SANTA MARIA (California) TIMES April 15, 2007 Braceros monument pays tribute to Lompoc's pioneering farmworkers
A number of close families gathered Saturday by Bodger Hill on South Z Street to dedicate a monument to the Braceros, Mexican pioneer families that worked in Lompoc from the 1920s to 1970. The Braceros worked for a historic Lompoc business - the Bodger Seed Company - and lived on the Bodger settlement that stood by the hill where the monument now stands. The Braceros program was a guest worker program and agreement between the Mexican and United States governments. Mexican farmworkers came to the United States to work during the growing season and then returned to Mexico. The farmworkers received wages, housing and medical care during their stay. The monument was created through the vision and work of Joe Gonzales, a former city employee who worked for years on the monument and who was the main organizer for the event. Two dreams are being fulfilled today, Gonzales said. The first one belongs to Jesse Chavez. In the early 1980s, he asked me if I would help him put together a reunion of all the people at Bodger's who worked and lived there. He agreed to help and carry out Chavez's dream, even after his friend passed away in the late 1980s. I've been carrying the torch for 20 years, Gonzales said. The second dream is mine - to install a monument at the site of Bodger Seed Company. That is fulfilled today. Gonzales said the monument is important because there is no evidence today of anything from that time. He estimated that about 150 to 200 people lived at the campsite of migrant workers during the pioneer days of Lompoc. My roots and heritage are here, he said. I consider myself very lucky to fulfill these two dreams. Bodger's Seed Company is a historical landmark. I am doing my part to preserve the history that was there. He expressed thanks to the key players - the Lompoc community and the relatives and descendants who helped make the monument possible. I would like to thank all of you for making this a reality, Gonzales said. I give thanks to the community and all who donated. Without the money, we would not have been able to do this. Mayor Dick DeWees spoke briefly at the monument, which was flanked by an American flag and a Mexican flag. These families were true pioneers of the Lompoc Valley, DeWees said of those listed on the monument. I think it is representative of those who lived here. It's a strong mural. The people who lived here were very strong people. A priest blessed the monument and then Gonzales named each of the families listed on it, who he called the pioneers of his day. Then, a mariachi band began playing while the families and relatives conversed. Later, the families went to a barbecue at Ryon Park. Of all the original Bodger families named, there are two survivors: Carmen Ochoa and Josefina Campos, both of who spoke of their experiences at Bodger Seed Company all those years ago. Ochoa first came to Lompoc in 1948. She said there were about 20 families on the settlement at that time, outside of the Braceros. I came here when I was 26, Ochoa said. I remember everything. When I lived here, there was snow in the area. I pollinated flowers and planted in the greenhouses. Eventually, she moved to a house at another Lompoc location where vegetable fields now stand. It's changed a lot, she said as she stood at the site where the settlement once was. She said she appreciated the monument. Five generations of her family were present at the dedication. Many of the families have a close bond from being raised together as children. Josefina Campos came to the settlement in Lompoc in 1947, when she was 18. After she married in Mexico, Campos immigrated to the United States through Arizona and then came to Bodger Seed Company in Lompoc. In the beginning, it was very different for me here, Campos said. I used to live on a ranch in Mexico, so it was a new environment for me. At the same time, it was a happy, calm life here. I had a very good husband. For the first 10 years or so, Campos stayed at home raising her five children. She then started working at Bodger Seed in 1957. Like Ochoa, Campos worked in the greenhouses, cutting, watering, planting and pollinating flowers. Eventually, she moved to Santa Barbara with her children in 1969 after her husband passed away. I'm really happy that they are giving an homage to the people and the employer, because they deserve the credit, Campos said. She said she was treated well by Chuck Bodger, who was sensitive to the rights of laborers. When the Mexican laborer sits down, it's because he is either tired or sick, she said, recalling the words of Chuck Bodger. Bodger allowed her to stay at the settlement with her children rent-free after her husband died, she said. My bosses here have been incredible, Campos said. I am happy to have had such good employers. I lived here very happily.
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