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INTERVIEW CATALOG NUMBER: 2014.071.001 g
NAME: Steve Bass
DATE OF INTERVIEW: September 15, 2011
LOCATION: Kern County Basque Center in Bakersfield, California
INTERVIEWER: Ana Luiza Panyaqua
VIDEOGRAPHER: Brent Barras, Canyons Studio
LANGUAGE: English
INDEXED BY: Ane Uribetxeberria Azpiroz
DATE OF INDEX: March 10, 2020
RECORDING
MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
0-5:00
Stephen Bass, known as “Steve,” is a product of the Dust Bowl. He moved from Missouri to Taft, California (where his mother’s parents lived) when he was very young. He grew up in the oil fields in Missouri and moved to Bakersfield and finished growing up there. in the oil fields. He met his wife in Bakersfield and married into a great Basque family. Steve Bass was a science teacher for 39 years in the Bakersfield City School District. Once, when he was taking a continuing education class on Mexican history from Sasha Honig, he noticed that in the book they were using there was a great amount of what he thought were Basque names. The students were asked to write a paper and Steve decided to write about who he presumed to be Basques in Mexico although they were recognized as being Spaniards. That is how Steve began a chronology of Basque involvement in the Unites States. In the chronology he did not write a history, but names, locations, dates of immigration to North, Central and South America, the Caribbean and even touches on the Philippines. The chronology now has over 175 pages of names and dates and some additional information about Basques in those areas.
Several years ago Steve sent Sasha Honig a copy of his chronology and she answered him back telling him that she had written a term paper for Stanford on a Basque named [Felipe Antonio de] Goicoechea. Steve included the name of that Basque in his chronology and he currently continues taking material from everywhere he can. For instance, he mentions that he recently watched a documentary from National Geographic about the discovery of a burial ground in Lima, Peru, where the lead archeologist was a Basque from Peru.
Steve explains that he will never print the chronology because it will never be complete, although he sends the document, for free, to anyone interested in it.
5-10:00
Steve has basic knowledge about the Basque language and he attends Basque classes to keep learning.
Steve says that he is an “Okie” (originally from Oklahoma), true to his family and his roots. Steve describes his family as very hard working and tells how he used to help his father, a mechanic, when he was young. He comments about the similarity between the work ethic of his family and that of the Basque people. He says than when he married his wife, Judy, and met her family, he could never be lazy around them and should always work hard. Steve felt really proud when a Basque fellow from the town complimented him by saying he had heard he was a good worker. Steve admits that despite not having a Basque blood heritage, he feels connected to the Basque because he shares the same values.
10-15:00
Steve helps frequently in the [Kern County] Basque Club and in his opinion the Basques accept him because he works hard. The aspect that most impresses Steve about Basque people is their work ethic, but also their camaraderie. They work hard, but always try to have a good time. Nowadays Steve’s living, nuclear family is quite small, so he feels that Judy’s family is his real family.
Steve explains that in the Basque Club several generations of the same family can be found eating together, working together and enjoying time together. There is a lot of intermarriages among the Basques, which is why they tend to have large extended families of relatives. However, Steve says that even when Basques marry non-Basques, these Americans tend to eventually get involved in the Basque community.
Steve explains that the Basques started to come to North America in whaling camps in Canada, probably before Columbus, Steve presumes. Steve explains that there is research carried out by a Basque historian that presents that pelts of beaver fur were imported into London by Basques in the early 14th century, who probably got them in North America because they were wrapped like the Quebec Indians wrapped their pelts and beaver were almost extinct in Europe at that time, so they couldn’t have gotten them from Europe. Because of their proximity to the sea, the Basques have always been good shipbuilders and sailors, so they took advantage of those skills and followed the north circle…England, Iceland, and Newfoundland.
15-20:00
Steve tells that Basque people were usually not interested in exploration, settlement or converting the inhabitants of other lands into Catholicism, but rather in fishing, mostly cod fishing, and whaling. Steve reflects that “Like every good fisherman, they never told anyone where they got them…they didn’t want anyone else finding their good fishing hole.”
The age of exploration began with Columbus, with whom sailed a great number of Basques. In the 16th and 17th century the Basques controlled the sea commerce between Europe and America because they owned the ships and had sailors. A Basque historian once told Steve that at that time in sailors’ crews Basque people used to be in charge of the money because they did not steal, unlike Spaniards. In addition, Basques were also great soldiers. In the 13th century, when Basque people were granted nobility, only the nobles could became officers in the Spanish Army, so when the Basque soldiers got to America, most of them, who could also read and write, were chosen as the leaders of the military. In fact, a Basque named Juan de la Cosa was the first person to set foot on the continent of South America. He made seven voyages between the Basque Country and the Americas. Explorers like Francisco Ibarra did great explorations in America and the money, settlements and explorations of many Basques, such as Juan Batista de Anza the second, Juan de Oñate and Francisco Urdiñola enabled the development of all of Southern California, the state of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
20-25:00
Steve explains that William Douglass, who was probably the first investigator in the field of Basque immigration, carried out research about the probability of the name Arizona coming from the words “Aritz ona” from the Basque language, meaning “good oak.” After some time Douglass was able to publish his work in a small publication called, “Names” which documented how places were named, but it did not get any attention at all, except from a Basque colonial scholar from Arizona, named Don Garate, who continued with the project and wrote a book about Juan Bautista de Anza (the elder). When Juan Batista de Anza was the head counsel of the area of Mexico, which is now Arizona, right below Nogales, which straddles the boarder of Mexico and Arizona, they made an unusual silver strike of slabs of pure silver. The crown wanted its part of the discovery, so sent Anza to Arizona so he could figure out the ownership of the silver and because it was in slabs, to determine if it was buried treasure or natural, and then determine the taxes for it. The silver strike was found on the ranch of a Basque frontiersman by the name of Bernardo Urrea, whose ranch was named “Aritz Ona.” Anza had to send a daily message to Mexico City explaining the situation, and he would write his location as “Aritz Ona.”
Although many researches have tried to prove that the name Arizona comes from either the Spanish or the Indian language, in the end, the Arizona Historical Society accepted Garate’s work that shows how Arizona got its name.
Steve says that people do not realize how many Basque governors have been in the US. Texas had eleven Basque governors in colonial times. In fact, Jim Bowie, a legendary frontier figure and a folk hero of American culture who was killed at the Alamo [in San Antonio], was married to a Basque, Ursula Veramendi, Governor Veramendi’s daughter. [He was governor of Texas, 1832-33]. In New Mexico (which included the Arizona territory) there were also around 12-13 Basque colonial governors, and 5 in California.
25-30:00
Steve explains that the fifth Basque governor of California was the first native-born Californian to be governor. His mother was Morraga and his grandfather had come to California together with Juan Batista de Anza, both soldiers. He also adds that many places with Basques names can be found in Northern Mexico, although he explains that they have frequently been confused with Indian names. Early Basques explorers named many of the places, now large cities, along the California coastline including San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, and Carmel. There were also 31 Basque priests in the California missions, and the main one was a man whose last name was Lasuen and was President of the missions and founded nine of the Franciscan missions in California.
In exploration, in administration, and in the clergy…the Basques were enmeshed in all of these areas. Steve discusses how when Anza, the younger, wanted to establish a trade route from Mexico into California, he went to Arriaga, who was minister of the Indies and a Basque, and since all of the large businessmen in Mexico were Basque, and all of the attorneys in Mexico City were Basque….they had this huge Basque network. They got the money together and Anza got the call and Steve believes that he was chosen because he was Basque.
30-35:00
Jedediah Strong Smith was a trapper and frontiersmen whose mother was French-Basque. Jedediah arrived in California through the Mojave Desert with no water and no food and arrived at Mission San Gabriel, but when he arrived Governor Echeandia, who was also Basque, was afraid of the overpopulation in his territory from people from the U.S., so sent Jedediah back to where he had come from. But Jedediah, instead of going to the desert, he either took Tejon Pass (a pass into A) or took Tehachapi Pass and came into Kern County. He was the first European to arrive in Kern County because he disobeyed Echeandia’s orders.
When asked by the interviewer how the importance of the Basques to the economic situation in this area (Kern County area) …now and in the past, Steve explains that the sheep industry became primarily Basque . The early settlers here, the first generation in the late 1800s and the early 1900s, 1910s, and 1920s almost all gravitated toward the sheep business. In addition, they also encouraged more Basque fellows from the Basque Country to work for them as sheepherders. A lot of the Basque sheepherders would take the payments in sheep and no money, and that is how they started their own flocks. They would run their sheep while working with the owner and then separate off. The Basques had a huge economic impact as woolgrowers and sheepmen. Nowadays, even though the range sheep industry is declining due to the lack of public areas and public grazing, the majority of the remaining sheep company owners in town are Basque.
Some of their sons are even continuing to work in the industry as a part-time occupation.
Steve reflects that the Kern County Basque Club clubhouse, where the interview is being conducted with him, looks far different now from its appearance twenty years ago. The clubhouse was purchased in the early seventies. Prior to this it was an old night club. It was “way out in the country” at that time and well-known country singers like Buck Owens and Merle Haggard performed there.
35-40:00
Steve explains how the clubhouse came to be. A group of men got together and started saying that they needed a place to meet. They had their first meetings at the Noriega Hotel. They first rented a Swiss community hall, but were still wanting their own place. Several of the officers, including Arriet and the Saldubehere, had the forethought to purchase the property for the Kern County Basque Club. With a lot of long, long volunteer hours, the members have made it into a usable and friendly space. Succeeding boards and members have continued to improve it. Today, it’s one of the premier Basque clubs in the country including the concha outside – the handball court. Besides the clubhouse and the handball court, the complex includes a picnic area, barbecue area and a large parking area. The north portion was purchased separately to add onto the complex. The club has a number of gardeners as members and this is evident in the beautiful park that is part of the Kern County Basque Club complex. The Board of Directors recently upgraded the front, adding a wrought iron fence complete with lauburus and a beautiful sign.
The building is also rented out to bring in much-needed income to cover the high costs of maintaining the facility and grounds. The club brings in extra money by having a food booth at the County Fair and they also sell beer and wine. The group also organizes an annual picnic on Memorial Day.
Regarding the preservation of the Basque culture, Steve explains that the handball court is used on a weekly basis to play pelota or pala. It is also used to practice dance, as well as for dance performances during Basque festivals. A few years ago, during the NABO summer camp, Steve gave a talk on the Basque history to the children attending the camp.
40-45:00
The court and Basque area is visited both by locals or inhabitants of the area, and visitors from the Basque Country.
Steve loves listening to Basque music and has had many occasions to listen to many Basque-American groups like Jean Flesher’s group or “Amuma Says No.” He says that even at Basque funerals there is music, very moving songs. According to Steve, Basque people are really good singers and the Basque language was meant to be sung.
45-50:00
Steve has noticed that when two or three Basques can have a conversation, it often leads to disagreements, but they are not fighting,, just arguing.. Steve sees this all the time and enjoys watching this activity.
Steve is asked by the videographer to describe one of the important leaders in the Basque community.
Among the many Basques of Bakersfield, there are many, many people who are worth talking to and have interesting stories, but there is one person that, according to Steve, who is a treasure, “Mayie Maitia” (Mayie Etchebarne Maitia). She was one of the first Basques to move to the US after World War II. She came in 1947 with her sister and started out with nothing, like most of the Basque immigrants, but with her positive attitude, work ethic, her amazing smile and willingness to learn and help others, she built herself up to being the leader and owner of probably one of the most famous Basque restaurants in the country, Woolgrowers. Steve thinks that she can make anything into something good. She has an immense amount of knowledge and doesn’t have anything bad to say about anyone. She is a true treasure of Bakersfield.
Steve says that most Basques always keep their word. He says that “a Basque’s word is as good as his honor, and his honor is as good as his word.”
50-55:00
Steve is happy that many oral histories of people with Basque heritage or involved in the Basque community have been recorded because he considers that Basque history up until now has been viewed as being that of Spaniards rather than Basque. He says that Basque people do not brag about what they do, they just do it. He explains that when he was doing interviews with Basques, some of them were surprised because they did not understand why Steve was interested in interviewing them, but Steve says that what they did was impressive: coming to the US with nothing and without knowing the language and being stuck in the middle of Wyoming, Nevada, or the California desert for months and only seeing a human being once a week. But they overcame the situation. Steve is trying to interview more women because most of the books are concentrated on men, but he also wanted to know the female point of view of how they came and worked hard as nannies and cleaning ladies until they improved their lives here.
Steve explains that the establishment of the 13 colonies in the east of the United States is considered the beginning of the US, but the south-western portion of the United States (Southern California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas) had already been settled by the Basques and that doesn’t appear in the history books anywhere.
Judy’s (Steve’s wife) grandfather came to the USA in 1910. He always said that he immigrated because he had heard that in the US people could shovel money off the streets, but Steve believes that the real reason is that he was afraid of being drafted by the Spanish Army. He arrived in Bakersfield in Kern County in 1911.
55-60:00
Judy’s grandmother came to the US in 1917 from Errazu [Nafarroa]. Back in the Basque Country she lived in the mountains and she could only speak Basque, so when she came to the US she had to come with a label on her shirt with the name of the hotel she was going to stay in in California. She came on a ship during the First World War [interviewee later corrected this-initially says WWII], and while she was on the ship a German U-Boat came up to the ship and Germans boarded the ship and stole all the passengers’ money and jewelry, but Judy’s grandmother had the few coins that she possessed because her mother had told her to weave the few coins that she had into her hair so she did not have her money stolen.
The couple got married in 1918.
Steve considers Basque women to be very strong and says that in many cases Basque women would accompany their sheepherder husbands and live with them in sheep camps to help them with cooking and cleaning, so Steve considers them as important to the development of the sheep industry as the men.
NAMES, PLACES & THEMES
NAMES:
Anza II, Juan Bautista de: Basque explorer.
Arriet– early club officer for the Kern County Basque Club.
Bass, Judy: Steve Bass’s wife.
Bowie, Jim: legendary frontiersman figure and a folk hero of American culture.
Columbus, Christopher
de la Cosa, Juan: first non-indigenous person to set foot on the continent of South America
Douglass, William: investigator in the field of Basque immigration
Echeandia, Governor (Governor of California)
Garate, Don: colonial scholar
Goicoechea [Felipe Antonio de]
Honig, Sasha: a professor in Mexican history.
Ibarra, Francisco: Basque explorer.
Kern County Basque Club – the Basque Club located in Bakersfield, California
Lasuen, Francisco: President and establisher of Franciscan missions in California
Oñate, Juan de: Basque explorer.
Saldubehere – early club officer for the Kern County Basque Club.
Smith, Jedediah Strong: trapper and frontiersmen whose mother was French-Basques.
Urrea, Bernardo
Urdiñola, Francisco: Basque explorer.
Veramendi, Ursula: Governor Veramendi’s daughter and wife of Jim Bowie.
PLACES:
Arizona
Bakersfield, California
California
Canada
Central and South America
Errazu, Navarra
Lima, Peru
London, Great Britain Missouri
Nevada
New Mexico
Texas
The Caribbean
The Philippines
Woolgrowers
Wyoming
THEMES:
Adjusting to life in the US
Agriculture
Boarding Houses
Profession
Language
Family relations
Work ethic
Clubs and Organizations
Whaling Camps
Sailing
Christopher Columbus
Exploration and settlement in the US
Community Events
Music
Business
Cooking
Education
Food
Immigration
Military
Nationalism
Other Basque Friends and Acquaintances
Sheep
Sheepherders
World War II