Like Robles, the first impression for many of them was of a dusty and depressing place. Housing was scarce, so many of the early arrivals lived in tent cities - like the Mexican migrant workers who now sleep in tents and cars each spring when they come to work the harvests. Families that stayed not only survived, but many also prospered. Now, their time is passing. Hanford still rules the Tri-City economy, but not for much longer as evidenced by the approximately 6,000 Hanford layoffs in the last few years.
Economic diversification is the watchword among business and political leaders.
Though at the time Robles came to the Tri-Cities he disliked his new home, today he says the move was worth the effort. One of his brothers had died shortly before he left Colima, and the family wasn't doing too well, he said. We went out and tried to make it on our own working in the fields. Robles was exhausted at first, and he never has quite caught his breath. The pace of life is much faster in the U.S., he said.