~ Family Living Conditions ~
Families living in the company towns had a fairly decent standard of living despite some hardships. An important part of this was the housing provided by the company. Also, company functions and social networks werean important part of living conditions.
This distribution of housing to the workers depended on their occupation as well as their marital status. Families were not provided housing unless the marriage was official and recognized by the company. This housing was often within the setting of the company towns set up around the company and the oil fields. The housing setup reflected the hierarchy of the positions within the companies, with those in administration living clearly in better conditions on a raised elevation above the remainder of the town. Eventually, family housing also tended to be slightly better than that of the single workers although it was extremely scarce and generally ignored during the beginning stages of immigration and oil production.
Martha Eggeling Jung |
"...the
life for a girl was a little bit sad. Because there were not many
families. And...there was only little entertainment, what could
you do, you had to do needlework at home, what the mother taught
you. Because there was no school [dance school].
Some institution where you could learn something that did not exist.
So all you could do, was taught by mother in my opinion."
-Martha Eggeling Jung |
Families
did have some advantages, however. Oftentimes family housing was
preferable to that of single men. Ivo Sloboda who spoke English
and worked for an American oil company in the region, Pan American
Argentina Oil Company, said, "What I can tell you is that
I remember I was making in my previous job, two thousand pesos of
that currency. When I came here, I got paid three thousand for a
similar job, plus the two thousand dollars for cost of living. When
I got married, I was being paid six thousand plus a three thousand
bonus for the cost of living." |
 Click on photo for larger image |
|
Ivo Sloboda |
Sloboda, however, was not a typical
worker in the oil field. His English skills allowed him to get
one of three supervisor positions over forty laborers. His wife
also worked for the police. Sloboda's income allowed him a comfortable
lifestyle with many modern amnenities. They even had a maid to
help care for the children while his wife worked. His company
gave him a stipend for living costs as well as helped provide
housing. This stipend increased when he married. Sloboda and his
family lived in the port town of Comodoro Rivadavia rather than
the company towns. |
The video clips describes his financial ability to buy a car and live comfortably from his wages from the oil company and the difficulty ofbeing able to get fresh food and eggs in Comodoro Rivadavia.
Families could also rely on each other and on social networks which provided more than social activities, for support and aid. For example, when Juan Ivanoff's father immigrated to Comodoro Rivadavia, his uncle illegally let him stay in his YPF worker's housing until he could find employment.
The climate
and remoteness of the region made things such as dance school and
fresh eggs a rarity in many cases. And although many families lived
simple lives on modest budgets, living conditions were generally
an improvement for them because, in most cases, it was financial
difficulties that caused many to immigrate to the region in search
of work. Here is an overview of Barrio Gral Mosconi and typical
worker's housing provided by the company towns. |
 Click on photo for larger image |
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