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BJ gets dropped off by his parents at his grandpa's house during the Summer in the 1980s

Bye BJ

Man, I don't wanna stay here at Grandpa's house

Hey BJ, lets get ready to prepare some food

Alright Grandpa

BJ and his grandpa are preparing food

What is all this food for Grandpa?

You will see BJ

Who are these people talking to my Grandpa? BJ wondered

Bye Kyle!!!

Take care, everybody!

Hey Grandpa who were all those old guys you were talking too?

They are some good friends of mine, and we used to work in the fields and harvest crops

WOW do you have any stories that you could tell me about

Of course, let's go to the living room then!

YAHOO!

We all immigrated to California from the Philippines in the 1930s, and we immigrated because there were going to be better opportunities compared to back home, and we came to work the land, but we also fought for better pay!

I remember getting my first job, I met one of my good friends who told me a contractor who could get me a job in the fields in Stockton, and he drove us in a truck to the fields where we started to get to work. I also, at the time lived in a town called Little Manila.

We honestly thought that moving to America would mean everything would be better. But oh boy was working the fields was not easy. We had to work under the scorching heat for 10 cents a crate, and had to sleep in a small bunkhouse with 20 other people!

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AUTHORS NOTES

This story was inspired by the real history of Filipino American farmworkers, especially the Manongs who came to the U.S. in the early 1900s and helped lead the farm labor movement. I wanted to show how family stories, food, and everyday life keep history alive. I used Cecilia Tsu’s chapter “Reds, Communists, and Fruit Strikers” to help shape Grandpa’s backstory, especially the parts about his harsh working conditions and low pay. I used the “Little Manila: Filipinos in California’s Heartland” documentary to describe where Grandpa lived and what life was like in Little Manila—like the boarding houses, the dance halls, and the markets. The NPR article on Larry Itliong and the Delano Grape Strike helped me write the part where Grandpa remembers joining the strike in 1965. Finally, Linda Trinh Võ’s chapter on ethnography inspired how the character BJ learns about history, not through textbooks, but through food, storytelling, and time spent with his grandfather. These stories are not always taught in school, but they are part of American history. No AI was used to create this story. _ Colin Palmitos

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