OROVADA - From the late 1800s through the early 1900s, the political turmoil in France and in Spain created a difficult time for the people living in the Basque Provinces. About the size of the state of Maryland, the Provinces are nestled between the two countries, and border the Bay of Biscay to the north, France to the northeast and Spain to the south and west. Primarily because of their desire for independence, the Basque population was already oppressed by Spain when General Francisco Franco, backed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, assumed absolute power in 1937 and instituted harsh anti-Basque policies. Their independence and culture was threatened - most notoriously by the suppression of the Basque language. Their situation improved only with the end of Franco's rule in the 1970s.
While the first major waves of immigration of Basques to the United States were in the mid 1800s they were by no means the first to set foot in the America's. The bulk of Christopher Columbus's crew in 1492 was Basque sailors. Some Basque immigrated during the gold rush days of California, but many of them soon found that they preferred running sheep in the Southern part of the Golden State to the mining camps. Other's followed to take up the often lonely isolation of sheep herding in the southwest United States and by 1910 the Basque had spread into all of the open range areas of the West
Young Alphonso Naveran was only 16 years old when he left his parents, John and Angela Naveren, and his home in the small village of Erina, Viscaya Spain, to escape the political unrest that led to the Franco regime. He arrived at Ellis Island in about 1918 and then went on to Winnemucca to herd sheep for his Uncle Mitchell Cobiaga. He would only see his dad one more time during his life, when John came to the states to visit staying only a few months before returning to Europe.
Dora and Mary Lasa had also immigrated from Viscaya to McDermitt in 1918 and their daughter Annie and Alphonso were married in 1932. McDermitt Combined School alumni Ron Naveran, born in 1947 in Humboldt General Hospital, was the fifth of Alphonso and Annie's seven children. He joined his older sisters Aurelia (Jaca) (who was 9 years old when the family moved to McDermitt in 1941), and Dorothea (Smith) both of Battle Mountain; and brothers Jim of Battle Mountain and John of Reno. Following Ron were two more sisters, Mary Lynn (Hill) of McDermitt, and Tonya (Jones) of Battle Mountain.
In 1945, Alphonso was working at the Cordero Mine when he moved a house from a slough on the mine road (that had at one time been home to the Gebhart family) to its present location next door to Chuck and Mary Lynn Hill's home. It was in this two-bedroom home, that the seven Naveran kids were raised. Ron says that the town was busy in those days and that it was a great place to grow up.
Ron attended first through third grade in the Nevada School (one of four grade schools in the area) which is now the Community Library. Looking back he thinks that it was pretty amazing that the teacher, Mrs. Weeks, had all of the first graders in one row, second graders in the next and third in the following, all doing different work! He remembers playing Red Rover, Red Rover over the school and tag within the confines of the schools white picket fence with all of the kids, like one big family. By fourth grade the new combined school was ready for occupation (eliminating the four different grade schools), but junior high was back at the library.
In junior high school they had some intramural sports such as softball and basketball but by high school Principal Glenn Nutting (whom Ron rated as excellent) worked hard to get the sports program up and going. They began playing football as well as basketball, and their track team won state two years in a row. Ron's favorite teacher was Mr. Knowles who taught math.
When not in school or playing sports Ron found work. His first job was haying for Evan Zimmerman at Disaster Peak Ranch with his older brother John. Evan treated the boys good and taught them how to work. Later on he started working for his Uncle, Dora Lasa, in the hay fields and says that while the work was hard they had a lot of fun. The work ethics that were instilled in Ron at a young age have seen him through the years since. Not having money to go to college, he joined the work force when he graduated from MHS in 1965. Employed at the Getchell Mine north of Golconda, he started as a lube man in the pit but soon was running the pit's heavy equipment.
Drafted by the US Army, he served from 1966 to 1968 in Heidelberg, Germany, in the Military Police and Honor Guard, with his company supplying the Security Guard in Europe. When his service time was up he came back to McDermitt before using his GI Bill to attend the Lincoln Tec Automotive School in Phoenix, Ariz. When he completed the course he returned to Nevada and went to work as a mechanic for the Duvall Corporation at their copper mine in Battle Mountain, a position that he held for 27 years.
In 1973 he married Jackie (Murphy) who was born in Lewistown, Mont., but had moved with her family to Battle Mountain in 1960. Ron and Jackie had a family of three girls, all of whom graduated not only from BMHS, but also from UNR!! The oldest is Breanna (Malone) who runs the head start program in Elko. She and her husband Dave - a partner in the Reed and Powell Investment firm - are the parents of Ron and Jackie's grandson, Morgan Malone. (Between the names of Morgan, Murphy and Malone it may be that Morgan is more Irish than Basque!) Their next daughter Stacey lives in Reno where she is employed by a company called Odds On Promotion and she works on various sports promotions for the casinos. Marianne is an attorney in San Francisco and does compliance work for doctors. Neither of the younger two is married but Stacey is engaged.
When Duvall became Battle Mountain Gold, Ron decided to go to work for Trans Systems. Trans Systems hauled sugar beets in Idaho and had a terminal in Battle Mountain. He was with them for nine years as a mechanic, until they closed the terminal. At that time he went to work for the Marigold Mine at Valmy, until he recently retired.
When asked what he was going to do now that he is retired, this man who has worked hard ever since he was in junior high and high school, replied "As little as possible!" He likes to go fishing and hunting and is starting to restore an old 1949 Packard of which he says, "The body is not too bad but, there is a lot to do on it. I always have liked fast cars and I just want to make this one faster!" Travel would be fun - he would like to take some road trips in the USA and who knows - Spain or Ireland might be nice!
Ron would tell the kids in his old home town, "The important thing is education. While college isn't everything, you do need to advance your skills. Do work that you like and want to do, but enhance it with good work habits. If you are doing what you like, you will enjoy it and it won't seem so much like work. Just remember - be patient because - things don't happen overnight!"
Sharon Falen's column on McDermitt alumni appears the first Tuesday of each month in the Humboldt Sun.[[In-content Ad]]
