https://wiith-archive.ucsc.edu/files/original/60c8c2e7cef643cba965b2e18e3bbf9f.pdf d738ae6654462a4c7b7566178a857ec2 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 Sulay Family Collection Description An account of the resource Mamerto Agustin “Max” Sulay was born in 1907 and raised by his siblings in the municipality of Licab, in the province of Nueva Ecija, in the Philippines. He went to school in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, and obtained a sixth-grade education. In September 1928, he immigrated to Honolulu with his father-in-law and nephew-in-law from his first marriage. The three traveled to Hawai‘i on a ship called the Sandviken. In 1930, Mamerto and his nephew-in-law left Hawai‘i to work in California, arriving first in Wilmington. Mamerto's father-in-law returned to Ilocos Sur in the Philippines. In the continental United States, Mamerto worked as a farm laborer, crew boss, and contractor. He traveled along the west coast following seasonal crop rotations. Census data first documents Mamerto in Union, California where he resided in Camp 5 of the Canal Ranch on Peltier Road. In the summer of 1939, while working as a laborer in a pea field in Arroyo Grande, he met Virginia Alice Viner. Virginia was born in Shed, Oregon in 1922. Her parents traveled extensively throughout the United States but briefly settled in San Luis Obispo County. The Viners lived behind a church where her father worked as a groundskeeper. On August 5, 1940, Mamerto and Virginia traveled to Vancouver, Washington to marry to evade anti-miscegenation laws in California. After their marriage, the two settled in the Pajaro Valley at Rowe Ranch in a Filipino labor camp. The Pajaro Valley was a frequent stop along the agricultural circuit, and many of Mamerto's friends also settled in the area. In 1944, the couple purchased a one-bedroom house on Broadis Street in Watsonville next to a member of the Crosetti family, which had been a long-time employer of Mamerto and his friends. The property was placed in Virginia’s name due to exclusionary property laws that barred Filipinos from owning land. In the 1950s, the house was remodeled by fellow manong, Eddie and Ray Castro. Mamerto and Virginia had six children: Juanita Sulay Wilson, Manzanita Garcia, Mamerto “Sonny” Sulay, Cristine “Cris” Sulay, Alberto “Bert” Sulay, and Mariano “Mario” Telodro Sulay. Mamerto also had a son, Quirino Sulay, in the Philippines, who immigrated to the United States and settled in Watsonville with his family in the 1970s. The Sulay children attended the gatherings, picnics, parties, and celebrations of the organizations to which their parents belonged including the Aglipay Lodge #26 of the Caballeros de Dimas-Alang, the Filipino Community of Watsonville, and the Filipino Women’s Club of Watsonville. Virginia passed in 1988, and Mamerto in 1995. The Sulay Family Collection was contributed to Watsonville is in the Heart by Mamerto and Virginia Sulay's children, Juanita Sulay Wilson and Mariano "Mario" Telodro Sulay, in 2021 and 2022. The collection contains four hundred and twenty-eight items total. It includes two oral history interviews conducted with Juanita and Mario. In the interviews, they reflect on their fathers' migration and labor histories, their parents' marriage, and their experiences growing up mixed-race in Watsonville. In her interview, Juanita also discusses her dedication to researching and archiving her family history. The collection also contains ninety photographs documenting Mamerto's early life as a migrant worker during the 1930s, the family's life in Watsonville, and Mamerto and Virginia's participation in community organizations such as Caballeros de Dimas-Alang and the Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville. Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Juanita Sulay Wilson Mariano "Mario" Telodro Sulay Oral History A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge. Interviewer The person(s) performing the interview Meleia Simon-Reynolds Interviewee The person(s) being interviewed Juanita Sulay Wilson 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.) 1:13:06 URL <span style="font-weight: 400;">Link to audio recording on escholarship: </span><a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8ft0t8fm#supplemental" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Juanita Sulay Wilson interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynolds Part 2 of 2</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 Juanita Sulay Wilson interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynolds Part 2 of 2 Description An account of the resource In this interview, originally recorded in person, Juanita Sulay Wilson speaks with Meleia Simon-Reynolds, a member of the Watsonville is in the Heart team. This interview is focused on Juanita’s mother, Virginia Alice Viner, and her membership and role in the Watsonville Filipino Women’s Club, as well as Juanita’s own foundational role in the Watsonville High School Filipino Youth Club. Throughout the interview, Juanita describes the events and services the Filipino Women’s Club provided to the community in Watsonville. She explains the racial dynamics within the club and community, including how white women like her mother were accepted into the organization. Juanita recalls how her mother saw herself within the community and discusses changing community dynamics when Filipino migrants arrived in Watsonville, especially after 1965. She also details the development of her own identity as a mixed-race person, explaining the ways members of the Filipino Women’s club and her mother –thought about race. Then, Juanita explains the creation and activities of the Filipino Youth Club. She explains the connections between the founding of the Youth Club and other Filipino community organizations in Watsonville. Juanita emphasizes that she and other members of the Youth Club felt it was important to claim and celebrate their Filipino identities. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Juanita Sulay Wilson Meleia Simon-Reynolds Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 29, 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 Dances Fashion Filipino Women's Club of Watsonville Filipino Youth Club Watsonville