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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 4, 1963)
2 X THURSDAY. JULY 4. 1963 MEDFOBD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEPFOBP, OREGON Migrant Workers Start Summer Crbp Tour.of Natio.rt Frtitnr'c nnt- TTn i . j . j ... (Editor's note: Up and down the land, migrant worker! are reaping the harvest but few of the joyi of itt abundance. Here it the ilory of one of them to whom such work is a fam ily tradition.) By NOLENS HODGES United Press International Weslaco, Tex.- IUPII -Plump and motherly Mrs. Aurora Gonzales locked up her sag ging frame house and got aboard a pickup truck with five of her children to see the country the hard way this summer. A 42-year-old widow, Mrs. Gonzales is a migrant farm worker. Her parents were mi' grant laborers, her children are migrant laborers. It has been a family tradition. The great goal in Mrs. Gon zale's life is to educate the children and give them the means to escape the drudgery the family has always known Statistics Few The vital statistics on mi grant workers are few. Mrs Gonzales was married at 15. Her husband Elias died of cancer last January at the age of 56 and she still is in mourning for him. She had nine children. A married son and daughter live in Michi gan. The seven at home range from 4 to 23. One, an eight' year-old girl, is mentally re tarded. The Gonzales are U.S. citi zens. They are Roman Cath olics, but on the road they find frequent help from Bap tist churches. "They will give you a note and pay for the doctor," Mrs. Gonzales says. Their possessions are few. The house in Weslaco badly needs repairs. But it is neat and clean. The floors are cov ered with worn red and green flowered linoleum. A cross and rosary hang on the living room wall. The family has an income MIGRANT MOTHER-In Weslaco, Tex., Mrs. Aurora Gon zales, 42-year-old widow, prepares to travel as a migrant farm worker with her five children. (UPI) M. J.B.COFFEE 65. $49 1-2 or 3-lb. Cant GROUND 6 oz. Instant 10 ex. Instant of a little less than $2,000 a year. While working, they cat well-fresh vegetables, beans, tortillas and, for lunch, meat. While in Weslaco they re ceive aid from the cily wel fare program. Potato Harvest It is a hard life. The three eldest sons living with their mother, aged 16, 22 and 23, left home for the potato liar vest in Alabama last April. Mrs. Gonzales later hi-I ranged for a ride in a pickup truck for herself, her two youngest daughters, the men tally retarded girl and four-year-old Juan. Their destina tion was Foley, Ala. In the truck they had mat tresses and a kerosene stove. If there is no room provided for them where they work, the family sleeps in the truck. Neighbors describe Julio as alert and eager to learn. But his schooling always is inter rupted the harvest and the hope of earning money to aug ment the family income. The Gonzales family will work together in the Alabama fields. They'll go to Indiana for the tomato season and on to Colorado for more potato harvesting. After that, per haps, they will travel to Mich igan to work the beet fields. There is a deadline. Mrs. Gonzales vows that by Sept. 1 she will be back in Weslaco so she can send Julio back to school and the 10 and 13-year- old girls can go into the fourth grade. Education, Goal Education is a goal to Mrs. Gonzales, who had one year of schooling herself. It is the key to security. "I don't want them to lack food, clothing and shoes," she says. For four weeks at the height of the harvesting sea son, the Gonzales family can hope to make $300 per week. There are other dreams. Some day, Mrs. Gonzales says, she wants enough money to build an indoor bathroom in her home. But that must wait The family still is paying the funeral expenses of her hus band. We went everywhere to gether, even to the fields," she said of him. But she shows no despair. Her trips to the fields she calls "adventures. While the family is gone, she asks the neighbors to keep an eye on her little home. We leave everything and hope we can come back and find it," she says. Russians May Never Realize Car Dreams Jorgenten's Fiesta ICE CREAM Vi Gal. 99c BONNIE DOG & CAT FOOD 29 2 tall cent Blue Bell POTATO CHIPS 39 5V4-oz. OK MARKET 1202 No. Riverside Open 'ill Midnitt 7 days e wk. By ROBERT J. KORENGOLD United Prett International Moscow-IUPtl-U will be a long tlme-and maybe nevcr- before the ordinary Soviet citizen is going to have what he probably dreams of-a sort of "Communism with Cadi lacs." The Soviet Union produced only 148,000 passenger aulos In 1961 for a nation of more than 200 million citizens. And passenger car output during the first half of last year was only slightly higher than pre vious annual figures. Complete plans for 1963 have not been published here but no significant changes in production rates are expected. Even truck and bus produc tion, which acts as a clear aid to the economy, was only 406,000 in 1962. In addition, most passenger cars produced in the U.S.S.R. are marked for official use by factories and offices. If some ordinary Ivan wants to get one of the few left over for personal use, then he has to have a roll of rubles and be prepared to wait up to five years. Cars SHU Dream Since early this year price hikes of some 25 per cent or more on automobiles tor the Soviet home market have put that private car dream even a little further beyond the reach of most Soviet citizens This Is consistent with Soviet policy of charging rx orbitantly for luxury good; to hold down demand. Premier Nikita Khrushchev and other Soviet leaders have stated on numerous occasions that Russia Is not going to get into a race with American on private car production. In fact, the official policy is quite the opposite. In ef fect, it amounts to discourag ing the idea of private auto mobiles in favor of plentiful public transportation. "Let the people take taxis or buses," the Soviet chiefs say. By western standards So viet passenger cars are ex pensive and years behind in their styling. The1 main models on tile streets are the five-passenger Volga" with a 75 horsepower engine and the slightly small er "Moskvich" (Little Muscovite). The Volga used to sell for about the ruble equivalent of $4,444 but the price hike has put it up to $6,105. lhe Moskvich, which sold for the equivalent of $2,775, has been hiked to $3,663. A third even smaller car which has been plagued with troubles since its inception several years ago, is the "Zaporozhets" named af ter the city of Zaporozhie In the Ukraine where it is produced. It used to sell fur $1,908 but has been upped to $2,442. Export prices usually are kept lower to Increase sales and bring in foreign currency The Soviet Union usually exports about 30,000 to 35,000 ears a year. They are mostly Volgns and Moskvichcs sent to Finland, Sweden and social ist countries. Government officials In the Soviet Union still are ehauf- fcred around in big, luxurious "ZIP and Chaika" cars, but none are privately owned and there is no information on how many are produced ach year. Irrigation Board Does Cleaning Chores at Meeting M e d f o r d Irrigation dis trict's board of directors this week performed a number of housekeeping chores. Harbison and Piazza, Med- ford legal firm, was ratified by the board as attorneys for the district. Sam Harbison had been appointed during a recent special meeting. The board attempted to clarify the status of Assistant Secretary Mrs. Jack C. Petter- son, but reached no decision, She will continue lo( be re sponsible directly to Secretary-Manager Jack Hoffbuhr. Board Chairman Albert Hucners said he requested the Item to be put on the agenda "since there has been consid- e r a b I e misunderstanding." Mrs. Petterson is designated as an assistant secretary sole ly under the jurisdiction of the manager, he said. Withdraws Resignation Hoffbuhr said he was with drawing his resignation "for the present time." His resigna tion, submitted Dec. 2, due to a series of grievances with a board member, was tabled at that time. After considerable discus sion a majority of the board members authorized Hoffbuhr to attend the Oregon Recla mation Congress meeting in Bend July 19. It was reported the district had received $225 for a meter from Edward Stevens, Hacien da park subdivider in Phoe nix, which the district will install. The district's attorney said MID should require a "hold harmless" clause before it ap prove the Leevcr-Wlialin Sis kiyou Village, Unit 2 plat near the Rogue Valley Coun try club and Murphy rd. The board approved the Rogue Terrace Unit 2 plat west of Grandview market subject to the approval of the district's lawyer. Village Variety and Garden Shop Next to Piggly Wiggly . . . 771 STEWART AVENUE 0RTH0-GR0 15-5-5 The Ideal Fertilizer ,-rv Id Reg. $4.98 2 Gals. 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