I just joined this Azores group. My father came to the US from Faial in 1906 at the age of 12 and my mother came to CA in 1918 at the age of 22. My dad settled in RI where he lied about his age, worked in a factory and studied in the evening hours in a church basement learning English. In RI he eventually held a supervisory position. He came to CA in the late 1920s, married my mom in the early 1930s. Conditions in the Azores were very bad, much poverty etc. I know there were hardships but they never talked about them. When family members got together they spoke about their childhoods with jokes they played on each other etc, laughing until they cried. (I always thought they had a happy childhood.). My dad came from a family of 11 children. In 1957 the remaining family came to the US via Canada after the earthquake. They have stated many times that if it wasn't for us living in the US sending money and clothing to them, they maybe couldn't have made it. Unfortunately I have no knowledge of what went on in the islands in the 1970s. It's very sad to learn how hard it was for them. I know they had the revolution etc. I do know, however, that there wasn't a lot of love between the Azores and Portugal. I visited Portugal and the Azores in 2000. I was so lucky to have a cousin who visits there every year who showed us around. I was able to see the home in which my dad grew up (although destroyed by the earthquake) and my mother's home still standing. I wished so much that my parents were alive to share my experience with them. The Azores were so beautiful and the people so proud and wonderful that I would like to go back and spend more time researching the family. Laura In a message dated 2/10/2009 1:40:10 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, [email protected] writes:
It is my understanding that the poverty in the islands was major until the Rose Revolution in 1976. I have friends from Pico, 4 sisters, all younger than 55 who told me they went bare foot all of their lives. That there was no electricity until 1978 and that many of the girls never went to school.....they were expected to marry and not need an education. The most poignant story I've heard was from 1 of 3 brothers that I met in Pico.....2 of them now live in Ca. and have done very well for themselves. They've built summer homes on Pico and come over every summer for a month or 2. One of them told me about a time in the 60's when there was going to be a "Festa" and his mother had NO flour to make the bread. There is a beach near Santo Amaro called the black sand beach...(sand is rare on Pico beaches)....this black sand is coveted for use in cement to color it. He told about going and loading up bags with this sand so that he could sell enough to buy flour for his mother to make bread for the Festa.......he also told about not having shoes......I think not having shoes must have been a big deal.......I was invited to see the house of a couple in their late 70's who had immigrated to Canada for 16 years and came back to Pico to live. I noticed in their bedroom that they both had at least 20 pairs of shoes.....they were all arranged on shelves very neatly.....the number of shoes struck me as odd at the time.....in retrospect I realize the shoes truly were a symbol of their wealth and success. My father was ashamed of the poverty of the Azores.....even though he was a first generation American, he still was embarrassed by the poverty of his families past. When I moved "back to the land" in the 70's and gave up electric, running water and CHOSE a life style which reminded him of that Azorean poverty he was quite dismayed. It took many years for him to understand my choices. Life in the Azores is so very different now......the people I know on Pico always say "pico esta parisio" and it's true Pico is paradise these days......since becoming part of the EU and modern transportation. Many, many people are moving back.....I've met lots of them......they bring their new wealth back to Pico and live nice lives there these days. Nancy Jean ____________________________________ From: [email protected] To: [email protected] Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Comment on The book, AZores, Nine Islands, One History Date: Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:05:50 -0500 +1 to what Eugenia and Guida said. I know that my Pacheco family from Salga, in the Nordeste of Sao Miguel, at the very least, was essentially very poor and starving when they came here around 1909ish. My father told me that he remembers my great grandfather filling trunks with medicine, blankets, etc as late as the mid 1960's and routinely sending them back to the island.... Jay Fraga ----- Original Message ----- From: _Guida Leicester_ (mailto:[email protected]) To: [email protected]_ (mailto:[email protected]) Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2009 7:58 AM Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: Comment on The book, AZores, Nine Islands, One History How it is today on the Azores and how it was in the 1800s, are two very different stories. I think the poverty and hunger was very bad. Portugal taxed the Azores highly, conscripted the young men into the military, and did not really support the Islands--just used them It was, I imagine, more of a nightmare than a good dream. Plus with the huge families crowded into small homes, wanderlust was big (I would have felt like, "Get me out of here!"). I bet cabin fever hit the young hard. Being on a small island can feel very claustropobic, no matter how beautiful the place--'let's go see the world and find more opportunity!' That's my 2.5 cents worth, at least... Guida --- On Mon, 2/9/09, Mary Bordi <[email protected]> wrote: From: Mary Bordi <[email protected]> Subject: [AZORES-Genealogy] Re: The book, AZores, Nine Islands, One History To: [email protected] Date: Monday, February 9, 2009, 9:01 PM On Feb 9, 2009, at 3:37 PM, celeste perry wrote: Maybe it is just seeing what has happened here in the US that makes me think a young person might entertain the notion that living somewhere else might be the way to go. Older people that have lost their retirement might also be thinking the same thing. My daughter moved to Australia (from California). She has been able to purchase a home, has always had work. She did not see how she could purchase a home in California and figured if she was going to move far enough away that she'd need to get on a plane to come home she might as well go to Australia. At least they speak English. She is very happy there. (She is in Queensland, not Victoria where the devastating fires are.) I can see why our ancestors moved if the opportunity arose. Mary Bordi <BR **************A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1218550342x1201216770/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=62%26bcd=fe bemailfooterNO62) --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. Follow the confirmation directions when they arrive. 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