Prisoners of War in New Mexico Agriculture
Abstract of Interview
CONSULTANT: J. Phelps White III
TAPE NUMBER: RG2000-065
DATE OF BIRTH: July 1, 1932
SEX: Male
DATE(S) OF INTERVIEW: June 13, 2000
LOCATION OF INTERVIEW: Consultant’s office, Roswell, New Mexico
INTERVIEWER: Marcie Palmer
SOURCE OF INTERVIEW: NMF&RHM___x__OTHER_________
TRANSCRIBED: YES____x___ NO_______
NUMBER OF TAPES: One
ABSTRACTOR: Palmer
DATE ABSTRACTED: October 10, 2000
QUALITY OF RECORDING (SPECIFY): Good
SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: Describes use of prisoner of war labor on consultant’s family’s ranch and farm during World War II.
ABSTRACT (IMPORTANT TOPICS IN ORDER OF APPEARANCE):
TAPE ONE, SIDE ONE:
Phelps White III was nine years old when the war started. His father used prisoners of war (German) labor from the camp at Orchard Park, Roswell, New Mexico. He remembered three incidents.
1. At Christmas one year his father offered each prisoner a goose from his flock. The next spring there were no baby geese. (Geese mate for life. When the POWs chose a goose all the pairs were separated.)
2. Prisoners of war worked on the White’s farm west of Roswell (the old Diamond A Ranch). One prisoner tried to escape but did not get away.
3. Consultant and a friend went out to their farm east of town to shoot their new BB guns. They saw two prisoners stacking hay in the barn. “All of a sudden that barn was on fire.” The barn burned to the ground.
Phelps White III did enjoy going to the farms with his father to see the German prisoners of war work.
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