Interview with Lydia Mele

Interview with Lydia Mele

Trinity College

Lydia Mele

To quote in print, or otherwise reproduce in whole or in part in any publication, including on the World Wide Web, any material from this collection, the researcher must obtain permission from (1) the owner of the physical property and (2) the holder of the copyright. Persons wishing to quote from this collection should consult The Watkinson Library at Trinity College to determine copyright holders for information in this collection. Reproduction of any item must contain the complete citation.

video

English

005

Lydia Mele

1:21:18

5.4 Unknown Date Interview with Lydia Mele 005 Watkinson Library and College Archives Oral History Projects Lydia Mele 0 Kaltura video &lt ; iframe src=&quot ; https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/2366381/sp/236638100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/42684261/partner_id/2366381?iframeembed=true&amp ; playerId=kplayer&amp ; entry_id=1_lxdv789m&amp ; flashvars[streamerType]=auto&quot ; width=&quot ; 560&quot ; height=&quot ; 395&quot ; allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozAllowFullScreen allow=&quot ; autoplay * ; fullscreen * ; encrypted-media *&quot ; frameborder=&quot ; 0&quot ; &gt ; &lt ; /iframe&gt ; 0 Interview with Lydia Mele Lydia Mele is discussing her activism within the Hartford community and her history of working with &quot ; unemployables.&quot ; She discusses her passion for education and helping children. Central Connecticut State University ; Counselor ; Fox Middle ; Nutrition ; Social Work ; Teacher ; UHart ; University of Connecticut ; University of Hartford Social work ; Teaching 798 Home Background This segment gives background of her education and financial status. She was born in Burlington, Vermont, but moved to Hartford in the 1940s. She went to the University of Hartford full time and worked because her family could not afford to pay her tuition. UHart ; University of Hartford tuition ; uhart 920 Career History Worked with “unemployables” at Command Aircraft teaching them time management skills. Lydia taught middle school English in Hartford at Fox Middle. She was a counselor for the last part of her career. She was a medical social worker (in the baby ward, she handled nutrition, care-taking, and adoption) at Saint Francis, but quit soon after she met a 5 year old girl who was raped, but was forced to go back home with her assailant. She afterwards went to graduate school to get a degree in linguistics so she could teach people English to defend themselves. She graduated with a Masters degree in linguistics, counseling, and social work. Adoption ; Counseling ; Medical Social work ; Nutrition ; Saint Francis Activism ; Teaching 1057 Family History of Activism Lydia's father, John, was a marine. He had a difficult childhood during the Great Depression and joined the marines after high school. While in the marines, he went to Puerto Rico, where he met Lydia's mother, Olga. Lydia's maternal Grandfather volunteered to fight with America in the Spanish/American War. After her grandfather died at the age of 50, her grandmother raised 10 kids during the Great Depression, 3 of whom died at a young age. Her grandmother was well known for cooking and cooked for officers and judges. Her grandmother also gave food to those who couldn’t eat during that time, instilling a sense of selflessness in Lydia's mother. Great Depression ; Marine ; Marines ; Spanish War ; Spanish/American War ; War Activism ; Great Depression ; Hunger ; War 1382 Mother/Father History Lydia Mele details how her father courted her mother. He was in love at first sight seeing her on the balcony of a bar. Her mother was not interested at first, but eventually grew to love him and they started a family. John and Olga Mele married and moved to Vermont, then to Connecticut, where Olga began her activism. Family ; Love ; Marriage 1595 Mother's Beginning of Activism Lydia's mother, Olga, was Puerto Rican and started her activism in Hartford in the 50s. She worked at Sacred Heart Church, which used to be sacred for immigrants and migrants. Many sugar cane workers came to Hartford after Operation Bootstrap was imposed in Puerto Rico (1950s). Many of the workers were uneducated and didn't speak English. Father Otto (non-Spanish-speaking priest) made Puerto Ricans go to the basement for their mass. Her mother mentored a woman named Maria Sanchez and helped her vote. Together, they got rid of the prejudiced priest and got a Spanish-speaking priest and that’s where her mother's activism truly started. She worked in Las Hijas de Maria within the Church to register voters and give Hispanics a voice. Her mother became an expert on job development and also worked at Hartford High to establish English classes for immigrants. Motto: Se Puede (It can be done) She would take non-English-speakers to be employed, encouraging them to get manufacturing jobs and to take night classes to learn English. Olga Mele won the Jefferson Award, both on a local and national level, for helping her community members get jobs and provide for themselves. Activism ; Immigration ; Language ; Mass ; Migration ; Operation Bootstrap ; Voting Activism ; Immigration ; Migration ; Working 1942 Discrimination and Puerto Rican Identity Lydia describes her mother's pride in her Puerto Rican culture and the ways in which her mother fought against discrimination using her values of family, community, hard work, and selflessness. She also talks about some of the ways she witnessed or experienced anti-Puerto Rican sentiments growing up (for example, landlords would rent to her father, who was white, but not to her mother, who was Puerto Rican). Activism ; Culture ; Discrimination ; Family ; Hartford ; Puerto Rican Activism ; Discrimination ; Identity 2221 Lydia's Relationship with her Mother Lydia talks about her mother's activism throughout her life. She mentions the strong connection she felt with her mother, especially when her mother needed her help. Olga spent her life &quot ; doing God's work&quot ; and became known in the community for finding people jobs. Activism ; Daughter ; Employment ; Family ; Hartford ; Life's Work ; Mother Activism 2553 Residency and Politics in Hartford Lydia talks about where she's lived in Hartford, mentioning that it was never far from where her mother worked. Her father she describes as being a &quot ; master craftsman&quot ; who eventually worked for the state prison and the Family Relations Office. He was known for making sure that men took care of their children. Olga, Lydia's mother, understood the importance of being represented in politics. She never wanted to run for office herself, but she did help others get into politics, including Maria Sanchez. She preferred to work behind the scenes. There was a police officer who frequently gave her tickets for driving too many people in her car, but Olga never got into serious trouble with the law. She advocated for her people -- for Hispanics in general, for anybody who needed help -- and Lydia recalls the kind, practical way in which she went about her work. While not in politics herself, Olga did get to meet President Carter after winning a Jefferson Award. She asked him how many Hispanics he had in his cabinet. Advocacy ; Carter ; Family Relations Office ; Father ; Hartford ; Jefferson Award ; Jimmy Carter ; Maria Sanchez ; Mother ; Politics ; President ; Representation Advocacy ; Hartford ; Politics ; Representation 3180 Views on Education Lydia's mother encouraged her to go to college, telling her that education is valuable and that nobody can take it away from you. Lydia and her mother graduated from high school the same year, since her mother had had to leave school during the Great Depression and then again once she got married. Both women went on to college. Adult Education ; Education ; Mother ; Night School Education 3314 Lydia's Activism Lydia reflects on an experience she had during college when she realized that the welfare systems in place to help low-income individuals were often in conflict with Puerto Rican values and culture. This experience inspired her to write a paper about Operation Bootstrap. Lydia advocates for the disabled. She is on a task force about the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) transportation and also works to support people who have been injured, making sure they get timely treatment. She mentions how, in her opinion, the discrimination again Puerto Ricans in the city has improved a lot since she was a child. She also talks about how she used to buy her mother gifts, which would sometimes go missing for the sake of charity. Activism ; ADA ; Advocacy ; Americans with Disabilities Act ; Culture ; Disability ; Disabled ; Discrimination ; Mother ; Operation Bootstrap ; Puerto Rican ; Values Activism ; Advocacy ; Disability 3763 Faith, Family, and Community This final segment of the interview with Lydia Mele begins with the story of the pink sweater, in which Lydia's mother asks for her favorite sweater. Lydia assumes that her mother is going to give it away to somebody who needs it. After her mother passes away, Lydia finds out that her mother had given the sweater to a friend to place at a religious site, so that Lydia might recover from an illness she was experiencing at the time. She goes on to talk about the importance of the Church in her mother's life and in the lives of many immigrant communities. She says that it is a shame that there are fewer and fewer priests in Hartford, and that religious communities seem to be shrinking. She talks about how important it is for young people to learn about activists like her mother and to become leaders in their own communities - especially immigrant communities that need support. Lydia would like to see an edifice dedicated to her mother so that young people will have more Puerto Rican heroes to look up to. She sees her mother's lifelong dedication to helping her community as a valuable source of inspiration and guidance. Church ; Community ; Dedication ; Inspiration ; Leadership ; Mother ; Prayer ; Role Model Church ; Hero ; Leadership ; Role Model 4426 Conclusion Lydia tells a story about how her mother's faith and her personal motto, &quot ; se puede&quot ; (&quot ; it can be done&quot ; ), gave her strength during a challenging time in her life when she had to argue her own case in front of an appellate court. Court ; Disability ; Faith Court ; Disability ; Faith To quote in print, or otherwise reproduce in whole or in part in any publication, including on the World Wide Web, any material from this collection, the researcher must obtain permission from (1) the owner of the physical property and (2) the holder of the copyright. Persons wishing to quote from this collection should consult The Watkinson Library at Trinity College to determine copyright holders for information in this collection. Reproduction of any item must contain the complete citation. video 0