Salaysay - Our Stories/Your Stories/Histories
Photo courtesy of the Raymond & Lucena Barney Family
The Ghost of Jack Radovich
Mama saw her boss, Jack Radovich, standing in her row during a sweltering San Joaquin afternoon. She was picking table grapes alone when he suddenly appeared, several yards away, gazing off in the direction of the blue-gray Sierra mountains. She assumed he was surveying his vineyards, visiting his farmworkers like he aways did.
About the author: Teresa (Barney) Wilson-Gunn is a 1980 graduate of Delano High School. Born to Raymond Barney, a Congressional Gold Medal recpient, and Lucena, a war bride, Teresa earned a BA from San Diego State University.
SO, IT’S ABOUT GRAPES, GAMBLING PAYCHECKS, DEATH & BASKETBALL
1971 Delano, California
It looked out of place, my Toyota Corolla. I parked it on the curb sandwiched between long lines of muscle cars. At the time, no one knew what a Toyota Corolla was until I drove by in a canary yellow, two door, cracker box that buzzed instead of rumbled.
About an hour ago, I was about 10 miles away, near the town of Earlimart, part of a crew that opened one side of the vines to prepare grapes for harvest; the last of a series of tasks before picking season, called “sompai”.
The guys made fun by asking “Does anybody want sompai?” We’d ask, “Is it an apple?” And the manongs would bare their toothless grins.
It was one of a hundred reasons why I hated working in the fields. It was dirty, and the dusty chemicals that the crops needed to enhance growth and prevent mildew lingered on my clothes. I wasn’t allergic to sulfur, but inhaling it made me wheeze.
Photo credit: Rushay Booysen, www.pexels.com
About the author: Dominador Tomate is from the “old neighborhood.” Born to Abdon Tomate, a Congressional Gold Medal recpient and Ruperta, a war bride, Domi graduated from Delano High School in 1971. He attended Cal State College Bakersfield and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, receiving a degree in Journalism in 1975. Domi presently spends his time as a business coach and Lean Six Sigma consultant.