Lekuak the Basque Places of Boise, Idaho
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LEKUAK THE BASQUE PLACES OF BOISE, IDAHO Master of Applied Historical Research Meggan Laxalt Mackey Presented to Committee Chairman Dr. John Bieter and Committee Members Dr. Jill Gill and Dr. John Ysursa FINAL – 12/09/15 CONTENTS DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………….…4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.…………………………………………………………………........5 ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………….6 PREFACE…………………………………………………………………………………..……..7 Basques in the Old World Basques in the New World INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………...…..13 CHAPTER I: AMERIKANUAK (Late 1800s to the 1920s) ……………………………………19 Boardinghouses Frontons The Church of the Good Shepherd Summary CHAPTER II: TARTEKOAK (1930s to the 1950s)…………………………………………….40 Residences Workplaces Morris Hill Cemetery: St. John’s Section Temporary Places: Picnics and Mutual Aid Society Events The Basque Center Summary CHAPTER III: EGUNGOAK (Today’s Generations -1960s to the Present)…………..……….59 The Influence of Education Basque Museum & Cultural Center The Anduiza Fronton: Reclaimed The Basque Center Façade The Unmarked Basque Graves Project The Boise’ko Ikastola Summary CHAPTER IV: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………80 The Basque Block: Symbolic Ethnicity, Cultural Persistence of the Basques in Boise, and the Significance of Cultural Diversity Today The Academic Contribution of Lekuak to the Study of the Basques in the American West POSTSCRIPT: WHY BOISE? …………………..……………………………………..………94 REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………..…..………105 2 APPENDIX……………………………………………………………………………………..120 1. The Public History Project …………………………………………………………..121 Audience and Goals Components and Budget Sources 2. Timeline …………………………………………………………………………….126 Time Line Photo Credits 3. List of Terms…………………………………………………………………………136 4. Map: Euskal Herria (The Basque Country) ...……………………………………….141 5. Boise: Uniquely Basque……………….……………………………………………..142 6. Ostatuak Map: Boise Basque Boardinghouses …….......…..………………………..146 7. Maps: St. John’s Section at Morris Hill Cemetery - Plot Maps (1935 -1950)..……...147 8. Basque Boise Walking Tour (separate document)…………………………………...149 COLOPHON……………………………………………………………………………………150 3 DEDICATION Dedicated to my daughter, Erin Ann Jensen. May you always know the power of place. Lekuak is also dedicated to the memory of Dominique & Thérèse Alpetche Laxalt, my immigrant grandparents who carried our ethnic heritage from Tardets and Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorri to the hills, sagebrush, and pine of Nevada. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Several years ago, Dr. John Bieter challenged me to a journey: to return to school and pursue my passion for learning. I thank him for being by my side for this journey. I could not have accomplished Lekuak without his guidance and patience. He served as my Committee Chair and advisor with his characteristic insight and kindness, always ready at a moment’s notice to help me. Two other “Js” formed by Committee: Dr. Jill Gill and Dr. John Ysursa. Dr. Gill provided perspective and steady encouragement, even when she was stretched beyond capacity. Dr. John Ysursa’s knowledge of Basque history and culture were invaluable, and his natural intellectual curiosity led me to be a more discerning scholar. Basques are a community of givers, and many gave me their time, expertise, and support. My dear friend Patty Miller was with me when I decided to undertake this journey, and she’s been with me ever since. Her knowledge, humor, and compassion supported me every step of the way. The Basque Museum staff, Annie Gavica, Amanda Bielmann, and Wendy Bauer, and Board Members Toni Berria and Liz Hardesty helped me immensely with research, fact- checking, photos, and oral histories. Their professional commitment to public history makes me proud to be joining that field. Nere Lete, Izaskun Kortazar, Jon Garcia-Guerenabarrena, and Dave Lachiondo provided stories and support that helped me write Lekuak with confidence. Boise State University faculty deserve my sincere appreciation. Dr. Todd Shallat, Dr. Erroll Jones, and Dr. William Tydeman were foundational to instilling my passion for history years ago, when I was an undergraduate with a small child and little means to finish my schooling. Almost twenty years later, they have maintained their steadfast encouragement of my endeavors. More recently, Dr. Lisa Brady, Dr. Leslie Madsen-Brooks, and Dr. David Walker stimulated my intellectual curiosity and helped me hone both my writing and critical thinking skills. Dr. Cheryl Oestreicher helped set me on the right path from the very beginning with my research, with helpful tips only an archivist can give to get to the very essence of a project. Dr. Lisa McClain, graduate student advisor, answered my barrages of panicky questions, quickly and with cheerfulness. My life-long friends, Kay Schiepan, Pat Entwistle, Lynn Thomason, Kim Buxton, and almost-life-long friends Jeff Johns, Jason Pyron, Deniz Aygen, Larry Ridenhour, Brian Kelly, Jack Sept, and Wade Brown offered constant encouragement, as did many Boise State University undergrad and grad students. My family supported me through this journey as well, including my brother Rick Laxalt, my grandmother Dorthella Silva, my sister-in-law Theresa Mackey and her partner James Daniels, and cousins too numerous to name here. Lekuak was driven by the memory of those who have left this earthly world, but will remain in my heart forever: my brother Paul Laxalt, my mother Kathi Laxalt, and my father Micky Laxalt. Lastly, but by no means the least, two amazing individuals have stood behind me with so much love and rock-solid steadiness: my daughter Erin Jensen and my husband Dennis Mackey. Thank you for believing in me. 5 ABSTRACT Lekuak (“Places”) traces how Basque places in Boise reflect the evolution of each generation’s expression of ethnic identity in response to American societal forces of the times. The first-generation Amerikanuak (late 1800s to 1920s) predominantly expressed their ethnicity as an internally-focused, solely-Basque ethnic group and built places such as boardinghouses and frontons that met communal needs. The Tartekoak, (“in-between” second generation, 1930s to the 1950s), mostly expressed a dual Basque and American ethnic identity. Tartekoak places often revealed the individuation of this generation with single-family residences and Americanized businesses, and the Basque Center with ancestry-based membership. The Egungoak (“today” from the 1960s to the present), who may have mixed ancestral heritage, often express their ethnicity through conscious choice and inclusivity and principally created educational institutions that are open to non-Basques, including the Basque Museum and the Boise’ko Ikastola preschool. Boise’s Basque Block represents the culmination of the evolution of Basque places over generations. Its visible, external expression of “symbolic ethnicity” contains examples of each generation’s places: a boardinghouse, fronton, museum, and social center, as well as Basque symbols that permeate the streetscape. Ultimately, Lekuak documents Basque cultural persistence for over a hundred years in one American Western city through the lens of place. 6 PREFACE Basques in the Old World Nire Aitaren Etxea Ni hilen naiz, Nire arima galduko da, Nire askazia galduko da, Baina nire aitaren etxeak Iraunen du Zutik. The House of My Father I shall die, My soul will be lost, My descendants will be lost, But the house of my father Will remain standing. Gabriel Aresti, Harri eta Herri (Stone and Country)1 Gabriel Aresti’s poem, Nire Aitaren Etxea, (The House of My Father), uses the ancient Basque house, or etxea, that has stood for centuries to symbolize Basque cultural persistence. The etxea, village, province, and country bound Old World Basques together. These Basque places can be viewed as symbols of cultural endurance. The Basque homeland, Euskal Herria, is a small isolated region between France and Spain, near the Pyrenees Mountains and the Bay of Biscay. Some call the Basques hasierak or “the mystery people of Europe” because although their presence in this land has been speculated since prehistoric times, the exact origin of the Basques is still unknown.2 Some say the Basques may have originated during the Cro-Magnon period. Basques call themselves Euzkaldunak, 1 Gabriel Aresti, Harri eta Herri (Stone and Country). In The Basque Country: A Cultural History (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), xxi. Nire Aitaren Etxea, The House of My Father, is included in Aresti’s poetry collection, Harri eta Herri. Woodworth contends that Aresti’s Harri eta Herri is the most influential collection of 2 John Bieter and Mark Bieter, An Enduring Legacy: The Story of Basques in Idaho (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 2000), 17. 7 literally “speakers of Euskara.” Euskara has unknown origins, and it is not related to any other Indo-European language, other than possibly Aquitanian.3 Basques continue to define themselves by Euskara today.4 The Basques fiercely defended their place, which was reflected in their history of political, social, and religious conflict. They survived attempts by the Romans, Visigoths, and Franks to control their territory, which laid the foundation for the defense of Basque land and independence throughout history.5 This was testament to their sheer determination to persist. The Basque Country historically was comprised of seven provinces, termed “Zazpiak Bat” or the “seven are one.”6 Ninety percent of all Basques live in the four Spanish provinces of Bizkaia, Gipuzkoa, Araba, and Nafarroa. The remainder lives in the three northern French