A People’s History of the Inland Empire Digital Archive

Items

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  Mexican American Citrus Packers

  A black and white picture of Mexican American citrus packers inside a warehouse-pack box. A row of women working at their own station and they are looking at the camera. Next to them are are boxes of other citrus fruit. On the side of half of the boxes of citrus fruit is a picture. Each woman's hair is either tied up or short. The background is another row of female citrus workers that are facing the other way against the wall and working.
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  Evans Bros Citrus Workers

  A black and white photo of Evan Bros Citrus Packinghouse workers, men, and women posing for a photo in front of Monte Vista Citrus Association. A sign states "Monte Vista Citrus ASSN" is on a sign on the building at the back. The first row is women posing with on their knees, the second row has both women and men sitting, and the third row is men that are standing. They are posing in front of some type of electrical pole. The caption states: "Evans Bros. Riverside, California. Feb 26, 1948."
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  Bob Lynn Interview

  In the 1940's Bob Lynn, was a former citrus grove owner in Riverside County. Both his grandfather and his father worked for the industry throughout the early 1900s. He recalls having owned more than one hundred acres of navel oranges in the City of Riverside. His grandfather was first involved in the Sunkist industry when he became a manager for the Arlington Heights packing house, where he inspected citrus wooden boxes and shipped them to different states.  Lynn's father became an inspector for Sunkist, making sure fruit had been properly waxed and wrapped. When Lynn was six, he worked for his family’s citrus groves, killing gophers in the fields. At the height of the citrus acreage decline, he recalled a change in climate; the air became hotter and there were less trees, as buildings and blacktops replaced navel groves. With the decline of the citrus industry in Riverside, he worked to preserve the groves and became one of the founders of the Riverside Historical State Park, providing tours to the locals and establishing the Sunkist and gazebo areas, and was one of UCR’s first varial tree growers.
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  Connie Tepezano, Deanna Reese, Lee August Group Interview

  Connie Tepeezano describes life as a Mexican American and life in Rancho Sespe to Interviewer August Lee, who is working for the Citrus Heritage Park. To reconstruct the village's replica, Mrs. Tepezano recalls the social life in the village and how she raised her family in Rancho Sespe as well as employment in the citrus industry.
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  Citrus Project Interview

  Anonymous interviewee describes her lifelong relationship with labor beginning in Mexico at the age of thirteen, to migrating to the United States and setting as a sorter for the National Orange Company in Riverside. She describes the hardships of labor in packinghouses, wages, supervisors, and her aspirations for a better job.
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  2012 Calendar Page 20, October

  The RCMAHS calendar cover page for October 2012 is black and white and "October is written in both English and Spanish at the bottom of the page with the year on either side. An image of the Evans Brothers Packing House taken in 1948 takes up most of the page designed inside as an open travel notebook. There are three rows of workers, both men, and women wearing various types of clothing in front of a building with the caption at the bottom stating "Evans Bros. Riverside, California. Feb 26, 1948." The sign "Monte Vista Citrus Association" is in the top right of the photo. The front row and some of the second row are women, while the back rows are men.
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  Dallas Holmes Interview

  Interview with longtime Riverside resident Dallas Holmes: Holmes was a lawyer and judge in Riverside and Corona, as well as an activist for the green zone in Riverside that allowed for the preservation of many citrus groves along Arlington and Victoria avenues, respectively. There are also frequent mentions of the history and local, bureaucratic, and corrupt politics of the area that ultimately led to the downfall of the Citrus industry in Riverside in favor of industry and housing development for commuters from Orange and LA counties. Citrus agriculture and air pollution are also discussed rather briefly.
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  Bashid Muhammad Darwah Interview at the Citrus State Historic Park 2017 Tasting

  This interview focuses on the citrus industry from a nontraditional perspective-that of an Afghani immigrant. The interview details the wars experienced by Bashid while living in Afghanistan prior to his arrival in the USA. It also expands upon the challenges faced by Afghani agriculturalists in the Nangarhar Provence of Afghanistan.
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  Steve Reyes Interview

  This interview largely focuses on the practices involved in working in a citrus grove. Steve Reyes recalls his time as a "rata" a child laborer working in the citrus industry. The main practice outlined in the interview was smudging, a process in which smoke was used to prevent frost accumulation on the citrus plants. Reyes emphasis on a united family unit being core to the old values of Mexican American life.
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  Eunice Romero Gonzales Interview

  1994 interview with Eunice Romero Gonzales. Eunice details her early years growing up in the Redland's citrus ranching industry, and the changes that occurred after the War and the Bracero Program. Part B discusses Education in Redlands and Racial discrimination as well as Eunice's adult life employment.
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  Sam Coyazo Interview Remastered

  1997 interview with Sam Coyazo. Sam speaks about his upbringing, the development of surrounding communities, his education and pleasures, his work as a packer and his military experience, and the process of "smudging" at citrus groves.
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  Joe Arredondo and Evelyn Pedro Interview

  1997 interview with Joe Arredondo, editors note: Part 1 of the interview was lost due to equipment failure. Joe Arredondo discusses citrus picking crews and the state of the citrus industry and citrus properties at the moment (1990s). The conversation turns to water rights and the possibility of Highland or Redlands annexing Greenspot, they discuss zanjeros, well water, and the construction of larger water pipes in the region. Evelyn Pedro reminds Arredondo about his involvement in the Progretista and he describes his negative experience with the organization.
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  Women Working in a Packing House Calendar Photo

  Mary Bermudez and friends working in a citrus packing house. They are standing in front of a conveyor belt laden with citrus and behind them are boxes stacked high to the ceiling. All of them are wearing semi-formal and casual dress attire. This image is featured in the 2008 Riverside County Mexican American Historical Society Calendar. See “relation” to learn more.
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  2008 Calendar Page 18, Mary Bermudez and friends in a Packing House

  Mary Bermudez and friends working in a citrus packing house. They are standing in front of a conveyor belt laden with citrus and behind them are boxes stacked high to the ceiling. All of them are wearing semi-formal and casual dress attire. The calendar text reads "Mary Bermudez and friends working at the packing house. Photo courtesy of Dorothy B. Hernandez."
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  Interview with Citrus Packer Lupe Reyes

  Lupe Reyes discusses her early life in Riverside, California, and her experience working as a packer in the citrus fruit industry.
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  Tom Mazzetti Interview

  Interview with Tom Manzetti at the Blue Banner Packinghouse in Riverside. Manzetti the owner of National Oranger, discusses his life in Riverside and work in the citrus industry, focusing particularly on the details of Sunkist and citrus cooperatives.
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  Christine Roque Oral History

  In this interview conducted by Audrey Maier, inquiries Christine Roque about her knowledge regarding her family’s history with the Citrus Industry and goes into depth about her personal experiences in advocating for her community in Redlands about the construction of warehouses and the fight against the building of a Super Walmart. Christine Roque details her memories of when her father and brothers worked in the Citrus Industry. She briefly mentions the role her father was promoted to and describes what his position entailed. The interview then transitions into a conversation about the beginnings of her involvement in her community and what that involvement looks like. Christine Roque mentions the different groups she was in attempts to push back on general plans and to advocate for equity for all of the different parts of Redlands. Lastly, the interview ends with a conversation about the negative effects of warehouses on people and the community and restates the negative impacts of the Citrus Industry.
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  Ernest "Jimmy" Medina Interview

  Ernest "Jimmy" Medina discusses his life growing up in the Inland Empire. Additionally, he discussed his father's involvement in the bracero program and the citrus industry.
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  Ray Villanueva Interview at the Citrus State Historic Park 2017 Tasting

  Ray discusses his experiences working within packing houses in the Inland Empire's Citrus Industry.
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  Guadalupe Chavez Interview at the Citrus State Historic Park 2017 Tasting

  This interview in Spanish recounts the life of Guadalupe as she worked in California's citrus industry throughout southern California. She discusses the nuances of this work, such as gender roles within the industry that dictated women work in packaging and men in the fields.
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  Oddie Martinez Interview

  Interview with Oddie Martinez on April 18, 1994. Oddie discusses his life growing up in Redlands, California, his experience serving in the Navy during World War II, the Redlands citrus industry, his career in education, his local activism, and his involvement in local politics (first Mexican Mayor of Redlands, 1978-1982).
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  Rose S. Lawson Interview

  1998 interview with Rose S. Lawson May 7, 1998. Rose S. Lawson briefly mentions her family history in Redlands and her detailed experience working in the citrus industry as a "rot girl" and a quality grader.
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  Joe Howard Herrera Interview

  1994 interview with Joe Howard Herrera on his citrus work, including the "girdling" process, his WWII drafting experience, experiencing segregation and discrimination, and how the Mayor of Redlands stood up against it. He lived most of his life in Redlands.
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  Robert (Bob) Garcia Interview

  1995 interview with Bob Garcia on his upbringing, citrus and farm labor, and becoming a foreman.
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  Blas Coyazo Interview

  1994 interview with Blas Coyazo in which he focuses on citrus/migrant labor, his military service in World War II and life in Redlands.