Manuel,

My father was old enough to be my grandfather, and he rarely spoke to me about his life prior to his marriage to my mother. He was almost 40 when they married, and he was born in 1903 in Jerez and came to Colorado when he was 10 years old. I don't know when he worked on the RR; it had to be in the 20s or 30s (I was born in Colorado in 1939). I only know about the work on the RR because he once mentioned that the work he had done in the roundhouses was the hardest work he had ever done, harder than growing beets or wheat which he did after he married my mother. I also only know that he was in Wyoming because he once mentioned that the best chili beans he had ever had was at a diner that he used to frequent someplace in Wyoming. I guess those bowls of chili with crackers was the closest thing they had to Mexican food in those parts. I sure wish I had asked him what RR and where in Wyoming.

Maybe you can find some records for the Union Pacific that might list your father or mine? Also, why was the work in the roundhouses so hard? Was it that it was year-round, even in the dead of winter when it got so cold up there? What do they do in roundhouses? I guess they lube and wash and service the locomotives? Where were the roundhouses in Wyoming located?

Thanks,

Emilie
----- Original Message -----
From: manuel castillo
To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
Sent: Tuesday, March 13, 2007 10:34 AM
Subject: Re: [Nuestros Ranchos] Scholarly Article on Mexican Migration toIowain the early 1900's

Emilie Garcia,
Read that your father worked for the Railroad in Wyoming. My father worked for the Union Pacific RR in Cheyenne,Wy.
He started in1941-1950. Transferred to Gearing ,Ne. for 9years. He finished his 30 years service in North Platte,Ne.He worked in the round house.
I`m real curious be cause Rail roaders are a tight group and know each other.
Where did your father work in Wy ? And what years? Manuel
enrique legaspi > wrote:
I am certainly watchful of the reaction of so many people to immigrants who are here legally or or not. I am fortunate one. I was able to come across the border with papers. Each time there is a vote or some referendum on immigration I wonder how many of those who vote against immigrants vote with their hypocrisy. In my view, as long as we benefit, as a ciountry and encourage immigration to promote our countries econommic needs - in the fields or factoryies; typically, I always say...let's think of human dignity and hard work, which my father, and grandfather had and did!

Emilie Garcia wrote: Enrique,

That was an interesting article. My father too worked on the railroads in those years in Colorado and into Wyoming and Kansas. It would be interesting to see an update to this article that was written in 1988, especially since some communities are so up in arms about immigration that Anglos view mostly as illegal and negative. It reflects on us, well, those of us who were born here but look definitely "Mexican". I mean, when they don't know us, we are viewed suspiciously and resentfully.

It was interesting to see that back then even some American-born Mexicans were deported when the government wanted only Americans (meaning Anglos) to take the jobs that were available after the War. When Pete Wilson, the former Governor of California when I was still living there, wanted to deport even second-generation American born Mexicans, my sister and I dug up our father's naturalization papers in case the "Migra" stopped us and tried to deport us, ha, ha. I think migration from Mexico has reached such a point that it will be impossible to stop or even subdue a little. Several communities are being destabilized by the "rounding up" and deportation or holding in detention camps of some groups of illegals, many with small children.