My grandma sent me a few letters in the 1990s detailing different times in her life. The snippets I am sharing here happened during the few years they lived in Salinas, California during the Depression. Better jobs in Salinas My grandparents, Joao Pacheco Smith and Anna Jackson, married in 1929 days before the stock market…
Tag: Salinas
A Friendship Reborn After Decades of Neglect
My grandma and grandpa had to uproot their family during the Depression in hopes of finding work. When they moved from Oakland to Salinas, my grandmother was like a fish out of water. She found friendship in her sister-in-law’s sister, Eva Nunes. The young mothers found common cause. There was a 40 year gap in…
Mystery Photo: Who is This Little Portuguese Girl?
This week’s mystery photo is actually two photos involving the same unknown little girl. These were in the collection of Marie Gloria (Bonita) Medeiros, my grandfather’s cousin. They were shown to me by her granddaughter, Barbara. The girl has Portuguese roots and was born in either Hawaii (most likely Kauai) or California. The first photo…
Minnie (Ventura) Smith’s Individual Summary
(Minnie was my Great Aunt. She was said to be a sweet person and was well liked. She died at 47 of stomach cancer. It was said that she and her husband were madly in love and that he died of broken heart.) Name: Minnie Frances VENTURA-2112 Sex: Female Father: Francisco De Boa VENTURA…
One of the Highest Wage Earners in 1940
Another entry in my Labor Day photo series… One of the interesting things about going through the 1940 census is seeing how much money my relatives were earning in 1939. For the most part, my relatives were earning between $500 and $1500 a year. So, I was surprised to see that my great uncle Joe…