 he old Sugar Factory dominates the Longmont skyline, recalling the town's agricultural heritage. This reminder is especially vivid for women who labored in the sugar beet fields, many of whom settled within sight of this factory. Lou Cardenas was only ten years old when the Great Western Sugar Company recruited her family from New Mexico. She recalls rising at 3 a.m. and walking two miles to work carrying their hoes, lunch, and water. The work was grueling and the season long: "It was snowing and we were piling beets . . . . we used one of those picks to get the beets out of the piles. They were frozen. We didn't finish topping beets until December." Like many other "migrant" families, Lou and her husband moved around the county from job to job but ultimately remained in Longmont. |
