Mike Errea

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INTERVIEW CATALOG NUMBER:  2020.034.001

NAME: Mike Errea, Ann Darlene Bengoa Jones, Paige Brooks

DATE OF INTERVIEW:  February 12, 2020

LOCATION:   Humboldt County Museum in Winnemucca, Nevada

INTERVIEWER:  Patty Miller
VIDEOGRAPHER:  Megan Overgaard

LANGUAGE:  English

INDEXED BY:  Lucas Fritz
DATE OF INDEX:  July 25, 2022

 

 

RECORDING

MINUTE:                                                         SUMMARY OF CONTENTS                          

 

0-5:00              Ann Darlene’s family had sheep in McDermitt, Nevada, around 1910. At that time, the families that were trying to get started in the sheep business had small bands of sheep. All of the families in the area branded their sheep because of the high number of sheep in the area due to all of the Basque families taking part in sheepherding. Ann Darlene was related to the Bengoas (her father’s side of the family) and Mentaberrys (her mother’s side of the family) -the two families that had sheep in Nevada. All of Ann Darlene’s grandparents came from the Basque Country, either from France or Spain.

 

Paige is the great-granddaughter of Joaquin Arbonies and Siberia Arreguieta, who came to the US to homestead property in the Pumpernickel Valley in Nevada in order to make a better life. Paige’s mother followed, coming from New York to Nevada. She had ten cents in her pocket and didn’t speak any English. However, she was able to get to where she needed to go because there were people waiting for her.

 

Mike’s father, Louis Errea, came to the United States in 1951 in order to make a better life for him and his family. He was from Saint-Etienne-de-Baigorry, France. He came to herd sheep in Elko and Eureka, then worked on a farm in Fresno, California. He and his friends were travelling through Winnemucca and decided that was as far as they were going to go, so he stayed there. Mike’s Dad went to the bank and must have met his Mom there.  Mike’s maternal grandparents – grandmother, Marie Jeanne Goyhenetche Paris was born in Banca and his grandfather, Arnaud Paris, was born in Lassa.  They came to work in the sheep business and settled in Ely, Nevada. Their family had a very successful sheep business in the area.

 

5-10:00            Although a lot of Basque people came to the US to herd sheep, in the Winnemucca area, many Basques became craftsmen, ranchers and farmers, motel owners, attorneys, builders, and carpenters.  Many in Ann Darlene’s family became educators. There many hotels owned by Basque people in Winnemucca. One of the most famous is the Martin Hotel, where Mike worked as a kid. Mike would go there with his dad, who was friends with the sheepherders that lived there. There are two sets of train tracks in Winnemucca, one that took people to the Martin Hotel and one down by the river that would take people to the Winnemucca Hotel.

 

The Martin Hotel was built in 1914 and the Winnemucca Hotel was built in 1863. At the time of this interview, the Humboldt County Museum in Winnemucca had featured parts of the original hotel in an exhibit. Wood and Brick from the original floors were used to create a stage and display cases.

 

10-15:00          Around 1995, Paige was one of the teachers for a Basque dancing group in Winnemucca. She stopped teaching around 2008 and had just gotten back into it at the time of this interview. The group, at its peak, had 50 members but is now at 35 members. The group has always met at schools in the area but have been able to use a room that has been put aside by the Boys and Girls Club. Many of the dances that are taught have been performed by the group for decades and many are new ones that have recently been picked up from the Basque dancing group in Boise, Idaho, or from the Internet. Costumes that the dancers wear are made locally by seamstresses and mothers of dancers. Also, the group uses a storage unit that is full of costumes.

 

Ann Darlene has attended the Winnemucca, Nevada, Basque Festival many times in her life.

 

15-20:00          Paige feels that teaching dancing to younger generations is vital to the culture being carried on. Carrying on the tradition of the Basque people without including dancing would be a disservice to those who have celebrated it for years.

 

Mike feels that the Basque festival brings Basque people together and helps educate those who are not Basque about the culture and traditions.

 

Although the Humboldt County Museum has been around for decades, it had not featured an exhibit on the Basques until the time of this interview. Years ago, many felt like there needed to be more of a Basque presence in Winnemucca. Paige was approached to help get people together to create an exhibit. A committee was established to raise money and decide what was going to be included in the exhibit. Mike was able to include some of his mother’s books and a walking cane that had been in his family for years.

 

20-25:00          The interviewees feel that the Basques in Winnemucca are very hard-working, have a lot of integrity, and get along well. They love their heritage and want to keep teaching it to young people.

 

Basque language lessons have started being taught in Winnemucca in order to preserve the culture in the area. Mike explains how he was taught Basque before he learned English and wishes he would’ve continued with it. The interviewees feel that the sense of Basque culture is strong when they hear a lot of people speaking the language.

 

 

 

 

 

                                                NAMES. PLACES, AND THEMES                                                              

 

NAMES:

Arbonies, Joaquin: Paige’s great-grandfahter

Arrequieta, Siberia: Paige’s great-grandfather

Bengoa Family

Brooks, Paige

Errea, Joan Parris: Mike’s mother

Errea, Mike

Jones, Ann Darlene Bengoa

Mentaberry Family

 

PLACES:

Boise, Idaho

Elko, Nevada
Ely, Nevada

Eureka, Nevada

Fresno, California

Humboldt County Museum, Winnemucca, Nevada

Martin Hotel, Winnemucca, Nevada

McDermitt, Nevada

Pumpernickel Valley, Nevada

Saint-Etienne-de-Baigorry, France

Winnemucca, Nevada

Winnemucca Hotel, Nevada

 

THEMES:

Basque Dancing

Basque Culture in the US

Basque Hotels

Clubs and Organizations

Festivals

Immigration

Language

Museums

Profession

Sheepherding