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Mason, Belen Martinez (audio interview #2 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the second of three interviews with Belen Martinez Mason, conducted in the living room of her small tract home in Rosemead. She remained open and relaxed throughout the interview. However, when her husband returned from work and could be heard puttering in the kitchen, she became self conscious and we stopped the interview. 2/12/1981
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- 2021-04-12
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- SUBJECT BIO - Belen Mason was working in an upholstery shop before she took her job at the Lockheed subassembly plant, which was located near her home in downtown Los Angeles. The first of ten children, Mason was born in Fierro, New Mexico and moved to Los Angeles with her family when she was eleven years old. She married in 1941 and by the time she went to work at Lockheed, she had three children. Her fourth was born after she left Lockheed in 1944, shortly before she was hospitalized with tuberculosis. After her three year hospitalization, in 1947, she re-married and rejoined the labor force, first in Avon sales and then returning to work in an upholstery shop. Following another two year hospitalization, she worked in electronic assembly on and off for the next thirteen years, retiring in 1968 upholstery, by which time she had divorced her second husband and married again. Three interviews were conducted in her modest home in Rosemead, which was decorated with photographs of her family and of the Kennedys and Reagans. An eager and interested participating, Mason viewed her own life as offering a panorama on the early downtown Los Angeles neighborhood where she resided. Proud of her Spanish and Indian heritage, she also was pleased to talk about her family, and often had photographs ready to show me. Although Mason was generally relaxed during the interviews, she became somewhat agitated when she couldn't locate materials or reconstruct events precisely. TOPICS - social and family activities; childhood and adolescence; family life; parents; neighborhoods; ethnic identity and language; miscegenation; gender expectations; religion; and siblings;family background; family life; living arrangements; clothing; role models; social activities; early life aspirations; social values; sex; generational changes; and menstruation;marriage, childbirth, and domesticity; family activities; attitude towards war work; Lockheed application process; work clothing; role models; ethnic groups and neighborhoods; demographics of Lockheed workers; genLockheed plant environment; interaction with co-workers; job responsibilities; working conditions; marital relationship; husband; and demographics of work force;
- *** File: rrrbmason5.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-1:46)... Brief interviewer introduction. During the 1920s, Mason was considered wild because she liked to dance. She describes the types of dresses she wore, but it is done visually during the interview and not verbally. Her hair was very long and she ultimately persuaded her father to allow her to cut it. She got a "bob" haircut and regretted it, initially, because she missed her long hair. Although she occasionally characterized herself as a flapper, she was ambivalent about the actual meaning of the term. (1:46-5:05)... Although she was chaperoned by her brother during evening activities, her father became more lenient when she reached the age of seventeen. She was allowed to go to the park or to the movies with her girlfriends during the day. She often went to dances at the park unbeknownst to her father. Eventually, he caught on to her activities but did not restrict her. He trusted her and advised her to be careful. He also knew and trusted all of her girlfriends and boyfriends. Her future husband was somewhat of an outsider because he was from west Los Angeles. Mason's father was initially wary of him until the two became better acquainted. Her father was hesitant about their relationship because he wanted her to continue high school and attend college. However, when he was involved in an accident at work, she dropped out of high school and helped support her family by going to work. (5:05-13:51)... The neighborhood where she lived in Los Angeles was located near 7th and Broadway. The residents of the neighborhood were mixed, ranging from Anglos born in Los Angeles and Spanish migrants. Many of the Mexicans in Los Angeles lived there prior to the US taking over the land. These Mexicans were pushed onto reservations located in the hills near east Los Angeles. It was not until years later that Mexicans outside Los Angeles migrated to the area. Her neighborhood was very close and everyone was well acquainted with each other. When outsiders came into the neighborhood, the families wanted to know who they were before they courted the girls. Mason goes into great detail regarding the mixture of "Hispanic races," noting that mixed children were characterized as "half-breeds." She discusses the history behind the early conflicts between Mexico and Spain and the attempts by Mexicans in Los Angeles to procreate with Anglos to make Mexican-Caucasian relations easier. She also talks about the racial demographic in New Mexico. (13:51-15:52)... Her father eventually learned to speak Spanish, but his grasp of the language was rudimentary. In the home her family spoke both Spanish and English. Her mother wanted her children to know Spanish so that they did not lose their Spanish identity. Mason discusses some photographs taken of her parents in 1952, which is followed by an interruption in the interview. The neighborhood in which she lived was a close community and the Spanish residents did not treat her father with prejudice because he was Navajo Indian. Mason was not exposed to prejudice until 1962 when she started working at a hospital. (15:52-21:00)... Although she was the oldest child in the family, she did not have any special domestic or childcare responsibilities. She was responsible for cleaning her room and paying her telephone bill. She was raised to be a "lady," which meant she had to practice proper hygiene, wear appropriate clothing, and observe certain manners. Her mother was not physically demonstrative and Mason received physical affection from her father and grandmother (aunt). They both made sure that she wore the best clothing when compared to her other siblings. Mason also earned money baby sitting and a doctor gave her .25 cents whenever she summoned him to the neighborhood to care for ailing residents. She used the money she earned from these various sources to purchase clothing. (21:00-24:51)... Mason's brother was one and a half years younger and her sister was four years younger. Mason did not get along with her sister because their personalities were very different. While Mason wanted to be outdoors, her sister wanted to be in the house. Even though Mason had a very idyllic outlook on what it would be like to have her own house, she was not attracted to the idea of baking and cooking. Her father freed her from these responsibilities because he felt she should experience her youth instead of working in the kitchen. Mason was much closer to her brother; however, he viewed her as a "lady" until the day he died. He did not want her to smoke or drink and she had to act a certain way whenever he came to her home. The other siblings viewed her as a mother figure because her father gave her the responsibility of disciplining them when they misbehaved. Her father told her that she was supposed to set an example for the other children. (24:51-27:10)... When they lived in New Mexico, the family's main activity was attending church on Sundays. After church services her mother cooked a big dinner and guests were invited to their home. Her family also went to the mountains together where they would hike and have picnics. When the family moved to Los Angeles they continued to go to church. They also participated in other activities, such as going to the beach, the park, and the movies. On Sundays they occasionally attended baseball games at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. Her father would usually cook a large breakfast for the family on Sunday mornings so that her mother could take the day off. End of tape. *** File: rrrbmason6.mp3 (0:00-3:28)... Note: the tape is fast forwarded in the beginning of the interview. When Mason was a teenager she sang in the church choir at the Sunday morning mass. When she returned home from mass, her father had a big breakfast ready for the family. They usually ate pancakes or other hot meals. Their only cold morning meal consisted of corn flakes. The family did not eat dinner until her father came home. It was considered bad manners if one talked at the dinner table while food was being served. When the meal was over, it was okay for the children to discuss matters with their parents. Mason's mother set the table and cleared the dinner table by herself. She did not want anyone in the kitchen while she was cooking or cleaning. (3:28-10:47)... When she moved to Los Angeles in 1920, she lived with her father's family until her father was able to establish himself financially. They then moved into a small apartment located on Culver and 7th Street. After residing in a few different locations, they moved into a duplex and paid $30 a month in rent. The landlord was very kind and eventually allowed her family to use the entire apartment complex without increasing their rent. Mason's father rented the other apartments to friends and tried to give the money to the landlord, but he refused to accept it. Approximately five years later, the landlord offered to sell the apartment complex to her father and he purchased it. When Mason married, she moved to Huntington Park with her husband to be near his family. After approximately five months she became very lonely and insisted that they move back to Los Angeles. She and her husband moved into one of the six apartments owned by her father and lived there until 1947. (10:47-12:11)... Mason was married by the Justice of the Peace and did not have a large wedding. She digresses into a discussion of her interest in learning how to play piano when she was a young girl. (12:11-14:45)... She recalls that many of the movie stars were young like herself. She admired the female entertainers and attempted to emulate their elegance and style by wearing similar clothing. Her father could not afford to purchase the clothing that Mason desired, which is why she often used her own money to pay for her clothing. (14:45-16:57)... She does not recall listening to a radio when she was a young girl. She enjoyed reading nonfiction books on topics such as philosophy and history. Mason's mother taught her how to embroider, which was another activity that Mason enjoyed as a young girl. (16:57-17:58)... When she left high school at the age of seventeen to enter the work force, she began thinking about what she wanted out of life. She had more freedom and wanted the best of everything. She despised things that were ugly. Many of the items that she obtained when she was a young woman are still in her possession today. (17:58-20:07)... Her parents did not want her to grow up too fast. In terms of sex, they told her it was a sacred act reserved for marriage. The boys in the neighborhood were taught to respect the girls and treat them like they treated their own sisters. In general, kids did not think about sex because they were too busy playing and having a good time. In the 1930s, she began to notice changes in these ideals with the increase of illegitimate births. She did not judge women in these situations and accepted this phenomenon as a part of life. She accepted the changes that accompanied each new generation. She explains that she understands the generation in which she lives because it is much like that of her youth. (20:07-23:12)... When she married her husband she was very naive about sex. Her husband did not physically touch her until four days after they married. They were both "green" about sex and were respectful of each other. She started menstruating at the age of thirteen. Her mother and her grandmother (aunt) prepared her for menstruation by telling her what to expect and what to use while she was menstruating. Once, she menstruated for about eight months and then stopped for about six months. When her mother learned of this, she immediately took Mason to the doctor to be examined. Menstruation was a big event and the girls in the neighborhood told each other when they started menstruating. However, they did not talk about sex because it was considered a sacred and private act. (23:12-26:00)... Mason discusses her experiences traveling with her grandparents (aunt and uncle) to Arizona in the early 1900s in a covered wagon. End of tape. *** File: rrrbmason7.mp3 (0:00-3:35)... Mason was married on March 14, 1930. She gave birth to a son in January 1931 and a daughter in July 1932. She did not work after she had her first two children. In the early years of her marriage she and her husband entertained themselves by going to the beach and Ocean Park. They also enjoyed sports and often attended baseball games. Most of these activities included family and they very seldom went out with friends. (3:35-8:04)... In 1934, she went to work for an upholstery shop. She did not like to stay at a job for more than five years because she would get bored. She left the upholstery shop on several occasions only to return to the job a few months later. When WWII broke out, she was home caring for her three children. At that time, she applied and was hired at Lockheed. While she was working it was difficult to manage her household chores and childcare responsibilities. Her husband had a drinking problem and she realized that in order to keep her children from being raised in that environment she would have to go back to work and support herself and her children. However, when she divorced her first husband she married almost immediately because it was clear that she would not be able to support her family independently. (8:04-13:21)... During the war, "it seemed like the doors opened to Los Angeles and I never saw the old Los Angeles again." She learned about the Lockheed job because it was advertised in the newspapers and on the radio. She also was interested in learning how the war was progressing and kept informed about the events at Pearl Harbor and abroad. She went to the Lockheed plant in Burbank and applied for a position. At that time she was given a physical, which included x-rays. She also was required to take a written examination and obtain citizenship papers before she was hired at Lockheed. She was aware that Lockheed was building airplanes and that she would be working in assembly line work, which interested her because she wanted to work with her hands. She also was attracted to Lockheed because two of the plants were near her home. (13:21-15:19)... Neither her husband nor her family interfered with her decision to go to work at Lockheed. Her husband accepted the fact that she wanted to work during their marriage and he never discouraged her from seeking employment. She was an independent woman and did not want anyone restricting her activities. She was patriotic and felt obligated to do something for her country and the "boys fighting overseas." She was not worried about the pay or the hours; it was her duty to work. However, at the same time she wanted to earn money because things were not going well in her marriage. (15:19-17:17)... She was required to wear pants and a hair net while working for Lockheed. She began wearing pants as a young woman. Many of her clothing styles copied those worn by the movie stars. After seeing Marlene Dietrich wear pants, Mason also began wearing pants. She was required to wear pants while working for the upholstery shop so there was not a serious clothing transition when she began working at Lockheed. (17:17-19:24)... She began working at Lockheed in 1942. Her starting wage was .75 cents an hour and never exceeded .85 cents. She did not find out what her job responsibilities were until she reported to the appropriate station in the plant. She was happy while working at Lockheed because it was a new type of work and she was doing something for the war. Her first day of employment was at the Burbank plant, at which time she was instructed where to report for work the next day. She was assigned to Plant 2 and was excited about her new job. A lead man showed the new employees the plant and each woman was assigned to a male employee to work with as a team. (19:24-22:09)... There were quite a few women working at Lockheed when she started there in 1942. However, there were very few Mexican women working at the plant because they either did not want to work or their husbands would not allow them to work outside the home. She does not recall seeing any Black women working in Plant 2. The Watts area was a "sleepy Mexican town." There were Blacks living on 42nd and McKinley Streets. People were not supposed to refer to them as Blacks, but as "colored" people. The Black neighborhoods were clean and the homes were new. She believes that Blacks worked in Hollywood as chauffeurs or as cooks, as well as in the police department and as trash collectors. However, she contends that there were very few Blacks living in the Los Angeles area. She does not recall seeing or hearing about any prejudicial behavior. Mexicans and Blacks often talked to each other, but did not mingle on a regular basis. However, they respected each other in the community. (22:09-24:34)... Her first responsibility at Lockheed was sorting parts. She was then assigned to rivet panels with a male coworker. She worked on various parts of the airplane, but most of her riveting work concentrated on the fuselage. Mostly everyone in Plant 2 was a new employee. An experienced riveter trained her; however, she cannot recall any details regarding this training. (24:34-25:54)... She did not experience any adverse reactions from the men in the plant because she was a woman. She recalls that the men and women worked together and tried to get along. She does not feel that she was ever disadvantaged because she was a woman. She was a hard worker and did the best she could at all of her jobs. Whenever she felt overworked, she went to the person in charge and discussed her issues with that person rather than getting her co-workers involved in the issues. She did not want to fight for things because she believes it takes a toll over the long run. (25:54-27:37)... When she started riveting it was the first time she used machinery. However, she was somewhat aware of machinery and mechanical parts because her husband was a mechanic and she use to watch him work on cars. He also read mechanical books and she often looked at these books and questioned her husband about certain parts. She did not experience any physical pain or discomfort after her first day riveting. In fact, she does not recall ever feeling tired as a result of her work. End of tape. *** File: rrrbmason8.mp3 (0:00-1:28)... Mason worked on the second floor of the plant. She describes the physical environment. The second floor workers handled one section of the plane using different machinery. There were several lead men working on the floor. She is unable to provide any detailed information on the lead man who introduced her to the plant and assigned her to a position on the floor. (1:28-6:25)... Working at Lockheed marked the first time in her life she met people from different parts of the country. She thought it was interesting to meet new people and observe their different accents and behaviors. The women working at the plant were similar in age to Mason and most were married with children. Some women told her that they were raised in an environment that taught them to stay away from Spanish people because they carried knives and guns and would threaten their lives. These women were surprised when they met Mason and realized that this way of thinking was incorrect. Mason discussed this issue with her father and he told her that they were simply ignorant and it was up to her to show them otherwise. It was not until she went to work in Baldwin Park that she learned of real prejudice and the meaning of "white trash." (6:25-7:18)... She ate with other women and men at tables during the lunch break. She believes that there was a meeting area in the workplace with benches for people to sit on. They also met outside and obtained lunch from a lunch truck. (7:18-10:02)... Mason worked with a riveting gun and a punch press. When she riveted she had to stand and when she used the punch press she sat down. Because of her size, she was not assigned riveting jobs that required her to climb scaffolding to rivet certain parts of the airplane. This work was assigned to larger women. Mason describes the process of riveting a panel, but this is primarily nonverbal. She often switched off between riveting and the punch press depending on the airplane part. She did not prefer one task over another, but simply did what was necessary to get the work done. (10:02-11:04)... There were quite a few people working on the floor on which she worked in Plant 2. The plant was well ventilated with several windows and there was ample lighting. The plant was noisy because of the various machines in operation and the employees were not provided with any protection for their ears. The employees did not work and talk at the same time because it was a distraction and could be quite dangerous. (11:04-18:26)... Mason describes a typical day at home prior to going to work. Her children were very helpful around the house and her daughter did many of the domestic chores and shopping for the family when Mason was at work. Mason worked a regular shift at Lockheed for approximately a year and then switched to the swing shift. She also worked the graveyard shift on occasion. Her responsibilities at the plant did not change; however, the work got a little easier as she became more experienced. She was not pressured to work faster, but the plant mandated work quotas for the employees. She worked six days a week and her starting wage was .75 cents an hour [Editor's note: this would have been unusual; the starting wage was usually .65 cents an hour.] (18:26-22:20)... She does not recall any employee services offered by Lockheed. They did not have group or disability insurance and if employees got sick, the lost time was subtracted from their wages. She earned .75 cents an hour and worked forty-eight hours a week. There was very little money taken out of her check for social security or income taxes. At the time, her husband was working as a mechanic on 7th and Los Angeles. After Mason worked at Lockheed for approximately one year, her husband was inducted into the war as a mechanic. He worked in San Pedro and was then shipped to Texas; however, he did not ever go overseas. It was during this period that many of their marital problems began. When he returned from the war they separated. (22:20-24:55)... She did not intend on staying at Lockheed when the war ended, but wanted to pursue a career in nursing. Some time after the war ended, she attended nursing school. She left Lockheed in 1944 because her health was deteriorating. After she separated from her husband, she and her children moved in with her mother and father. During the two years she worked at Lockheed, she worked on both the second and third floors of the plant. There were very few changes in the workforce. Most of the women entering the plant during this time were Anglos. Many of the Mexican and Black women were working in the shipyards in San Pedro. (24:55-27:39)... Mason did not socialize with her women co-workers after work. She did have a social life outside of work; however, it was not until several months after her divorce that she started going to nightclubs with other single or divorced girlfriends. She and her husband separated in 1943, but reconciled by the end of 1944. Her husband eventually went AWOL and was dishonorably discharged from the service. End of tape.
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