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Chavez, Flora (audio interview #5 of 5)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the final interview with Flora Chavez, as usual 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 always activity going on in the background. 1/16/1981
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- 2021-05-04
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- *** File: rrrfchavez15.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-3:40)... Chavez did not place a lot of expectations on her daughters because she believed it was important for them to choose their own paths in life. However, she encouraged them to go to college because "college broadened your outlook overall." She discusses her daughters' careers and their personal lives. (3:40-5:04)... She did not experience separation anxiety when her daughters left home because they stayed nearby. One of her daughters, however, moved to Canada with her husband and has lived there ever since. (5:04-5:43)... Chavez is somewhat disappointed that her daughters are not politically active, commenting that they seem to have inherited their father's attitude more than hers. They support her activities, but have no interest in pursuing similar causes. (5:43-9:25)... Note: there is an interruption in the tape during this segment. She jokes that if she had to raise her children today, she would resign from motherhood. It would be far too difficult for her to parent another child because her values would have to complete with the outside pressures placed on children. Had she been equipped with the knowledge and experience she possesses today, she would have done some things differently when raising her daughters. Overall, however, she was a good mother and feels that her children turned out remarkably well. She digresses regarding housing in Venice and inflation in the real estate market. (9:25-10:27)... Even after her husband retired from Douglas, they continued to live somewhat of a separate existence. The only difference in their lives since his retirement is the decrease in income. He receives retirement funds from Douglas as well as social security. Both stay busy with their activities and rarely spend time together. (10:27-12:09)... Chavez spends her free time, which is very rare, working on her mother's home in Elsinore. During these outings, she is usually accompanied by the boy she helped raise from the time he was a newborn to age five. The rest of her time is spent working at CSO and attending the various conventions, meetings, and events involved with her work. (12:09-15:47)... She talks more about her position at CSO as the first woman director of the organization. The men on the board were resistant to her taking over the job because they felt that a woman could not handle the work. Once she was hired, however, "we just got rid of the resistance." As the director, Chavez solved many of the organization's financial and program problems. She helped the president select a new board, indicating that they ended up with all women on the board because the men they chose did not attend the meetings. The current board includes one man and CSO hopes to elect another one. (15:47-21:54)... Note: there is an interruption in the tape during this segment. Initially, Chavez had a difficult time working with clients because they were accustomed to doing business with men. It was particularly difficult for the Latino men to accept a woman in the position. Over time, their clients figured out that if they wanted CSO services, they would have to accept working with women. When Anthony Rios became the state president of CSO, he openly expressed his support for women and the attitude in the community began to change. He established the tradition of electing a "woman of the year" for their contributions to the organization. Chavez also discusses Cesar Chavez's leadership of CSO. He encountered a lot of resistance from the state board because he wanted the organization to focus on the poor and the farm workers while the board envisioned a professional organization. (21:54-23:41)... There probably was some resentment in the Latino community towards her because she was White. However, she developed a level of trust with her clients and they depend on her to provide the services they need. (23:41-29:17)... Continuing to discuss men's attitudes towards women in the CSO, she talks about the resistance that a woman attorney encountered when she came to CSO. Chavez believes that future generations of women will move into positions of authority with ease and "will be surprised that back in the old days people felt women were second class citizens." Chavez remembers feeling this way when she registered to vote and learned that women did not always have that right. She credits women like Eleanor Roosevelt for paving the way for women's rights. Chavez also discusses the unisex movement and how it symbolizes a "step forward for us [women]." End of tape. *** File: rrrfchavez16.mp3 (0:06-1:56)... Note: the audio begins after about six seconds. Chavez continues to discuss unisex restrooms, stating, "the woman will be the one who cleans it." She is not sure what the outcome will be of the unisex movement., but believes that "women are on their way up and they are going to stay that way." (1:56-6:27)... She supports the women's liberation movement, indicating that she would be more than happy to participate in demonstrations in her community if she was informed about these events. She recalls when a women's rights march was held in Santa Monica; however, she did not learn about the demonstration until it was over. Whenever she receives a letter or mailer about the movement, she contributes money to the cause. She believes that the women's right movement helped decrease discrimination towards single mothers and, therefore, made it easier for single mothers to immigrate to the US. (6:27-10:22)... Chavez explains that she is an emotionally strong person and handled criticism well when she first started at CSO. At the time, the organization was in a crisis and everyone at CSO worked together to reach their goals. She discusses the problems with the CSO Credit Union and her efforts to reopen it. (10:22-14:11)... She talks about her future which includes working as long as physically possible. She has a lot of goals to reach at CSO and it is important to her to continue her work at the organization. If the community in which she works becomes middle class, she will move CSO to a poorer community where their services are needed. Chavez thinks about retiring to the country and spending more time with her family. She also thinks it would be fulfilling to go to Mexico and educate men that "it is in their best interests to support women and to allow women to participate and be equal partners." (14:11-15:03)... Chavez discusses her physical health, indicating that she guards her health so that she can continue working. (15:03-19:14)... She thinks that menopause is "overrated" because so many women exaggerate the symptoms. Chavez does not read medical books for fear that she will convince herself she is developing the health condition she read about. She did not experience any of the menopausal symptoms that she was told to expect during that phase in her life. (19:14-21:43)... Chavez clarifies an earlier statement she made about being unconventional and how it affected her experiences in the PTA. She perceived the PTA as a middle-class organization that excluded poor people in the community. (21:43-29:49)... Although she definitely made mistakes in her life, she never regretted her decisions and would not change anything in her past. She talks about organized religion. Humanity is a form of religion that she wishes more people would live by it. Although people have "high concepts," she believe that we are very inhuman because we still have war and allow human beings to starve. She believes that as the standard of living rises, people become less concerned about the environment and the human condition. She is not a socialist, a communist, or a fascist, but a democrat and "that's bad enough." She discusses her political views and the changes she thinks are necessary in government in order for everyone in society to be represented. (29:49-30:35)... Chavez talks about how working in defense during the war impacted her life; however, this side of the tape ends as she begins to discuss this. End of tape. *** File: rrrfchavez17.mp3 (0:06-6:46)... She remembers when some of her co-workers talked about wanting the war to continue so that they could keep their jobs. Chavez did not agree with this way of thinking and she was not afraid of losing her job. She lived in poverty when she was a child and never felt insecure about returning to that socioeconomic status. It was much easier to grow up in the country poor than it was in the city because her family was able to survive on the food they raised and grew on their farm. They were not impacted by the Depression because they were already poor and had nothing to lose. Job security, therefore, was never important to her, especially if that security was predicated on war. (6:46-9:29)... Chavez does not know what type of career path she would have taken had she never worked in defense during the war. Although the work was monotonous, she liked it because it gave her a chance to work with her hands and the pay was good. She did not like the working conditions, indicating that there were no windows in the plant and the "air was bad." It was a confining place to work because she had to have an identification badge to get in and out of the plant and she was not allowed to go into other departments. However, she was glad that she worked in defense rather than in an office. (9:29-11:42)... Chavez expresses her appreciation for participating in the interview. She also discusses the their clothing in the defense plants, indicating that many women complained about having to wear pants. During lunch breaks some of her co-workers talked about how they "longed to put on a dress," which she thought was foolish. Women also were required to wear closed-toed shoes and a bandana to protect their hair. (11:42-16:14)... Although everyone was patriotic during the war, there were plenty of things to be stressed out about. Her women co-workers complained about the lack of available men. They also had separation anxiety because of the lack of contact with family members and loved ones fighting overseas. It was equally difficult for mothers to leave their children at home when they went to work. Eventually, one of the plants where Chavez worked opened up a childcare center for women who worked on the day shift. This center was closed when the the war ended. People also were frightened about the possibility of an attack on the home front especially after reports were made that a bomb was dropped near the coast. Finding a place to live was another stress in people's lives because of the housing shortage in the Los Angeles area. (16:14-19:09)... Most of the people she knew were very patriotic and willing to sacrifice their time for other people. Chavez remembers giving her coffee and sugar coupons to people who liked to drink coffee because it was in short supply. The general attitude was "We're all in this together" and people felt that it was their patriotic duty to help others with their childcare needs and things of that nature. She comments on the status of childcare today, indicating that it has become burdened by licensing and inspection regulations. (19:09-23:59)... Chavez remembers the women she worked with as being sad and lonely because they missed their loved ones. Some of her co-workers even cried while they were on the job. Chavez tried to keep herself busy and surrounded by people so that she would not worry about her brothers fighting overseas. She states that the war years were "a very sad time and it certainly affected a lot of people." She relates this sense of sadness to the hostage situation in Iran, indicating that the tensions and uncertainties associated with this crisis are similar to the feelings that people felt during the war. The government is capable of solving the hostage crisis by offering Iran money; however, "money always comes first in our society," not people. (23:59-30:21)... She continues to discuss society's lack of concern for human life in relation to the abortion issue. Although she does not condone abortion, she believes that it is a personal choice and should not be a national or political issue. She remembers that when laws were established against abortion many women resorted to "hat pin" abortions. The availability and legality of abortion, however, has resulted in it being used as a method of birth control. She believes that the only resolution to the abortion issue is to make it a health issue rather than a moral issue. 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 - expectations for daughters; parenting; husband; marital relationship; CSO; sexism in CSO; attitude in Latino community towards Chavez; CSO leadership of Cesar Chavez and Anthony Rios; women's rights; Eleanor Roosunisex restrooms; CSO credit union; women's rights and women's liberation movement; CSO activities; future plans; health; menopause; attitude towards PTA; reflections on life; religion; political views; and impactpolitical views; ideas about war; socioeconomic status; defense work; working conditions; work clothing; patriotism during WWII; wartime stresses; housing shortages; childcare; materialism; Iranian hostage crisis;
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9513007906888852-rrrfchavez17.mp3 | 2023-10-19 | Public | Download |
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