The Kumeyaay Way - Winter 2008 - (Page 23)

F o c u s o n t h e F u t u r e , r e s p e c t t h e pa s t remember When Viejas Neighbor Remembers Life on the Reservation hen Donald Wooldridge, now 80, was nine years old, his family rented a small adobe house next to Viejas Creek, near Viejas Reservation. Wooldridge spent time with Viejas children—boys and girls with last names like Pico, Hyde, Tesam, LaChappa, and Brown. He went to peon games where he watched Sam Brown, hung out with James Tesam, and baled hay with other Viejas members. Recently, he sat down with tribal member Oletha Leo to talk about his life and his visits to Viejas as a young man. An editor’s note from Oletha Leo: A chance meeting at a local coffee shop with Donald Wooldridge led to a series of talking stories. Wooldridge provided much insight to the past—a shared history, common understandings, and good will. Donald’s stories regarding members of our community—many who are now gone —warmed my heart. Eyaay Ahun (my heart feels good). Thank you, Donald for the good talk. Q. What was it like growing up next to the reservation? A. Well, I didn’t know what a reservation was until I moved near Viejas. I had a good friend, James Tesam, from Viejas. He and I stayed friends until he died. He was a sincere person and we were friends. I still have the rope he gave me. I also knew Raymond LaChappa, Tom Hyde, and other people, too. I was in the Korean War with Felix Gonzalez. We were drafted together in ’51. Q. So you were friends with folks on the reservation? A. Yes. I believe you treat your neighbors like you want to be treated. No one from the reservation that I know of went off and caused problems. Q. How were relations between Indian kids at school and others? A. Life was very different back then. For example, there was some segregation at school. The Indians had their own restrooms. It ended eventually, but I never understood why we had to have it in the first place. But we all played together. We still played ball together, sports; you know. Later, when I coached my son’s Little League, I always wanted the Indian kids on our team. They were the best players. Q. I heard you watched hay being baled over at Viejas? A. Pete Lemon used to sharecrop land with some of the Indians Q. What were/are your thoughts about the Viejas reservation when you were a boy? A. When I was younger I thought the reservation was for poor people. But we [his family] were also poor. I never saw any new houses going up then, like now. Q. Things were really difficult? A. I saw Indians move away from the reservation because they couldn’t make a go of the land. I don’t know what assistance the Indians got from the government but I don’t think they had much. My family was on SRA [a form of welfare] and I was always so hungry…so were a lot of the Indians, I imagine. Q. It’s really different today, huh? A. It’s different. Most of the people, some of the people I grew up with, are gone. In fact, I’m surprised I’m still here.  W [Kumeyaay]. I would watch them bale hay. They worked on a seven-man baler. It needed seven men to work. I don’t know who owned the equipment but it was a joint venture between Peter and the people on the reservation. Q. What was it like, baling hay back then? A. It was hard work! I would watch them drive a team of horses, bale the hay, then the wagon came and they loaded the hay onto the wagons. I learned a lot from watching the Indians bale hay. Years later, I ran a ranch and we had different equipment. But I will always remember watching the Indians [Viejas] baling hay. 23 Winter 2008

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Kumeyaay Way - Winter 2008

The Kumeyaay Way - Winter 2008 Contents Kumeyaay History Looking Back at the River of Tears Keeping the Borders Open for All Kumeyaay Tribal Security—Safety First Cultural Embrace Viejas Tribal Member Rescues Eagle Education for All Future in Their Hands Viejas Pow Wow Honors Native American Veterans Growing Traditions—Viejas Community Garden Remember When

The Kumeyaay Way - Winter 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.