Migrant Workers Camp

A day that didn't go right...  I was supposed to pick up a 53 foot trailer going to a place that had a dock - in and out and if all went right, home last night. Nope. The load was on a 50 foot lift gate which meant I had to get a hand truck and the paperwork had the right address but the wrong company on it. A call to Texas and was told to head to the address.

Sure enough it took an hour longer to get there than the company computer said as it only sees freeways - anyone who has gone over Blewett know you can't do 60 mph on even half of the pass, let alone in a semi. The persons I talked to at that address said nope, they don't know nothing about this load. More phone calls. My boss figured out I had to call a number, who called another number, who then sent out a person to escort me to where were to go. 

The drive up north took me through areas that were closed not to long ago. I saw a few burned down houses, where they used the highway and the river for a firebreak and...  We made a left onto a country road, driving past an old store that looked to have been around 100 years and started to head into an apple orchid farm. The next left I took onto a dirt road said everything. I was taken to a migrant workers camp where over 200 workers were. I never see one up close and personal before. 

I was asked to back into an area where I knew the truck couldn't make it but I got pretty close. I was greeted by the buyer and 8 Mexican? farmworkers. (I use the ? because I don't know where they are from but they all spoke Spanish and..) Everyone had masks on and they made sure to stay their distance from me. With the lift gate I rolled 4 refrigerators onto it, lowered it down and 2 people at a time carried them to the fence where they were to be put away later. These were 150 pounds each. 

I have read about, met several workers over the years, but to be in a camp even this briefly, was an eyeopener. Realizing they came here to work hard and for some - to become a citizen of the U.S.A. Seeing their basic living conditions, having to use an outhouse, a mess hall for meals, no store for over 2 miles and... 

In the extra you can see where the river made an excellent firebreak but how much area was burned too. I was told the farm was behind on picking apples as they had to put out spot fires, use the farm equipment for a fire line and.. They only lost 5% of this farm.