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Basque Oral History Project Index Interview Tape Index
NAME: Gaviola, Julio
TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1
Side 1
0-7:00 Julio’s father, Domingo Manuel Gaviola, was originally from Leikeitio, Bizkaia, but at age 16 moved to South America to cut timber for a couple of years before he finally moved to Marsing. When Julio was born, Manuel was already working with sheep. Dolores Aspiri, Julio’s mother, lived a stone-throw away from Manuel while they were growing up—though he was twenty years older than she. Manuel came back to the Basque Country several times to see Dolores, but it wasn’t until she moved to Marsing with her sister Sabiña that they really got to know each other. They were married in Murphy in 1918.
7-14:00 Julio was born on December 7th, 1920 and had four siblings: Flora, Marie, Lottie, Mitch, Benita, and Emmett. By this time Julio owned quite a few sheep and had lambing sheds in several towns, including Big Bend and Wilder. Julio attended Central School in downtown Boise—very close to their home—for less than a year, but it was always hard to attend school because they had to follow the sheep frequently. By the time Julio turned 18, his father had already bought the house in Marsing and sold all the sheep.
14-24:00 Julio and his brothers and sisters learned Basque growing up because it was usually spoken at home: Manuel spoke English very well, but Dolores did speak very much at all. By the time he was six years old Julio was bilingual and didn’t have any language problems at school. For fun he used to hit a rubber ball with a broken pool cue, but decided to stop after a his stick got away from him and clocked a Greek girl right in the head. He remembers that there were many Basques in his neighborhood in Boise and also by the zoo. Almost all of the family friends were Basque, and many would come and stay in the two-story Gaviola house.
24-31:00 Julio was good friends with Rufino Ocanica, and he spends some time describing the location of Rufino’s house near the Capitol Building. Manuel had friends in Boise, Wilder, Big Bend, and other towns. Both of Julio’s parents became US citizens. He again discusses the names of the towns to which they would move periodically throughout the year to follow the sheep. They were constantly on the move.
Side 2
0-6:30 Julio elaborates on the seasonal patterns of movement his family would follow as they put the sheep out to pasture, sheared them, and helped them during the lambing. He attended school in Wilder for about three years, after which time they moved to Big Bend along with the sheep and sheds. He is unsure of how long they stayed at each town—because they were always moving to back and forth between the same towns—but he did finish out the seventh grade in Big Bend. He never went to the eighth grade because he was tired of moving around all the time. He helped his dad move all the sheep up to Cascade one fall, and that’s when they sold them all. His mother used to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for all the Basque kids in the school, and there were quit a few of them!
6:30-14:00 Julio discusses at length some of the Basques who lived and worked in the Marsing area. His father bought the house in Marsing in November of 1938, and Julio was the first to live there and has been there ever since. He would milk cows. There were no Basque clubs or associations in Marsing at that time, but Julio never had trouble finding Basques to talk to and have picnics with. Despite his involvement in Basque life here in Idaho, and the fact that he speaks Basque fluently, Julio has never been to the Basque Country. He stresses that airplanes are dangerous and that, if there were a way to go there by bridge, he would do it. He has established intermittant contact with cousins in the Basque Country and South America.
14-24:00 Julio met Evelyn Johnstone in a dance hall that they both frequented, and they were married in Oregon in 1943. Substantial time is devoted to a discussion of a mischievous goat that bleated outside during the interview. Julio and Evylin had four children: Gary, the oldest; Julie Ann, who works at the hospital in Caldwell; Mike, who lives near Marsing; and Raymond, who is the youngest. Though Julie Anne is the only child who learned any Basque, all of the children are interested in learning about their Basque heritage and participate in Basque events to varying degrees. Some pictures are brought out and discussed. An accident involving an ATV is mentioned.
24-26:30 Julio mentions that his Basque is a little wild and broken, but that he can still communicate to other Basque if needs be.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES: Aspiri, Dolores; mother PLACES: Big Bend, OR
THEMES: Childhood on the move: following sheep |
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