As our MobileBooth West team headed north from LA this week, the concrete grid gradually gave way to wide flat fields flanked by mountains and the Pacific Ocean — a landscape known to the world through the words of novelist John Steinbeck.
On February 26th, we opened the booth in downtown Salinas, Steinbeck’s birthplace and “America’s Salad Bowl”–the surrounding land produces most of the greens consumed in the U.S. On Steinbeck’s 107th birthday, we found ourselves in the midst of the Salinas farmers market between tables of local produce, and the balloons and cake at the nearby National Steinbeck Center.
Among the stories shared in the booth so far were the recollections of Doris and Joe Bragdon (pictured below), “Okies” who, like the Joad’s in Grapes of Wrath, made their way west from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl to find work in California, often living on river banks or in government-funded tent camps.
Joe remembered visiting Doris after a day working on cannery row and having to keep himself–and the strong smell of sardines–out on the porch.
In a place known for its artichoke, garlic, spinach and strawberry production we have heard from contemporary farm workers and labor activists as well as those whose lives intersected with the labor history of the place.
Carmen Obeso told her granddaughter, Carmela Moreno (pictured above) about the time Cesar Chavez stopped by the house for a haircut and ended up staying the night.
We look forward to the next few weeks of hearing about the experiences that converge in this fertile place.
March 8th, 2009 at 4:55 pm
this looks amazing! i can’t wait to listen.
March 9th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
What a wonderful project!
March 9th, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Wow. Can’t wait to hear more. Love the title.
March 9th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
john steinbeck ate sang’s! (or so i’ve heard.)
March 12th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Great pictures. The stories you mention sound really interesting, I hope we get to hear them!
March 13th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
MMMMM! Fresas!
March 14th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
“trabajando por” – comes to mind for both the dust bowl survivors and the waves of migrant labor before and since. I look forward to hearing more before you leave the central valley – great post and pictures!
April 25th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
Wonderful portraits! I love the two v-necks and the two generations in red!
June 5th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Being a native of the Monterey Peninsula, I was thrilled to see that StoryCorps was heading to Salinas. As a kid, Mom would always drag us along to shop the farmers produce stands, and we did a fair share of gleaning, being raised in a frugal, Ukrainian-descended household, eating a lot of vegetables. I love the mix of peoples who populate my home region, and deeply appreciate discovering that the aboriginal people of the area are now more accepted, along with the richness of the Hispanic and European and Asian cultures so prevalent in the area. I remember life growing up in Seaside and Monterey as a real “salad bowl” of races, traditions, languages and beliefs. Thank you for capturing these stories and sharing them with us all. Last week, StoryCorps ended it’s month-long visit here in Eugene, Oregon, where I now live, so it’s been a double serving of meaningful encounters and some terrific storytelling!