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- Notes:
- Oral history interview with Richard Walsworth. Interviewed by Phil Carter. Hart, Michigan. English language. June 18, 2016. Dick Walsworth is a local farmer from Oceana County. His life story highlights the challenges of maintaining his agricultural business, largely the asparagus industry, viable and competitive with the challenge of emerging global market forces. In this interview, Walsworth shares his testimony of the social, cultural, technologic, and industrial changes that have occurred in the Oceana area since his youth. This rich historical account from the perspective of a local farmer with a lifetime of experience in the agricultural world depicts the challenges ahead in the future to keep our farms and vegetables production alive. To this Walsworth declares that the future depends on migrant labor which is becoming increasingly short on supply since "the next generations are at least getting a high school education [...] they're not going to do field work." Walsworth also shares his deep concern with immigration policy, or lack of governmental policy, that makes it harder on local businesses to keep their labor flow steady and consistent compared to the needs of the industry in a state and national level.
- Date Created:
- 2016-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Collection:
- "Growing Community" (NEH Common Heritage)
- Notes:
- Oral history interview with America Reyes. Interviewed by Penny Burillo. Spanish language recording. Summary in English and Spanish. February 11, 2016. América Reyes was born in El Realito, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She lived in Mexico for all of her childhood. She came to the United States when she was 22 years old and lived in Dallas, Texas. She married there and had two sons and one daughter. In 1997, América and her mother and brothers came to Walkerville, Michigan. They began working as migrants, picking vegetables in the fields. América now works at Michigan Freeze Pack. She wants to stay in Michigan in the future.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-11T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Oral history interview with German Ortega. Interviewed by Penny Burillo. Hart, Michigan. Spanish language. June 18, 2016.
- Date Created:
- 2016-06-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
