Our Stories Those Far Away from Home By Refugio I. Rochin, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus of UC Davis and Santa Cruz
Workers used open showers and did their laundry—much like soldiers of that era. Workers ate together in “mess-halls.” They used metal trays for food and regular glasses for drinks. The quality of food varied by each camp, its cooks and the staples provided by the companies. Camps that specialized in “Mexican food” kept their workers content and those that did not experienced some protests and worker flight. I know this from personal experience. My father was one of the first contractors in San Diego County who worked successfully for Sunkist growers, serving Mexican food with fresh tortillas, lots of beans, rice and meat. The camps served by my father often had workers from other camps seeking “sanctuary” at the Sunkist camps. My father developed a wholesale business, C&R Provisions in Oceanside. He learned from his experience as an immigrant farmworker (beginning at 15 years of age) the importance of home cooking and service. I am very proud that our family-owned Latino business helped our Mexican immigrants during an important time in our history.
My father Refugio Rochin was born in 1908, and immigrated from Sinaloa, Mexico in 1924. My mother Juanita was born in 1913 in Colton, California. They married in 1929. I am a proud native of San Diego, California, born in 1941. When I was 16 years old, I worked with my father who was under contract to provide food andrelated provisions to bracero (worker).
Refugio & Juanita Rochin
labor camps from 1941 through 1964, the year the program ended. It had been a labor agreement between the United States and Mexico that began during WWII. Sunkist citrus growers and independent avocado growers (also called associations) developed camps and facilities for Bracero workers in San Diego County to house them during the time they harvested and processed vegetables, avocados, oranges and lemons for shipment. These camps housed (by my recollection) 25 to 300 workers each. Some of the larger camps were located in Fallbrook, Vista and Escondido, which were my delivery routes. Each camp’s wooden structures were modeled after U.S. military barracks. The workers (all men) slept in bunk-beds, closely lined with boxes for each worker for their personal items.
(Photos courtesy Rufugio I. Rochin)
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San Diego Latino Legacy – Timeline • Milestones • Stories
Chapter 3 – Service To America, Struggles With America
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