When we rolled up to Salinas, Calif., we had no idea wed be getting schooled….middle schooled, that is! La Paz Middle School teachers Natasha Castro and Melissa Rodriguez had incorporated StoryCorps arrival in Salinas into their 7th Grade curriculum. They invited Site Supervisor Whitney Henry-Lester and me to do a presentation for their classes. Then, they set up appointments for some of their students to come to the MobileBooth and record stories.

The students came to the interviews prepared with questions for their teachers and family members. We were impressed with how well they listened to their conversation partners and how interesting and surprising their questions were. Jose Arroyo and his Aunt Yesenia talked about the importance of education and her experiences coming to the United States as a young girl. Jose Cruz and Ms. Rodriguez talked about dealing with the concerns and difficulties of growing up, and their hopes for the future.

Greg Arias interviewed his father Gregorio about his childhood and all his favorite pastimes like fishing in nearby Watsonville and going to the amusement park on the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. Alma Ochoa even got her mother Maria to sing a bit of her and her husbands favorite song! Jaleny Zavala interviewed Ms. Castro and Alexandra Puga and Lizbeth Garibay each interviewed their mothers, Janet and Maria.

The stories did not stop at the MobileBooth; while only seven students from Ms. Rodriguezs and Ms. Castros classes came to the Booth, all of the classes made recordings on their own. Heres hoping they keep up the listening long after the semester is over.

One of the highlights of our stay in Salinas, California has been learning about the rich mix of cultures that make up Monterey County.  The Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation (OCEN) is an American Indian community historically known as the Monterey Band of Monterey County.  By 1927, however, this group and other California tribal bands were removed from the list of federally recognized tribes.

Several members of OCEN came into the Booth to talk about their lives.  Recurring themes that surfaced in these interviews included the group’s efforts to regain federal recognition, and stories of growing up at a time when there was still a stigma attached to being American Indian.  Pauline Arias talked about the fact that her family long identified as Mexican and how she felt when she discovered her Indian heritage.  She also talked about how she is now learning more about tribal traditions and trying to pass those traditions on to her children.

Pauline’s brothers, Gary and James Martinez, talked about how their grandmother worked with the Bureau of Indian Affairs to help validate the claims of many families that they too were of Native American descent.

Louise J Miranda Ramirez talked about learning about and preserving the tribal language and traditions, which has become a full-time job.  She shared folklore in the Esselen tongue and talked about how her practice of tribal traditions has kept her connected to the spirits of her grandmother and her daughter who both passed away at different points in her life.

Curtis Galloway interviewed his wife Tracy about her unique childhood.  One reason Tracy’s childhood was so interesting was because of a glamorous, blond space travel enthusiast by the name of Jeanne Roberts who just happened to be her mother.

“She was always the one that was up at five in the morning to watch whatever Apollo launch was scheduled, with her nose two inches away from the TV,” says Tracy.  “She had the opportunity to go visit a friend in Florida who took her to [a space launch] and that was one of the thrilling moments of her life because that encompassed a lot of who she was and her interests.  I think she was so overwhelmed by that experience that she bought a space suit from the gift shop.  It fit her perfectly.”  Jeanne had her laundry room painted black and decorated the room with posters of space and models of spacecraft.  Soon the spin cycle of the washer became synonymous with the revolutions of the planets and stars.

Jeanne shared her love of all things stellar with her grand kids, too.  “When we had our first child and he was two years old and we brought him to visit Grandma she put on the NASA suit and the helmet and held his hand and went to take out the trash,” says Tracy.  “When I sent a copy of that photo to my sister we put a little caption on it that said ‘Stewart being abducted by an alien!’”

As our MobileBooth West team headed north from LA this week, the concrete grid gradually gave way to wide flat fields flanked by mountains and the Pacific Ocean — a landscape known to the world through the words of novelist John Steinbeck.

On February 26th, we opened the booth in downtown Salinas, Steinbeck’s birthplace and “America’s Salad Bowl”–the surrounding land produces most of the greens consumed in the U.S. On Steinbeck’s 107th birthday, we found ourselves in the midst of the Salinas farmers market between tables of local produce, and the balloons and cake at the nearby National Steinbeck Center.

Among the stories shared in the booth so far were the recollections of Doris and Joe Bragdon (pictured below), “Okies” who, like the Joad’s in Grapes of Wrath, made their way west from Oklahoma during the Dust Bowl to find work in California, often living on river banks or in government-funded tent camps.

Joe remembered visiting Doris after a day working on cannery row and having to keep himself–and the strong smell of sardines–out on the porch.

In a place known for its artichoke, garlic, spinach and strawberry production we have heard from contemporary farm workers and labor activists as well as those whose lives intersected with the labor history of the place.

Carmen Obeso told her granddaughter, Carmela Moreno (pictured above) about the time Cesar Chavez stopped by the house for a haircut and ended up staying the night.

We look forward to the next few weeks of hearing about the experiences that converge in this fertile place.