Post by rick on Mar 14, 2012 0:03:44 GMT -5
Yesterday, I posted that Linda had donated the funds for a plaque to be placed in Stockton, California. (That story still exists at the bottom of this post).
But just now I ran across this update and so that is the reason for the revision....
www.lodinews.com/news/article_f2a8b521-0fd2-5a4c-8554-81942547d03f.html
The Lodi News Sentinel
March 13, 2012
Linda Ronstadt, Jerry Brown may attend Stockton ceremony
By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Singer Linda Ronstadt and Gov. Jerry Brown may be attending the installation of a plaque Ronstadt funded to acknowledge participants in the Bracero program.
The Bracero program was a World War II work program that allowed for the temporary importation of workers from Mexico to aid the American agricultural economy by serving as replacement works for American soldiers. The program continued until the late 1960s.
Ronstadt contributed $800 for the plaque to be installed at McLeod Park, Fremont and Center streets, Stockton, on March 31. The day will begin with a prayer breakfast at 9 a.m. at the Mexican Heritage Center, 111 S. Center St., Stockton.
The event is sponsored by Mexican Heritage Center & Gallery, American Friends Service Committee Proyecto Voz and University of the Pacific.
It isn’t known whether Brown or Ronstadt will be able to attend, but former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso of Herald, Judge Thelton Henderson and former California Rural Legal Assistance attorney Maurice Jourdane will be in attendance.
Tickets for the prayer breakfast is $20 and may be purchased by calling 209-952-0256. The plaque installation ceremony is free and open to the public.
------
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com
------
www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=20606
Central Valley Business Times
March 12, 2012
Linda Ronstadt Purchases Landmark for Stockton
Linda Ronstadt may not come to Stockton, but her check has arrived.
Ms. Ronstadt, known for such hits as “You’re No Good,” “Blue Bayou,” and “Hurt So Bad” came up with the idea of installing a plaque in Stockton to commemorate participants in the Bracero program, and then personally wrote a check to cover the costs.
The plaque will be installed March 31 at McLeod Park.
The Bracero program was a World War II work program that allowed for the temporary importation of workers from Mexico to aid the American agricultural economy by acting as replacement workers for Americans who were away fighting in the war. The program lasted until the late 1960s.
The plaque dedication ceremony is being co-sponsored by the Mexican Heritage Center & Gallery, the American Friends Service Committee Proyecto Voz, and University of the Pacific.
The event also will celebrate Cesar Chavez’s birthday, as well as commemorate the 1975 California Supreme Court case that eventually stopped the wide-spread use of the short-handled hoe in the agriculture industry.
Maurice Jourdane, the California Rural Legal Assistance Attorney that led the legal fight to outlaw the use of the short-handled hoe will attend the event as will former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso.
Ms. Ronstadt’s contribution will cover the costs for the new commemorative marker, estimated at $800.
Officials at University of the Pacific also contributed to the event and helped organize the ceremony.
“We were thrilled when we learned that Linda Ronstadt was donating the plaque,” says Arturo Ocampo, associate provost for diversity at Pacific. “The Bracero program is an essential part of the history of the United States, of California, and especially of Stockton. The Braceros’ contribution to the economic well being of the region was considered so important to the war effort that they have been referred to as soldiers in the fields.”
The program was created in 1942 because of severe labor shortages in the agriculture industry during WWII. Most men who held agriculture jobs in the west either volunteered or were drafted into the U.S. military shortly after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor. This caused a labor shortage, which led to the Bracero program. Bracero is Spanish for “a person who works with their arms.”
The initial group of Bracero workers came to Stockton to harvest sugar beets. The program was considered such a success that it quickly spread throughout the western states and into other products, such as oranges, lettuce and other fruits and vegetables. The railroad companies also entered into the Bracero program to help with expansion and maintenance of rails. By 1945, there were 50,000 Braceros working in the agricultural program and another 75,000 in the railroad program.
After the war, the railroad program was ended, but agriculture producers complained that many of the returning soldiers were not coming back to work in the field, as they were taking advantage of the new veterans program that paid for college education or other career training. As a result, the agricultural program was extended every two years until 1964. The number of Braceros recruited to the United States was then reduced every year until the program officially ended in 1967.
But just now I ran across this update and so that is the reason for the revision....
www.lodinews.com/news/article_f2a8b521-0fd2-5a4c-8554-81942547d03f.html
The Lodi News Sentinel
March 13, 2012
Linda Ronstadt, Jerry Brown may attend Stockton ceremony
By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer
Singer Linda Ronstadt and Gov. Jerry Brown may be attending the installation of a plaque Ronstadt funded to acknowledge participants in the Bracero program.
The Bracero program was a World War II work program that allowed for the temporary importation of workers from Mexico to aid the American agricultural economy by serving as replacement works for American soldiers. The program continued until the late 1960s.
Ronstadt contributed $800 for the plaque to be installed at McLeod Park, Fremont and Center streets, Stockton, on March 31. The day will begin with a prayer breakfast at 9 a.m. at the Mexican Heritage Center, 111 S. Center St., Stockton.
The event is sponsored by Mexican Heritage Center & Gallery, American Friends Service Committee Proyecto Voz and University of the Pacific.
It isn’t known whether Brown or Ronstadt will be able to attend, but former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso of Herald, Judge Thelton Henderson and former California Rural Legal Assistance attorney Maurice Jourdane will be in attendance.
Tickets for the prayer breakfast is $20 and may be purchased by calling 209-952-0256. The plaque installation ceremony is free and open to the public.
------
Contact reporter Ross Farrow at rossf@lodinews.com
------
www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=20606
Central Valley Business Times
March 12, 2012
Linda Ronstadt Purchases Landmark for Stockton
Linda Ronstadt may not come to Stockton, but her check has arrived.
Ms. Ronstadt, known for such hits as “You’re No Good,” “Blue Bayou,” and “Hurt So Bad” came up with the idea of installing a plaque in Stockton to commemorate participants in the Bracero program, and then personally wrote a check to cover the costs.
The plaque will be installed March 31 at McLeod Park.
The Bracero program was a World War II work program that allowed for the temporary importation of workers from Mexico to aid the American agricultural economy by acting as replacement workers for Americans who were away fighting in the war. The program lasted until the late 1960s.
The plaque dedication ceremony is being co-sponsored by the Mexican Heritage Center & Gallery, the American Friends Service Committee Proyecto Voz, and University of the Pacific.
The event also will celebrate Cesar Chavez’s birthday, as well as commemorate the 1975 California Supreme Court case that eventually stopped the wide-spread use of the short-handled hoe in the agriculture industry.
Maurice Jourdane, the California Rural Legal Assistance Attorney that led the legal fight to outlaw the use of the short-handled hoe will attend the event as will former California Supreme Court Justice Cruz Reynoso.
Ms. Ronstadt’s contribution will cover the costs for the new commemorative marker, estimated at $800.
Officials at University of the Pacific also contributed to the event and helped organize the ceremony.
“We were thrilled when we learned that Linda Ronstadt was donating the plaque,” says Arturo Ocampo, associate provost for diversity at Pacific. “The Bracero program is an essential part of the history of the United States, of California, and especially of Stockton. The Braceros’ contribution to the economic well being of the region was considered so important to the war effort that they have been referred to as soldiers in the fields.”
The program was created in 1942 because of severe labor shortages in the agriculture industry during WWII. Most men who held agriculture jobs in the west either volunteered or were drafted into the U.S. military shortly after the Japanese attack of Pearl Harbor. This caused a labor shortage, which led to the Bracero program. Bracero is Spanish for “a person who works with their arms.”
The initial group of Bracero workers came to Stockton to harvest sugar beets. The program was considered such a success that it quickly spread throughout the western states and into other products, such as oranges, lettuce and other fruits and vegetables. The railroad companies also entered into the Bracero program to help with expansion and maintenance of rails. By 1945, there were 50,000 Braceros working in the agricultural program and another 75,000 in the railroad program.
After the war, the railroad program was ended, but agriculture producers complained that many of the returning soldiers were not coming back to work in the field, as they were taking advantage of the new veterans program that paid for college education or other career training. As a result, the agricultural program was extended every two years until 1964. The number of Braceros recruited to the United States was then reduced every year until the program officially ended in 1967.
