Home away from home : a history of Basque boardinghouses
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Home away from home : a history of Basque boardinghouses
(The Basque series)
University of Nevada Press, c1999
- : hardcover : alk. paper
Available at 2 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 315-342) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
The transition to American life for Basques immigrating to the U.S. in the mid-nineteenth century was eased by the numerous Basque-run boardinghouses located throughout the West. These boardinghouses and hotels helped immigrants minimize cultural shock and enjoy the support of their countrymen. Many served as informal employment agencies, as recreational centers, and as social and cultural centers. To the Basque sheepherders, the boardinghouses offered lodging during their rare holidays in town, and for town-dwelling Basques, the boardinghouses were gathering places for the entire community. In this meticulously researched study of Basque boardinghouses in the United States, Jeronima Echeverria offers a compelling history of the institution that most deeply shaped Basque immigrant life and served as the center of Basque communities throughout the West. She weaves into her narrative the stories of the boardinghouse owners and operators and the ways they made their establishments a home away from home for their compatriots, as well as the stories of the young Basques who left the security of their beloved homeland to find work in the U.S. Few immigrant groups in this country have been so well served by a single institution, and few institutions have played so profound a role in preserving the culture and sense of community of their ethnic clients.
by "Nielsen BookData"