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Basques of Harney County, Oregon, Oral History Collection, 1976-2001
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Jackson, Royal G.
- Title
- Basques of Harney County, Oregon, Oral History Collection
- Dates
- 1976-2001 (inclusive)19762001
1976-1978 (bulk)19761978 - Quantity
- 0.5 cubic foot, including 28 audiotapes, (2 boxes)
- Collection Number
- OH 04
- Summary
- The Basques of Harney County, Oregon, Oral History Collection consists of transcripts and audiotapes of 15 oral history interviews conducted in 1976 as part of an inventory of historic sites in Harney County. Basque sheepherders immigrated to southeastern Oregon from the 1890s through the 1920s and worked as itinerant herders on the mountain ranges of Harney County until the 1930s.
- Repository
-
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Collection is open for research.
- Languages
- English
Historical NoteReturn to Top
Basque sheepherders immigrated from northern Spain and southwestern France to southeastern Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada from the 1890s until the early 1920s. They worked as itinerant herders on the mountain ranges of Harney County until the 1930s and often spent the winters in Basque boarding houses or hotels, such as the Star Hotel in Burns. The Taylor Grazing Act, drought, and the depression brought an end to the sheep industry in Harney County.
The Basques of Harney County, Oregon, Oral History Project was part of an inventory of historic sites in Harney County conducted by Royal G. Jackson and Jennifer A. Lee in 1976 and was funded by the OSU Research Council and the Harney County Oral History Program. Jackson was an Associate Professor in the Department of Resource Recreation Management at Oregon State University; Lee was a student in that department fulfilling an internship requirement.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Basques in Harney County, Oregon, Oral History Collection consists of audiotapes and transcripts of oral history interviews conducted in 1976 by Royal G. Jackson and Jennifer A. Lee. The collection includes audiotapes and transcripts for 14 interviews and a transcript only of the interview with Alsna Barainca.
The oral histories address a variety of topics pertaining to the Basques in Harney County, including their work as sheepherders; Basque food and festivals; use of the Basque language; discrimination and prejudice against Basques; the Basque community in Burns, Oregon; other towns in the region, including Nampa, Idaho, and McDermitt on the Oregon-Nevada border; and Basque hotels and boarding houses including the Star Hotel and the Commercial Hotel in Burns.
The interviewees ranged in age from 30 to late 70s at the time of the interviews in 1976. Most of the interviewees were born in Spain and came to the United States in the 1910s and 1920s; five of the interviewees came to the United States between 1954 and 1970. Several interviewees were born in the United States.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Preferred Citation
Basques of Harney County, Oregon, Oral History Collection (OH 04), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
This collection is arranged in two series: I. Audiotapes and II. Transcripts. Some of the interviews were previously assigned individual numbers; the OH04 item numbers were assigned by the Archives and the 986- numbers by the Horner Museum.
Custodial History
The audiotapes and copies of the 1977 transcripts were deposited by the interviewers with the Horner Museum and subsequently transferred from the Horner Museum to the Archives in 1996.
Related Materials
This collection is a component of the Oregon Multicultural Archives, which documents the lives and activities of African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American communities of Oregon. Other materials pertaining to Harney County are available in the Extension Service (RG 111) and Agricultural Experiment Station (RG 25) Records and the Edwin Russel Jackman Papers.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series I: Audiotapes, 1976Return to Top
The audiotapes include an original field recording of the interview and a duplicate use copy. Use copies of the unnumbered interviews were made in 2001.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
2 | OH04:01; 986-1-45: Santos
Arguinchona
Arguinchona was born in 1900 in Spain and came to
Winnemucca, Nevada in 1918.
The Arguinchona interview provides information about
sheepherding and camptending, Basque festivals, the Star Hotel in Burns,
Basques in Burns, Argentina, and McDermitt.
|
|
2 | OH04:02; 986-1-46: Carlos Ereno
Ereno was born in Mampa, Idaho, in 1922; his parents came to
Idaho directly from Spain in the 1905 (father) and 1909 (mother).
The Ereno interview provides information about Nampa, Idaho;
Spain; and Spanish politics.
|
|
2 | OH04:03; 986-1-47: Jean Harrit
Harrit was born in France in 1914 and came to Oregon in 1939
to join his brother who was a sheepherder.
The Harrit interview provides information about Basques in
Burns, sheepherding, the Hines Lumber Mill, and the Crane Land Sheep
Company.
|
|
2 | OH04:04; 986-1-48: Martina Larraneta
Martina Larraneta was born in 1901 in Spain and came to San
Francisco in 1916. In 1920 she married a sheepherder and moved to Oregon.
Martina Larraneta's interview provides information about
Basques in Burns, Basque social activities, the Commercial Hotel in Burns, and
San Francisco.
|
|
2 | OH04:05; 986-1-49: Mike Larraneta
Mike Larraneta came to Winnemucca, Nevada, from Spain in
1920, at the age of 22 years.
Mike Larraneta's interview provides information about
working as a carpenter; Winnemucca, Nevada; and Spain.
|
|
2 | OH04:06; 986-1-50: David Mallea
David Mallea was born in Jordan Valley, Oregon, in 1922. His
parents came to Idaho from Spain in 1902 (father) and 1905 (mother). His father
worked in the mines for several years and then as a sheepherder.
The Mallea interview provides information about Jordan
Valley, Spain, and Basques in Burns.
|
|
2 | OH04:07; 986-1-51: Marguerite
Stevens
Marguerite Stevens' parents came to Nevada from Spain in the
early 1900s; her father was a sheepherder.
The Stevens interview provides information about Basque food
and social events.
|
|
2 | OH04:08; 986-1-52: Cecilia Urizer
Urizer was born in Spain in 1898 and immigrated to
McDermitt, on the Oregon-Nevada border, in 1916.
The Urizer interview provides information about McDermitt,
Andrews, the Star Hotel, Basques in Burns, and Spain.
|
|
2 | Maria Baraibar
Maria Baraibar came to the United States from Spain in
1970.
Maria Baraibar's interview describes her arrival in the
United States from Spain; learning English; Basque families and friends and
Burns; and children learning culture and language.
|
|
2 | Nicholas Baraibar
Nicholas Baraibar came to the United States from Spain in
1955, at the age of 16, to be a sheepherder.
Nicholas Baraibar's interview includes information about
sheepherding, Basque hotels in Burns, Basque friends and family, and Basque
festivals and social events.
|
|
2 | Josephine Ebar
Ebar came to the United States in 1921 from Spain.
The Ebar interview provides information on sheepherding; the
Central Hotel in Burns and other Basque hotels; traditional Basque dances; and
Basque food and cooking.
|
|
2 | Marcelino Osa
Marcelina Osa was born in Spain in 1921 and came to Oregon
with his family when he was five years old.
Osa's interview describes growing up in Burns as a Basque;
speaking Basque, Spanish, and English as a child; sheepherding; traditional
Basque dances and festivals; Basque prejudice in Burns; Basque hotels and
boarding houses; Native Americans; and the importance of the preservation of
Basque culture and language.
|
|
2 | Nicholas Vidando
Vidando came to the United States in 1954 at the age of
21.
The Vidando interview provides information about
sheepherding; Basque traditions, dances, and games; and misunderstandings among
Basques in Burns.
|
|
2 | Joe Zabala
Zabala came to the United States in 1957 when he was 10
years old.
The Zabala interview provides information about his family's
arrival in Burns and acquisition of the Star Hotel; the Star Hotel's
transformation into a private residence; the decline of sheepherding;
discrimination in Burns toward Basques; Basque festivals and traditional
dances; and the Basque community in Burns.
|
Series II: Transcripts, 1977-2001Return to Top
Nine of the interviews were transcribed soon after they were recorded, probably in 1977, and published in a 1978 volume. Logs and transcripts of six interviews were made in 2001 by Amanda Purkey.
Container(s) | Description | Dates |
---|---|---|
Box | ||
1 | OH04:01; 986-1-45: Santos
Arguinchona |
1977 |
1 | OH04:02; 986-1-46: Carlos Ereno |
1977 |
1 | OH04:03; 986-1-47: Jean Harrit |
1977 |
1 | OH04:04; 986-1-48: Martina Larraneta |
1977 |
1 | OH04:05; 986-1-49: Mike Larraneta |
1977 |
1 | OH04:06; 986-1-50: David Mallea |
1977 |
1 | OH04:07; 986-1-51: Marguerite
Stevens |
1977 |
1 | OH04:08; 986-1-52: Cecilia Urizer |
1977 |
1 | OH04:09; 986-1-53: Alsna Barainca
Alsna Barainca came to Oregon from Spain in 1961.
The Barainca interview provides information about Basque
food and festivals and Spanish politics.
|
1977 |
1 | Maria Baraibar |
2001 |
1 | Nicholas Baraibar |
2001 |
1 | Josephine Ebar |
2001 |
1 | Marcelino Osa |
2001 |
1 | Nicholas Vidando |
2001 |
1 | Joe Zabala |
2001 |
1 | Transcripts of confidential
information deleted by interviewer from selected interviews |
2001 |
1 |
The Basques of Harney County,
Oregon: an oral history, by Royal G. Jackson and Jennifer A.
Lee |
1978 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Basque Americans--Oregon--Harney County--Interviews.
- Basque language--Oregon--Harney County.
- Cookery, Basque.
- Folk dancing, Basque--Oregon--Harney County.
- Sheepherding--Oregon--Harney County.
Geographical Names
- Burns (Or.)
Form or Genre Terms
- Audiocassettes.
- Oral histories (document genres)
Other Creators
-
Personal Names
- Lee, Jennifer A. (creator)
- Purkey, Amanda B. (creator)
Corporate Names
- Harney County Oral History Program (Or.) (creator)
- Oregon State University. Research Council. (creator)