Maria Moreira transcription

In: Moreira-Maria - Final.pdf

Abstract

Interview with Maria Moreira of Ficthburg, Massachusetts. Topics include: Maria Moreira was born in Saint Michael, Azores in 1917 and came to Fitchburg, MA in 1951. She moved because her husband was born in the U.S. and wanted to move back. Her impressions of the U.S. before and after moving. How difficult life was in the Azores. The different places she lived in Fitchburg. The different types of work her husband did. How she became an American citizen and learned English. Her difficulty with working but she never felt discriminated against. How she spent her time in St. Michael compared with Fitchburg. Getting used to American food and grocery shopping. Her children and their professions and their children. Her impressions of Fitchburg and how she likes living there. ; 1 WAYNE LUCIER: November 18, 1973, interview conducted by Wayne Lucier. Place of interview: Mrs. Moreira's home. Your name please? MARIA MOREIRA: Maria Moreira. WAYNE LUCIER: And your nationality? MARIA MOREIRA: Portuguese. WAYNE LUCIER: And your date of birth? MARIA MOREIRA: December 17 – no December 26, 1917. WAYNE LUCIER: And this makes you how many years old? MARIA MOREIRA: Makes me 55. WAYNE LUCIER: And what generation are you? MARIA MOREIRA: First. WAYNE LUCIER: And your address? MARIA MOREIRA: 208 Westminster Hill. WAYNE LUCIER: And your phone number? MARIA MOREIRA: 26413. WAYNE LUCIER: And where were you born? MARIA MOREIRA: I was born in Saint Michael, Azores. WAYNE LUCIER: Any certain part? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, [unintelligible - 00:01:00]. WAYNE LUCIER: And when did you come to the United States? MARIA MOREIRA: I came in April 7, 1951. WAYNE LUCIER: And how about Fitchburg? Did you come directly to Fitchburg? MARIA MOREIRA: Yes. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. And where you were born, did you move around a lot? MARIA MOREIRA: No. I just moved, I just married and lived in one house. WAYNE LUCIER: And where you were born, you lived there till you got married? MARIA MOREIRA: Yes. WAYNE LUCIER: And from there, have you moved a lot? MARIA MOREIRA: My own house. My husband bought a house and we lived here. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. And why did you leave the Old Country? MARIA MOREIRA: I didn't hear.2 WAYNE LUCIER: Why did you leave there? MARIA MOREIRA: I leave there because my husband wants to come here. WAYNE LUCIER: Did you want to come? MARIA MOREIRA: [Unintelligible - 00:01:56]. WAYNE LUCIER: And how did you come to the United States: by boat or…? MARIA MOREIRA: Airplane. WAYNE LUCIER: Were you on an airplane before? MARIA MOREIRA: No. WAYNE LUCIER: You liked going on an airplane? MARIA MOREIRA: Not really. WAYNE LUCIER: Have you traveled on an airplane since then? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, one more time. WAYNE LUCIER: You find it a better thing? MARIA MOREIRA: No, it's been [unintelligible - 00:02:23]. WAYNE LUCIER: And why did you come to the United States? MARIA MOREIRA: I came with him because he was American-born and [unintelligible - 00:02:39] us. He said, 'I like that we move there to the United States.' When I left, I didn't [unintelligible - 00:02:44] I like very much. I didn't want to go back. I didn't want to go back to [unintelligible - 00:02:47]. WAYNE LUCIER: Was it a hard life there? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, hard work, hard work. Everything was hard. WAYNE LUCIER: You worked any type of job? MARIA MOREIRA: No, just housework. Just cook our food, make our own bread, and take care of the animals outside. WAYNE LUCIER: What type of animals did you have? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh we have pigs, chickens and. WAYNE LUCIER: So it was a farm, right? MARIA MOREIRA: A farm. Yeah. WAYNE LUCIER: What did your mother and father do?3 MARIA MOREIRA: My father was a farmer too and my, mother was a housewife [unintelligible - 00:03:25]. WAYNE LUCIER: Why did you come to Fitchburg? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh my husband, he had two sisters here. That's why we came here, [unintelligible - 00:03:40] then. WAYNE LUCIER: What did you think about the United States before you came here? MARIA MOREIRA: Before I [unintelligible - 00:03:49] I just see pictures of it so. WAYNE LUCIER: And how about afterwards? MARIA MOREIRA: When I went to Boston, I see everything different between this country and Azores. I liked the type of life; people live here much better. WAYNE LUCIER: It was a lot different though from what you thought? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh yeah. WAYNE LUCIER: For the better or worse? MARIA MOREIRA: Just a big difference in [unintelligible - 00:04:17] the way the people dress and [unintelligible - 00:04:21]. WAYNE LUCIER: Where did you live in Fitchburg? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh the first we lived in Allen's Place, then we moved… WAYNE LUCIER: Were you still a housewife then or…? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah. I didn't work for years. I was looking for a job but I didn't learn the language so I couldn't find a job. WAYNE LUCIER: And your husband, he spoke English? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah. He was – found a job. WAYNE LUCIER: Did he help you learn English? MARIA MOREIRA: No. He helped me a little bit but I learned more from the children and people like [unintelligible - 00:05:03]. WAYNE LUCIER: You said you lived on Allen Place, right? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, two months. We moved to Villa Street. WAYNE LUCIER: And from there?4 MARIA MOREIRA: From there we moved to Leighton St. But after that, we buy apartment house. We lived there for about six years. Then we moved to Westminster Road, single home. WAYNE LUCIER: And did you live with Portuguese people this time? MARIA MOREIRA: No, I lived in my mother-in-law [unintelligible - 00:05:37]. She lived with us when we buy the house. WAYNE LUCIER: What sort of jobs, what's your job now- your present job? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, my present job is Fitchburg [unintelligible - 00:05:50]. WAYNE LUCIER: And that's where? MARIA MOREIRA: [Unintelligible - 00:00:06] company. WAYNE LUCIER: And how about, let's say when you first came over here, what type of jobs did you have then? MARIA MOREIRA: When I came over? WAYNE LUCIER: When you came here. MARIA MOREIRA: This is my first job. I never had any other job. [Unintelligible - 00:06:05] I find a job. WAYNE LUCIER: And what type of work did your husband do? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh he was [unintelligible - 00:06:18]. He was making some keys and locks, all kinds of stuff and certain works [unintelligible - 00:06:26]. WAYNE LUCIER: How about when you first met him, what type of jobs did he do then? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh he was a farmer there. He was a farmer. He was young, and after that he came to the United States because he was American-born. He went to California for about four years. WAYNE LUCIER: When he went to California, he was married? MARIA MOREIRA: No, he was single. After that he went back and he married me. He stayed there for about three years. After that, he…just the wartime, we have to come here. Otherwise, we have to [unintelligible - 00:07:05]. WAYNE LUCIER: He didn't want to go?5 MARIA MOREIRA: No, [unintelligible - 00:07:07]. He'd rather be here. WAYNE LUCIER: At this time did you know where were they fighting the war? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh this is fighting to Japan… all the 1940 war. WAYNE LUCIER: So he just didn't want to go there? MARIA MOREIRA: He didn't want to go over there. There was no war in Portuguese but you have to be enlisted. WAYNE LUCIER: Oh. Did you belong to any clubs? MARIA MOREIRA: No. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. What sort of education did you have? MARIA MOREIRA: [Unintelligible - 00:07:42]. WAYNE LUCIER: And do you remember the name of the school? MARIA MOREIRA: No, just about it. WAYNE LUCIER: What type of school was it? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh it was just like first grade to the fifth grade. They teach everything. You know writing, reading, [unintelligible - 00:08:00] everything. WAYNE LUCIER: Was it hard? MARIA MOREIRA: It was hard because we have to learn everything at once. WAYNE LUCIER: Would you prefer, you know, your family to go to school there or in the United States? If you had your choice, let's say you could send them to school in Portugal or the United States, where you want to send them? MARIA MOREIRA: I like the type of education [unintelligible - 00:08:22] for the children. They stay longer in school. WAYNE LUCIER: Did you have any other education like night school? MARIA MOREIRA: I went to two years in night school. WAYNE LUCIER: For what? MARIA MOREIRA: To learn how to be an American citizen – to learn English really. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. And when did you become a citizen? MARIA MOREIRA: I became a citizen on November 6, 1964. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. And was it hard for you to change…? 6 MARIA MOREIRA: No, [unintelligible - 00:09:04]. WAYNE LUCIER: Are you Republican or Democrat? MARIA MOREIRA: I'm Independent. I just switched to [unintelligible - 00:09:19]. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. And have you ever become involved working for a candidate? MARIA MOREIRA: No. WAYNE LUCIER: How about the state government, what do you think about it? Is it useful or is it…? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, they try to do the best they can [unintelligible - 00:09:37] mistake. WAYNE LUCIER: Have they ever, you know, helped you? MARIA MOREIRA: I have no problem, you know. I have my job all the time, [unintelligible - 00:09:46] system or anything. WAYNE LUCIER: How about the city government? Has you ever been affected by it? MARIA MOREIRA: All these years we live here, we… they fixed our road lately. They fixed [unintelligible - 00:10:05]. WAYNE LUCIER: Did you have to… MARIA MOREIRA: [Unintelligible - 00:10:09]. They made that twice [unintelligible - 00:10:16] fixed. WAYNE LUCIER: And that's the only way you could have anything done? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, they did it because of [unintelligible - 00:10:20]. WAYNE LUCIER: Did you ever have any language barriers because of your language? Did you have a hard time? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, at the beginning. I still do; I mean I don't speak English very well. WAYNE LUCIER: How about at home right now? Do you speak English or do you speak Portuguese? MARIA MOREIRA: I could speak English if I want to but I still speak Portuguese. WAYNE LUCIER: Which one do you prefer to speak at home? MARIA MOREIRA: It don't make a difference to me. 7 WAYNE LUCIER: How about when you first came over here, which language did you speak? You know, did you try to speak English? Did everybody try to get to know it? MARIA MOREIRA: Oh, yeah, I tried very hard to speak because at the work nobody would speak my language. I had a hard time. WAYNE LUCIER: Have you ever been discriminated against in the job because of your language? MARIA MOREIRA: No. No. No. WAYNE LUCIER: Never? MARIA MOREIRA: No. WAYNE LUCIER: How about when you went out searching for a house to live in? MARIA MOREIRA: No, we had no problem. WAYNE LUCIER: Do you think Fitchburg has good job opportunities? Do they have enough work for everyone? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, I think so, [unintelligible - 00:11:27] study and other peoples. WAYNE LUCIER: Over in-, what's the city, St Michaels, right? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. How was your spare time spent? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, over there my spare time was just do the housework and [unintelligible - 00:11:51] help my mother and [regard] my brothers… WAYNE LUCIER: Was there any real spare time? Do you know what I mean? MARIA MOREIRA: No. I didn't go to many places. Some days, you know, we just had a feast sometimes. WAYNE LUCIER: How about right now? How do you spend your spare time away from work? MARIA MOREIRA: At home or at my brother's house or go to the show – not too many [unintelligible - 00:12:16] not too much. WAYNE LUCIER: Do you think when you first came over here that the city of Fitchburg had recreational things for your children to do, you 8 know, like go ice skating or something like that? Did they have anything for them to do? MARIA MOREIRA: That time I don't miss those things at that point. Over here, it don't make any difference there or not, I mean, not too much. WAYNE LUCIER: So how about right now, do you think Fitchburg has you know…? MARIA MOREIRA: We have more. Yeah, we have more places for the children to have a good time. WAYNE LUCIER: What certain types of foods do you enjoy? MARIA MOREIRA: I like Portuguese food, most of it, but I like some American food. WAYNE LUCIER: When you came over, did you have a hard time preparing American foods or…? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, I had a hard time to getting [accustomed], to getting used to American food. WAYNE LUCIER: Did your family enjoy it, the American food? MARIA MOREIRA: No, at the beginning, no, because they had [unintelligible - 00:13:19]. WAYNE LUCIER: Did you find it a hard thing to go shopping? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, yeah, because of my language, the language. WAYNE LUCIER: Let's say that you go into an American grocery store; did you find it a hard thing to go in and buy stuff? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, the grocery store, no, it's not because you got everything on the shelf. But like the department store, I have a hard time because I didn't know the sizes. They ask me questions or help you with [unintelligible - 00:13:54]. WAYNE LUCIER: And what are your children, what are their names and what are their jobs? MARIA MOREIRA: My oldest one, her name is Anna. She's a hard worker… WAYNE LUCIER: What's the name Anna? MARIA MOREIRA: [Unintelligible - 00:14:10]. She's a housewife. She got three children. She went to high school. WAYNE LUCIER: And her husband, what's his job?9 MARIA MOREIRA: He's working in a sports shop. He's an [appraiser]. WAYNE LUCIER: Is this local or…? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah. WAYNE LUCIER: Where does he work? MARIA MOREIRA: He's working at a sports shop in the [unintelligible - 00:14:45]. WAYNE LUCIER: And do you have any other? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, I have two other daughters. The other one's name is M. Dorothy. WAYNE LUCIER: And what does she do? MARIA MOREIRA: She's a secretary. WAYNE LUCIER: And are there any other family members? MARIA MOREIRA: I have another one, the youngest one. Her name is Louisa. She's a school teacher. She's teaching [unintelligible - 00:15:26]. WAYNE LUCIER: And how about, do you have any grandchildren? MARIA MOREIRA: I have three grandchildren. WAYNE LUCIER: And do they go to school or…? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, the oldest one go to school and the middle one. The other one's been going to the… WAYNE LUCIER: Do you belong to any church? MARIA MOREIRA: Yes, [unintelligible - 00:15:47] Church. WAYNE LUCIER: Was your husband a veteran? MARIA MOREIRA: No. WAYNE LUCIER: He never participated in any service in Portugal? MARIA MOREIRA: No. WAYNE LUCIER: Do you have any customs right now? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah. I got Portuguese [feasts]. I like to go [unintelligible - 00:16:14]. WAYNE LUCIER: What are your finest memories, your own personal memories? MARIA MOREIRA: Well, I remember only when I was young. Other things we did when we were growing up, especially [unintelligible - 00:16:35] and work in the farm.10 WAYNE LUCIER: How about in Fitchburg, what did you like about Fitchburg? What do you like about Fitchburg? MARIA MOREIRA: Most of them, you know, I like my job here. And I have everything I need, stores, and [unintelligible - 00:17:58]. WAYNE LUCIER: Is there anything that you'd like to forget about Fitchburg? MARIA MOREIRA: No. This is my first place when I came to the United States and I like to live here. WAYNE LUCIER: And when you came to the United States, did you want to stay here? MARIA MOREIRA: Yeah, I was just feeling this is my home. WAYNE LUCIER: And how about Fitchburg? When you came to Fitchburg, did you think that you would stay here? MARIA MOREIRA: That time maybe not, but really I don't like to [leave]. Any place else as far as I know, as long as I know, I want it here. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. And finally did you want to go back? MARIA MOREIRA: To Azores? WAYNE LUCIER: Yeah. MARIA MOREIRA: No. I went to visit once. WAYNE LUCIER: So you wouldn't like to go to live there? MARIA MOREIRA: To live there, no. WAYNE LUCIER: Okay. Thank you./AT/jf/ah/ee