Frankie and Jay Bilbao: Oral History Interview

Frankie and Jay Bilbao: Oral History Interview

Oral history interview with Elko Basque residents Frankie and Jay Bilbao, conducted 25 September 2015 by Dr. Gretchen Skivington.

Tom Bilbao, son of Basque immigrants Vicente & Paula Bilbao was born at Jack Creek, NV in 1925. His wife Frances "Frankie" Vicondoa Bilbao and son Jay Bilbao talk about prospecting & mining in northern Elko County and their "Aita", father Tom who was one of the discoverers of different veins along the famous Carlin Trend. Frankie Bilbao talks about her parents Fermin & Madilyn Vicondoa Basque immigrants to Susanville, CA and her move in 1947 to Elko, NV and subsequent marriage to Tom Bilbao. She discusses what it meant to be Basque-American and to be raised in an "Old Country" household.
Jay Bilbao, Tom's son discusses how and where his Dad staked claims and mined independently, his interactions with the big mining companies, contracts and working for and with his Dad. Both interviewees speak of Old Country & New World values and what kind of man Tom Bilbao was and how his legacy lives on.

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Interview conducted on 25 September 2015 by Dr. Gretchen Skivington.

Gretchen Skivington

Original Oral History Interview

Virtual Humanities Center at Great Basin College

25 September 2015

Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]

Memorial Bizia Oral History Consent Form on File:
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/XXX [administrator access only]

Howard Hickson's Histories - articles

• Rio Tinto Stock: Some People Papered Their Bathroom Walls With Them (1920-1847)
• How a Gold Rush Begins: Jarbidge, Nevada - 1909

English; little Basque

Basques, Basque sheepherding, Jack Creek/Gold Creek/Tuscarora/Mountain City/Elko, Jerritt Canyon, mining in the north country, Carlin Trend, early prospecting 1940s- 2000, mining companies, process of claim staking/mine maintenance, trapping, Old Country vs. New World Values, Stockmen's Hotel, Elko, Basque culture in Elko

Dr. Gretchen Skivington

Frankie Bilbao; Jay Bilbao

Bilbao residence, Elko, NV

Transcription pending

DVD

1:11:22