Consuelo Lerma

Consuelo Lerma

Biographical Synopsis of Interviewee: Consuelo Lerma was born in Las Cruces, New Mexico, on December 1, 1917; in 1949, she began working for the Singer Sewing Center in Las Cruces; after receiving training, she began teaching sewing classes for the wives of braceros and other low-income farm women.


Summary of Interview: Ms. Lerma recalls that in 1949, she began working for the Singer Sewing Center in her hometown of Las Cruces, New Mexico; she went to El Paso, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, to receive training on how to use the machines and their various attachments and how to teach others to sew; shortly thereafter, she then began teaching a sewing class for the wives of braceros and other low-income farm women; the classes were offered through the Home Education Livelihood Program and jointly sponsored by the government and area churches; the government provided the fabric and necessary materials, and the Singer Company supplied the machines; the classes were given in Vado, New Mexico, in the morning, afternoon, and evening once a week; the women taking her class spoke only Spanish, and she taught them what little English she could; they were from the San Miguel, La Mesa, and Vado area; the women focused primarily on making dresses. [Interviewer’s Note: Ms. Lerma was uncertain of the exact years she taught the classes, but she was adamant about these women being the wives of braceros.]

Morgan, Beth

Lerma, Consuelo

2003-03-07

Sewing

Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso

eng

Consuelo Lerma

Lerma, Consuelo

Institute of Oral History, The University of Texas at El Paso

No

Digital, WAV, MP3

54:19

Morgan, Beth

Lerma Consuelo

Las Cruces, New Mexico

Lerma_ELP029