Joe Phillip Uberuaga

See index summary below.

Tape 1

Side 1

0-7:00              Joe’s full name is José Felipe Uberuaga.  His father came to Boise from Euskadi because his cousin Martin Lariz who was already in Idaho, sent for him to work in construction at the Arrowrock Dam.  A few years later, they sent for Joe’s mother Hermengilda Bernedo (his parents did not know each other at the time), who had been raised by Martin (her uncle) since her mother’s death at the age of 3.  Martin had always intended for his niece and Joe’s father to marry.  They were married in Boise shortly after her arrival in 1913.  Hermengilda had worked a few years for her fiancé’s brother’s boarding house—which used to be across the street from where the Basque Center now stands—while her future husband was working in Arrowrock.  After the marriage, the Uberuagas opened their own boarding house across the alley, at 607 Grove Street (currently the Basque Museum and Cultural Center).  Joe does not know the details of his father’s transatlantic passage, but is sure his mother arrived on the Ile de France with Benito Garate (on the way to meet his brother José in Boise—the two would later start the Idanha Hotel Taxi); they were 18 and 16, respectively.  Joe and his older sister was born in the boarding house belonging to Joe’s aunt and uncle, Juan Uberuaga and Juana Arriola (the same one where Hermengilda had worked), but Joe’s younger sister Julia was born at 607 Grove Street.

 

7-13:00            Joe discusses some of his mother’s memories of the Basque country.  She had a sister there, Gregoria Jayo, who had 6 sons and a daughter (all of whom Joe has met).  Hermengilda loved the US, so much so that when Joe proposed that his parents move to Spain with him while he pursued a university degree in Madrid, she refuses, even though her husband was excited by the idea.  Hermengilda did not even want to go back to Euskadi for vacation, despite her family ties to the country.  She considered that her life there (poverty, only child orphaned at an early age) could never compare to the life she had found in America.  Her father had been mayor of the town of Bolivar, but she never saw him after emigrating.  The stone house where she was born in Bolivar burned down when she was a little girl, and so she was raised in her cousins’ house (the Lariz family).  Hermengilda could read and write, but she did not have much formal education.  She used to enjoy reading American newspapers—after taking English courses at Lincoln School in Boise with her husband in order to obtain US citizenship (Joe was about 16 at the time).  The school was only 4 blocks away from the boarding house.  Joe’s father did not read or write English (although he spoke it fairly well).  Therefore, the all the business accounting, taxes, etc. for the Uberuaga boarding house was done by Joe’s mother.

 

13-24:00          Joe’s father supplemented the family’s income as a laborer for Union Pacific Railroad, and used to get up at 6am to start the fire and the beans.  Hermengilda awoke at 7:30 to cook all day, clean the rooms and make the boarder’s beds, and wash the laundry by hand (except for the bedclothes, which were sent to a nearby laundry).  There were often as many as 9 boarders in the house, but the average was about 5.  Many more people, however, used the house as a permanent mailing address.  Joe jokes that everyone in Spain knew the address 607 Grove Street, and Hermengilda distributed the mail, an easy task, since she knew just about everybody in Boise.  Most of the permanent boarders were eventually married and moved out.  Joe’s mother had help from Juanita Hormaechea for a while, but since Hermengilda could manage pretty well with her family’s help, Jay went to work for the Ysursa family.  Joe recalls scrubbing the floors with his sister.  Breakfast at the house was usually hot coffee and cornflakes (without milk), a big Basque lunch was daily at noon sharp (if there were no beans, the children were upset), and dinner was at 6 sharp (cod, ham, etc.)  Joe didn’t realize that his family ate differently until he started eating at friend’s houses in high school.  After lunch, Hermengilda took an hour’s nap, then began peeling potatoes for dinner.  Many people ate at the house who did not board there, especially at holidays, when 20 people crammed into the kitchen.  (Begoña examines a photo of a one of these gatherings).

 

24-30:00          Joe’s aunts helped his mother deliver her babies, since at that time, maternity wards were still uncommon.  There were few women boarders at the Uberuaga house.  Hermengilda never complained about anything, mostly because she was very satisfied with her life.  Joe recalls that when he came back from military service, he asked his parents to retire to an apartment, but she refused to leave her house until she passed away there.  In her free time, Hermengilda enjoyed playing Mus—in fact, after the Basque Center was built, the men  used to wait until she had finished the dishes so she could play at their table!  She was not a very good seamstress.  Joe’s mother was deeply religious, and went to church every Sunday and holiday, and said prayers every night after the dishes were done.  Joe’s aunt from Emmett lived in the house for a time, and the two loved to watch afternoon soap operas once they were retired.

Side 2

0-13:30            When Joe was a young boy, there was no TV, but his mom made up for lost time after her retirement.  Most of the family’s shopping was done on Main Street, a block away, and the children were often sent to the butcher or grocer to run errands.  Garbanzos were purchased in 100-pound bags once every few weeks, and enormous bags of potatoes were common as well.  The family picked their own fruit at area farms.  Basques generally socialized within their cultural group, especially during holidays.  New Year’s saw processions from one boarding house to the next, followed by midnight musical parades down Main Street—everyone knew when the Basques were coming.  San Fermin was a big feast day, as was San Ignacio (when hundreds of Basques gathered from all over Idaho to picnic at Julia Davis Park).  These events took place in the 1930s, long before the Basque Center was built.  John Archabal also had a Sheepherders Ball every year, and gave the proceeds from lamb auctions to Boise hospitals.  Guys had to wear cotton dresses and girls wore Levis for this Ball, which as celebrated at the Riverside Dance Hall.  People from everywhere came for this ball, even non-Basques.  Joe went to his first Sheepherder’s ball at 15, and every year after that.  Kids started dancing young back then; Joe jokes that he could dance the jota before he could walk.  He even taught Basque dances to the football team at the University of Idaho when he was working there as a counselor, in order to limber them up.  Joe’s sisters Sera and Julia were two of the best dancers in Boise, even though Joe’s cousin Jay Hormaechea was widely regarded as the best.  Hermengilda was a better dancer than her husband, and got along well with the boarders (who were always very well-behaved).  Joe’s mother was respected by everyone in Boise, men and women, young and old.  She once hosted Pancho Aldape and José Luis […], 2 boarders’ sons, who came from the Basque country at a young age to study in the US.

 

13:30-20:00     Joe grew up speaking nothing but Basque at home, and remembers that he didn’t know one word of English when he started school—his first day is a memory that has stuck with him to this day.  There were some fellow Basque students in the same predicament.  Joe’s older sister Serafina had the same transition problems, but since they spoke better English as they got older, Julia was spared this uneasiness.  Joe says that Boise Basques rarely segregated according to home region in Euskadi, but most everyone had a nickname (often the name of the town where they were born).  He recalls that his father’s nickname was Zaraconde (from a man he and his brothers had worked for once)—and sometimes people coming from states like Nevada thought the Uberuaga’s real name was Zaraconde!  All three Uberuaga brothers came to America in order of birth, but the other Juan and Domingo lived in the now-defunct lumber town of Barber (it was later moved to Emmett).  People from Barber came to 607 Grove on weekends to socialize.  There were about 5000 Basques in and around Boise at the time.

 

20-25:30          Neither Hermengilda nor her sister did volunteer work in the community, as they had enough work at home to keep them busy.  Mateo Arregui, who owned the Delamar Hotel in Boise, brought a relative to the city to serve as priest to the area Basques.  Father Arregui administered in the Good Shepherd Church (a Basque construction project) until the bishop began using it as his private chapel.  Joe remembers very little of this priest, but does recall going to services at the church.  The priest lived with his sister.  Joe and his sisters always went to Catholic schools, since his parents held education in high esteem, and their parents encouraged them to go as far as they could.  Hermengilda and her husband had never finished high school, let alone college.  Joe and his siblings helped the nuns out after school to receive a little tuition discount, but it was never more than sweeping floors and cleaning windows.

 

25:30-30:00     His last year of high school, Joe started his first paid job as a cab driver for the Garate brothers.  When he graduated, he attended a business college, then took a civil service job in Baltimore.  He later transferred to the army for a few years (doing professional work), but when he wasn’t drafted, he requested to be moved to the Boise base to be closer to his family.  He worked in the accounting office.  An officer there took a liking to Joe and offered to send him to officer’s school in Salt Lake City.  Joe refused this special favor, and is glad he did: when he was finally drafted, he got the chance to travel all over Europe as a pilot.  Hermengilda was very happy that her son worked in the government, and he assuaged her worries during the war days by writing her frequent letters in Basque.  Joe describes some of the things he did as a teenager: he played the saxophone in a band.

 

Tape 2

Side 1

0-8:00              Joe describes the big band he played in as a young man: they played for Elk’s Club dances on Saturday night.  They were not very good, but José Villanueva came from Euskadi to teach music and serve as a cultural delegate, so some improvements were made.  He lists some of the people in the group, which lasted about 2 years.  Practices were a few times a week, and they played for dances several times a month.  At that time, there were no groups like the Oinkaris to preserve Basque music.  Al Erquiaga’s (later instrumental in forming the Oinkaris) father and uncle stayed in Hermengilda’s boarding house at one time, and thought the woman of the house was an angel.

 

8-21:00            Joe grew up listening to stories about the Basque Country, and found he knew everything about it when he went to visit for the first time.  Neither his parents nor his aunts and uncles ever went back to Euskadi, though their children all did.  Joe and his friends were so close to their non-Basque playmates (brining them home, etc.) that they never felt any pressure from their parents to marry Basques later on.  In fact, Joe believes that Basques distinguished themselves from Italians and other immigrant groups by not separating themselves from their greater communities: most Basque immigrants married Americans.  This is one reason why Basques are so accepted and respected.  Joe’s family always identified themselves as Basques, but also as Americans.  Both of Joe’s parents had non-Basque friends.  They both became citizens, and were active voters; Hermengilda was a confirmed Democrat (despite the propensity for most Idahoans to lean to the right), and loved being introduced to prominent politicians like Senator Taylor.  She thought President Roosevelt was near to God, and kept up to date on politics by reading the newspaper.  She always made up her own mind, and never had to ask her husband for political advice like so many other immigrant wives did at the time.  Joe thinks this is why the kids in the family became Democrats.  He pauses to lament the current political imbroglio over President Clinton’s indiscretions, and to repeat how well liked his mother was.  She never had to tell her kids to be tolerant though; growing up in a boarding house, with lots of people in and out all the time meant that the Uberuaga kids learned how to grow up liking people.  Hermengilda was happy when her daughter married a Basque man, John Mendiguren, but she would have been more concerned if her kids chose non-Catholic partners than non-Basques (although some of Joe’s cousins are Mormons).

 

21-30:00          Hermengilda was aware of the existence of other religions, but had grown up used to a single State religion, and so didn’t give anything other than Catholicism any serious thought.  A black man (one of the 2 in Boise) who worked in a piano shop lived in the Uberuaga’s back apartment for about 15 years, and was good friends with Joe’s mother.  There were also many Chinese in the area, and she was soon used to their presence.  This tolerance for others was passed on to the children.  Joe remembers when the Basque club Euskaldunak was formed, around the same time the Basque women had their Sociedad Independiente; he was in high school at the time.  The Civil War in Spain had very little to do with this, since the Boise Basque community kept very isolated from these foreign political arguments.  After a short period of internal bickering, Euskaldunak approached Hermengilda to offer to purchase her orchard (where the Basque Center now stands).  The Uberuagas had a large garden, with many different fruits and vegetables.  It was John Bastida who originally approached Joe’s mother about the purchase, which was really more of a gift, since she asked for very little.  This transaction started a trend of Grove Street Basque cultural activity.

 

Side 2

0-8:00              Joe remembers the existence of about 6 or 7 Basque boarding houses on Grove Street when he was a child.  The one across the street from the Basque Center and the Valencia stopped about 20 years ago, the Delamar closed its doors about 25 years ago, and so on.  The Uberuaga house was one of the last.  He discusses the closing of some of these places, including the Urresti and Letamendi houses.  Most of these families decided to stay in the US rather than return to the Basque country, although Hermengilda’s uncle Martin returned, never to see America again.

 

8-14:30            Most of the Basque women that Hermengilda knew never had any problem taking care of themselves on errands in town.  The women’s organization—which goes to show their knowledge, motivation, and independence—was primarily to help families of deceased members pay for funeral expenses and related things.  The Basques had a reputation of being very good at saving money, but did not trust the banks.  Both of Joe’s parents, however, had bank accounts, and even held stocks in Idaho Power.  Basques in general and the Uberuagas specifically were so trustworthy that everyone would extend them as much credit as they wanted, although most Basques shied away from racking up credit.  Joe’s parents never went on vacation, and never even thought about it—they were happy right where they were.  Joe himself has been to Latin America multiple time, and very much enjoys traveling, although he does so less and less as he gets older.

 

14:30-21:00     Joe dispels the notion that women were not adequately respected by their husbands; they were generally equal partners in Basque marriages—and sometimes more than equal.  Both parties had specific, gender-prescribed roles, but both worked extremely hard.  Joe and his siblings were always very well taken care of, and it was ultimately their own decision which direction they would take in life.  Hermengilda did not drive, but frequently used Boise taxi services.  Both of Joe’s sisters were as attached to their mother as Joe was.  Julia married a non-Basque named Coleman late in life, who died of cancer 13 months after the wedding.

 

21-26:00          Hermengilda dressed according to local fashions rather than clinging to old-world garb; she could not afford tailored clothes, but bought dresses at ladies’ stores.  Joe’s father was much the same way, but did hid own shopping.  He also enjoyed playing Mus, but was not as good as his wife.  He did not play pelota, even though Anduiza’s fronton (one of the oldest in Boise) was very nearby.  Games at this fronton were not regular, and most of the Uberuaga boarders did not play there, opting instead for the outdoor bowling alley that located where the Basque Center stands now (from the front door to the alley).  The Basque Center was funded by donations and bonds.

 

 

NAMES AND PLACES

 

NAMES:

 

Aldape, Pancho

Anduiza family: operated a Boise fronton

Archabal, John: started the Sheepherders Ball

Arregui, Father: Boise Basque priest

Arregui, Mateo: owned Delamar Hotel

Bastida, John

Clinton, President

Coleman, Mr.: Julia’s husband

Elk’s Club (Boise)

Erquiaga, Al

Garate brothers: ran Idanha Taxi Service

Hormaechea, Juanita “Jay” Uberuaga: Joe’s cousin

Ile de France: ship Hermengilda took to the US

Jayo, Gregoria: Hermengilda’s sister

Ladiz, Martin: Joe’s mother’s uncle

Letamendi family: owned a Boise boarding house

Mendiguren, John: married Serafina

Oinkaris: Boise Basque dancers

Roosevelt, President

Sheepherders Ball: annual Basque dance

Sociedad Independiente

Taylor, Senator

Uberuaga, Domingo: Joe’s uncle

Uberuaga, Hermengilda Bernedo: Joe’s mother

Uberuaga, Juan: Joe’s uncle

Uberuaga, Juana Arriola: Joe’s aunt

Uberuaga, Julia: Joe’s sister

Uberuaga, Serafina: Joe’s sister

Union Pacific Railroad

Urresti family: owned a Boise boarding house

Villanueva, José: Basque man who came to Boise to teach music

Ysursa family

 

PLACES:

 

Arrowrock Dam

Baltimore, MD

Barber, ID

Basque Center (Boise)

Basque Museum and Cultural Center (Boise)

Boise, ID

Bolivar, Spain: Hermengilda’s birth town

Delamar Hotel (Boise)

Emmett, ID

Good Shepherd Church (Boise): built by the Basques

Grove Street

Julia Davis Park (Boise)

Lincoln School (Boise): Joe’s parents took English lessons here

Madrid, Spain

Riverside Dance Hall

Salt Lake City, UT

Valencia Hotel (Boise)

Washington, DC

 

 

THEMES:

 

Boarding houses

Clubs and Organizations

Dancing

Education

Festivals

Food

Immigration

Language

Marriage

Music

Picnics

Politics

Race

Religion

Spanish Civil War

Travel

Vacation

World War II