1 00:00:00,360 --> 00:00:03,080 Speaker 1: If you drive an hour and a half west of Philadelphia, 2 00:00:03,680 --> 00:00:09,959 Speaker 1: you'll find Pennsylvania Dutch Country. Some three hundred years ago, 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Amish and Mennonite people known for their plain dress and 4 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,200 Speaker 1: simple way of life, begins settling right here. 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,959 Speaker 2: They're still here and you can see it. This place. 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: It feels like stepping into an eighteenth century oil painting, 7 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:33,400 Speaker 1: with rolling fields, farmhouses and horse and buggies. It's fall 8 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 1: and the cornfields have turned brittle in the cooling temperatures. 9 00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,879 Speaker 1: It's really out in the middle of nowhere, got all 10 00:00:40,880 --> 00:00:42,240 Speaker 1: these old cornfields. 11 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:45,839 Speaker 3: It's a acting to boonies. They didn't used to be 12 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 3: any houses around here. Oh it's just fields, Yeah, it 13 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:50,279 Speaker 3: was just fields. 14 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 2: I'm with Ramona Neveno. 15 00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:56,200 Speaker 1: She was born in Puerto Rico, but she's called Pennsylvania 16 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:00,760 Speaker 1: Dutch Country home for most of her life. Today she's 17 00:01:00,840 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: taking me to a place from her childhood. 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 3: It'll be this lane up here on the left. See, 19 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 3: I hadn't been back here for years and years and years. 20 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:13,640 Speaker 1: We come to a ranch property once owned by a 21 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: Mennonite farmer. Ramona used to live here, well sort of. 22 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: We walked to the back of the property where we 23 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,039 Speaker 1: find a shack, a chicken house, as Ramona affectionately calls it. 24 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 3: We came here in nineteen fifty two where it was, 25 00:01:29,920 --> 00:01:32,560 Speaker 3: you know, fixed up so that we could live in it. 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:35,680 Speaker 3: Like I said, since I was so young, it didn't 27 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:38,480 Speaker 3: really bother me that this was such a small place 28 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:41,120 Speaker 3: because this was made for chickens, not for humans. 29 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:45,760 Speaker 1: It's a rectangular structure. The size and shape reminds me 30 00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:46,880 Speaker 1: of a school bus. 31 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:49,160 Speaker 4: I don't know if this one's open or not. I 32 00:01:49,160 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 4: don't know if I can living this. 33 00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 2: Wow, there's just hay in here. 34 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 4: This is just be the bedroom. 35 00:01:58,000 --> 00:01:59,520 Speaker 2: How big do you think this space is? 36 00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 3: Oh? Why? 37 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 4: Maybe ten by thirteen? You think? I can't believe that 38 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 4: was our bedroom for four people. 39 00:02:11,240 --> 00:02:14,360 Speaker 1: Ramona's family moved to Pennsylvania Dutch Country when she was 40 00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: just a child. They were part of a wave of 41 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 1: Puerto Ricans who moved to the mainland US due to 42 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,040 Speaker 1: economic hardship following the Great Depression. Many who came to 43 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:28,000 Speaker 1: Pennsylvania Dutch Country worked on Mennonite farms and lived in 44 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: converted barns and chicken houses, and as US citizens, Puerto 45 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 1: Ricans weren't subject to deportation, so in the decades after 46 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:42,320 Speaker 1: many chose to remain Stateside. For Ramona, there was life 47 00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: before this chicken house and life after. The clothes she wore, 48 00:02:48,040 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 1: the food she ate, the religion she practiced, the communities 49 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:57,079 Speaker 1: she would become part of, It would all change. Ramona 50 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: and many other Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania Dutch Country just 51 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:05,520 Speaker 1: like her, would eventually forge a unique cultural identity today 52 00:03:05,880 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 1: known as Duerto Ricans. 53 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,680 Speaker 5: From Futuro Media and PRX, It's Latino Usa. I'm Maria Rosa. 54 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 5: Today we take a trip to Pennsylvania Dutch Country where 55 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:30,280 Speaker 5: we meet Puerto Ricans who call it home. Stories about 56 00:03:30,280 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 5: immigration often make me think so much about the issue 57 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 5: of sacrifice, where people have to give up or embrace 58 00:03:38,240 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 5: in pursuit of opportunity, stability, safety, all of those things. 59 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:47,360 Speaker 5: And this feels especially relevant today when Latinos, Latinas, and 60 00:03:47,440 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 5: LATINX people are being targeted across the United States. This 61 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 5: tension is central to the story of Duto Ricans, the 62 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,680 Speaker 5: Puerto Ricans who have been living among Pennsylvania's Men and 63 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:04,240 Speaker 5: i Can communities since the nineteen forties. Now you won't 64 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 5: read about them in history books, but Duto Ricans have 65 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:13,280 Speaker 5: faced unique challenges and a complex relationship with the Mennonite 66 00:04:13,280 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 5: community for about a century. And bringing us this story 67 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,520 Speaker 5: is producer Sarah McClure. Sarah, Welcome to Latino USA. I 68 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:23,040 Speaker 5: am fascinated. 69 00:04:23,279 --> 00:04:24,440 Speaker 2: Thanks for having me, Maria. 70 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:28,040 Speaker 5: I've been obsessed with Pennsylvania for a while now and 71 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 5: Puerto Ricans in Pennsylvania. But this is a completely unique 72 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 5: story that I had never heard of. All Right, so 73 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:38,719 Speaker 5: it is true that Puerto Ricans are the largest Latino 74 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:41,839 Speaker 5: group that live in the state of Pennsylvania according to 75 00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 5: the United States Census. But it wasn't until you brought 76 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 5: us this story that I learned about this part of 77 00:04:48,440 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 5: Puerto Rican history, which is the Dutch Arecan history. And 78 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,120 Speaker 5: of course here in New York we know about New Eurekans, 79 00:04:55,560 --> 00:04:58,680 Speaker 5: and New Eurekan history is kind of prevalent in the city, 80 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:01,640 Speaker 5: but Beakans break it down for us. 81 00:05:02,480 --> 00:05:06,799 Speaker 1: Yes, it's a fairly new term. I learned about this, actually, 82 00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:10,000 Speaker 1: Doto Ricans only after speaking with a couple of scholars 83 00:05:10,000 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: from Lebanon Valley College here in Pennsylvania, Professors John Henshaw 84 00:05:14,080 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: and Evac Guzman Sabala started researching Doctor Ricans about a 85 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: decade ago. 86 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 6: The name Doto Rican was given to us by this 87 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:30,280 Speaker 6: man that we interviewed in Pedro Cruz. He was trying 88 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,280 Speaker 6: to come up with a term that he thinks as 89 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:37,760 Speaker 6: his identity, and he said, I am not a new 90 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 6: Yu Rican. Of course, as part of the Puerto Rican diaspora. 91 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 6: I am not a Puerto Rican, I am a I am. 92 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 4: A Doerto Rican. Okay, So that is pretty cool. 93 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:52,280 Speaker 5: Pedro and the professors basically helped to coin the term 94 00:05:52,640 --> 00:05:55,359 Speaker 5: and put Doto Ricans on the map. 95 00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:57,680 Speaker 4: I mean that's a great story absolutely. 96 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: I mean what we're seeing is this wrecord ignition, I 97 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: mean even celebration of Thetrican history in recent years because 98 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:09,400 Speaker 1: descendants like Pedro and Ramona, the women you heard from 99 00:06:09,440 --> 00:06:12,320 Speaker 1: the beginning of the episode, are telling their stories. 100 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 5: I first learned about Mennonites in Mexico because it's Los 101 00:06:17,200 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 5: Menonitas who make cheese in northern Mexico. But this is 102 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,760 Speaker 5: a different kind of reality. This is Amish and Mennonites 103 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 5: in the state of Pennsylvania. So tell us more about them. 104 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:33,440 Speaker 1: Yeah, the Amish and Mennonites share interesting history. During the 105 00:06:33,520 --> 00:06:38,320 Speaker 1: seventeenth century, they fled religious persecution in Europe, they first 106 00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:41,920 Speaker 1: arrived here in Pennsylvania, and over the centuries have spread 107 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,720 Speaker 1: across the entire country. Today, the Amish are pretty traditional. 108 00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: They limit their education to the eighth grade avoid modern technology. 109 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,960 Speaker 1: They don't drive or use the internet. In fact, women 110 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,719 Speaker 1: wear modest dresses still and headcoverings. Men wear trousers and 111 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:03,359 Speaker 1: suspenders because belts are too modern. The Mennonites can be 112 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:08,039 Speaker 1: as traditional as the Amish. However, Mennonites are more integrated 113 00:07:08,040 --> 00:07:12,160 Speaker 1: into society. Puerto Ricans are one of the fastest growing 114 00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,200 Speaker 1: groups in the Mennonite Church nationwide, and that. 115 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 2: Brings us to our story today. 116 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 5: All right, Sarah, we're gonna hand it over to you. 117 00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,200 Speaker 5: I can't wait to hear this piece. 118 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:30,160 Speaker 3: What a beautiful day. Oh my gosh, I want to 119 00:07:30,160 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 3: sit on. 120 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 2: We're nice to see you again. 121 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:37,400 Speaker 1: When I arrive at Ramona's house, she's already on the 122 00:07:37,400 --> 00:07:39,560 Speaker 1: porch waiting for me to come inside. 123 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:41,960 Speaker 2: I'm quickly greeted with a hug and a kiss on 124 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,240 Speaker 2: the cheek. Ramona is in her. 125 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:50,840 Speaker 1: Late seventies and lives alone, but she isn't lonely. Every 126 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: wall and surface is adorned with family photos, including of 127 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:56,560 Speaker 1: her four adult children. 128 00:07:58,000 --> 00:08:00,320 Speaker 2: These pictures tell a story. 129 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,360 Speaker 1: Of Ramona's long life, which began in Puerto Rico in 130 00:08:03,400 --> 00:08:08,920 Speaker 1: a barrio called Rio Chigito in Monteciano. Ramona's family was poor, 131 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: but she still has good memories from this time. Her 132 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: mother Boola, washing clothes in the river, cooking crayfish and 133 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: cantoles on efhagon. There was love in the home, even 134 00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: though sometimes there wasn't a lot of food. 135 00:08:23,720 --> 00:08:25,440 Speaker 2: Much less doctors are medicines. 136 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 3: My sister was mentally delayed, and she was very frail. 137 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 3: My brother, he didn't develop correctly. He couldn't walk. 138 00:08:34,679 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: One day, her older brother passed away unexpectedly. 139 00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,959 Speaker 3: My dad, he was horrified when he found out. By 140 00:08:42,000 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 3: the time he got the letter, my brother was already buried. 141 00:08:45,800 --> 00:08:48,840 Speaker 1: Ramona's father was not in Puerto Rico when this happened. 142 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:51,440 Speaker 1: He had been in the States for months already. 143 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 3: Now I would say, papadios, please try me me poppy, 144 00:08:56,360 --> 00:08:58,880 Speaker 3: you know, yeah, I still get stuffy. 145 00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:02,920 Speaker 1: When her mother died, Ramona's dad was picking tomatoes for 146 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: a Mennonite farmer named Elma Weaver in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. 147 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:11,520 Speaker 1: Ramona's father grieved deeply, and his employer noticed. 148 00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 3: Elmer Pee Weaver Senior said to him that summer, I 149 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,720 Speaker 3: know how much you have been suffering because your family 150 00:09:18,800 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 3: is not here. 151 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 4: Would you like to have them with you? And of 152 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:22,720 Speaker 4: course he said yes. 153 00:09:23,320 --> 00:09:27,240 Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty two, five year old Ramona, her younger sister, 154 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:30,920 Speaker 1: and her mom left Puerto Rico to move to Pennsylvania. 155 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,400 Speaker 1: It was Ramona's first time on a plane. 156 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,320 Speaker 3: We came to New York because at that time planes 157 00:09:38,360 --> 00:09:41,599 Speaker 3: did land in Philadelphia, so we went to the International 158 00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 3: Airport in New York. 159 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:44,480 Speaker 4: They picked us up in a car. 160 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,200 Speaker 3: It was snowing. Can you imagine this little girl coming 161 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:51,760 Speaker 3: from Puerto Rico never had seen snow, So my nose 162 00:09:51,880 --> 00:09:55,000 Speaker 3: was like plastered against the car watching this stuff fall. 163 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,679 Speaker 1: You know, snow wasn't the only novel thing. The men 164 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,880 Speaker 1: and I girls in Pennsylvania soon changed Ramona's clothing. 165 00:10:04,760 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 3: And they put me on top of this table and 166 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:11,559 Speaker 3: I started to cry. They put long sockings and a 167 00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:13,360 Speaker 3: coat and a hat and boots. 168 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:14,880 Speaker 4: I still remember. 169 00:10:14,920 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 3: It was such a traumatic thing that I still remember. 170 00:10:18,160 --> 00:10:22,199 Speaker 1: In Puerto Rico, Ramona loved running around in her jones, 171 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:27,280 Speaker 1: laying barefoot in the rain, but she soon realized that 172 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,360 Speaker 1: wasn't going to fly in Pennsylvania. 173 00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:32,640 Speaker 3: I started to see these ladies with these strange dresses, 174 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 3: you know, their cape and these little bonnets on their head. 175 00:10:36,360 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 3: They're a cape, so it's a one piece that is 176 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 3: to hide your shape so that men don't lust over 177 00:10:43,760 --> 00:10:44,400 Speaker 3: your breast. 178 00:10:45,360 --> 00:10:46,520 Speaker 4: I didn't understand it. 179 00:10:47,520 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: Men and knights believed in evangelizing Puerto Ricans. Some even 180 00:10:52,040 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 1: thought it would keep field workers from sinning in the world. 181 00:10:56,360 --> 00:10:58,400 Speaker 2: Catholicism has long. 182 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,120 Speaker 1: Been the dominant religion among part A Ricans on the island, 183 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: but eager to connect with any community in Pennsylvania, many 184 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:08,480 Speaker 1: left it behind to join the Mennonite Church. 185 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 3: My mom and my dad within the year they were 186 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:15,959 Speaker 3: baptized in the church. My first time in the church, 187 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:19,959 Speaker 3: I guess would have been maybe a week later. Why 188 00:11:20,120 --> 00:11:22,920 Speaker 3: so best It was like they felt they had to 189 00:11:23,640 --> 00:11:27,000 Speaker 3: ingratitude for while they were you know, received and stuff. 190 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 3: I don't really really think it was from the heart, 191 00:11:30,840 --> 00:11:32,840 Speaker 3: but they adapted to the church. 192 00:11:33,600 --> 00:11:36,880 Speaker 1: Assimilation sometimes came with confusion. 193 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,439 Speaker 3: My mom was as shocked as I was, because when 194 00:11:40,480 --> 00:11:43,080 Speaker 3: they greeted each other, they kissed each other on the lips. 195 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 3: The men with the men and a woman with a 196 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:45,720 Speaker 3: women it. 197 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:46,760 Speaker 4: Was called a holy kiss. 198 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 2: Assimilation also came with loss. 199 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: Familiar things like cooking on the fogon were renounced. 200 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,000 Speaker 4: It was hard on my mother. 201 00:11:58,160 --> 00:12:01,160 Speaker 3: My mother was the one that really saw, you know, 202 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,160 Speaker 3: in the beginning, because she couldn't cook the way she 203 00:12:04,280 --> 00:12:07,000 Speaker 3: cooked when she was in Puerto Rico. They would teach 204 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:08,400 Speaker 3: her how to cook American food. 205 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:09,400 Speaker 4: So I learned to. 206 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 3: Eat mashed potatoes and gravy and meat made their way, you. 207 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:19,880 Speaker 1: Know, and other things stood out to Ramona too. 208 00:12:20,400 --> 00:12:22,280 Speaker 3: Was kind of strange to see all these people that 209 00:12:22,360 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 3: were so white. Yes, so that was the beginning of 210 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:31,679 Speaker 3: my journey in the United States coming up. 211 00:12:32,040 --> 00:12:36,000 Speaker 5: Ramona learns that adjusting to life in a predominantly white 212 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 5: Mennonite culture didn't always come with easy acceptance. 213 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:44,360 Speaker 3: They were very loving people, but we couldn't marry them, 214 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:45,880 Speaker 3: we couldn't fall in love with them. 215 00:12:46,320 --> 00:13:02,559 Speaker 5: Stay with us, Yes, welcome back to Latino, USA, and 216 00:13:02,720 --> 00:13:07,120 Speaker 5: you're listening to today's story about the Dutch Ricans. When 217 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:12,000 Speaker 5: Puerto Ricans settled in Pennsylvania, Dutch Country, they bonded with 218 00:13:12,080 --> 00:13:17,479 Speaker 5: the Mennonite community, but they also encountered cultural tensions and barriers. 219 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 5: Producer Sarah McClure is going to pick up the story 220 00:13:20,840 --> 00:13:21,319 Speaker 5: from here. 221 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,600 Speaker 1: As a teenager, Ramona worked for a Mennonite chicken factory. 222 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:33,000 Speaker 3: When I was working at Victor Waiver's, which I worked 223 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,839 Speaker 3: in the chicken roll department, an Amish girl who had 224 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,160 Speaker 3: become my friend, asked me, she goes Ramona, is. 225 00:13:40,080 --> 00:13:42,640 Speaker 4: It true that all Puerto Ricans carried knives? 226 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:50,640 Speaker 3: And I said, yeah, you should see mine. 227 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,439 Speaker 4: And of course after our you know a law. 228 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:54,839 Speaker 3: That's not true, but that's one of the perceptions they 229 00:13:54,840 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 3: had of the Puerto Ricans, that they all carried. 230 00:13:56,880 --> 00:14:02,840 Speaker 1: Knives sometimes, though this othering was a lot more personal. 231 00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 3: They were very loving people. The only thing that hurts 232 00:14:07,600 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 3: it was okay for us to be friends like the 233 00:14:10,000 --> 00:14:13,080 Speaker 3: guys and whatever. It was okay, but we couldn't marry them. 234 00:14:13,160 --> 00:14:15,200 Speaker 3: We couldn't fall in love with them, and they couldn't 235 00:14:15,200 --> 00:14:16,400 Speaker 3: fall in love with us. 236 00:14:16,880 --> 00:14:19,480 Speaker 1: She remembers how hard it was for her friends who 237 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:21,359 Speaker 1: did develop feelings for Mennonites. 238 00:14:22,000 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 3: I remember one friend of Miami fell in love with 239 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,320 Speaker 3: an anglow girl, very pretty. Her name was Ruth, and 240 00:14:27,360 --> 00:14:30,760 Speaker 3: they had a hard time convincing her parents that he 241 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:31,680 Speaker 3: it was okay. 242 00:14:32,400 --> 00:14:36,800 Speaker 1: Ramona knew that dating a Mennonite man was never an option. 243 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:44,880 Speaker 7: In the nineteen fifties, the Pennsylvania Dutch Mennonites were thinking, Oh, 244 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:48,000 Speaker 7: we can have people join our church, but they're not 245 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,840 Speaker 7: going to really be Mennonites because they're not going to 246 00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,080 Speaker 7: marry within the church. They're going to be essentially second 247 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 7: class citizens. 248 00:14:55,640 --> 00:14:59,160 Speaker 1: This is Lebanon Valley College professor John Henshaw. Both he 249 00:14:59,360 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 1: and Professor Eva Guzman, who he heard at the top, 250 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:07,320 Speaker 1: have extensively studied the Duto Rican community and its history. 251 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:12,520 Speaker 7: The Mennonite tradition, like any religious tradition, is filled with contradictions. 252 00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:15,440 Speaker 7: There's essentially a kind of civil rights movement within the 253 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:20,560 Speaker 7: church because marriage, dating, and all of those things really 254 00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:24,600 Speaker 7: cut more to the sense of is Menonite a lifestyle 255 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:28,120 Speaker 7: or is it a religious identity? And if it's a 256 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,960 Speaker 7: religious identity, then there's no room to make those kinds 257 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:36,240 Speaker 7: of invidious distinctions on the basis of ethnicity or language 258 00:15:36,360 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 7: or race. 259 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,320 Speaker 1: Meaning it didn't make sense that Mennonites welcome to Puerto 260 00:15:41,360 --> 00:15:45,240 Speaker 1: Ricans on their farms and in their churches, yet didn't 261 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:50,920 Speaker 1: accept them in other ways like dating and intermarriage. That 262 00:15:51,040 --> 00:15:54,200 Speaker 1: tension also showed up when it came to housing. 263 00:15:54,920 --> 00:15:57,640 Speaker 3: When we went to a place, as long as you 264 00:15:57,680 --> 00:16:00,480 Speaker 3: were talking to the person on the phone and have 265 00:16:00,600 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 3: no accent, you're fine. You know, they're ready to rent 266 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 3: to you. 267 00:16:04,880 --> 00:16:07,520 Speaker 1: The first time Ramona met with the landlord to rent 268 00:16:07,560 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: her first place, the homeowner was very direct with her. 269 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:15,120 Speaker 3: And he says, I don't rent to Puerto Ricans, So 270 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 3: I hung up. So he rented to an Anglo family. 271 00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:22,360 Speaker 1: In the nineteen eighties, when Ramona wanted to purchase a home, 272 00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:24,760 Speaker 1: she encountered a similar situation. 273 00:16:25,880 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 3: I was looking for a home to buy because you know, 274 00:16:27,840 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 3: and I was a single parent. Something would come up 275 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 3: for sale and it looked like it was within my 276 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,240 Speaker 3: range of what I could afford, and I would call, 277 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:38,440 Speaker 3: you know, they would be talking to me, and then 278 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:41,320 Speaker 3: when I'd say my name, oh you know what, we 279 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:42,200 Speaker 3: sold that one. 280 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:43,840 Speaker 4: It's not available anymore. 281 00:16:44,800 --> 00:16:47,880 Speaker 3: And I thought of doing something like asking one of 282 00:16:47,920 --> 00:16:51,040 Speaker 3: my Anglo friends to come and to call, but I 283 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:51,720 Speaker 3: never did it. 284 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:54,800 Speaker 4: By that time, I could have probably had a lawsuit. 285 00:16:57,520 --> 00:16:58,320 Speaker 4: I would do it now. 286 00:16:59,360 --> 00:17:02,680 Speaker 1: Ramona has a sense of humor about it, but housing 287 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:07,200 Speaker 1: discrimination in Pennsylvania Dutch Country has been a huge problem. 288 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:11,360 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy one, a Puerto Rican couple became the 289 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,640 Speaker 1: first on their block to move into an all white 290 00:17:13,640 --> 00:17:18,320 Speaker 1: neighborhood in Lancaster County. People protested the newcomers. This is 291 00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:24,480 Speaker 1: despite the fact that Puerto Ricans transformed the local economy. 292 00:17:25,359 --> 00:17:29,359 Speaker 1: When Ramona arrived in nineteen fifty two, Pennsylvania had about 293 00:17:29,359 --> 00:17:30,640 Speaker 1: twelve thousand. 294 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 2: Temporary farm workers. 295 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,560 Speaker 1: According to state officials, Puerto Ricans made up roughly half 296 00:17:35,600 --> 00:17:40,800 Speaker 1: of that number. Puerto Rican labor helped Mennonite farms, factories, 297 00:17:40,840 --> 00:17:45,479 Speaker 1: and businesses flourish. Remember that chicken factory where Ramona worked. 298 00:17:45,880 --> 00:17:48,560 Speaker 1: It was owned by a Mennonite farmer, Victor F. 299 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:50,960 Speaker 2: Weaver. At the time of his death. 300 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty nine, the company was generating one hundred 301 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 1: and sixty million dollars in yearly revenue roughly four billion 302 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:02,600 Speaker 1: by today's standards. The Weaver company would eventually become a 303 00:18:02,640 --> 00:18:07,480 Speaker 1: part of Tyson Foods, a company now worth twenty one billion. 304 00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,280 Speaker 1: While the region may have been creating a lot of revenue, 305 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: it didn't change Ramona's life much. For example, it didn't 306 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:18,919 Speaker 1: even occur to her to go to college. 307 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:22,040 Speaker 3: My parents weren't educated and most of the people that 308 00:18:22,080 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 3: I knew, even the Mennonites, they usually only went to 309 00:18:25,359 --> 00:18:28,680 Speaker 3: like eighth grade, just like the Amish. So I had 310 00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:31,560 Speaker 3: nobody to say, you know, it's good for you to 311 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 3: go to college or whatever. 312 00:18:33,520 --> 00:18:37,840 Speaker 1: Ramona's children did get some opportunities in Pennsylvania Dutch Country. 313 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:42,520 Speaker 1: She's grateful for that. One owns a construction company and another, 314 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: after graduating from Harvard University and Columbia School of Law, 315 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:54,440 Speaker 1: is a lawyer. Today, Puerto Rican influence is the riving 316 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:58,400 Speaker 1: and Pennsylvania Dutch Country, from the food to the music, 317 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:03,320 Speaker 1: to flags and festivals in the streets. Their contributions can 318 00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:07,919 Speaker 1: be seen in Dutrican exhibits and historical events. There are 319 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,520 Speaker 1: even Puerto Rican pastors within the Mennonite Church. Over time, 320 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: all divisions lessened between Puerto Rican and Mennonite communities. Bilingual 321 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,920 Speaker 1: Mennonite churches were founded to serve the growing Spanish speaking 322 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 1: communities across the country, Puerto Ricans and Mennonites. Even and 323 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:29,240 Speaker 1: a married Remember Ramona's friend who fell in love with 324 00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: the Mennonite. 325 00:19:29,840 --> 00:19:30,400 Speaker 2: Girl, Ruth. 326 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,399 Speaker 3: Eventually they did get married and had seven kids that 327 00:19:33,440 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 3: are still together. 328 00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:47,600 Speaker 1: It's a special day, Ramona has invited me to church, 329 00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:53,359 Speaker 1: her Mennonite church. Today, she's reclaimed her Deuto Rican history 330 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:56,560 Speaker 1: and is proud to share it with her congregation. 331 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,760 Speaker 3: The then and I Leaver said, we came, would call 332 00:20:00,880 --> 00:20:06,680 Speaker 3: me Ramona, but I said Rama. 333 00:20:06,920 --> 00:20:11,639 Speaker 1: Ramona is also sharing her history through photos. Tables with 334 00:20:11,760 --> 00:20:15,639 Speaker 1: cardboard displays featured dozens of photos of Ramona growing up, 335 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:20,440 Speaker 1: Mennonite class, photos with Mennonite kids, old town Lancaster in 336 00:20:20,480 --> 00:20:24,440 Speaker 1: the nineteen sixties. Even the chicken house is there. One 337 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:27,639 Speaker 1: photo shows Romona with a friend. They're both wearing a 338 00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:31,199 Speaker 1: Mennonite cape dress, except Ramona have paired her outfit with 339 00:20:31,240 --> 00:20:36,399 Speaker 1: retro cat ice and glasses. A congregation member esther joins me, 340 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,639 Speaker 1: I love this picture of her where she's wearing her 341 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:41,840 Speaker 1: very chic glasses. 342 00:20:42,600 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 2: Love it in her cape. 343 00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:48,439 Speaker 8: Yeah, that's the very classic traditional dress still worn by 344 00:20:48,520 --> 00:20:50,040 Speaker 8: many conservative communities. 345 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,600 Speaker 1: Does this make you interested in learning a little bit 346 00:20:52,640 --> 00:20:56,199 Speaker 1: more about the Mennonite communities in Puerto Rico? 347 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 3: Yeah? 348 00:20:57,320 --> 00:20:58,000 Speaker 4: Absolutely. 349 00:20:58,160 --> 00:21:01,040 Speaker 8: I do have some family members who who did mission 350 00:21:01,119 --> 00:21:04,119 Speaker 8: work in Puerto Rico. They would have been like, they 351 00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:07,120 Speaker 8: are conservative Mennonites and they lived there as missionaries. 352 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:12,840 Speaker 1: These Mennonite missionaries esthers talking about have actually been in 353 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:17,840 Speaker 1: Puerto Rico for nearly a century. Around World War Two, 354 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:21,639 Speaker 1: Menonites worked on the island instead of enlisting in the 355 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:28,639 Speaker 1: US military. Their pacifist faith made them conscientious objectors, so 356 00:21:29,080 --> 00:21:32,360 Speaker 1: instead of fighting on the battlefield during the war, they 357 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: built schools and hospitals in Puerto Rico. The Mennonite healthcare 358 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:42,720 Speaker 1: system still serves the island today. Eventually, Mennonite missionaries began 359 00:21:42,800 --> 00:21:46,360 Speaker 1: evangelizing in Puerto Rico. By the time the war ended 360 00:21:46,359 --> 00:21:50,359 Speaker 1: in nineteen forty five, you could find Mennonite churches across 361 00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:56,040 Speaker 1: the island. Back in Pennsylvania, this religious relationship was also 362 00:21:56,200 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 1: an economic one. Mennonite farms and factories use their ties 363 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:06,560 Speaker 1: to Puerto Rico to recruit labors like Ramona's dad. Inevitably, 364 00:22:06,840 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: the evangelize them and their families. For Puerto Ricans, the 365 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:15,320 Speaker 1: adopted religion provided a pathway for settling in Pennsylvania Dutch 366 00:22:15,320 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 1: Country and obtaining that American dream of. 367 00:22:18,359 --> 00:22:20,119 Speaker 2: A better life. 368 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:24,240 Speaker 1: This is how Ramona's life eventually came into contact with 369 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,240 Speaker 1: the Mennonite Church. A lot of it was due to 370 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:31,200 Speaker 1: political and economic circumstances that were out of her control, 371 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 1: but today her relationship with the church is firmly on 372 00:22:35,800 --> 00:22:36,920 Speaker 1: her own terms. 373 00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:40,480 Speaker 4: My heart was always thrown. 374 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:46,400 Speaker 3: To the Mennonite Church, and I would say ask why, 375 00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:51,080 Speaker 3: And I guess I can't always say. I can only 376 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:53,800 Speaker 3: say that God, that's where he wants to me. 377 00:22:54,520 --> 00:23:01,320 Speaker 1: Thank you bring it out. 378 00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,280 Speaker 3: Yes, so we can stronger than the Oh I used 379 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:07,400 Speaker 3: to be really strong Now I don't know. 380 00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:10,399 Speaker 1: Ramona and I are taking out a framed piece of 381 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,080 Speaker 1: plaster from storage. She's excited to show it to me. 382 00:23:15,080 --> 00:23:17,280 Speaker 2: Wow, oh my gosh, that releas. 383 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:21,040 Speaker 1: A It's actually a piece of wall from the Chicken 384 00:23:21,119 --> 00:23:25,240 Speaker 1: house where she grew up in Pennsylvania, Dutch Country. When 385 00:23:25,280 --> 00:23:28,560 Speaker 1: we pull it out, the frame is nearly up to 386 00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:33,560 Speaker 1: my shoulder. I mean, it's huge. But here's the remarkable part. 387 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:36,560 Speaker 1: Ramona's father, Agallio. 388 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:38,800 Speaker 2: Etched a message on the wall. 389 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,120 Speaker 1: Ramona has placed a black and white photo of him 390 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:43,000 Speaker 1: inside the frame. 391 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:43,240 Speaker 3: Two. 392 00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:46,280 Speaker 1: In the photo, he's holding a Bible. 393 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:49,119 Speaker 3: That was my dad at the house. He loved to 394 00:23:49,119 --> 00:23:52,040 Speaker 3: read the Bible and he loved to sing hymns to me. 395 00:23:52,119 --> 00:23:52,880 Speaker 4: It's a treasure. 396 00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:57,000 Speaker 1: Argallio died in two thousand and four, but this wall 397 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:58,800 Speaker 1: captures his life as. 398 00:23:58,640 --> 00:23:59,399 Speaker 2: A Dutch Rican. 399 00:24:00,359 --> 00:24:05,199 Speaker 1: Many Puerto Ricans working on Mennonite farms, like Argallio, they 400 00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:08,800 Speaker 1: documented their days and dreams on the walls of barns 401 00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: and sheds. 402 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:14,960 Speaker 4: Was this pencil, Yes, that was in pencil Spanish. It's 403 00:24:14,960 --> 00:24:15,760 Speaker 4: all in Spanish. 404 00:24:16,520 --> 00:24:19,320 Speaker 1: Ramona reathes from the seventy year old cracked wall. 405 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 3: There hasn't been a Puerto Rican that has judged me, 406 00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,560 Speaker 3: but an American. Yes, because the devil puts something in 407 00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:32,760 Speaker 3: the mind to separate him from God, and it is 408 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:34,040 Speaker 3: money that he loves. 409 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:41,199 Speaker 1: The passage is very spiritual and personal. His message just 410 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,520 Speaker 1: carved onto plaster in a chicken house. It was his 411 00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:49,320 Speaker 1: way of saying I was here, I am here, So 412 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:54,800 Speaker 1: is my daughter. So are Diuto Ricans. Ramona sits with 413 00:24:54,880 --> 00:24:58,760 Speaker 1: it for a moment. She discloses that there was a 414 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:02,679 Speaker 1: period nearly thirty years ago when she stepped away from 415 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: the Mennonite Church. In that time, the church slowly began 416 00:25:07,840 --> 00:25:13,280 Speaker 1: to acknowledge her community's history. Artifacts like diaries and photos 417 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:17,480 Speaker 1: and music written by and about Detricans were given more 418 00:25:17,480 --> 00:25:41,480 Speaker 1: attention and respect. Ramona eventually did come back, but only 419 00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,480 Speaker 1: when she felt that the church was not just a church, 420 00:25:44,600 --> 00:25:48,840 Speaker 1: but a welcoming, accepting community, one that would be a 421 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:50,439 Speaker 1: part of her life in a. 422 00:25:50,440 --> 00:25:52,119 Speaker 2: Way that she'd always hoped it would be. 423 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 3: It's very different from what I grew up with. They're 424 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,840 Speaker 3: very liberal and dress and very liberal and a lot 425 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:01,639 Speaker 3: of women cutting their hair and things like that, but 426 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,200 Speaker 3: the love that they show is worth it. They still 427 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:07,919 Speaker 3: have that love for other people and that has a 428 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,000 Speaker 3: lot to do with it. So which. 429 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:33,600 Speaker 5: This episode was produced by Sarah McClure and edited by 430 00:26:33,680 --> 00:26:38,399 Speaker 5: Alejandra Salasad. It was mixed by Stephanie Lebau. Fact checking 431 00:26:38,440 --> 00:26:42,840 Speaker 5: for this episode by Roxanna Guire special thanks to Levi Slausser. 432 00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:48,000 Speaker 5: The Latino USA team also includes Julia Caruso, Felicia Dominguez, 433 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:53,959 Speaker 5: Fernando Chavarique, Jessica, Elis, Victoria Estrada, Dominiquinestrosa, Renaldo Leanos Junior, 434 00:26:54,080 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 5: Andrea Lopez Cruzado, Luis Luna, Marta Martinez, Monica Morales, Garcia, 435 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:04,440 Speaker 5: jj Car, Tasha Sannoval, Nour Saudi, and Nancy Thruhio Benny 436 00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:06,840 Speaker 5: later I, met Is, Marlon Bishop, Marie Gracia and myself 437 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:10,439 Speaker 5: are co executive producers, and I'm your host Mariaino Posa 438 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 5: join us again for our next episode. In the meantime, 439 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,240 Speaker 5: look for us on all of your social media. I'll 440 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:20,400 Speaker 5: see you anin stagnam iyatusavis no tevayas Chao. 441 00:27:25,119 --> 00:27:29,680 Speaker 2: Latino USA is made possible in part by La Tau Foundation, 442 00:27:30,640 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 2: New York Women's Foundation, the New York Women's Foundation funding 443 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 2: women leaders that build solutions in their communities, and celebrating thirty. 444 00:27:39,440 --> 00:27:44,159 Speaker 8: Years of radical generosity and funding for Latino USA is. 445 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,199 Speaker 2: Coverage of a culture of health is made possible in 446 00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:50,000 Speaker 2: part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.