https://wiith-archive.ucsc.edu/files/original/61fe87d3899cc2c1daa3c482477178be.pdf 1c8d971f346d2738b0ed417ae721d232 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Bongolan Family Collection Description An account of the resource Felix Hidalgo Bongolan was born in October 1911 in the municipality of Santiago, in the province of Ilocos Sur, in the Philippines. Felix immigrated to Hawai‘i from the Philippines when he was around 19 years old to work on the pineapple plantations in Oahu. He eventually worked as a foreman for the Dole. Felix began corresponding with his soon-to-be wife, Irene “Inning” Sipin, through letters. In 1951, Felix traveled back to the Philippines to marry Inning. Inning was born in Santiago, Ilocos Sur, Philippines in July 1919. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, Inning moved away from her village to hide in the mountains for about eight years. After she and Felix were married, they moved to Oahu together. In 1952, Felix and Inning moved to Watsonville, California to be close to Inning’s brothers who were already living in the area. There, Felix worked as a camp cook at Filipino labor camps located on Lee Road. Together, Felix and Inning had two children: Lorraine “Rain” (b. 1952) and Felirene “Fe” (b. 1955). While living in Watsonville, Inning was involved with Filipino community events and Lorraine and Fe participated in Filipino dance classes. Rain went on to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of San Francisco. Rain worked in the Pajaro Valley School District for forty years and taught as a professor at California State University, Monterey Bay. Felix passed away in 1975 and Inning passed away in 1998. The Bongolan Family Collection was donated to Watsonville is in the Heart in 2023. It contains one oral history interview with Lorraine "Rain" Bongolan. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Lorraine "Rain" Bongolan Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Una Lynch Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Lorraine “Rain” Sipin Bongolan Location The location of the interview Watsonville Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data .wav Duration Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.) 1:41:13 URL <span style="font-weight: 400;">Link to audio recording on escholarship: </span><a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7jz1m717#supplemental" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lorraine "Rain" Bongolan interviewed by Una Lynch</a> Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Lorraine “Rain” Sipin Bongolan interviewed by Una Lynch Description An account of the resource In this interview, originally recorded in person, Lorraine “Rain” Sipin Bongolan speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member, Una Lynch. Rain talks about her father, Felix Hidalgo Bongolan’s immigration from Santiago, Ilocos Sur, Philippines to Oahu, Hawai’i where he worked as a foreman for Dole pineapple plantations during the 1940s. She shares how Felix met Irene “Inning” Sipin. They communicated via letters until Felix was able to travel back to the Philippines to marry Irene in 1951. Rain also talks about her mother, Irene’s life growing up in the Philippines during Japanese occupation. Rain explains how her parents eventually settled in Watsonville, where Irene's brothers were already living. She describes Felix’s work as a camp cook at a Filipino labor camp on Lee Road in Watsonville and Irene’s involvement with Filipino community events. Rain also elaborates on how notions of assimilation and the American nuclear family impacted her experience growing up in Watsonville. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Lorraine “Rain” Sipin Bongolan Una Lynch Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 5, 2023 Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Watsonville is in the Heart (WIITH) is a community-driven public history initiative to preserve and uplift stories of Filipino migration and labor in the city of Watsonville and greater Pajaro Valley. All oral history interviews are donated to WIITH by the narrators. Copyright is held by WIITH. Oral history interview recordings and transcripts are available for unrestricted use and reproduction by educators and researchers. Please note that the recordings on this website are provided via escholarship. For access to oral history audio files, please contact the project director at wiith@ucsc.edu. If you are an oral history narrator and would like to remove your interview from the archive website, please contact the project director. Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource Oral History Agriculture Alaska Green Giant Ilocos Sur Mintie White Elementary School Philippines Salmon Teacher University of California Santa Cruz University of San Francisco Veterans Hall Watsonville