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BASQUE ORAL HISTORY PROJECT INTERVIEW TAPE INDEX
NAME: Rose
Arregui Dick TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS Side 1 0-3:00 Rose was born on 14 October 1917 on 7th street in Boise, Idaho. Her father was Mateo Arregui; her mother was Adriana Zelaya. Her parents were from Berriatua. They were married in the Basque country before they came to Boise. Mateo arrived in Boise first, then sent for her mother. Rose is the youngest of four siblings. Her parents owned a boarding house, the Modern Hotel, before she was born. By the time Rose was born, her family had moved to the Delamar Hotel, another boarding house in Boise. Rose’s mother died when Rose was 8 years old. Her father remarried Mari Dominga Goicoechea, who had been married several times. Goicoechea was her maiden name, and Rose gives some of the history of her marriages. Rose loved her stepbrothers and stepsisters, and the family got along very well. 3:00-7:00 Rose describes the Delamar, focusing on the kitchen, which was the center of life in the boarding house. She describes some of the work that had to be done around the Delamar, and tells how they used to make chorizos. Rose went to school at St. Teresa’s Academy, but her chores did not stop during the school year. She describes a typical day at the boarding house. Boarders were not around all year. 7:00-13:45 Education was important for the family. They spoke a little Basque at home, which Rose has forgotten. Her older siblings spoke Basque better, and since they married Basque men they were able to keep up the language. Her stepmother, whom Rose called amuma, spoke mostly Basque. Rose loved her, and emphasizes how good she and her father were. Rose remembers some of the Basques her father helped. They had a player piano, a nickelodeon, at the Delamar, which provided music for dancing. The boarding house had a dining room and a dance floor. After dinner, many boarders would smoke, play cards, and have coffee. Some would invite the girls to dance. The cost for a boarder was $30 a month. Three meals a day were included. Rose describes what her stepmother would cook for each meal, as well as what she prepared for dessert. Laundry was sent out to Idaho Laundry on State Street in Boise. Saturday morning was cleaning day. 13:45-16:00 Mateo Arregui was a religious man. He went to the Church of the Good Shepherd and later to St. John’s Cathedral every Sunday, and brought the children, accepting no excuses for wanting to stay home. Mateo helped found the Church of the Good Shepherd. His English was quite good, and was an excellent bookkeeper. 16:00-23:15 Rose remembers some of her Basque classmates at St. Teresa’s, and names other young Basques who lived at the Delamar while they worked and went to school. Rose started going to the Riverside dances from the time she was 18 years old. She remembers playing bridge with her friends, and the Sip n’ Bite hamburger joint where they would go after they dances. Rose lists other young Basques who came to socialize and dance at the Delamar on Sundays. She explains how her stepbrother, Carlos, died from an operation in the 1940s. Her stepmother was crushed by his death, making it impossible for the family to keep the Delamar. This led to the decision to sell the boarding house soon afterward. Rose remembers how it was eventually torn down. She names some of the men who stayed at the Delamar. 23:15-26:45 Rose’s father used to give them a bit of money to go to the movies and buy some candy on Sundays. She names some of the movie theatres open at the time. She met her husband, Bob Dick, at 19, and married in 1941. She was 7 months pregnant when he was shipped off for World War II. She remembers some of the Basques who farmed outside of Boise during the war years. Rose’s daughter, Eileen, was born, and Bob went back to work for Morrison Knudsen when he returned from the war. He worked for MK for 20 years, then changed jobs and worked for the State of Idaho. 26:45-30:00 Rose backs up to when her family lived on the corner of 8th and Grove streets in Boise. She describes the neighborhood. She and a friend of hers were afraid of the Chinese families around (today, she does not understand why) and would not associate with them. Side 2 0-9:00 In 1947, Rose started taking her children to Basque dancing lessons with Jay Hormaechea. She remembers where the lessons were. Bob helped a little with the building of the Basque Center. She describes how the Center was founded. Rose was involved in the women’s organization, the Independiente Sociale, and remembers the Depression years. The women’s organization helped Basques in the area that were down on their luck. There was more than one Basque women’s organization that did this kind of social work. She describes her involvement in the organization. The women had to be either Basque or married to a Basque to be part of the organization. The goal at first was to raise money for those in need, later for insurance. She remembers the beginning of the Euzkaldunak club and her involvement in it. Rose describes some of the other ways in which she was active in the Basque community. Even though her husband was not Basque, he helped a great deal with projects and was accepted in the Basque community. 9:00-12:00 Rose explains why she thinks the Basques were so well accepted in the community. She served on the board of the Basque Center, but does not remember what year. Some of her grandchildren have danced with the Oinkaris. None of the boys dance, but the many of the girls did. She talks a little about her great-grandchildren. 12:00-15:30 Rose sees a bright future for the Basque culture in the United States. She considers herself to be Basque. She has not been to the Basque country, and her father never returned, but still feels a strong connection to her heritage.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES: Arregui,
Mateo – Rose’s father. PLACES: 8th
street, Boise, Idaho THEMES: Basque
clubs and organizations |
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