Greetings From Idaho, USA: Daniel Blanco

[Daniel]

Greetings from Idaho, USA-

I was stunned to find this website.

Both of my parents were born and raised in Depue, Illinois, a location mentioned here fairly often. They left Depue for good as soon as they were married, but I spent a lot of time there over the years, since both sets of my grandparents lived there until the day they died. In my family, “going on vacation” meant going to Depue. My father, Arthur/Arturo/Artie/Arturin Blanco, died at age 71 in 1999, but my mother is hale and hearty at age 78 and is still able to come up with fresh stories about our family and the people she and my Dad grew up with. Other Spanish family names I remember from Depue include: Garcia, Vega, Suarez, Menendez , Cueto, Martinez and Bustos. I’m sure there are others that have slipped my mind.

My mother’s people are Irish—her maiden name was Ann Gurnett—but my father’s parents were immigrants from Asturias. My grandfather’s name was Manuel “Lolo” Blanco, and my grandmother was Mercedes (nee Gonzalez). Grandfather was from Aviles and grandmother was from Piedras Blancas. My grandfather worked in the New Jersey Zinc plant, just like everybody else in town, and my grandmother raised four kids. Some of my grandfather’s many brothers also settled in Depue, but at least two of his older brothers, Cielo and Restitutu, wound up in West Virginia. My grandmother also had family connections to West Virginia. One of her brothers, Joe Gonzalez , became a successful Pepsi Cola distributor there, having joined the company when it was an upstart taking on Coca Cola. I believe he lived in Wheeling, West Virginia. My grandfather’s one and only sister, Concha, settled in Mexico after the Spanish Civil War, marrying a Spanish fellow who found it prudent to leave Spain permanentemente. I’m not well connected with this “Mexican” branch of the family.

As for me, I’m 54 years old and work as the sales and marketing manager for an upscale Orvis-endorsed hunting and fly-fishing lodge located in North Central Idaho. Prior to taking on the new job two years ago, I worked for 30 years at four different state universities in South Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa and Idaho. I started as an admissions recruiter, moved on to student financial aid and worked the last 20+ years as a career services director, helping students find internships and jobs and marketing graduates to employers. As you might guess, my second career is where my heart is, with hunting, fishing and training dogs. I don’t miss higher education at all, for it has ceased to be a meritocracy and has descended into a pismire of political correctness. (Whoops, there’s that highly opinionated Asturian streak showing. After three generations you’d think we’d learn…Nah!!).

That’s it for now. I hope to be a frequent contributor to the forum. I have dozens of stories to tell—happy, sad, even violent—about the wonderful people who taught me, as my “Lolo” used to say, “To walk as a man among men.”

Daniel


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Trad. por Elí


Saludos desde Idaho, en los EE.UU.

Estuve sorprendido al encontrar este Web site.

Mis padres nacieron y fueron criados en Depue, Illinois, un lugar mencionado aca con frecuencia. Saliero de Depue para siempre apeanas se casaran, pero yo pasé mucho tiempo allí ya que mis abuelos por ambos lados vivieron allí hasta el día que fallecieron. En mi familia, el “salir de vacaciones” significaba ir a Depue. Mi padre, Arturo/Arturo/Artie/Arturin Blanco, fallecio de 71 años en 1999, pero mi madre esta vivita y coleando a los 78 y todavía cuenta historias frescas sobre nuestra familia y la gente con la que ella y mi papá crecieron. Otros apellidos Españoles que recuerdo de Depue incluyen: Garcia, Vega, Suarez, Menendez, Cueto, Martinez y Bustos. Estoy seguro que hay otros de los que me he olvidado.

Mi madre deciende de Irlandéses- su nombre de soltera era Ana Gurnett (en los EE.UU. la mujer toma el apellido del marido al casarse)-pero los padres de mi padre eran inmigrantes de Asturias. El nombre de mi abuelo era Manuel “Lolo” Blanco, y mi abuela era Mercedes (nee Gonzalez). El abuelo era de Aviles y la abuela de Piedras Blancas. Mi abuelo trabajó en la planta del cinc de New Jersey, ijual que todos en la ciudad, y mi abuela crio a cuatro muchachos. Algunos de los muchos hermanos de mi abuelo también se asentaron en Depue, pero por lo menos dos de sus hermanos mayores, Cielo y Restitutu, terminaron en Virginia del oeste. Mi abuela también tenía familia en Virginia del oeste. Uno de sus hermanos, Joe Gonzalez, hizo una exitosa distribuidora de Pepsi-Cola allí, habiendose unido a la compañía cuando recien comenzaba haciendole la competencia a la Coca-Cola. Creo que él vivió en Wheeling, Virginia del oeste. Concha, La unica hermana de mi abuelo, se mudo a México después de la guerra civil española, casando con un Español que creyo prudente el dejar España permanentemente. No estoy en contacto con esta rama “Mexicana” de la familia.

En cuanto a mí, tengo 54 años y trabajo como el encargado de ventas y gerente de comercialización para una compañia 'Orvis-endorsed' de caza y de 'fly-fishing' en la parte norte-central de Idaho. Antes de adquirir el nuevo trabajo hace dos años, trabajé por 30 años en cuatro universidades de los estados en Dakota del Sur, Wyoming, Iowa e Idaho. Comencé como reclutador de admisiones, me trasladé a ayuda financiera del estudiante y trabajé mas de 20 años como carreer services director, ayudando a los estudiantes en la busqueda de puestos de trabajo o pasantías. Como te puedes imaginar, en mi segunda carrera es donde tengo el corazon puesto, con la caza, pesca y entrenando perros. No extraño el ambito universitario para nada, ya que ha cesado de ser una meritocracia y decendido a ser una fruslería de falsas o pretendidas buenas maneras. (Epa!, aparecio esa vena tan opinada Asturiana. Despues de tres generaciones y aun no aprendemos.... Nah!)

Eso es todo por ahora. Espero ser un contribuyente frecuente en este forum. Tengo dozenas de historias que contar- alegres, tristas y hasta violentas- sobre la gran gente que me enseño, como my "Lolo" solia decir, "Caminar como un varon entre hombres"

[is]

Those are very funny anecdotes, Daniel. I'm always amazed at how names like Cueto, Busto and even 'Restitutu' pop up in what I'd consider 'unlikely' places like Pennsylvania or West Virginia. I've learned here that in fact, those names are very 'likely' to pop up there. By the way, I have two good friends in Asturias whose surnames are Cueto and Busto, although none called 'Restitutu'.

Just as a side comment, 'cuetu' (or 'cueta', in the feminine form) in Asturian means a high place, a craggy hillside or small mountain-top. Sometimes it also refers to a stone, as in: "Tiróu un cuetu al nenu ya mancóulu" (He/she threw a stone at the kid and hurt him).

As for 'busto', I've been curious about that name for a long time. There's Cabo Busto near L.luarca (pronounced 'Tsu-ar-ca'; written 'Luarca' in Spanish) and a lot of people with that last name in the county of Villaviciosa. Apparently, it is related to the practice of burning fields or clearing forests for agricultural purposes. I'll try to find the original source for that, although I suspect it's my father's 'Toponimia Asturiana'.

I'll post an update as soon as I find the source. And by the way, in Idaho there's a strong Basque-descended population. Can you tell us if they too have a Basque-American web site like ours? And in the fly-fishing world of Idaho, have you met anybody with the last name of 'Zaldain'?

[Ron Gonzalez]

Hi Daniel, welcome!

I also had a successful Pepsi Cola distributor in the family. He was my cousin Joe Tamargo. It was called the Mon Valley Pepsi Cola Comp in Donora, Pa.

[Daniel]

Thank you both very kindly for your welcome to the forum.

Is, you're absolutely correct that there are lots of Basques in Idaho. For a good website with plenty of links, try www.basquemuseum.com One of the things I have noticed about Basque food is its similarity to Asturian food, which comes as no surprise. A nice Basque restaurant is about as close to "home cooking" as a single guy like me can get here in Idaho. I have also noticed that in the old days the Basque rooming houses appear to have operated like the places where lots of single Asturian men stayed, with 20 or more people listing the address of the boarding house as their home. In the case of the old-time Asturian men I knew, they slept in shifts based upon a day or night shift work schedule at the planta, whereas the Basques used the boarding houses as a base and mail drop between times spent on the range with sheep herds.

When my grandfather came to America, herding cattle and sheep was the only real skill he had, yet he went to the zinc works like all the other Asturians. Some time I will tell the tale. told to me as a boy, of how the Asturians taught and enforced the "dark art" of furnace work in a selective way to assure employment for themselves.

Ron, I can't help but believe that there must have been some kind of communication or connection between your relative and my grandmother's brother on the Pepsi-Cola front. I need to get more details about Joe Gonzalez and his family.

Daniel