No summary at this time, please refer to the detailed index below.
Side 1
0-10:00 Ray didn’t speak English when he first went to Central School in Boise, but he
learned pretty quickly. There were a few Basque kids in his class, including Sabino Uberuaga. He doesn’t remember being teased for being Basque. He remembers Augustín Alberdi and an Italian boarder at the Valencia, who fought in WWI and told Ray stories about it. Ray’s father and his father’s sister Juanita came to the US with guitars and played a lot of jotas in Boise. Ray learned to play, and reminisces about the accordion players in town. He recalls playing pala and handball at 1 of the 2 frontons in town, and describes the adult competitions in town. The Mendiolas and the Anduizas were considered the best players.
10-20:00 Ray was baptized in the Good Shepherd Church in Boise, which was built by
Basques, and officiated by Father Arregui. His parents were married in St. John’s. After Arregui left, it was several years before Father Aldasoro came to Boise. Most men from the boarding houses didn’t go to mass, but Ray went often. There was a big upset in the Basque community when Good Shepherd was sold in the early 1930s. He discusses a photograph on the wall for a bit. During WWII, the boarding houses did all they could to stay afloat. Ray remembers that everything was rationed, including sugar; when his father ran the Valencia, he had a lot of extra sugar, but little meat, so he did a lot of under-the-table trading to provide decent meals for the boarders. The sheepherders loved black coffee with lots of sugar. (Anecdote: when he was on leave from the army, Ray received 3 coupons to fill his car’s gas tank. Since they didn’t specify the number of gallons, Ray would fill up 55-gallon barrels!). Growing up in the Valencia, Ray worked as a shoeshine boy for 10 cents a pair, and he went to Shoshone in the summers to stay with his cousins. Boarders paid by the month, and frequently had hefty tabs, which they paid off whenever they got paid. He remembers that when men came down from the sheep camps, they went a little wild in town. He recalls a prostitute named Billie who entertained many sheepherders, who later married a Basque man named Charcostegui, and who was well respected by the Basque community.
20-30:00 When the Basque Center was finally built, both 1st generation immigrants and 2nd
and 3rd generation Basque Americans helped with the fundraising and construction. He remembers when the US immigration officials limited the influx of Basques by requiring 3-year labor contracts (from the early 1960s to the early 1970s). INS inspectors used to come to the Valencia after WWII to seek out illegal immigrants. Ray describes how illegal immigrants moved around from boardinghouse to boardinghouse, including Valentín Aguirre’s in New York, Landa’s in Salt Lake City, and several places in California. Ray knew several people who had come to the US by jumping ship, who gave themselves up (most Basques were honest that way), and who were ultimately deported. Idaho congressmen were pretty good about setting up special bills to protect the sheepherders. Many of the men who were deported later came back under the contracts. Ray remembers Prohibition, and how boarding houses always found ways to serve alcohol.
Side 2
0-10:00 Ray remembers a few Basque organizations, including Socoros Mutuos, and also
the picnics that all the groups joined in to do (the women did all the work). The picnics were an American Basque innovation—there had been none on this scale in Euskadi—and included food, dancing, and games. Ray remembers that his mother did most of the cooking, while his aunt tended to the rooms. (Anecdote: when he began sneaking cigarettes, he hid them in the suit pockets of the boarders’ clothes; they were always delighted to find free cigarettes!). Ray’s aunt used to send their clothes to the Chinese laundry next door. The Basques always came dressed to the nines; they were taught to dress well when they traveled, and in their wedding portraits, it is clear that the Basques had nice clothes (even if they didn’t have many occasions to wear them). He talks about sheepherders he knew.
10-22:00 (Anecdote: Ray recalls a storm he and Tom Erquiaga braved while in the hills, in
1934). He says weddings were very nice when he was growing up. Anton Chacartegui was the 1st to break the taboo of marrying an American woman. Ray remembers that many sheepherders died from scarlet fever after being bitten by ticks. Dr. Koelsch (an American Basque) took care of many sheepherders at a special low price. He talks about Socoros Mutuos and the American Basque Fraternity, both of which offered insurance, and which had several hundred members each, but which ultimately faded out. When the Basque Center was established, a plan was formed to merge the insurance accounts of the 2 insurance operations with that of the Basque Center’s insurance program; but it didn’t pan out when the Aldecoas pulled out. The ABF dissolved 3 years before this interview; it was created in 1925.
22-27:00 Basque women’s associations were very active. Ray doesn’t think that most
sheepherders became citizens, because it was a difficult process; naturalization proceedings were always well attended by Basques. Ray’s father became a US citizen early on, to be able to obtain a liquor license, and it was at this point that he changed his name from Izurza to Ysursa. He speaks about Espe’s radio show on Sunday nights; she played a lot of Basque music and read news and sports from Euskadi.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Aguirre, Valentín: operated a boarding house in New York
Aldecoa family
Aldasoro, Father: Basque priest in Boise
Alegria, Espe: ran a Basque radio show
American Basque Fraternity: had an insurance program for Basques
Anduiza family: produced many good handball players
Arregui, Father: Basque priest who baptized Ray
Chacartegui, Anton: one of the first Basque men in Boise to marry an American woman
Charcostegui, Billie: former prostitute who married a Basque sheepherder
Erquiaga, Tom: sheepherder
Koelsch: doctor for the American Basque Fraternity
Landa family: ran a boarding house in Salt Lake City
Mendiola family: produced many good handball players
Socoros Mutuos: had an insurance program for Basques
Uberuaga, Sabino: Ray’s former schoolmate
Church: Basque church in Boise
Shoshone, ID
Valencia: boarding house owned by Ray’s father
PLACES:
Basque Center (ID)
Boise, ID
Central School: Ray attended this Boise elementary school
Good Shepherd
THEMES:
Boarding houses
Clubs and organizations
Immigration
Picnics
Prohibition
Prostitution
Sheepherders
Sports
War