https://wiith-archive.ucsc.edu/files/original/f48a32f0885f3002ba91cbc4e24a77d1.pdf 8ecfff8aa86a30463b870220dc4cc9c7 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 Asuncion Family Collection Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Anastacio "Stosh" Asuncion Description An account of the resource Anastacio “Tony” Polistico Asuncion was born in 1898 in the Bohol province of the Philippines. Tony served in both World War I and World War II. After World War I, he immigrated alone from the Philippines to Hawai’i and eventually to California. Upon arriving in California, Tony worked around the East Bay area as an agricultural laborer. While working in agriculture in the East Bay area, Tony met Paula Montelongo. Paula was born near San Antonio, Texas, and is of Mexican descent. Her exact birth date is unknown. She had five children from her previous marriage. After she divorced her ex-husband, Paula moved to the East Bay area and worked in the strawberry industry. Tony and Paula got married sometime around 1946 to 1947. Together, they had five children. They eventually settled in Watsonville, where they worked for Reiter Berry Company and lived in two labor camps, one on San Andreas Road and another in Rio del Mar. Their son, Anastacio “Stosh” (b. 1950) worked in the fields alongside his parents. Stosh went on to attend the University of California, Santa Cruz. He graduated with a B.A. in History and a teacher's credential. He worked as a middle school teacher in the Berryessa Union School District for thirty-three years. Tony retired from working in the strawberry fields during his 60’s due to a lung infection caused by exposure to pesticides. Tony passed away in 1980 and Paula passed away in 1990. The Asuncion Family Collection was donated to Watsonville is in the Heart in 2023 by Tony's and Paula's son, Stosh. It contains eight family photographs and an essay titled, "Watsonville's Filipino Bachelor Community" that was written by Stosh when he was a student at UCSC in 1970. The collection also includes sixteen photographs that show elderly Filipino manong, labor camps, and Filipino-owned businesses in Watsonville that accompanied Stosh's 1970 essay. 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 Anastacio "Stosh" Asuncion 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.) 1:41:49 URL <span style="font-weight: 400;">Link to audio recording on escholarship: </span><a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7w87p82g#supplemental" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anastacio Asunción interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynolds</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 Anastacio Asuncion interviewed by Meleia Simon-Reynolds Description An account of the resource In this interview, originally recorded in-person, Anastacio “Stosh” Asuncion speaks with Watsonville is in the Heart team member Meleia Simon-Reynolds. Stosh starts by telling the story of his father, Anastacio Polistico Asuncion’s life in the Philippines, his migration to the United States through Hawai’i, and his involvement in both World Wars before eventually settling in Watsonville, California where he worked as a sharecropper for Reiter Berry Company. He discusses his father’s hobbies of gardening and fishing and remembers his mother, Paula Montelongo Asuncion’s cooking. Stosh reflects on how growing up within a multiethnic community at a labor camp located on San Andreas Road impacted his early views on his parents’ interracial marriage. He describes how he explored his mixed-race identity in college at the University of California, Santa Cruz. He discusses reading Carlos Bulosan’s America is in the Heart and his experience writing an undergraduate research paper titled, “Watsonville’s Filipino Bachelor Community” in 1970. Stosh talks about his experience working in the strawberry fields as a child, and reflects on the long term effects agricultural pesticides had on his father and other workers. He also provides vivid details about cockfights that were held in the Pajaro Valley. Stosh ends the interview by reflecting on fond memories of spending time with his parents, including going fishing with his father and having picnics with his mother. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Anastacio "Stosh" Asuncion Meleia Simon-Reynolds Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 9, 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 Driscoll Fishing Gambling Gardening Hawai'i Military Pesticides Philippine Gardens Cafe Philippines Race Sharecropping Spanish American War Teacher Texas Unions United Farm Workers Watsonville World War 1 World War 2 World War II