PINNICK KINNICK HILL: AN AMERICAN STORY

Chapter Twelve

PINNICK KINNICK HILL 103 Martin Walters didn’t come back with him. He stayed on the ranch working as a cowboy. The ranch man had two daughters. Martin married one of them and became one of the family. Several months later, a letter came from the ranch man addressed to Martin’s uncle. Martin, the letter said, had accidentally killed himself as he was trying to climb over a fence. The rifle was in his left hand, and as he braced himself with his right, it fired, hitting him below the chin. He had died instantly and was buried on the ranch. Chapter Twelve H undreds of Spaniards came to the United States between 1900 and 1920, almost all from the province of Asturias. The men came to work in the 25 or more zinc smelters scattered in hamlets, villages and towns in ten states. The women came to bear thousands of children in America, besides the hundreds they brought with them from the old country. At first, they lived in colonies, then in neighborhoods, maintaining their old-world cultures and habits. In some communities they were readily accepted, in others it would take several years and in still others, they were always deeply resented and looked upon as foreigners coming to take away jobs. Many of these Spaniards became naturalized as soon as they had lived in the country the prescribed five years before being eligible to become citizens; their wives and children became automatic citizens when the head of the household became one. Then their children became American citizens by right of birth in this country. Some of the Spanish men waited years before applying for citizenship because of their inability to learn English. In fact, many of the men and women who came to America never learned English well enough to be understood. But regardless of their faults or shortcomings, they became assets to their adopted country. They worked hard in industry, helping make America the great industrial power it is. They brought prosperity to thousands of merchants in all kinds of industries and business enterprises. Thousands of girls married “American ” boys and had children who lost their identity as “Spics.” Meanwhile, the children of “Spanish” boys and “American” girls continued to be discriminated against in many areas because of their surnames. Unlike a lot of other immigrants who Anglicized their last names to disguise their country of origin, few Spanish people changed their name regardless of how difficult it would be for them to get ahead. To this day, I know of only two families who thought their name would be more American if they wrote the last letter of their name with an ‘s’ instead of a ‘z.’ For some reason, the Artimez family wrote their name as Artimes, thinking it would sound more American. And they were right in one sense, but wrong for doing it. The other was the González family, which began to use the ‘s’ PINNICK KINNICK HILL 104 instead of the correct and only way to spell the name—González. Many nativeborn boys and girls of Spanish extraction would have had a better life in this great country had they been willing to sacrifice pride for convenience by changing their names. Even as the years passed and the children began to graduate from colleges and universities—or become proficient in the trades or in business— their surname still had a detrimental effect. The Spaniards who came to this country during the years chronicled here made a greater contribution to the United States of America than the earlier Spaniards who came to ravish and exploit. They gave their lives working in these zinc smelting infernos, contributing to every kind of business, producing not only profits for their employers but raising the standard of living of the very ones who most resented having them in their midst. While sitting here on Pinnick Kinnick Hill, I am reminded of the family of Alonzo Garcia. During World War II, he lost his oldest son, Benjamin, in the invasion of Sicily. His brother, Ricardo, lost his oldest son in Pearl Harbor, for he had joined the navy and was aboard one of the ships hit by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. Alonzo and Ricardo were married to sisters and they lived in neighboring houses. Both women refused to leave their houses after learning of their sons’ fate. But Alonzo had a second son, Salvador, who was rejected from going into the service...