Other
Mulligan, Rose Echeverria (audio interview #1 of 4)
INTERVIEW DESCRIPTION - This is the first of four interviews with Rose Echeverria Mulligan (pseudonym) conducted in the den of her comfortable suburban home. Although the audio quality is generally good, there is a slight sound problem at the end of side 1a resulting from slowing in the recording speed. 1/20/1981
- Date
- 2021-08-11
- Resource Type
- Creator
- Campus
- Keywords
- Handle
- Language
- Notes
- SUBJECT BIO - Rose Echeverria Mulligan (pseudonym) worked in defense during her senior year in high school under the "4-4 Plan." She attended four hours of classes and spent the other four hours making bombay doors in the small-scale factory set up by Avion (a subsidiary of Douglas Aircraft) in the Industrial Arts shop at Garfield High School. The last of three children, Echeverria was born in Los Angeles. She worked at the dime store while attending high school, until she joined the "4-4" plan. The pay she received for this work, half of which she contributed to her family, was better than what she had been earning at Grant's. Although she did not like the factory work, she viewed it as a patriotic contribution, helping the young men she knew in the service. However, she had no intention of continuing to work in defense, after graduation. Seeking a job that was not noisy or dirty, she started working as a receptionist after graduation, and continued doing this work until after she married. A year after her marriage, in 1948, she became a full-time homemaker, returning to work briefly in 1951 before her second child was born. After that, she returned to full-time homemaking. Three interviews were held with Mulligan in her home, located on a quiet, tree-lined street in the San Fernando Valley. The furnishings reflected her husband's relatively comfortable salary. She was a willing participant and had no trouble expressing herself. Because she was so open and candid about very personal and painful events in her life, she ultimately decided to use a pseudonym, selecting a name that revealed both her family's Basque roots and her Anglo married name. TOPICS - family background and family history; Mexican Revolution; Pancho Villa; economic status; school and education; childhood; and health; Note: towards the end of this tape, the audio quality is poor due to technical dfamily history and family life; childhood; household responsibilities; language barriers; school and education; Mexican culture and identity; Anglo identity; ethnic relations; friends; neighborhoods; career expectfamily life; mother; childhood; religion; menstruation; gender roles and gender expectations; early work experiences and earnings; social activities; school; career expectations; social climate during WWII; defensecareer expectations; social climate during WWII; defense industry recruitment; on-the-job training; work attire; job responsibilities; working conditions; school; gender roles; clerical work; postwar job market; ma
- *** File: rrrrmulligan1.mp3 Audio Segments and Topics: (0:00-8:25)... Mulligan's maternal grandmother was born and raised in Mexico. She lived a sheltered life on a ranch with her father until she married a Frenchman when she was thirteen years old. Her father disowned her because he thought she was too young to marry and that her husband was only interested in her wealth. She moved in with her husband's parents and gave birth to Mulligan's mother at the age of sixteen. When her mother was nine years old, the family moved to Guadalajara, Mexico and Mulligan's grandfather died. Her grandmother was forced to work as a seamstress to support her mother. Mulligan's mother and grandmother "ran away" from Guadalajara to Chihuahua, Mexico and eventually moved into a convent. Her grandmother cooked and sewed for the nuns and her mother was educated at the convent. When her mother finished school, she went to work as a secretary for a lawyer and supported Mulligan's grandmother. (8:25-13:51)... Mulligan's mother met her father while shopping at one the four general stores he owned in Chihuahua. He fell in love with her mother, but she was hesitant to marry. She ultimately conceded because she was attracted to the idea of co-owning four general stores. The stores provided the necessary goods and supplies to the miners working in the local silver mines. When the Mexican Revolution reached its climax, her parents began having trouble because of Pancho Villa's raids on the city. Her father was the oldest son in his family. Villa threatened to kill the oldest son of each family that refused to supply his army. Mulligan's mother lost a child during this period because of the stress involved in evading Villa's army. She heard that the US was beckoning people to immigrate there for work. (13:51-22:16)... When her parents left Mexico, her mother vowed never to return because it was a male-dominated society, in which women "don't have a chance." They immigrated to El Paso, Texas in 1918 and lived in a shack. Her mother was too "haughty" to move into her uncle's home in El Paso. Her father worked as a carpenter. Her mother gave birth to two children while in El Paso. The family struggled financially and decided to move to Los Angeles in 1924 because of better job opportunities. They settled in Lincoln Heights and Mulligan was born in 1925. The financial burden of raising three children was too heavy for Mulligan's father, so her mother went to work for the Consolidated Can Company. Mulligan describes her mother as an independent woman who learned "feminist" values from the nuns who helped raise her. She worked twelve hours a day for very little pay. She attempted to convince her husband to enter an industrial job, but he refused because he did not want to do menial tasks. Her parents divorced in 1929 when she was four years old. Mulligan stayed with her mother and her two siblings stayed with her father. (22:16-30:32)... Note: towards the end of this segment, the tape speed slows compromising the quality of Mulligan's voice. In 1932-33, Mulligan and her mother rented a room from a Mexican family. This family took care of Mulligan while her mother worked. The care she received was minimal and she felt like an outcast. When her parents divorced, her grandmother decided to live with her father and care for her two siblings rather than live with Mulligan and her mother. Mulligan had a difficult time in school because she could not speak English and did not understand her teacher. Her siblings, however, spoke and understood English very well because their English-speaking stepmother tutored them. Mulligan became ill with pneumonia and was hospitalized for three weeks. While in the hospital, she became bound and determined to learn English. When she left the hospital, her mother rented a three-room apartment and she lived there with her grandmother and her sister. Mulligan recovered in a short time because she was happy to be reunited with her family. She did not have a close relationship with her father because she believes he resented her for wanting to live with her mother when they divorced. End of tape. *** File: rrrrmulligan2.mp3 (0:00-5:56)... Mulligan's father did provide financial support for Mulligan after her parents divorced. She usually only saw her father during Christmas holidays. She and her mother moved to City Terrace after the divorce. When Mulligan was released from the hospital, they moved into an apartment in East Los Angeles. Mulligan's life changed during this period because she was re-united with her grandmother and her sister. When they lived in East Los Angeles, her mother continued to work for Consolidated Canning Company at a new plant built in the city. Her mother re-married so that she could gain additional support for her family. Mulligan's stepfather was far more ambitious than her father. Her mother and stepfather often argued over money. They were married for approximately ten years and divorced in late 1930s when Mulligan was thirteen years old. After the divorce, Mulligan and her family rented a house in East Los Angeles. (5:56-11:18)... Note: there is an interruption in this segment when Mulligan answers the telephone. Mulligan's mother joined the union because she believed the union would improve her wages and provide her with benefits. She expected Mulligan and her sister to graduate from high school and then get a job to help support the family. Her grandmother never worked and was solely responsible for managing the household and feeding the family. Mulligan and her sister were expected to make their beds and Mulligan started washing her own laundry, by hand, when she was thirteen. When she was sixteen, Mulligan applied for a social security number and started working at Grants. She was expected to contribute half of her paycheck to her mother. Mulligan was proud to contribute to the family income and felt a huge responsibility to help support her family. (11:18-16:17)... Mulligan describes herself as an optimistic child. When she moved to East Los Angeles, she enrolled in a new grade school with a predominantly Anglo student population. She befriended a girl who looked "Mexican" because she thought this girl would be able to communicate with her in Spanish. As it turned out, this girl could not speak Spanish, but they became close friends and Mulligan learned a substantial amount of English from her. Mulligan did well in school and was voted the class president in the fourth and sixth grades. She was athletic and enjoyed playing sports in school. Her teachers were dedicated to their work and encouraged her to excel in her studies. She learned that America was the land of opportunity, and was determined to work hard and be "somebody" when she grew up. (16:17-20:07)... Mulligan's Mexican heritage was preserved through the Spanish language. She is still fluent in Spanish and spoke Spanish to both of her parents her entire life. She was involved in Mexican dancing when she was a young girl. Even though she is a Mexican, she is defined by the Anglo culture. In some instances, her Mexican heritage was "taken away." Her mother did not want her to date or marry a Mexican man. When she dated Anglos, Mexican men made her feel guilty. When she was fifteen, she won the American Legion Award and felt proud to be an American. She digresses regarding her interests in acting and emulating Hollywood actors. The highlight of her week was attending the .10 cent matinees on Sundays. (20:07-21:42)... Mulligan was attending Garfield High School when Pearl Harbor was attacked. She socialized with many of the Japanese students while in school and did not consider them her enemies. After the attack, none of the Japanese came to school and she lost most of her Japanese friends. She received a letter from a Japanese girl while she was in the concentration camps. However, Mulligan never responded to her because of the anti-Japanese and secrecy propaganda circulating during the war. (21:42-24:54)... When Mulligan moved to East Los Angles, the residents in her neighborhood were predominantly Anglo. She believes that her family was accepted because they lived a clean and decent life. Her mother worked steadily and they were not considered "floozy" or loose women. The only male who frequented their home was Mulligan's brother. Mulligan explains that many of the "Anglo" families were of European descent. The entire Boyle Heights area was predominantly Jewish. The student population at Roosevelt High School was Jewish and the student population at Garfield High School racially and ethnically mixed. (24:54-29:21)... Many of Mulligan's friends were of Japanese or Russian descent. It was not until she started high school that she began to see racial differences and experience prejudicial attitudes towards Mexicans. She believes that many of the prejudicial attitudes were exacerbated by the war and the fear of the axis nations, especially Japan. Even though she was the brunt of prejudicial remarks because of her ethnicity, she strongly believed that if she worked hard and proved herself she could go to college and become a professional in some capacity. Her teachers placed her in academic courses and encouraged her to go to college. However, she knew that she was not going to attend high school and would probably help with the war effort in some way. She felt she let herself down by getting involved in factory work. (29:21-31:02)... Mulligan was not prepared for menstruation. Discussing these subjects in her family was considered taboo. Before she started her period, she was already developing and interested in boys. Her mother was strict and taught her how to behave like a lady. She digresses regarding her religious beliefs, indicating that her mother had abandoned Catholicism and the family was attending a Baptist church on Sundays. End of tape. *** File: rrrrmulligan3.mp3 (0:00-2:00)... Mulligan continues a discussion regarding her religious beliefs. Mulligan was baptized as a Baptist when she was eight years old. Her mother taught her how to recite religious poetry. Many of the young people in church "sized" each other up in anticipation of future marriages. She was attracted to the minister's son and dressed nice to impress him. (2:00-8:09)... When Mulligan started menstruating, she consulted a girlfriend who told her that menstruation was a normal part of growing up. In a way, she was happy that she started her period because it signaled womanhood and meant that she was closer to wearing certain types of clothing and participating in adult activities, such as dancing. She was a tomboy before puberty. She enjoyed sporting activities and avoided household chores that were traditional female roles. Her life changed when she started her period. She began dressing in feminine clothing and she learned how to sew. She made most of her clothing, as did the rest of her family. She digresses regarding her mother's role as head of the household. (8:09-11:22)... When she was sixteen years old, she went to work at a "five and ten" store earning .65 cents an hour. Her mother purchased the necessities and Mulligan purchased all of the extra things she needed. She was in high school when Pearl Harbor was attacked. During the period of 1941-42, "things got dreary." People were told to limit their electricity usage and food rations were introduced. It was a sad time for her because many of her male friends went into the service and died overseas. (11:22-15:45)... Mulligan discusses her reaction the day she learned Pearl Harbor was attacked. The severity of the situation hit home when she saw her neighbors' sons, who were home on military leave, speed away in their cars immediately after the news of the attack hit the airwaves. When she went to school the next day, the student body attended a special assembly to hear Franklin D. Roosevelt's declaration of war against Japan. Mulligan and her classmates had a difficult time putting the geographical nature of the war into perspective. They thought that the "little island had a lot of nerve" for attacking the US. She never saw any Japanese people at school or in her neighborhood again following the attack. All of the men in her neighborhood beginning at the age of seventeen were in military uniform within six months. Her male classmates "dropped out of school like flies and joined the service." (15:45-22:50)... Mulligan states, "my life was just beginning" when Pearl Harbor was attacked. She was looking forward to wearing pretty clothes, going to dances, and dating men. She made up her mind that the only way to get a man was to "be a girl and to be pretty." She was attracted to her minister's son and believed she could win his heart by acting and looking feminine. However, things changed when the war began. She digresses regarding befriending a Catholic Mexican family in her neighborhood that often held parties and socialized with friends, many of whom were eligible young men. She began to lose interest in the Baptist church because it was too conservative and quite a distance from her home. She dated a few boys before she went to work for Avion during the war. Afterwards, however, she did not have time for social activities. Most of the men in her neighborhood went into the service and the women into factory work during the war. (22:50-25:04)... During WWII, Consolidated Can Company, the factory where her mother worked, converted from manufacturing cans to bombs. Her mother was an efficient worker with years of seniority. She earned approximately $100 a week during the war period. Mulligan digresses regarding her thoughts on the state of world politics and her fear that another war will take all of the men and leave the women home to work similar to the climate during WWII. (25:04-29:23)... Mulligan describes the home front during the war as a "female society." Garfield High School was virtually a girl's school because of the few boys left there. In September 1943, she went to work for Avion Aircraft. Most of the men employed there were "older" or 4 Fs and ineligible for military service. She accomplished two goals when she unofficially joined the USO, meeting men and fulfilling her patriotic duty. Her activities with the USO involved dancing with soldiers at the Hollywood Canteen. She occasionally received letters from servicemen but nothing meaningful grew out of these interactions. She made it a policy not to care too much about anyone during the war because the risk of losing someone you love was too high. She had a difficult time dealing with so many men in her life joining the service and risking their lives overseas. (29:23-30:46)... Mulligan thought about joining the service when she graduated from high school. However, she eventually settled on factory work. She was hired at Avion and received training in assembly work. She was not impressed with the factory and did not like the fact that she had to wear safety shoes and a hair net because it was not glamorous. End of tape. *** File: rrrrmulligan4.mp3 (0:00-5:13)... In October 1943, Garfield High School held an assembly at which students were informed about job opportunities at Douglas Aircraft and Avion. Mulligan had a vague conception of what she would do after graduating from high school and it included joining a branch of the military services. However, after attending the assembly and learning that she would receive training and get paid to work in the defense industry while finishing high school, she decided to apply for a position. The starting pay at the time was .90 cents an hour. When she told her friends about her plans, they all decided to get involved in the war effort and apply for positions as well. (5:13-10:30)... Mulligan started her day at dawn so that she had enough time to get to Avion and punch her timecard by 7:30 a.m. When she arrived at the plant, she stored her books and school clothes in a designated area before reporting to her station. The plant was very loud because of the riveting guns and machinery. New employees were trained for a very short time before they worked on the line assembling parts. Mulligan was offered an inspector position within a month of working at Avion. Although she did not receive more pay for this position, she welcomed the change because it meant that she did not have to wear the heavy denim uniform and safety boots that assembly employees were required to wear. She had not worn pants previously because the Baptist church frowned upon women wearing pants. Eventually, women realized that it was more practical to wear pants while employed in factory work. (10:30-14:22)... Mulligan was promoted to final inspector. She describes the layout of the assembly line and where specific parts were made on the line. Her responsibilities as a final inspector included inspecting doors. She put the doors on a jig and inspected the contour of the door and the construction of the exterior of the door. She attached a badge to each door when it passed inspection. Avion sold the doors to Douglas, which then sold them to the air force. (14:22-19:14)... Mulligan worked from 7:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. After work, she changed into her school clothes (skirt) and went to school. She grew distant from her fellow classmates over time because of the differences in their lives. Her classmates did not understand the importance of her work in the defense industry. A teacher sensed this divide and asked Mulligan to write an article on the operations taking place at Avion. In the article, Mulligan described the type of parts being manufactured at the plant and the training employees received, among other topics. She digresses regarding a former classmate who organized a class reunion many years after the war. (19:14-20:34)... Mulligan believes the war changed herself and her friends from giddy young girls into motherly figures. Many of their dreams for the future were lost because of their war work. She did not expect much from the men who returned from the war because they were "out of it." However, many veterans went to college on the G.I. Bill and pursued a career. (20:34-25:55)... Mulligan left Avion in August 1944. She was out of work for about two weeks before she obtained a clerical position at Sterling Electrical Motors. During the war, there was a labor shortage and the personnel office attempted to recruit people off the street. When the war ended, however, there was an influx of women looking for clerical work after losing their defense jobs. Mulligan managed to hold onto her position in the immediate postwar job market, but eventually got tired of the competition. (25:55-30:58)... After the war, Mulligan decided that she wanted to marry. She was tired of "lecherous" old men and wanted to hold out for a "hero." That day came in 1946 when she met her husband at a birthday party. Initially, she was not interested in him but he continued to pursue her. When she met him a second time, she realized that he was very handsome. Her mother thought he was gorgeous and approved of their courtship. They married in 1947. Mulligan believes that many women met their husbands in similar fashions in the postwar period. She never regretted that she decided to marry and have children. She introduces several photographs of her and her husband into the interview. End of tape.
- Rights Note
- This repository item may be used for classroom presentations, unpublished papers, and other educational, research, or scholarly use. Other uses, especially publication in any form, such as in dissertations, theses, articles, or web pages are not permitted without the express written permission of the individual collection's copyright holder(s). Please contact the CSULB Library Administration should you require permission to publish or distribute any content from this collection or if you need additional information or assistance in using these materials: https://www.csulb.edu/university-library/form/questionssuggestions-the-digital-repository-group
Relationships
- In Collection:
Items
| Thumbnail | File information | Actions |
|---|---|---|
|
7325613952923185-rrrrmulligan1.mp3 Public
|
Download |
|
|
7854850142018804-rrrrmulligan2.mp3 Public
|
Download |
|
|
4208660866893267-rrrrmulligan3.mp3 Public
|
Download |
|
|
0190496087130290-rrrrmulligan4.mp3 Public
|
Download |
|
|
6870693744056307-rrrrmulligan1.jpg Public
|
Download |
|
|
1038214822458376-rrrrmulligan2.jpg Public
|
Download |