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Chavez, Flora (audio interview #1 of 5)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of five long interviews with Flora Chavez, conducted at the CSO (Community Services Organization) Center, next door to her house, in Venice. The Center was a hub of activity, and although the interviews were conducted in the quietest space that could be found, there was constant background noise and interruptions. Despite her busy schedule and all her activities as Director of the Venice CSO, Chavez was a willing participant. However, she was sometimes fuzzy on details and on precise chronology, probably because she is focused more in her activities in the here and now than on the past. 11/12/1980
- Date
- 2021-05-04
- Resource Type
- Creator
- Campus
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- Notes
- *** File: rrrfchavez1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:43)... Chavez's mother was born and raised in the mountains of Pine Knot, Kentucky. Her parents owned a large farm and her father also worked as a judge. She and her thirteen siblings finished grade school and many went on to receive college degrees. She attended college and worked as a teacher and a secretary. She left Kentucky when she was a baby and did not know her grandparents; and knew only one of her mother's siblings, an aunt who had a career with a government agency and retired at the age of seventy. Chavez's father was an only child and she never knew his family. He also attended college and worked as a school teacher. (3:43-6:02)... Her father (Randolph Seiler) was born and raised in Jellico, Tennessee near the Kentucky-Tennessee border. She assumed that her parents met in church or in school. When she was a baby, they moved to New Mexico and her father worked as a school teacher. Her parents had seven children. However, they had a rocky relationship and were separated for most of Chavez's early childhood. When she was a young girl, her mother (Mary Elizabeth Stevens) divorced her father and took the children to California. Chavez was never close with her father and knew nothing about his family background. (6:02-10:01)... Chavez was born at home with the aid of a physician. She believes that her grandmother was a midwife and traveled to different homes in the mountains to help women during childbirth. Chavez was the third of seven children. All of her siblings were born at home. Her youngest sister was delivered by a midwife while they were living in New Mexico. Her mother's pregnancies were not discussed and childbirth was not a big event in her family. They lived in a Spanish-speaking, rural community in New Mexico and all of the Mexican families were Catholic. A new baby was born in the community every year. (10:01-15:13)... Her parents decided to move to Albuquerque, New Mexico because of the climate; however, jobs there were scarce. They lived in a farming community approximately six miles from town. Her parents grew or raised most of their food. Chavez and her siblings use to joke about the relatively easy life they lived during the Depression because they were already poor and did not have anything of value to lose. They occasionally helped neighbors by supplying them with food. Because of her modest upbringing, she states, "I have never been afraid of being poor." As an adult, she continued to live a simple life and never felt pressured to conform to society's materialistic values. (15:13-16:16)... Chavez had fond memories of her childhood growing up on a farm. She talks about her play activities and the enjoyment of living in an environment surrounded by nature. (16:16-19:31)... Although her mother taught school while in Kentucky, she did not obtain her teaching credential when they moved to New Mexico. In addition to raising a family, she occasionally worked as a typist, a nurse, and a housecleaner. The first four children in the family were born less than two years apart. Chavez's mother talked to them about the difficulty she had traveling on the train to New Mexico with three toddlers and an infant. The last three children in the family were farther apart in age and were conceived during the times her parents reconciled after separating. (19:31-22:33)... Her mother did not start working outside the home until Chavez and her siblings were old enough to care for their younger siblings. She worked mainly as a nurse, and after they moved to California, she worked at the V.A. hospital in West Los Angeles. She eventually moved to Elsinore and lived there alone until she was well into her eighties. When her health began to fail, she returned to Los Angeles and moved in with Chavez's sister. She required constant medical attention and they eventually placed her in a rest home, which made Chavez and her sister feel extremely guilty. She was in the rest home for less than two years before she died. Chavez talks about old age, indicating that she instructed her children not to baby her when she gets older and to make decisions about her care based on what is best for their lives. (22:33-24:37)... Chavez discusses her farm and household responsibilities. Although the girls and boys took turns doing certain chores, "the Boys were always favored [and] the girls more or less had to wait on the males. I guess it must have been written in blood some place because everyone accepted it really." (24:37-29:06)... Two of her brothers joined the service during WWII when they were seventeen years old. Another brother lied about his age and joined when he was fifteen. All three returned home from military duty uninjured but affected by the tragedies of war. Chavez was unpopular during the war for her antiwar rhetoric, stating, "I always felt that the young men should refuse to go because they couldn't fight a war without soldiers." She talks about living in a hotel in Los Angeles and the soldiers who stayed with them while they were on leave. Although she was patriotic, she also believed that war was senseless because of the deaths it caused. The interview ends just as Chavez is discussing food rationing during the war. End of tape. *** File: rrrfchavez2.mp3 (0:00-0:45)... Chavez continues to discuss rationing during the war, as well as the modern gas shortages in California. (0:45-5:50)... She grew up in a strict household in which "mother was boss and they never argued with her." Her mother used corporal punishment when the children misbehaved. Chavez believes that this form of discipline was the norm when she was growing up. She talks about how values have changed since she was a child and the ways outside influences, such as television, affect children today. She also comments on the role that adults play in society, indicating that many of the people she knows are addicted to prescription drugs and/or alcohol because these substances are more available than in the past and people find it easier to cope with their problems while under the influence. (5:50-6:59)... She cannot recall going on any trips or participating in special activities with her family. They stayed home mostly and on the weekends they entertained themselves by riding the horse or the mule. Her mother read the bible to her children. They were early to bed and early to rise and her mother also scheduled an afternoon nap for herself. Chavez digresses regarding her personal smoking habit, indicating that it was her only vice. (6:59-15:23)... Her mother was not involved in any social groups outside the home. She visited with friends and neighbors in the community. When Chavez was growing up, neighbors helped each other when they were in need and in times of illness. Her mother was an attractive woman and men were often "courtin" her; however, she was not interested in dating because she was too busy raising seven children. Occasionally, they went to church or to religious revivals. Chavez also went to Catholic services with friends during the holidays. She digresses regarding the changing morals and values in society, also commenting on environmental waste and the importance of conserving natural resources for future generations. (15:23-17:24)... Most of the families in her community were "Hispanic" and they all socialized with the Anglo families. Chavez mainly played with her friends during recess at school or on Sundays. During the week, her mother occasionally allowed her to visit girlfriends, but that time was spent helping her friends with household responsibilities. She lived in a tight knit community in which neighbors depended on each other. She believes this is an oddity in today's society. People were willing to share the very few possessions they owned back then. Chavez does not have a lot of possessions and never worries about her house being burglarized because there is nothing she has that anyone would want. (17:24-21:34)... Chavez attended a country school a few miles from her home. Her mother expected her children to do well in school and they got a whipping if they received poor grades. Chavez enjoyed school because it gave her a chance to play with her friends. Her teachers were strict and one teacher frequently swatted Chavez's hands with a ruler because of poor penmanship. The junior high and high school she attended was in town and she had to walk seven miles to get there. Before school, she had to feed and milk the cows which usually soiled her only pair of shoes. She was not involved in any extracurricular activities because she was expected to go directly home from school to finish her chores. (21:34-26:18)... Her mother did not prepare her for menstruation because "no one talked about those things in those days." Occasionally, her girlfriends mentioned things to her, but nothing they said was particularly informative. Sex education was not taught in school when she was a child. She believes that schools now play too much of a role in teaching children about sex and reproduction when it should be the parents who introduce their children to these issues for the first time. She discusses the reproductive responsibilities of men and women, stating, "I was for women's lib long before it was a popular subject, just like I was antiwar long before anyone would say it out loud." She reiterates her opinions on war and peace and talks about how WWII affected her brother. (26:18-28:27)... Chavez talks about her social life while she was in high school. A fiesta was held in the community once a year that everyone attended. Other than visiting neighbors and friends, reading, and taking long walks, there were few activities for young people to do back then. Chavez's social activities were limited while she was in high school because she always had a part-time job. (28:27-29:39)... Her part-time jobs included working at a health food sanitarium, picking strawberries during the summer, and working as a cook and a housecleaner at a boarding house. She quit that job because "some of these ol' lecherous men use to chase you around the bed... but I was pretty fast and managed to get away." End of tape *** File: rrrfchavez3.mp3 (0:08-5:10)... Chavez was not allowed to date until she was seventeen or eighteen years old. She does not recall very many people in her community dating before that age. Boys and girls were usually segregated when they went to social functions and when they were on the playground at school. She discusses the lack of parental controls today, the result being sex among teenagers and a high rate of pregnancies and abortions. (5:10-8:53)... Her only career expectations were to get a high paying position in whatever field was available to women. She wanted to go to college, but found it to be an impossibility at that time. Over the years, she took evening courses at Venice Adult School and Santa Monica City College. She took her two-year-old daughter with her to classes at Venice and there were no restrictions against bringing children into the classroom back then. She talks about the fate of her psychology teacher at Venice. (8:53-9:37)... Everyone she knew got married because it was "a natural way of life." It was a rarity to meet a "old maid" because it was expected that women would marry when they were old enough. (9:37-14:49)... Chavez and her family moved to California when she was in high school. They were motivated both because of better job opportunities in California and to be near her brothers who were stationed there. They rented an apartment in downtown Los Angeles and her mother began working as a nurse at the V.A. hospital. Chavez worked during the day and went to evening courses at Venice Adult School in order to finish her high school requirements. After she received her diploma, she began taking college preparatory courses and eventually enrolled in Santa Monica City College. She attempts to recall the specific dates of her activities during this period, but states that she has a difficult time remembering dates. Her family eventually settled in Venice, California. (14:49-19:10)... Chavez describes the types of work she did when she first moved to California, stating, "I probably got fired from more jobs than most people hold." She did a little bit of everything, including working with her sister as a dance hall girl on a boat. She was very close to her sister and they both worked in defense during the war. (19:10-29:06)... Chavez married her husband (Filbert Chavez) when she was in high school. He was from one of the more successful farming families in the community. His father owned several acres of land, a tractor, and a Model T truck. They traveled over eighty miles to get married in Sante Fe. After moving to California, they separated and reconciled on several occasions. She accepted marriage and "just sat in the back of the bus and never thought anything of it." Most of her friends were already married and it was expected that she also would marry. She discusses her ideas about marriage and the traditional roles that women are expected to fulfill within marriage. She digresses regarding motherhood and establishing a relationship with her grandchildren. (29:06-30:11)... This interview ends just as Chavez is discussing how being raised by a strong woman affected her marriage. For the most part, her husband made most of the family decisions and she cannot recall rebelling against him. End of tape.
- SUBJECT BIO - Flora Siler Chavez was working in various factory and service jobs for one year prior to going to work at Douglas in 1942. The third of seven children, Chavez grew up in a poor family on a small farm in New Mexico, where she lived with her mother and six siblings. At an early age she began to assume a heavy workload, and continued to work hard all her life. The family moved back and forth between Albuquerque and the Los Angeles area and after she married long time neighbor and playmate, Filiberto Chavez in Albuquerque, she moved to Los Angeles. Her husband didn't like it in Los Angeles, and returned to Albuquerque. This was the first of many separations in their married life. At the end of the war, Chavez returned to Albuquerque again for a year, and worked in a factory there. In 1946, she and her husband returned to Los Angeles, and she worked on and off for the next twenty six years in the aircraft industry (at Douglas, Lockheed and Hughes). Her activism in the union during the war was the beginning of her long career in the civil rights movement and her later engagement with Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworkers. After her retirement from the aircraft industry in 1972, she became the Project Director of CSO (Community Service Organization) in Venice, and continued to work and live and organize in the Chicano community in Venice. Despite her very busy schedule, Chavez was always willing to make time for the interviews, which were all conducted at the CSO Center next door to the house that she lived with her husband. The Center was always a hub of activity, and although the interviews were conducted in the quietest place of the Center, there was always background activity and noise, and frequent interruptions by phone calls or other Center-related business. All this makes it difficult to hear the narrator at times. Chavez spoke freely about her life, although she had some difficulties remembering specific details. As a result, the chronological sequence of events is sometimes difficult to follow. When Chavex died in September, 2003, the Los Angeles Times published a lengthy, laudatory obituary, testifying to the acknowledged value of her work and her importance as a grass roots community activists (September 14, 2003, B18). TOPICS - family background; family history; childbirth; move to New Mexico; parent's marital relationship; childhood; farm life; siblings; household and farm chores; gender roles; mother's work outside the home; mother's herationing during WWII; mother's disciplinary actions; attitudes towards society's changing values; mother; childhood; schooling; household responsibilities; menstruation; women's liberation; anti-war attitudes; andating; gender relations; attitude towards sex, pregnancy, and abortion among teenage population; career expectations; schooling and college; marriage expectations; husband; marital relationship; move to California
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8573257832834494-rrrfchavez2.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download | |
4909316227187901-rrrfchavez3.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download | |
8676772041001912-rrrfchavez1.jpg | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |