During the Great Depression, the wives of Mexican autoworkers (occasionally assisted by their daughters) operated boardinghouses for autoworkers. They prepared meals, provided rooms, and cleaned. The houses were named after the regions their owners came from, and attracted tenants from the same area. In many cases, these houses provided an income stream that was a particular support to women without close male relatives or husbands
Known examples:
- 1928: Mrs. Joseph Pino, wife of an autoworker, provided room and board for tenants in their house on East Columbia Avenue.
- 1926-9: Jennie Godina provided room and board in the house she shared with her brothers on East Congress Street.
- 1927: Mrs. Gonzalez, a widow, operated a boardinghouse (location unknown)
A shortage of affordable and rental properties throughout Detroit's history made boardinghouses especially necessary.
Sources
- Proletarians of the North: A History of Mexican Industrial Workers in Detroit and the Midwest, 1917-1933, Zaragosa Vargas, University of California Press, 1999
- Latinos in Michigan. David A. Badillo