Manuscripts

Angel Pinedo, Jacinto Pinedo, and Rosie Pinedo interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

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Description: The interview of Angel Pinedo, Jacinto Pinedo, and Rosie Pinedo includes such topics as their family's life as migrants, the influence of their father's work as a gardener at The Huntington and as an operator of his own gardening business, their parents charitable work, and how their own successful careers were attributed, in part, to their upbringing. The length of the interview is approximately 90 minutes.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 2021 November 6
Call number: HIAoralhist
Creator: Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Acquired from interviewees, June 2019-June 2022.; gift of August 2023.
Restrictions: Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.

Cruz Pinedo interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

Manuscripts

Cruz Pinedo's interview contains discussions of his life and family in Mexico, including the poverty of the family, his birth on a rancho, his marriage, and agricultural work. He also extensively covers his move to the United States, includes such topics as work, his preference for the United States, and his dealings with immigration authorities. Pinedo also discusses his work in the gardens with Fred Brandt, the long-time German-Swiss head of the gardens. The length of the interview is approximately 1 hour and 26 minutes.

HIAoralhist

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C. Ramiro Ramírez Pinedo interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

Manuscripts

C. Ramiro Ramírez Pinedo details his life in Mexico, discussing such matters as his father's work, including his pay as a farm worker and a stint working in Washington state; his mother's and father's family backgrounds; and a vivid account of his father's experience in Mexico's Cristero War. Mr. Ramírez Pinedo discusses how he left home at a young age in search of work because of his family's poverty. Ramírez Pinedo's move to the United States receives detailed attention: the means of coming here, his wife's journey to the United States, where they lived once she had arrived in Southern California. In regards to his work at The Huntington, Ramírez Pinedo recounts how he came to The Huntington through a cousin, that his initial position in Botanical was only temporary and without insurance, and how much he was paid. He goes on to discuss his work with the camellias and in the Cactus Gardens. He eventually moved to bonsai pruning, which is now his specialty. Ramírez Pinedo notes that his training came from Japanese-American gardeners at UCLA and from Ben Oki, a well-known bonsai specialist in Southern California. Mr. Ramírez Pinedo explains his philosophy of pruning and how it is an art form to him. In addition, he covers such matters as pay at The Huntington, the ethnic make-up of the Botanical Gardens' non-managerial staff, and the attention that he receives from Huntington visitors when he is working; that attention led him to establish his own gardening business. Ramírez Pindeo also discusses his wife's work, their children, and their philosophy in raising them as well as his devotion to the Virgen de Guadalupe. The length of the two interviews cumulatively total approximately 4 hours and 30 minutes.

HIAoralhist

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Javier Vasquez interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

Manuscripts

Javier Vasquez's interview includes such topics his mother's work as a seamstress and his father's two jobs: a gardener at The Huntington and at a USA gas station; he remembers his father taking him to The Huntington when he was a child and the camaraderie he saw among the workers, including Jim Folsom and Fred Brandt. He discusses his own education and other jobs before starting at The Huntington. He details the daily work routine in Facilities and the standards of good work as well as the impact of the COVID pandemic and the challenges it presented. The length of the interview is approximately 120 minutes.

HIAoralhist

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Arturo Arellano interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

Manuscripts

Arturo Arellano's interview includes such topics as types of cutting techniques for gardening, conditions of work, and his areas of responsibility, such as the Lily Pond. The length of the interview is approximately 47 minutes.

HIAoralhist

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Shadi Shihab interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

Manuscripts

Shadi Shihab discusses his life in Israel, and his first impressions of California. He speaks at length about the organization of Botanical's work teams and his work as a supervisor and curator. Shihab analyzes the qualities that make for a good worker here as well as a curator. He also discusses his relationship with his work crews, all of whom he has hired. At the end of the interview, Shihab notes how hard working they are and how their pay needs to improve. Shihab reviews how Botanical met the challenge of the San Gabriel Valley windstorm of 2011 that damaged many of The Huntington's plants, trees, and shrubs. Shihab notes his high regard for Jim Folsom, the director of The Huntington's Botanical Gardens; he also mentions such persons as Ann Richardson, former curator of the Camelia gardens, and Fred Brandt, former superintendent of the gardens. The length of the interview is approximately 42 minutes.

HIAoralhist

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Leonor Jiménez interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

Manuscripts

In her interview Leonor Jiménez observes how the work at The Huntington is easier than her other jobs working in the fields and in a cannery. She explains how the shifts and work assignments of custodians are arranged here at The Huntington; her husband also works as a custodian in Facilities, but they do not work together. Jiménez also notes her fondness for The Huntington. The length of the interview is approximately 49 minutes.

HIAoralhist

Angel Pinedo, Jacinto Pinedo, and Rosie Pinedo interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

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Cruz Pinedo interviewed by Dr. José Orozco

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