Nabor Family Collection

Alberto “Gorospe” Nabor was born on June 5, 1910, in the province of La Union in the Philippines. At around the age of 18, he left his family farm for Hawai‘i. While there, he worked in the sugar and pineapple plantations and then eventually migrated to the continental United States. Though the exact dates of his arrival in Hawai’i and the continental United States are unknown, he likely migrated during the 1920s or early 1930s.

Once in California, Alberto began working as a migrant farm laborer. He first worked in Pescadero and Davenport then moved throughout California and Arizona. During World War II, Alberto enlisted in the First Filipino Infantry, trained at Fort Hunter-Liggett, California, and served in the Pacific Theater. Later in life, he shared memories of the Battle of Leyte Gulf with his son, Albert “Bert” Nabor. Alberto remained a proud member of the First and Second Filipino Regiment Society and the American Legion following the war. After being discharged, he continued to work as a migrant farm laborer traveling to follow crop rotations. In 1952, Alberto bought a house on Dawson Street in Watsonville using GI Bill funds.

Alberto was introduced to Erlinda Aragon, a Mexican American woman. Erlinda was born in Socorro, New Mexico on December 3, 1936. The two wed in Salinas on August 5, 1954. The couple had four children: Albert “Bert” Thomas Nabor (b. 1956), Glenn Patrick Nabor (b. 1957), Valarie Jean Nabor (b. 1960), and Steve Leon Nabor (b. 1962).

The entire family migrated alongside Alberto as he traveled for work until Erlinda decided that the children should remain in Watsonville to attend school. Though Alberto continued to follow the migrant labor trail until the late 1960s, he transitioned to working principally in the Pajaro Valley. He had jobs at a nursery on Zils Road in Watsonville and in the cabbage fields at Carl Dobbler and Sons. The whole family participated in Filipino community events, including those hosted by the Caballeros de Dimas-Alang and Filipino Catholic Association of Watsonville and Santa Cruz County, as well as gatherings of family and friends at Sunset and Palm beaches.

Alberto passed in 1997. Erlinda currently resides in Watsonville.

The Nabor Family Collection was donated to Watsonville is in the Heart by Alberto and Erlinda Nabor’s son, Albert “Bert” Nabor, in 2021. It contains six items in total. It includes an oral history interview with Bert Nabor in which he reflects on his father’s migration and labor experiences; his father's memories of serving in the First Filipino Infantry; and his own experiences growing up in Watsonville. The collection also features Alberto’s membership cards for the many organizations he participated in throughout his life. They include the First and Second Filipino Regiment Association, the American Legion, and the Caballeros de Dimas-Alang.

Albert "Bert" Nabor