Sunday, September 21, 2008

Back to the Bracero program...

After Cappy was made the foreman of the Fowler farm labor camp and it was doing great! The Mexicans all liked him! And the farmers, too! He liked everybody and everybody liked him all his life! Anyway, he soon became a trouble shooter for all the different camps in the Valley area around Fowler! That really took him a lot of places! And since Lester Bert was getting older, I went with Cappy most of the time. It was interesting to say the least! One particular time, (I was telling Steve about it today) Cap Fahrney, who was working for the Farm Labor commission, called Cappy one morning and asked him to meet a train coming in from Mexico with about 200 men and they would need a lunch and someone to manage them until the camp manager could get out to a place called San Joaquin in the middle of nowhere and hot and dry, in the West side of Fresno County. Cappy came and got me and with Dominga, (the cook Cappy had hired, remember, when he first arrived in Fowler!)He told her that we had to have 200 liunches made to give to the men when they got off the train in Fresno! It would be lunchtime! So Dominga and I covered the tables in the cookhouse with paper and spread out 400 slices of bread! We then, with Cappy, put mayo and a leaf of lettuce on each one and a slice of bologna. We wrapped that in wax paper and put a piece of fruit in the bag! Now this was supposed to last them till they go to San Joaquin where they were supposed to be met with the new manager, a cooking staff, etc. Well, the Mexicans were put into a few trucks and off we went! They were happy with the lunches, etc. When we got to the labor camp, there was no one there, the gas hadn't been turned on for the stove, there were no lights, no food and 200 men that awaited a new home! Cappy asked me if I was afraid to stay there with them while he went into "town" to see what could be done about everything. He called Cap Fahrley from there and got permission to go ahead and do what was needed! In the meantime, I sat there and looked at all these men who could speak no English and I could speak no Spanish!!! What to do?? Finally, I saw a guitar or two in the crowd and asked them, "in sign language" if they could play the guitar nd sing!! "Oh, si, si!" nd so they began to play their guitars and sing. When Cappy got back, everyone was singing and clapping their hands to the music and really having a good time! Of course during this time, the Electric Co. came and hooked up the lights and the gas company came out and filled the "Butane" tanks with gas, etc. When Cappy came, he brought a lot of food that was easy to fix, chilis, eggs, potatoes, tortillas, tomatoes, onions, and whatever he could find in the small grocery store in town! He got a couple of guys to help do the cooking and he put on a huge kettle of beans to help with the Breakfast because it looked like we were there for the night! Then came the job of doling out cots and blankets, (the camp was a bunch of tent houses! We finally, I can't remember when got them all settled for the night. Then we put up a couple of cots for us in the cookhouse. About 2:00 A.M. in came three "Cooks?" as dead drunk as can be. I gathered up my blanket and headed for the car and Cappy went into the "office" to sleep!He woke up early to find these guys making pancakes for breakfast!!!! Talk about dumb!! Still half-crocked, etc. We had to wait around until the so called "manager" showed up! I was afraid when I looked at him that we might, or at least Cappy might have to go back that night! I don't know what happened after that! I do remember Cap Fahrney being very "upset?" at the whole crew out there! This was just one of the stories while Cappy was working at that job!!!