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Transcript of interview with Sandra Peña by Lada Mead and Stefani Evans, March 27, 2017

Date

2017-03-27

Description

Sandra Peña’s story begins in East Los Angeles, where she spent her first fifteen years with her parents (both from Michoacán, Mexico), and her younger sister. The father's managerial position at Master Products allowed the family to live rent-free in a company-owned house behind the main factory, because he collected the rents for the company's two other dwellings. In this interview, Peña recalls the family move to Porterville, in California's Central Valley, her return to Los Angeles at nineteen, and her work with Parson’s Dillingham, a contractor for the Metrolink rail system. She draws the link between the Los Angeles and Las Vegas construction communities by describing her husband's move to Las Vegas to find work; a chance Las Vegas encounter with a friend from Chino, California; her ability to gain employment in Las Vegas at Parson’s, a company that had joint ventured with Parson’s Dillingham, and her move from there to Richardson Construction, a local minority-owned company. As Peña says, "It's kind of all intermingled. Even if you go here and you go there, it's like everybody knows everybody." Throughout, Peña weaves her family story into the narrative as she describes her youth, the birth of her son, the illness and death of her father, and her family's participation in her current employment with Richardson. As she remembers the people, places, and events of her life, Peña speaks to the ways one woman of color built on her interstate construction connections and rose in a male-dominated industry.

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Photograph of a street scene, Boulder City, nevada, circa September 1931

Date

1931-09

Description

The grayscale view of a street scene in Boulder City, Nevada. Here, cars can be seen lining the street along Boulder Highway as their owners visit the numerous stores and restaurants found alongside the road. Shops on the left side of the road include Browder's, Powder Puff Beauty Shop, Thompson's Good Year Shoe-Shop, Nava-Hopi Indian Store, Green Hut Cafe, Nevada Drugs, and Good Year Tire. On the opposing side of the street lie Reservation Grill, Boulder City Drugs, Union Bus Terminal, and Miller's Cafe. At the end of the street, the Bureau of Reclamation Administration building can be seen located at 1200 Park Street.

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