"The lemons are Freezing!"

"The lemons are Freezing!"

Mario Perez

Mario Perez

You are being asked to contribute your story to the Bracero History Archive, which is developing a permanent digital record of the Bracero program. Your participation in the project will allow future historians, and people such as yourself, to gain a greater understanding of this program and its effect on the people involved.
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I am now 56 years old, and although my memories are a little sketchy, I have very pleasant memories of the Limoneira in Ventura. My father was a Brazero, he started out picking lemons and became a Foreman under Mr. Jenkins. My father went by the nickname "Goyo", his real name was Gregorio Perez (Rodriguez). He was the first of his family to come from Mexico as part of the guest worker program, eventually bringing his 3 brothers (Alfredo, Daniel and Mauro) with him. My father died in 1962 at the age of 42, he was a hard working man and I miss him.

I am interested in learning more about his life and if someone reading this story recognizes his name or this story, I would love to hear from you.

The title, by the way, is from the memories of waking in the wee hours of the morning in the "2nd house" where we all slept in a baracks type setting, to a loud horn and the stirring of vehicles and workers lighting the oil pots to warm the lemon groves.

I am proud to be the son of a migrant farm worker, and I hope to hear from you.