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Por RaquelRuiz |

Do any of you have parents or grandparents raised in the section houses of
the Santa Fe RR during the 1920s to 1950s in San Bernardino or Riverside
Counties? These would have included San Bernardino (4th St), Verdemont,
Keenbrook, Cajon, Summit, Hesperia, Oro Grande, Hodge, Barstow, Redlands,
Menifee, Box Springs, Riverside (not an exhaustive list). Spurred by a
reference to the section workers in the latest Somos Primos, I've decided
to use the family info I've already collected, supplement it, and write at
least one article to document this short-lived way of life. My parents
grew up in the section houses and most of my male relatives for two
generations worked at some time for the Santa Fe. There is little to
nothing written about life in the section houses, and photos are rare.
Unfortunately, most families were too poor to own a camera and those that
did were not thinking of documenting their housing.

If you have any stories or photos to share, please email me. Thanks so
much.

Raquel Ruiz
ruiz.raquel061@gmail.com

are you talking abt box cars or homes owned by the railroad?
I know when my grandparents came in 1916 from Jerez, Zac they went to Idaho for the railroad and their first child died there and another was born there.. it was just a box car, hot in the summer and cold in the winter but all the Mexican workers lived in them.
Linda Castanon-Long
Boulder City, Nv

________________________________
From: Raquel Ruiz
To: general@nuestrosranchos.org
Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2013 12:44 PM
Subject: [Nuestros Ranchos] Santa Fe RR Section Houses

Do any of you have parents or grandparents raised in the section houses of
the Santa Fe RR during the 1920s to 1950s in San Bernardino or Riverside
Counties?  These would have included  San Bernardino (4th St), Verdemont,
Keenbrook, Cajon, Summit, Hesperia, Oro Grande, Hodge, Barstow, Redlands,
Menifee, Box Springs, Riverside (not an exhaustive list).  Spurred by a
reference to the section workers in the latest Somos Primos, I've decided
to use the family info I've already collected, supplement it, and write at
least one article to document this short-lived way of life.  My parents
grew up in the section houses and most of my male relatives for two
generations worked at some time for the Santa Fe.  There is little to
nothing written about life in the section houses, and photos are rare.
Unfortunately,  most families were too poor to own a camera and those that
did were not thinking of documenting their housing.

If you have any stories or photos to share, please email me.  Thanks so
much.

Raquel Ruiz
ruiz.raquel061@gmail.com

Linda,
I'm talking about the ones in permanent housing, primarily the cement ones
(the earlier ones were wood). I know what you are talking about, though.
When my grandfather was a foreman he was in charge of a mobile section crew
(aka chain gang). They all lived in converted box cars. As the foreman he
had a boxcar of his own, which was part living quarters, part office. At
that time and place (mid to late 40s to 60s), San Bernardino, the families
of the men lived in the section house in town (if space was available)
while the men were in "el campo", living in boxcars converted into bunk
houses, with cook and dining car.
-Raquel

Hello,

I have a great-grandfather who lived and worked at the Simmons Brickyard in Los Angeles County, I am not sure if that is the same RR that you are discussing here.

It is difficult to find information/pictures/etc., about the location.

I cannot find my great grandfather or his family on any census records, either (for that time period that they were there).

Kristine

Kristine,
Thanks so much for introducing me to the Simon's Brick Yard http://montebellohistoricalsociety.org/mhs/Simons.html. I grew up not far from where it was and had no idea it had existed. My dad, who moved to LA in 1949, recalls the brickyard, but didn't know there was company housing on the site, too. My mom worked in a factory in the mid50s on Vail Ave, apparently near where the brickyard had been. It is unrelated to the RR Section Houses but may have had some things in common with them. I would guess that, being in the city, the homes in Simon had electricity, which the RR section housing largely did not.

Thanks again.

Raquel

Hello,

I never knew they existed either, prior to finding the information on my GGrandfather's WWI Draft Registration Card.

I still have not found much information on his stay there, the search goes on.

Hope you find out more info on the RR section housing that you are looking for.

Kristine =)

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