Juan was born in Ereno, Bizkaia on 14 February 1910 to José Lejardi and María Onaindia. He grew up on the family farm and finished his formal education at the age of 12, when his family sent him to Bilbao to work for a dairy company. When Juan was 17, he had a chance to join the merchant marine, replacing a relative who had fallen ill. He went to Lekeitio to arrange his documents, and was warned not to try to jump ship.
Juan worked on the ship for a short while before he decided that it was not for him. When the freighter docked in New York, he and a friend jumped ship and escaped into the city. Juan remembers other Basques who entered the United States the way he did, but were caught at boarding houses and deported. He found work as a kitchen assistant, bought his first suit, and started adjusting to life in America. After a year, Juan decided to move to Idaho, where he knew there were other Basque communities.
In Boise, Juan found a job as a herder for Archabal’s Jump Creek Sheep Company. After two years he became a camp tender, and remembers the friction that existed between sheep outfits and cattle ranchers. He married Francisca Hormachea in 1951, bought a farm in Homedale, Idaho, and settled down to raise his family. John earned his US citizenship in 1963.
NAME: Juan Lejardi
DATE OF INTERVIEW: January 13th, 1976
LOCATION: Homedale
INTERVIEWER: Joseba Chertudi
LANGUAGE: Basque
TAPE NO: 43
INDEXED BY: Nere Lete
TAPE
MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
0-2:00 He was born in Ereño. Parents were farmers. He was one of 10 brothers and sisters. He didn’t have much schooling. He went to Bilbao to work as a servant to a place where they raised milk cows. Took the animals to Basurto to feed them for the fair. He didn’t plan to join the merchant marine, but took the place of a nephew of a relative who was ill, and went to Lekeitio to prepare his papers. In Lekeitio, he was warned not to jump ship, but ended up jumping ship with a friend because they were treated poorly.
2:00-10:00 A Basque man from Arteaga was the cook’s helper in the ship. His job was to feed the cows and chickens on board, and collect the eggs. There were about 12 chickens. Every time the hens cackled the captain would ask for the fresh eggs. The cook’s helper told the officials he was bringing them the fresh eggs but he was eating them himself. He got in trouble when one of the officials was served a rotten egg. The man was doing that to the cook, too. When he was discovered, he was punished. After Juan jumped ship in New York, he found a job as a “marmitoia” (cook’s aid), and was put to work peeling potatoes, washing dishes, bringing food to the machinists, and making their beds…
10:00-18:00 He came to Idaho because many people were doing the same. When people jumped ship in New York they went to Basque boarding houses, but immigration officials used to catch them and send them back to the Basque country. To avoid the immigration officials, Juan came to Idaho. He was arrested once by the officials (after he had his papers) when working in Boise. He was offered a sheep herding job, but turned it down. Not long after that, an immigration official came asking for him and made him get in his car. When he realized that Juan had his documents, he apologized. Juan asked the man who had informed him, but the man refused to give up his source. When the war began everyone had to register for the draft. 50-60 Basque illegal aliens registered. A man interceded for them in Washington (1941-42). He was married to a Basque woman in Shoshone, Idaho. They got their green cards, and after that a quota was established.
18:00-24:00 He started herding with Txomin Aldecoa, Basilio Aldecoa’s father, who was one of John Archabal’s partners. Archabal’s wife and Domingo (Txomin) were brother and sister. He herded where the Boise Airport is now. He couldn’t speak any English. He met his wife when she missed the bus to go back to her farm. Juan and the wife’s cousin offered her a ride.
24:00-35:00 The citizenship exam was not difficult. The government knew everything about him (bank transactions, etc.). Juan remembers that when he was in New York and told people of his plans to come to Idaho, many commented that “there is nothing but wild cowboys and china men there’. He was very satisfied with what he found when he arrived. People took good care of him during the trip. The hardest thing in the United States was learning the language and his lack of education. Two years after he arrived, Juan became a camp tender. He did not speak English, which got him in trouble with a rancher when Juan followed an instruction from his boss that upset the rancher. Juan’s boss asked him to do something that went against the rancher’s rights. To this day, he can’t believe how he got out of the situation alive without being able to speak English.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Marmitakue: nickname of cook’s helper. (Note of the translator: marmitakua is the typical, basic meal in a fishing boat. It’s a fish stew cooked with potatoes and tuna fish.)
Vaquero: Frank Bilbao’s father came to the Boise area at the same time.
Txomin Aldecoa: Basilio Aldecoa’s father. Juan worked for him herding sheep.
Tanbolin: herded sheep with him.
PLACES:
Juan Polo: owned the boarding house where Juan stayed in New York. It was located in a poor part of the city.
Cherry Street: Where this boarding house was located. The street was so dirty (people emptied their “potties” out of the window…) that Basques used to call it “txarri street” (txarri = pig)
Valencia: he stayed in the Valencia Hotel and Boarding House when in Boise.