lydia attended a business college in Salt Lake City after graduating from high school, where she was trained as a secretary. She eventually worked in the insurance and education departments of the Idaho State Government—her job when she met Julian at the corrals. In 1940, Julian got notice that he was eligible for the draft, and did do in order to facilitate becoming a citizen and avoid being drafted into the Spanish army. He did this with friend Benito Zubizareta, and the two were drafted into the Sunset Division. Julian got his citizenship papers while on the line in Papua, New Guinea. Since Julian’s brother had been involved on the wrong side of Spanish Civil War (ultimately being exiled to France, where he lived out the rest of his life), Julian did not want to risk going back to Spain. In 1940, his other brother died in Wyoming, so there wasn’t much family left for Julian back in Spain, anyway. Julian and Lydia were married in October of 1945.
12-18:30 Juliana “Julie” was born on May 9, 1949, and is named for her grandmother and father. David was born on May 29, 1947, and is named for his uncle. His middle name Kenneth probably comes from paternal grandmother Kanuta. Dave explains that he was born in Boise because his father had used the GI Bill to learn the butchering trade from Boulevard Market owner Joe Aldape. While Julian was in the war, Lydia put a down payment on a house, and her father had sold the sheep business, so the whole family was in Boise. When Julian returned and married, he began working for Davis Meat Packing, then Custom Meat Packing, but bought the company later and renamed it Gem Meat Packing Company, which still exists, and employed many Basques (Benito Zubizareta, Sabino Goitiandia, and so on). His 2 co-owners were non-Basques, but they appreciated the hardworking Basque employees. Julian developed the recipe for the chorizos for which Gem Meat Packing Company is now famous in the Treasure Valley and as far away ad California (when Dave was in college in California, before the days of vacuum packing, he recalls making chorizo deliveries for his father). Julian was never an avid chef, but he did well with the meat.
18:30-23:30 Dave says that part of the reason he and his sister had such a great childhood was because they shared a house (divided into apartments) with their grandmother and her 2 bachelor brothers. They rented an upstairs apartment to many different Basques, including Rash Iglesias at one point. Lydia was working as a bank secretary at this time. The family never separated much. Julie says that she and David came home (across the street from St. John’s Cathedral and St. Joe’s Elementary) from school every day for great Basque lunches prepared by amuma! The two uncles only spoke Basque, and their grandmother spoke only broken English, so the Basque influence was very strong all the way through high school. Several Basque kids got to go home for lunch (Julie names a few) while everyone else had to eat sack lunches at school. Julie once thought that a sack lunch would be fun to try, but soon abandoned the idea when she missed the enormous Basque lunches with her extended family too much. Dave loved home so much that he played hooky many times a day to come home, and his grandmother had to drag him back to class. This is a bit ironic, since now that he works for the Boise School District, family says that they can’t get Dave out of school!
23:30-30:00 David didn’t speak much English at all when he started 1st grade, since everyone the family associated with was Basque. Julie had the benefit of a television by the time she started school, and so did not have the same problem. The siblings can remember going down to the Basque Center as soon as they were able, to take jota classes from Jay Hormaechea (Jay Aldrich at that point). Dave began accordion lessons in the 3rd grade, and plays to this day. Julian Lachiondo played the mouth harp, and so music was important to the family. In fact, it was actually Julian who began the weekly Basque radio program that Espe Alegria eventually took over. He did this from about 1950 to 1956, when Cecil Jayo took over, then Espe. Julian, then, had many Basque and Spanish LPs, which have all been donated the Boise Basque Museum and Cultural Center. The radio program featured music, local Basque news, and personal announcements. Dave believes that to this day, his mother and father have been the only husband and wife to ever serve as presidents of the Basque Center, in different years. The kids’ grandmother was also the president of the Basque Girls’ Club, which later became the Sociedad Independiente mutual insurance group. This group had Christmas parties, put on dances, made murcillas, and crafted items for the annual Christmas bazaar.
Side 2
0-7:00 Dave explains that his father was very involved in the very first Music Week in May 1947—her mother could not participate then or again in 1949 because she was 9 months pregnant. Both parents were charter members of the Basque Center, and Julian served as president in 1957, while Lydia did so around 1962. Julian was also heavily involved with the Catholic Church and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (an American Legion competitor). The Boise Basque community was pretty much the Lachiondo family’s whole life. The Basque Center housed parties and dances, and many boarding houses were still in use. Dave says that when Hillary Clinton says that it takes a village to raise a child, she should have seen the extent to which the Boise Basques were involved with each other’s families: either Basques would discipline friends’ children or tell their parents about digressions. Dave remembers that Gus Urresti was a police officer at the time, and told his parents when he caught Dave and some friends speeding. Rather than giving members of the community a free ride, Basques used their positions of influence to make sure their kids and neighbors behaved well! Dave remembers being scared of some Basque moms (especially Jay Hormaechea). Julie explains that Jay had to be very strict in order to maintain order in her huge dance classes; if she yelled at you, you deserved it, but she preferred to give complements. Jay kept track of all her students through the years.
7-12:30 Julie’s mother worked full time, but also was PTA president, a member of the Basque Girls’ Club and Altar Society, and an avid churchgoer. This evidently ran in the blood, since Julie’s grandmother went to mass every morning, and volunteered to clean the Good Shepherd Church (the Bishop’s chapel and a Basque construction) even in her old age. Julie remembers helping out. Her mother also helped her mother take care of the St. Vincent de Paul charitable group. Dave describes a photo of Music Week. The Lachiondo’s neighborhood in Boise (near the Basque block) was culturally very rich for such a small geographic are: Dave senses that this was due to the church’s location. The siblings mention some of the people who lived there and helped each other out, Julie recalls how little old Basque ladies would allow themselves the small luxury of having Jay fix their hair. Julie’s best friend from grade school, Connie Amorrebieta, moved to Boise with a family who spoke no English, but everyone helped each other out. Dave extols the vibrant community in which people got together at each other’s houses to play Basque card games. He would not have traded his childhood for anything. The Lachiondos lived in the same Boise house until 1972.
12:30-18:00 Dave graduated from Bishop Kelly in 1965, and Julie in 1967. Both siblings participated in the Oinkari Basque dancers as they got older, going to the World’s Fairs in Seattle in 1962 and New York in 1964. Dave and Julian Achabal list a few of the original members of the group. Dave participated for 3 years, and Julie for 7. Julie explains that while her brother learned to play the accordion, she sang. From the time she was a baby, she had been sung to and had learned how to sing. As a child, she and friends Miren and Begoña Rementeria (now Artiach and Zabala) sang duets or trios, performing in Music Week and switching up versions to satisfy everyone’s tastes. Julie still sings with the Biotzetik Basque Choir today. Dave and his sister discuss their current venues for performing. These types of cultural activities have continued into Dave and Julie’s adulthood, and count among their chief joys in life.
18-26:00 Both of Dave’s daughters have danced with the Oinkaris, and eldest daughter Diana studied outside of Gernika to become fluent in Basque, and now plans to teach the language (Dave himself is not a fluent Basque speaker, so this impresses him very much). Dave lists more Basque activities: Sheepherders Balls, Basque picnics, Santa at the Basque Center, and other things were always extremely popular. Dave analyses his life as living in parallel universes: when something was wrong at school, there was always the Basque world. Normal teenage traumas were considerably tempered in this way. The siblings participated in all the traditional American activities (they remind everyone that they are still very much American), but could also boast of having their own special world that non-Basque friends found fascinating. Julie recalls the onslaught of phone calls her family would get asking for entrance tickets to Basque events like the Sheepherders Ball (you had to be Basque or be sponsored by one to enter). Julie describes it as having the best of both worlds. Dave mentions that he loved to help his father at prizefight concession stands: the Basque men would sell the beer, and the kids (a few of whom Dave lists) would sell the soft drinks. Basques loved prizefights.
26-30:00 Julie interjects that all through school, her parents were very committed to the education of their children. Basques in general had a great appreciation for learning. Good grades and good behavior were expected and generally obtained by Basque kids—they excelled at just about everything they tried. Julie and Dave say in tandem that even though their father had never gone past the eighth grade, he wanted only the best for his kids, and was so proud when he was able to give his children a complete set of the World Book Encyclopedia, which were very expensive. Julian himself loved to read these books in his spare time. Dave says that education was never about money-earning potential and always about learning. Going to college was never even a question at the Lachiondo house—the parents were willing to pay for their children’s educations no matter what the cost.
Tape 2
Side 1
0-3:00 Dave remembers the sacrifices his parents made to send him to private Catholic degree. When he graduated, Dave gave his diploma to his father, who cried with pride at the gesture. Lydia Lachiondo was a very competent executive president, and even worked for the president of First Security Bank. She also helped young Basque Sheepherders set up bank accounts (with Stack Yribar). Dave and Julie’s father helped these same men buy the clothes and materials they needed for their jobs. It was common for men and women to come to the Lachiondo house for help filling out legal documents; some people even entrusted the family with their paychecks to send to the Basque country!
3-10:00 Julie went to Boise State University. The religious aspect of she and her brother’s life was considerable. The family went to mass every day during Lent, and every Sunday otherwise. Every morning, their grandmother would go to the 6:30 mass with her lace headscarf, returning in time to fix breakfast. Dave himself lived so close to the church that he was frequently called in the morning to serve mass when scheduled boys and girls could not make it. Julie was often called to answer the rectory telephone, and her parents became godparents to many a family who had forgotten to bring their own. One of Julie’s favorite memories was when Father Rekalde and Father Aldesoa would whisper through the curtain to her at Saturday night confession to tell her parents that they would be over later for cake and coffee (so much for anonymity!). Priests always felt very comfortable with the Lachiondo family. Julie also remembers that their home was often used as a staging area for weddings—even Julian Achabal’s wife Rosemary got dresses there for her ceremony—and many a wedding photo show a young Basque bride looking into an old mirror that now hangs in Julie’s house. The Catholic presence was a huge component of Dave and Julie’s life, and even though as small children they may not have appreciated mass, they later came to appreciate their faith, and had a habitual pew at St. John’s. Dave feels that the fact that he really liked and respected priests impacted his career decisions. Eight priests traveled from all over to attend Julian Lachiondo’s funeral, since they had always been so warmly received in his home.
10-15:00 Dave discusses his life after high school. He graduated from Bishop Kelly in 1965, and received a $500 scholarship (in those days, 20% of private college expenses) to attend St. Mary’s College of California. He missed his family very much almost the entire time he was there. He graduated in 1969 with a degree in political science. There were a few other Basques from California and the Philippines. Dave taught in Bakersfield, CA for 3 years after school, and met many French Basques there. He was close to the Basque kids at St. Mary’s, and often traveled to a Basque restaurant in San Francisco with them. Dave next got a Masters degree in Pocatello, where he met his wife. He married Patricia Smedley in 1974, while he was working as a guidance counselor. Dave became assistant principal at Boise High School before pursuing a PhD in education administration at the University of Idaho. He has two daughters, Diana and Alicia. Dave had never felt any pressure to marry a Basque woman, and the Lachiondos instantly accepted Patricia. If anything, she has a harder time adjusting to all the Basque ethnic traditions and habits. The couple started out by sending their kids to public school, but switched to parochial schools when Dave became principal of BK—they have never gone back. Both Diana and Alicia consider themselves Basque; they were sung to by Julian Lachiondo and danced with the Oinkaris. Dave has been back to the Basque country twice, and discusses both of these wonderful adventures. He did notice that the Basque culture in Boise and the one in Euskadi had evolved separately, but many things were the same. He plans to take more trips back. Dave has always taken a keen political/historical/academic interest in the Basque Country, and reads a lot about the region. These days, he still plays the accordion, and now sings in the Basque choir with his wife. Dave cannot separate his Basque and American identities, and he wouldn’t want to try to tear this “life fabric”. He chose to live in Boise largely because of the Basque community there.
25:30-30:00 Julie went to the College of Idaho for two semesters after graduating from high school, but transferred to Boise State University to finish her degrees in education and Spanish. She loved the fact that she was able to maintain her ties to the Boise Basque community, and even continued with the Oinkaris until she was a junior. She next taught Spanish and English at Borah High School. She is now the executive director of the Bishop Kelly Foundation, writing grants, managing the endowment, and organizing special events; she has done this since 1999. Before that, Julie was a teacher until her first son’s birth in 1975, then a substitute teacher in Boise until 1995. She feels her Basque connections have helped her current job considerably. Julie married Mark Lliteras (of Spanish and Mexican origin) in 1972, and has 2 sons, Scott and Jeff.
Side 2
0-12:30 Mark Lliteras was a little overwhelmed by his entry into Julie’s Basque family, but the joke is that the family likes him better than they do Julie! It’s been difficult for her kids to stay closely involved with the more organized aspects of Basque culture in Boise. Since they pursued varsity sports, they didn’t really have the time to join the Oinkaris—a common problem for many Basque boys through the years. Mark, Jeff, and Scott are all very proud of their Basque connections. Julie has made four trips to the Basque country. The first one was when she was on a scholarship in Segovia, when her host family drover her there. She describes the circumstances of the subsequent visits. Julie says that it’s strange that even though she is a proud American, driving over the Urkiola pass and into Euskadi was sort of like a homecoming. She never wants to live there, but truly enjoys visiting her family there. Julie’s sons are also smitten with the land of their ancestors. Dave mentions that he and his wife would like to rent an apartment and live in the Basque country for a year, but this may have to wait for retirement. Julie would not do it for a year, but plans to visit more in the future in order to achieve fluency in Basque. She still enjoys doing things at the Basque Center and Basque Museum, and has sung with Biotzetik for 12 years. She discusses the original Basque choir, an offshoot of the Oinkaris. Julie says that it is encouraging to see non-Basques joining the choir, and everyone enjoys performing in the Basque country. Like her brother, Julie has been Basque and American since the moment she was born, and her parents would have wanted it that way.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Achabal, Julian
Achabal, Rosemary: married in St. John’s Cathedral
Aldape, Joe: owned Boulevard Market
Aldesoa, Father: Boise Basque priest
Alegria, Espe: ran Boise Basque radio station
Altar Society
American Legion
Amorrebieta, Connie: Julie’s school friend
Artiach, Miren Rementeria: sang with Julie
Basque Girls’ Club
Biotzetik: Boise Basque choir
Bishop Kelly Foundation
Boise School District
Clinton, Hillary: former US first lady
Dobaran, Carmen Gandiaga: Dave and Julie’s aunt
Gandiaga, Lydia: Dave and Julie’s mother
Gandiaga, Pedro Maria: Dave and Julie’s grandfather
Gerard family: operated Wyoming ranch
Goitiandia, Sabino: worked at Gem Meat Packing Company
Hormaechea, Juanita “Jay”: led Boise Basque dancing effort
Iglesias, Oracio “Rash”: boarder at Juliana’s house
Jayo, Cecil: ran Boise Basque radio station
Lachiondo, Alicia: Dave’s daughter
Lachiondo, Diana: Dave’s daughter
Lachiondo, Julian: Dave and Julie’s father
Lachiondo, Kanuta: Dave and Julie’s paternal grandmother
Lachiondo, Patricia Smedley: Dave’s wife
Lliteras, Jeff: Julie’s son
Lliteras, Mark: Julie’s husband
Lliteras, Scott: Julie’s son
Mansisidor, Ray: plays accordion
Nachiondo, Juliana: Dave and Julie’s grandmother
Oinkaris: Boise Basque dancers
PTA
Rekalde, Father: Boise Basque priest
Sociedad Independiente
St. Vincent de Paul: charitable foundation
Urresti, Gus: Boise police officer
Veterans of Foreign Wars
World Book Encyclopedia
Yribar, Stack: worked with Dave and Julie’s mother
Zabala, Begoña Rementeria: sang with Julie
Zubizareta, Benito: fought with Julian Lachiondo in the Sunset Division
PLACES:
Bakersfield, CA
Basque Center (Boise)
Basque Museum and Cultural Center (Boise)
Bishop Kelly High School (Boise)
Boise High School
Boise State University
Boise State University
Boise, ID
Borah High School (Boise)
Boulevard Market (Boise)
California
College of Idaho
College of Idaho
Custom Meat Packing (Boise)
Davis Meat Packing (Boise)
First Security Bank (Boise)
France
Gem Meat Packing (Boise)
Gernika, Bizkaia
Good Shepherd Church (Boise)
Ibarrangelua, Bizkaia
Indian Cove, ID
Mountain Home, ID
New York, NY
Papua, New Guinea
Pocatello, ID
Salt Lake City, UT
Seattle, WA
St. John’s Cathedral (Boise)
St. Joseph’s Elementary School (Boise)
St. Mary’s College of California
St. Theresa’s Academy (Boise)
University of Idaho
Urkiola, Bizkaia
Wyoming
THEMES:
Citizenship
Civil War
Clubs and Organizations
Dancing
Food
GI Bill
Identity
Immigration
Language
Music
Music Week
Picnics
Religion
Sheepherders
Spanish Civil War
World’s Fair