Pinnick Kinnick Hill & the itch to tell the story

[mdhsuarez]

I finally ordered the book of memoirs from G. Gonzalez (using the link to amazon.com from this website of course). The book arrived today and settled the question of what I was going to do with a long post-holiday, lazy afternoon. I settled in and read the book in one sitting! After I was finished, I drove over to my dad's condo and told him he had to read it also. I knew that he would be thrilled with some of the stories that reminded me so much of stories from his own childhood in south St. Louis, East St. Louis and Fairmont City and his own years working in the zinc plant in Fairmont City. I was barely home when he called me to say that he knew Gavin Gonzalez personally! They lived in the same neighborhood in East St. Louis and my father had even bought a car from him at one time. My father (and his father) also played on many Spanish soccer teams and worked in the American Zinc plant mentioned toward the end of the book. My father (Henry Menendez, age 81) had also been part of the large labor strike at this plant after World War II. This strengthened my resolve to finally write the story of this strike and how it changed the immigrant community of Fairmont City, Illinois. That strike was an important part of our family as my father's uncle was a "company man" and his step-father was one of the labor union's leaders. Since many of the strike participants are elderly or dead, I am determined now to track down the survivors to document their stories. Ironically, Gavin Gonzalez had a brother named Oscar. He was married to Helen Norris and they had one child, Sandy. They divorced and Helen married another Spaniard, my uncle, James Menendez. Jim Menendez adopted Sandy and raised her as her own...so Gavin's niece is my adopted cousin. What a small Spanish world we live in!

[Art]

Yes! Go for it!

From all the conversations we've had, it's obvious that you have a very rich resevoir of information to draw on. And those sources will soon be gone, so this is "time sensitive" work, as you've said.

Gavin's book was a solitary project, as I understand it. It sounds like the family wasn't even aware he had written it! So if you're able to get more people involved in retelling their stories, so much the better.

It'd also be great to have a strong display of photo in the book, and you seem to have a number of pictures, too.

I wonder if it takes someone who's a "character" to do this? It's a special person who thinks they have something to say. Gavin was clearly a daring kind of guy. And it sounds like members of your family--and you!--have that same spirit and confidence.

If you're interested in the project, I'd heartily encourage you to do it. No matter how far you go with it, from a family systems theory perspective, you're bound to gain a lot personally. And if you get it published, we'll all gain! Maybe we on the forum can help with the research.

[Manuel Lavin]

I ordered the book through amazon.com -thanks again internet- and I really enjoyed. I feel very proud of what the asturians made in USA.
This xmas hollydays I bought the movies -DVD version- 'The Godfather' from Francis Fosd Coppola and 'Once upon a time in America' from Sergio Leone, I think a better movie may be done with the story of Pinnick Kinnick Hill.
Marleen if you are going to do any research and you need any help from Spain, do not hesitate to contact me.