Prisoners of War in New Mexico Agriculture
Abstract of Interview
CONSULTANTS: Farrell Lane Watson and Donald
Wayne Watson
TAPE NUMBER: RG2000-069
DATE
OF BIRTH: Farrell: November 24, 1930
Donald: November 4, 1934
SEX:
Male
DATE(S)
OF INTERVIEW: June 19, 2000
LOCATION
OF INTERVIEW: Home of Donald
Watson, Roswell, New Mexico
INTERVIEWER:
Marcie Palmer
SOURCE
OF INTERVIEW: NMF&RHM___x__OTHER______________
TRANSCRIBED: YES____x___
NO_______
NUMBER
OF TAPES: One
ABSTRACTOR:
Marcie Palmer
DATE
ABSTRACTED: July 5, 2000 to July
7, 2000
QUALITY
OF RECORDING (SPECIFY): good
SCOPE
AND CONTENT NOTE: Use of Italian
and German prisoners of war on parents’ farm and in their dairy during World
War II. Additionally they discussed the move from horse-drawn farm equipment
and extensive hand labor to mechanized farming.
DATE
RANGE: 1943-1980
ABSTRACT
(IMPORTANT TOPICS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE):
Farrell
Watson:
Farrell
discusses prisoners of war (POWs) he remembers working on his parents’ farm
and dairy [300 Holstein cows]. He stated the Italians would not work, would sit
down and sing. German POWs replaced the Italian POWs at Orchard Park and they
were good workers. His dad gave the German POWs milk to drink, cold milk for
their lunches, which they enjoyed.
Farrell
remembers talking to the guards; to his knowledge there were no escape attempts.
His
dad also gave the prisoners tomatoes.
Donald Watson
Don
remembers his parents, Albert and Clara Watson, talking when the interment camp
at Orchard Park was being built. They felt secure that the Army would guard the
camp well. His dad was eager to get help on the farm. They had crops to harvest
and weeds to be cut. Labor was scarce. There was cotton to pick and there were
eight or nine gins in the area. All work was done by hand.
Don
would ride in the pick-up between his father or grandfather and the guard when
they would go pick up small groups of prisoners. Most of the Germans were
healthy and enjoyed working. It was the time of transition between horse-drawn
equipment and tractors.
The
prisoners built a new horse barn, shed, tack room and granary for his dad. When
it was finished there was a “freakish accident” and it all burned down. The
cause of the fire was not proven; however, they suspected five individuals
considered to be “pretty hard.” These five POWs were sent to a camp in
California.
One
of the guards was Dick Drysdale from the East Grand Plains area out of Roswell.
Another guard taught Don to shift gears.
One
of the POWs had a daughter about the same age as his sister, Barbara Jean
Watson, and he was friendly to her. He was a good person and she remembers him
fondly.
Another
POW, Fritz Crown, was remembered. His parents owned a flour mill in Germany. The
consultants’ father took Fritz to town with him to pick up supplies once and
camp administrators never let Crown come back to the farm after they learned of
the trip.
The
German POWs complained about some of the food they were given to eat. They
enjoyed the tomatoes and melons. They brought a box lunch at noon, but they were
not like the hearty meals they were used to in Germany. They enjoyed the milk,
and they missed home.
Additional discussion:
Farrell,
Don and Marcie spoke of being neighbors in the ‘50s. Farrell was working on
and off at the farm until 1980. He attended one year of college at New Mexico
State University and completed school at Eastern New Mexico University and
earned a degree in accounting.
Don
attended NMSU for two and a half years and worked the farm until 1978.
The
Watsons discussed the transition on the farm from horse-drawn equipment to
tractors. They described other equipment they used, such as a forge and an
acetylene welder. Their first tractors were a little Allis-Chalmers, an old
WD45-A.C., and a John Deere.
They spoke of some of the floods in Roswell.
Return to list of oral history consultants
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