“Don” Antero Abata Cartas

1914-1991

Photograph of elder Filipino farmer.

Contributed by his great-granddaughter Tiffany Josephine Sison

“Don” Antero Abata Cartas was born January 3rd, 1914 in Ilocos Notre, Philippines where it once flourished Chinese and Japanese trading for gold. Antero was the youngest son out of four sisters and began working as a farmer since he was a young boy. He furthered his career in Sual, Pangasinan where he not only owned an abundant amount of land where the first rice mill was established, but he was also an active politician who served as intern vice mayor. Eventually, he married Fabiana Caburao and had two sons who passed away in infancy, a daughter who passed on when she was 47, and is survived by his six remaining daughters who assisted him with work on the fields. Mangoes, rice, coconuts, nepa, and wood were grown at his farm, but when he was not working Antero often spent his past time making nepa wine from the second drop of nepa sap for his community.

“Ang isang tao ay may dalawang kamay, isa para sa pagtulong sa kanyang sarili at isa para sa pagtulong sa iba.” -Anonymous

“A person has two hands, one for helping himself and one for helping others.”

The Don

“Hindi mo kailangang ipagparangalan ang mayroon ka. Hayaang magsalita ang iyong hirap sa sarili.” – “Don” Antero Abata Cartas

“You don’t have to flaunt what you have. Let your hard work speak for itself.”  

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Children’s Sun Clothing

“Sun Suits for Children.” The United States Department of Agriculture, 1928.

One interesting artifact from the Hoole archives is a pamphlet published from the Department of Agriculture in 1928 titled “Sun Suits for Children.” The 9-page handout was used by housewives to ensure their children were not only receiving the correct amount of sunlight for their health but that they were

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Big Brown Beast

Every May in the Philippines is an exciting month for her citizens. The streets of Pulilan in Bulacan Province, San Isidro in Nueva Ecija Province, and Angono in Rizal Province are filled with vibrant-colored decorations, fresh Filipino dishes and desserts, and an audience prepared for the parade which begins the Kneeling Carabao Festival.

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Hopeful Eyes

Black and white image of a migrant farmer surrounded by his family.

Texas tenant farmer in Marysville, California, migrant camp during the peach season. 1927 made seven thousand dollars in cotton. 1928 broke even. 1929 went in the hole. 1930 still deeper. 1931 lost everything. 1932 hit the road. 1935, fruit tramp in California. Marysville, California. Photographer: Dorothea Lange, September 1935. From Library of Congress FSA Prints and Photographs. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2017762893/

In September of 1935, FSA photographer Dorothea Lange captured this moment between a struggling father and his surviving family in Marysville, California. The community where this family resided was mainly composed of

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