Julia was so desperate to send her 

 oldest son to college that she took the 

 daylong bus ride from Frontera to 

 Chiltepec several times, begging for a 

 chance to be added to the list of H2B 

 workers. 



Once accepted, she still had to con- 

 vince her husband. Homesick upon ar- 

 rival, Julia had to remind herself why she 

 came. Her explanation, as translated to 

 English: 



"I am going definitely," she told her 

 husband. "It doesn't matter who will cry; 

 nobody is stopping me." 



"But once I was here, I was regret- 

 ting it because I was thinking of my 

 baby," she says. "I was dreaming of him 

 often, and there were nights I could not 

 sleep. Can you imagine it? It is horrible; 

 yes, it is horrible to leave your families." 



At age 49, Julia was one of the old- 

 est Mexican pickers. Trained as a seam- 

 stress, she had never picked crab before. 

 Here she never mastered the art of pick- 

 ing, nor did she earn as much as her faster 

 co-workers. She did not return for a sec- 

 ond season. 



But most of the Mexican women 

 return season after season. The lure of a 

 steady income may have been their pri- 

 mary motivation, but the women now 

 look forward to returning each spring. 



In all, about 

 300 workers from 

 tbat area come to 

 work in crab plants in 

 Fairfield, Oriental 

 and Colurnbia. 

 About lOO women 



spend tke winter 

 picking at tbe lone 



crab bouse in 

 Obiltepec, but most 



only work during 

 tbe ISTortb Carolina 

 crab season. 



Unlike the local women who chat, 

 hum or sing while working, the Mexican 

 women often toil in silence. In contrast, 

 music is free-flowing in their temporary 

 homes. They celebrate Mexican holidays 

 here and invite neighbors to join in the fun 

 and food. 



Most have not learned fluent English, 

 but they get along. They have made 

 friends with storekeepers and church 

 members here, friendships that are re- 

 flected in the photos they take back to 

 Mexico. 



And in some cases, the ties are even 

 stronger. 



Guadalupe has returned to Oriental 

 for several seasons, and now her daughter 

 Lupita joins her. 



The pair, along with other Mexican 

 workers, found a special friend in Georgie 

 Powell, the town's beautician and Avon 

 lady. Georgie has even traveled to 

 Chiltepec to visit her friends. 



Her memory will last in the tiny 

 Mexican town, for Guadalupe's older 

 daughter, Gabby, named her baby girl after 

 her good family friend — Georgie. □ 



COASTWATCH 7 



