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- Notes:
- Self-recorded interview by Norma Buenrostro Gonzalez, May 18, 2016. Norma’s parents are originally from Michoacán, Mexico. Her family came to the United States in 1999, and she grew up in Holland, Michigan. Later, Norma and her older sister moved to Oceana County to live with their aunt and uncle, who own a Mexican store named La Probadita in downtown Hart. As Norma’s family never worked as migrants or pickers while she grew up, she was astonished by how big the agricultural business was in Hart. Norma has spent time volunteering with the Hart Main Street Program, the Oceana Hispanic Center, and her church. She hopes to see more positive relationships built between farmers and workers in the future.
- Date Created:
- 2016-05-18T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Self-recorded interview by Walter Urick, May 26, 2016. English language recording. Summary in English and Spanish. Walter was born on June 3, 1939. He is a first generation American, as his father grew up in Belarus and his mother in Poland. Walter has two sisters, Mary and Lola, and one brother, John. His family moved to Hart in 1940, and after World War II his father started Urick Dry Cleaners in Hart. For a number of years, Walter picked strawberries, cherries, and pickles at farms in the area. When he was 16 years old, he got his first formal job working for Hart Cherry Packers. In high school, Walter was involved in sports, drama, and the debate program, and he graduated in 1957. He went on to Albion College and then to law school at the University of Michigan, graduating in 1964. On January 1, 1965 Walter became the Oceana County Prosecuting Attorney and held that role for six years. He met his wife, Karen, and they were married on August 26, 1967. They have had three children together. During that time, Walter was recruiting young lawyers and eventually became partners with Tony Monton. He then was the family court judge for Oceana County for 18 years. Overall, Walter had a 42-year career practicing law. Now that he is retired, he is active in his tennis club, rotary club, church, the Oceana Singers, and is president of the Oceana Historical Society.
- Date Created:
- 2016-05-26T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Oral history interview with Jerry Brandel, Hart, Michigan. Interviewed by Walter Urick. English language recording. Summary in English and Spanish. February 12, 2016. Jerry Brandel was born on February 28, 1945 in Muskegon, Michigan. That year, his family moved to Hart, Michigan, and bought a fruit farm. He graduated from Hart High School in 1963 and then went on to Michigan State University to take a two-year agricultural course. After his schooling, he went into partnership for ten years with his father and brother, where they farmed cherries, apples, peaches, and Christmas trees. In 1975, Jerry decided to begin farming on his own, and he started growing pickles in Oceana and Mexico. Years later, he entered into the broker business, selling pickle crops for other farmers across the country. Jerry has two sons and one daughter, and he has now lived in the Oceana County area for 70 years.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-12T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- Notes:
- Oral history interview with Russell Robbins. Interviewed by Walter Urick. February 19, 2016. English language recording. Summary in English and Spanish. Russell Robbins was born in September of 1941 in Hart, Michigan. He is the son of Mason and Dorothy Robbins. During the summers from 1950 to 1960, he worked with his dad in Doctor Munger’s cherry farming. Russell was highly involved in the cherry operations in various capacities, such as trimming trees, selling snacks to field workers, beginning the cherry shaker program, and more. He took over a gas station in 1960, and then from 1965 to 1972 he ran a Dodge car dealership. In 1971 he started teaching part-time at West Shore Community College as an automotive instructor. Later, he had an independent shop until 2003. He then got involved in the Hart Historic District as a volunteer, enjoying a very rewarding experience there.
- Date Created:
- 2016-02-19T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Grand Valley State University. University Libraries
- 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 Diana Giles. Interviewed by Norma Gonzalez Buenrostro. English language recording. Summary in English and Spanish. May 17, 2016. Diana grew up in Hart, Michigan. Her family moved to Oceana County in 2002 when she was five years old. Her parents were migrant workers who were recruited to work in Oceana’s agriculture business. Diana and her family were the first Hispanics that settled in the area. Her parents had agricultural and factory jobs there. When Diana was 9 years old, she began working along with her parents, experiencing what it was like to do labor work. Diana is currently a community health worker at a migrant clinic. She is studying to be a nurse and a respiratory care therapist.
- Date Created:
- 2016-05-17T00:00:00Z
- 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