Yerington Monday: The Portuguese In Mason Valley
Today, more than 130 years after their initial arrival to Lyon County from the Azores Islands and the mainland of Portugal, the Portuguese and their descendants have become business, agricultural and community leaders in Yerington. The first observance of the Yerington Portuguese "Festa" was held in 1919. The first queen was Virginia Borge Silva. There are many families in the Mason & Lahontan Valley with Portuguese backgrounds, the Mathews, Manha, Castello, Borge, Gomes, Vierras, Soares, Day, Sousas and Fabels to name a few.
Many of my classmates were Portuguese. What I remember most was the Pentecost celebration. The weekend festa were families of Portuguese heritage take part in social activities that include festive meals, the crowning of a Festa queen, Catholic religious services and a dance.
Antone (Tony) Manha immigrated to Mason Valley in 1901 from the Azores, a group of Portuguese Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. Mason Valley attracted many of the islanders who wanted to farm, including Tony’s brother Jose and eventually 10 more brothers and sisters. Each found a place to work as a laborer for room and board and to earn a few dollars to send to the remaining family members in the Azores.
Tony worked for Manuel Bettencourt whose family had immigrated from the Azores before the Manhas. He met and married Bettencourt’s daughter, Virginia, in January 1909. By December 1909, Tony was able to lease the “Poor Farm” from Lyon County. He raised and milked dairy cows, raised hay, and planted gardens. Two more brothers immigrated to help on the farm and in January 1912, Tony was able to purchase the farm from W. Melarkey. They had two children: Agnes Marie born Dec. 15, 1909, and Joseph William born March 27, 1912. When Tony passed away in 1933, Joseph took over the operations. He married Josephine Borsini in 1939 and they had twins William (Bill) David and Marjorie Ann in April 1940.
Josephine was a vital part of the farm. She helped milk 100 cows twice a day, and cleaned the barn and equipment to maintain their high cleanliness rating from the state health inspector. She planted a huge vegetable garden, an orchard and flowers, and raised chickens. When Joseph passed away in 1980, Bill took over the major workload on the farm. Bill and his wife Lorraine continue to manage the farm which is leased in part to John Thompson who raises alfalfa and, in part, to Christopher Ranches, LLC, of Gilroy, California, who raises premium garlic. According to Lorraine, you can still see Josephine’s old wild roses that bloom near the house.
Many of the Portuguese emigrants to Nevada came from the Azore Islands. The Azores are a group of nine islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The people of the Azores worked as farmers and fishermen. It was hard to make a good living and many Azoreans left their islands. Some came to the United States and settled in the New England area, working in factories and as fishermen. Other Azore islanders continued on to the American West looking for gold and silver.
Most of the Azorean-Portuguese who came to Nevada became farmers and ranchers. Many of their descendants still live and work in the farming communities of Fallon, Lovelock, and Yerington. The cultural traditions have been kept alive, even in a new land.
One of the most important religious holidays, the Holy Ghost festa, or Pentecostal festa, is still celebrated. This celebration commemorates Queen Isabel of Portugal. During a famine in the 13th century, the queen prayed for relief for the starving people, and ships full of food appeared in the harbor. It is said that she walked barefoot through the town to pray at the church and give thanks for the miracle.
In Nevada towns with Azorean-Portuguese descendants, the miracle is remembered every year with a procession, the crowning of a queen, and a large communal meal in the community or parish hall.
For more information of the Portuguese in Yerington contact: Portuguese Society: Wendy Rigney 463-4592
A distant cousin to New England boiled dinners, sopas are one-pot meals of beef and vegetables in a hearty broth.
Holy Ghost Soup
Sopas are the mainstay of every Portuguese festival. Generally cooked in 100-gallon vats, they would be hard to duplicate in the home kitchen. This recipe, adapted from Deolinda Avila's "Foods of the Azores Islands," is a good family-size version of the traditional sopa, which is really a one-pot dinner.
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1/2 cinnamon stick
10 cups water
4 pounds bone-in chuck roast, or 3 pounds fresh brisket + 1 pound beef bones
1/2 cup red wine
1 small onion, minced
1/3 cup tomato sauce
Salt to taste
1 large head cabbage
1 loaf sweet French bread, sliced
1 sprig of mint
INSTRUCTIONS:
Tie the pickling spice and cinnamon in a piece of cheesecloth. Bring the water to the boil in a large kettle. Add the meat and bones, the spices, wine, onion and tomato sauce. Bring back to the boil, reduce heat to a lively simmer, cover and cook until the meat is very tender, about 3 hours. Taste and season with salt. Cut the cabbage in half or quarters and add to the pot. Cook until the cabbage is just tender but not mushy, about 10 minutes.
Remove and discard the bones and spice bundle. Place the meat on a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest a few minutes.
Place the bread slices in a large tureen or serving bowl. Place mint on top, then ladle the hot broth over the bread. Add cooked cabbage. Thickly slice the meat and serve alongside the soup.
Provide each diner with a large individual bowl or soup plate.
Serves 6 to 8
PER SERVING: 730 calories, 36 g protein, 37 g carbohydrate, 47 g fat (20 g saturated), 124 mg cholesterol, 537 mg sodium, 4 g fiber.
Wearing a cowbell around his neck, it was sometimes a Portuguese custom to wheel their bride down Main Street in a wheelbarrow with the bridal party in procession. I witnessed this once as a kid growing in Yerington. I thought it was great fun to watch.
The community meals include such treats as "sopa," a meat broth with cabbages, potatoes, olives and pickles; "linguica," a Portuguese sausage in a roll; and "feijada," a rice and beans dish.
Comments
- Peggy Freitas Purintun My family came from the island of Flores in the Azores. I have never been there, but my brother has visited many times and I have many beautiful pictures of the Azores and Portugal thanks to him. I am trying to convince him to join Facebook because I know he would enjoy these posts so much.
- Donna Johnson Peggy - you and Mitch were both queens of the Festa - correct?
- Peggy Freitas Purintun Yes we were. Our glory days, so to speak.
- Donna Johnson I remember standing on the street by the courthouse and waving at you as you went by on the float - so proud!
- Peggy Freitas Purintun There may have been floats in some years, but the year I was queen, we walked and I carried the huge jeweled crown.
- Jolene Moyer I was invited to a big Pentecost dinner once----- the food was great and the people! There must have been a couple hundred at least and all were so nice----- all were Portuguese, of course. My friend had to help in the kitchen for a while before we ate so I helped too.
- Mary Burns Clarence Carlos and his family are full blooded Portuguese His Mom Rose, was a Barcellos, and his Dad Joe were both full blooded Port. I think I have that correct. Also the Simpson family Lucille Ponte Simpson was full Port. so her kids, Jerry , Limbo, and Wayne, are half. I loved the fun , and I was Portuguese for the nite!! Great heritage, and proud one at that lv,mb
- Timothy McGowan I am related to the Barcellos clan through marriage. My dad's sister, my Aunt Tess, married Manuel Barcellos. Terry, Delores, Nadine and Jimmy Barcellos are my cousins.
- Liz Merrill Mason Joe Henriquez was my bf in senior year. He was from the Azores, too. His uncle would go with us everywhere. When I asked why, Joe said he was our chaperon. Senior ball..he was there. Graduation party...he was there, too. When we would go to dances in Bridgeport he would sit in the backseat. My mom liked Joe a lot because of the chaperon. Hahaha... what my mom didn't know was Joe had property out past the Brown's place and we would all go out there to party. Chaperon stayed in the backseat. Once we went to Reno and I talked Joe into buying this canary yellow XKE Jag off the Mercedes Benz lot. I drove the Chevy II home and he drove the jag. Chaperone went with me. Sigh.
- Timothy McGowan Liz Merrill Mason Wasn't Joe Henriquez the one who ran the liquor store on Goldfield Ave. at the end of West St? I think it was called the 'Bottle Stop.'
- Liz Merrill Mason Not while I lived there. He drove milk truck for his uncle's dairy when I moved to WA state in '68. In fact, he drove the milk truck while we were still in high school. He was older than the rest of us in class of '67 because he didn't speak English well when he arrived from the Azores. I can’t remember if he joined our class in 7th or 8th grade but I do remember he was 16 at the time. It's possible he ran it sometime later I suppose but if he did I'm surprised Pat Borsini didn’t tell me because we went back to visit her a couple times before she passed away and she told me she was working at the liquor store. Could have been a different liquor store but she knew Joe and I went together for a couple years and she didn't mention it.
- Timothy McGowan Liz Merrill Mason If we are talking about the same guy, and your description fits, it would have been well after '68 that he ran, or at least clerked, in the 'Bottle Stop.' He would legally have had to be at least 21 years old in order to work in such a job.
- Emily McKay Douglas Timothy McGowan
- Joe had a liquor store on Goldfield in what was the Eagle Lodge building when we were kids. It was called the Bootlegger. The Bottle Stop was across the river on 95A and was owned by Harriet. I don't remember her last name.
- Timothy McGowan Thank you Emily McKay DouglasI got confused. You apparently do remember Joe having the Bootlegger as I do. I want to say Harriet's last name was Thompson but I might be totally confused on that one.
- Mary Burns I think it was 'Turnbow' or something close, and Joe Henriquez has done very well lots of property , that he has purchased and sold, the Bootlegger being one of them, He's married to a neat gal ... An immigrant does well, ... and gives back .... all he needed was a chance ..by the way, he and his wife are neat peeps...., he has retired purdeee comfortably
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