Page 2
OPPORTUNITY NEWS, Friday, July 29, 1966
A letter to our readers from Darlene Harris, North Plains
O P P O R T U N IT Y
N EW S
Voi. 2, No. 30
As a regular reader of your quite
exceptionally factual and concise
paper, I find little to disagree with.
However, there sometimes comes
along an article that demands re
futation. Such as "HOW DID WE
GET TO OREGON" by Priscilla Car
rasco.
Friday, July 29, 1966
This newspaper
is a publication
of the
VALLEY MIGRANT LEAGUE
P. O. Box 128
Woodburn, Oregon
Valley Migrant League phone 981-3171
Newspaper phone 981-9711
Will P. Pape,
Executive Director
* * *
; Don Wilcox, Editor
Rick Simon,
Assistant Editor
Priscilla Carrasco, Editorial Assistant
and Circulation Manager
Julie Behar, Editorial Assistant
Leonora Guinazzo,
Samuel Hernandez
. Translations
Judi Jarvill
Secretary
♦
♦
♦
“We must open the doors of oppor
tunity.
But we must also equip our
people to Walk through those doors.”
Lyndon B. Johnson
President
United States
“Surely, it is not beyond our re
sources nor our ingenuity to include in
our war against poverty these always
‘excluded’ Americans (the migrants).”
Sargent Shriver
Director
Office of Economic Opportunity
The VALLEY 'MIGRANT LEAGUE,
sponsor of this newspaper, is a part of
the President’s-W ar on Poverty and is
funded by the Office of Economic Op
portunity, Washington, D.C.
OPPORTUNITY NEWS is published
weekly, for free distribution to seasonal
farm workers of this area, and to per
sons interested in the activities of the
VALLEY MIGRANT LEAGUE.
I have never seen so much mis
information
dreamed
up,
or
gathered up, or howevef the
source might have been, come un
der one heading. I am taking the
advantage
of
"Freedom
of
Speech", a term which appljes to
the press, and state that I am in
clined to believe that Miss Carras
co cannot, and must not, measure
the State of Oregon with the usual
yardstick. The farmers of Oregon
need the farm workers and, in the
same manner, these workers need
the Oregon farms. I would suggest
that this writer do some research
on "HOW WE FARMERS GET THE
PEOPLE TO OREGON", before she
prints another article that does not
fit and is not a straight source.
Each of us must contribute some
thing special to the farmers of Ore
gon for their untiring effort, par
ticularly to the abundant crops of
food for these people to harvest,
and the many hours of labor, and
their near all profit of these crops,
that go into the making of a labor
camp. The tirirtg and expensive
trips to the South to deliver the
"sometimes near starvation diet"
people to Oregon, but I have yet
to hear a farmer make any com
plaint.
While I have no financial stake
in this matter, it is personal with
me. My son owns and operates ope
of the larger labor camps and is
among the group of farmers. My
three sons were born and raised in
the South, and we admire and re
spect the entire Mexican race.
No one could ever convince me
that a Mexican mother would ever
permit her little ones to ride on
one bus while she rode on another
one. They are devout mothers. And
I quote, "We sat on blankets, we
froze to death, we had no blank
ets." No Mexican mother would
ever let her little one freeze if
there were blankets available.
I rode one of the busses to the
South and, on the return trip, with
42 passengers aboard. It was a
tiring trip. For three days and
nights I stayed up and awake to
see that all were as comfortable as
was possible. Each passenger was
well aware of the long trip ahead
of us, at the time of departure.
Yes, our food on the return trip
was cold. The busses are not equip
ped to serve hot meals.
Miss Carrasco is not familiar with
her own people and their habits.
She is far from being exact and
writes as if she has vague ideas.
She has used terms which cover
up The gaps between measurable
facts.
Having been born and raised in
the still poverty stricken areas of
the South, I have a deep feeling
for the Mexican people, especial
A LITTLE STO R Y
ly those that I see here now, that
have food a plenty for their fami
lies, after seeing with my own eyes
the near starvation diet they were
on before coming to Oregon.
I thank God for this wonderful
state of Oregon with its natural
beauty and its many opportunities.
May we never see the day the
farmers of Oregon cannot provide
these busses for the transportation
of the Mexican people.
I have spoken frankly and with
feeling, to both audiences, the Ore
gon farmer and the Mexican
people, and I sincerely hope that
I have not troubled Miss Carrasco.,
Let us all "see the best" and not
harrass the good that the Oregon
farmer is doing.
By Darleen Harris
Spanish-American Berry Farms
Rt. 1, Box 279
Cornelius, Oregon
Ph.: 331-2386
PRISCILLA CARRASCO REPLIES
The article "How Did We Get To
Oregon?" consisted of quotes from
adults and children in one labor
camp. Quotes gathered from the
labor camp of Ron Tankersley, Dar
leen Harris' son, would certainly
be of value.
The Opportunity News realizes
that there are some growers and
contractors who know their re
sponsibility in their treatment of
fellow humans who work for them.
We shall continue to write until all
growers and contractors accept this
responsibility. — Priscilla Carrasco.
U N C U E N TITO
Here is a little story.
Aquí está un cuentito.
It begins with a baseball game near the schoolhouse. There was a slight
accident. The baseball broke a window.
When recess was over and the children returned to their seats, the teach
er said, "Children, I want you to have a good time when you play baseball,,
but I hope you won't break any more windows."
’ Then a boy in the back of the room jumped up angrily. He shouted,
"You're accusing me! It's a lie! I didn't do it!"
End of story.
As we select material for this newspaper, a newspaper concerned with
fhe welfare of migrant workers, We sometimes print pictures and words
that say, figuratively (as the teacher said), "We hope that everyone w ill try
lo avoid doing damage."
We believe that most of the growers of our crops who read our news
paper w ill understand that our words are needed and deserved.
The children in the story — most of them — understood that the teacher
■vas being reasonable, even charitable. She was certainly not making an
accusation against all of them. This would have been very unjust. Certainly,
he children wanted to play baseball without breaking any windows.
So let's get on with the game, whether it's baseball or harvesting crops
- being careful to do no damage either to the property or to the lives of
he people we're working with.
-P-W.
Empieza cori un partido de béis
bol cerca de la escuela. Hubo un
pequeño accidente. Se rompió un
vidrio de una ventana.
Al terminar la hora de recreo y
volver a sus asientos, la maestra
dijo a los niños, "Niños, quiero que
se diviertan al jugar al béisbol,
pero espero que no rompan más
vidiros de las ventanas."
En el fondo del cuarto un niño se
puso de pie enfadado. Gritó- "Me
está acusando! Es mentira! No lo
hice!"
El fin de cuento.
Al escoger artículos . para este
periódico que se interesa en el
bienestar de los trabajadores mi
gratorios, algunas veces impresa
mos palabras y fotos que dicen,
figurativamente (como dijo la pro
fesora). "Esperamos que todos evi
ten hacer daño."
Creemos que la mayor parte de
los agricultores quienes leen nues
tro periódico comprenderán que lo
que decimos es necesario y apro
piado.
Los niños del cuentito—la mayoi»
parte—comprenderon que la maes
tra era razonable, aún caritativa. Es
cierto que no les estaba acusando a
todos. Esto habría sido muy injusto.
Ciertamente los niños querían
jugar al béisbol sin romper ningu
nos vidrios.
Así, sigamos con el partido, sea
uno de béisbol o uno de piscar co
sechas-teniendo cuidado de no ha
cer daño ni a la propiedad ni a la
vida de las personas con quienes
estamos trabajando. — D. W.