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Basque Oral History Project Index Interview Tape Index
NAME: José Antonio
Luzar
TAPE MINUTE SUMMARY OF CONTENTS
Tape 1
Side 1
0-5:00 José Antonio’s parents are Casiano Luzar and Francisca Landeta, both from Aulesti. Casiano was a contractor who built area houses and repaired them. Francisca stayed at the baserri (Mazti) and took care of the farm work. When José Antonio was nine years old, his parents decided that Casiano should go to the US to find work; since Francisca’s brother was in St. Anthony, ID, the process was simplified. Casiano did not go on a contract, and the intention was always to return to Aulestia. In Idaho, José Antonio’s father was a sheepherder and camp tender, then worked for Simplot in Grandview for a while, and sent money home when his family needed it (saving the rest until his return). Casiano remained in America from 1952 until 1967.
5-12:30 José Antonio was born in 1943 in his farmhouse. He has two brothers, Felix and Luis Mari. He recalls growing up on the farm: playing with horses and goats, handball with friends and so on. Once his father had gone, the family moved into town, keeping the baserri. The family kept 5 cows, some cows and chickens, which José Antonio helped feed and milk. There was also an apple orchard, and the family sold the fruit either in the market or directly off the trees. Sometimes, the family went as far away as Bilbao to sell their apples, most of which was done around Christmas (the fruit could be stored in the attic if covered with straw). José Antonio remembers swimming, playing cards, having picnics and engaging in sports as a child.
12:30-23:30 José Antonio began school when he was 9; prior to having moved to town, the baserri was too far away to make this practical (even though he had accompanied his brother Felix to religious school for a little while before starting in town). He recalls that he spoke no Spanish when he entered school, and that when students were permitted to speak at all, the imported teacher forbade them to do it in Basque. Every day, somebody was slapped or struck for not speaking Spanish, but there was no formal Spanish training—students had to learn from exposure. It only took José Antonio about a year to become proficient in the new language. He describes the curriculum. These Spanish-speaking teachers were not very popular in town, but wielded considerable power, and so people were careful. José Antonio notes that his father helped build his teacher’s apartment in the city hall. When he was 13, José Antonio finished school, and his mother and Aulestia’s priest encouraged him to attend seminary. He didn’t want to become a priest, but instead to go to America, but his father insisted on seminary when he returned home for a visit. He discusses his reasons for wanting to immigrate: the draft into Franco’s army was looming on the horizon, and his friend Joe Goitiandia had already crossed the Atlantic. Casiano did not want his son to follow in his footsteps. Ultimately, José Antonio attended trade school in Markina, from age 14 to 16. He then worked in an Aulesti sawmill for 2 years.
23:30-30:00 José Antonio flashes back to food rationing as a child. He remembers his parents loading up sacks of food to take down to city hall, and receiving stamps for things like cooking oil. This system was a frequent cause for complaint in town, and since Francisca was very anti-Franco, many people hid grain and beans in nearby caves. She was once caught in Gernika trying to illegally sell beans, and the Luzar house was soon inspected. José Antonio recalls working in the local sawmill for 2 years, for Andres Urquidi. When he was 19, he began the paperwork to come to Idaho—greatly facilitated by his father’s recent citizenship. Since José Antonio was the first son in the family to immigrate, and his mother wasn’t very happy about it.
Side 2
0-8:00 José Antonio began his journey in Madrid, then New York, Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City and Boise. He spoke no English, but can’t remember having too many problems on the trip. When he was picked up at the airport and driven to the boarding house, he saw his father there for the first time in 10 years. Since everybody at the Ysursa boarding house spoke Basque, José Antonio felt right at home. Ramon Ysursa did the paperwork and some of the chores, while wife Begońa did the bulk of the housework. José Antonio stayed in the Valencia about three weeks before Johnny Basabe (Casiano’s employer) came to pick him up. It was the first part of February, and so he began with lambing at the Bruneau Sheep Ranch in Grandview. He worked there for about 2 years before switching to the (in order to work with his brothers. Throughout this time, José Antonio did mostly farm work.
8-16:00 In 1966, José Antonio, his brother Felix, and Ramon and Fulgencio Legarreta decided to go work in construction at Hell’s Canyon Dam. He mentions the conditions under which he and his friends left the sheep business. The Idaho Labor Union wouldn’t let him join, so the four went to Pendleton, Oregon to join the union there. At the dam, José Antonio worked as a mechanic, which he enjoyed. He quit in March 1967 when his father had a stroke, in order to accompany him back to Euskadi-- José Antonio’s first trip back. By this time, he was quite proficient in English; he had sought out reading material early on, and so was able to read and write before he could speak. Since most of the men working in the sheep business were Basque immigrants, it was very difficult to practice English with them. José Antonio affirms that one must really want to learn another language in order to do so—it does not come passively.
16-20:30 José Antonio remembers his first visit back to the Basque country. He had been very homesick, but upon his arrival, was told that the Spanish army still intended to draft him, and the American consulate in Bilbao was powerless to prevent this. José Antonio was forced to return to the United States, barely missing the agents who came to his house to collect him. By this time, he was a US resident, but still had a Spanish passport. He never intended to return to Aulestia permanently, but would have liked to visit his family longer than the 30 days he was there. José Antonio shares that after so many years in the wide open space of Idaho, things in Euskadi seemed to be much smaller and closer together than he had remembered.
20:30-30:00 Upon returning to Idaho, José Antonio began hauling hay for Joe Larrea (in 1967). He was drafted into the US army in July of 1968, and picked up again with Larrea after his release, until 1974. José Antonio had become a citizen as soon as he had returned from Spain because he wanted to stay in the US, but also because if his younger brother became the sole supporter of his family back in the Basque country, he could avoid the Spanish draft (it didn’t work). Once José Antonio was drafted, he trained in Fort Lewis, Washington for 9 weeks, before heading into the infantry. He accepted that if it were time to serve his new country, he would do it, and even forewent protesting. In Vietnam, not only did José Antonio not meet any Basques or Idahoans, he only met one person who knew what a Basque was! He stayed in Vietnam 13 months, and received a Purple Heart for getting wounded in a firefight his first year. José Antonio discusses the circumstances of his injury.
Tape 2
Side 1
0-9:30 José Antonio remembers the firefight in Vietnam, which broke a few ribs and was struck by shrapnel. He continues discussing the battle where he was injured. His father died when he was in Vietnam, and so José Antonio took emergency leave to go to Aulestia. This time, he stayed about 4 weeks, and had no problems with the police—he even wore his uniform, and was saluted in Madrid! By the end of his tour in Vietnam, José Antonio had become a sergeant after a test-based selection. In the Basque country, he noticed that there was much more traffic than he had remembered.
9:30-19:30 José Antonio returned to working for Joe Larrea until 1974. This was about the time that he met his future wife, Carla Dickerson, who was waiting tables at the Lincoln Inn in Gooding (where this interview is taking place). He had always felt too much like family to Basque girls to seriously marrying them, and so felt no qualms about marrying a non-Basque. José Antonio and Carla were married in 1975 in Elko. Her family, from Utah, knew little about the Basque culture, but have now come to enjoy it. José Antonio has three daughters: Lola, Lisa, and Teresa. Throughout his time in America, he had always gotten involved in as many Basque activities as possible, including dances, picnics, sporting events and festivals all over Idaho and Nevada. He used to drive all the way from Hell’s Canyon to Boise every weekend to play handball. José Antonio recalls a friend who died after playing handball in Boise.
19:30-24:30 José Antonio’s daughters loved to participate in the Basque culture as well, and all three of them danced. Lisa once went to the Basque country by herself, and became quite good at Euskera. Even though the three girls were not raised speaking Basque, they are all very proud of their heritage. José Antonio describes the trips he and his family have taken to Euskadi: everyone always enjoys himself or herself. He and his wife were among the charter members of the Gooding Basque Association. These days, José Antonio does not feel as comfortable in his native land as he did when he was a boy: even though the old friends are still there, it is not the same, and he would not consider retiring there. Idaho is José Antonio’s home now, and though he hopes to return to visit his family, “it’s not for [him] anymore”. Both he and the Basque country have changed too much.
24:30-29:30 José Antonio talks about his brother Felix, who came to the Basque country later on the same year. Felix bought his own truck in 1981, in order to start his own hay hauling business. Felix passed away when a bale of hay rolled on top of him. José Antonio’s other brother, Luis, never came to the US, and lives in the Basque country to this day. Today, José Antonio still identifies himself as a Basque, even though he is also proud of his American citizenship: he can be both.
NAMES AND PLACES
NAMES:
Basabe, John: Simplot
foreman
PLACES:
Aulesti, Bizkaia
THEMES:
Boarding houses
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