It was published by Whittier Daily News:
Basque-ing in a Little Bit of La Puente HistoryLA PUENTE - A tableful of men inside Le Chalet Basque nosh by candlelight on carrots and celery, drink wine and sprinkle their conversation with Basque - a language unrelated to any other.
They are members of the Southern California Basque Club, and on a hot, sticky Thursday afternoon, they discussed upcoming plans to attend the 60th anniversary celebration of the club's creation.
"You're going to have a great time," one man bellowed with a hard, rolling 'r' to a pair of ladies sitting at a table in the back of the restaurant.
The club's roots, like those of so many Basque Americans, are in the city of La Puente.
The Basque country of the western Pyrenees - Euskal Herria in Basque - is seven provinces straddling Spain and France.
And at its founding in 1885, La Puente and its sheep- friendly pastureland was the perfect home for the Basque. They, like so many European immigrants, made their way to the United States with a vast agriculture knowledge, according to "French and Spanish Basque in the La Puente Area," a book researched and written by students at La Puente High School in 1983.
The city's rolling green hills and sweeping open spaces made it possible for the Basque herders to move their sheep without impediment, according to the book.
"They came here, initially, as sheep herders, farmers, among other things," said Patricia McIntosh, president of the La Puente Historical Society. "This was definitely a good pasture."
Cecilia Wictor, a member of the Historical Society and great-great-granddaughter of John Rowland, one of the city's founders, said she remembers as a child watching flocks of sheep clip-clopping up and down Hill and Main streets. She recalls going with a neighbor to take lunch to a Basque shepherd in the hills.
"It was such a thrill," Wictor said.
News of the city's pastures and the need for farmhands spread through Basque country, and more families descended on the Land of Opportunity."In those days, there used to be a lot of dairies," said Laurent Arretche, president of the Southern California Basque Club.
Soon, the Basque became a fixture in the city.
"They acclimated very well, so their success brought other people," McIntosh said.
In 1929, a handball court was built near where Le Chalet Basque at 119 Second St. stands to accommodate the growing immigrant population.
Handball - "pelota" in Basque - is the country's national sport, according to the book.
"This place here, you had a place where everybody finds somewhere to play handball, socialize, and that stayed 'til today," said Louis Fernane, vice president of the club.
The Basque community in La Puente, however, is not as large as it once was, said Danielle Arretche, owner of Le Chalet Basque.
"The City of Industry used to be more agricultural and everybody had to move out of here," she said. "They keep moving. ... Agriculture is the main activity of the Basque people."
But, McIntosh and Wictor said their legacy still lives in the city, with the handball club, the restaurant and a history of hard-working people that helped build it.
"Their work ethic was enormous," Wictor said.
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