PHIL PERRY
Staff Writer
The life of Luis Gerardo “Jerry” Lobo Avila, one of the founders of the Costa Rican community in Lincoln County, will be honored and remembered on Sunday at St. Dorothy’s Catholic Church in Lincolnton.
A memorial bench on the grounds of the church will be dedicated by Father David Miller. Among other speakers, Roman Macaya, the Costa Rican Ambassador to the United States, will address those attending the ceremony.
In 1964, at the age of 21, Lobo came to the United States from Costa Rica and, within 18 months of his arrival, had secured an apartment, a job and a car. He had found work in the textile industry through Adirondack Mills in Amsterdam, New York, where he worked the third shift as a supervisor. A priest who had fled Cuba during the Fidel Castro-led revolution helped him find work. Adirondack was a division of Fab Industries and, by 1968, he was offered a position at Mohican Mills in Lincolnton.
In 1970, Lobo’s family arrived in Lincolnton, where Jerry and Marta had the distinction of being one of only two Latino families living in the area. Jorge and Ester Ramirez also made their home in town, where Jorge served as a Spanish teacher in the Lincoln County Schools system.
The family of seven, including four sons and one daughter, moved into a house at 813 East Main Street in Lincolnton, beside the Family Dollar store. Today, BB&T Bank has a branch on the plot of land that the Lobo family called home for many years. Brothers Luis and Carlos were the first Latino children to enter Lincoln County Schools in January 1971.
“I can remember how helpful the teachers were to us at S. Ray Lowder Elementary School,” Luis said. “They were very good to us and within six or eight months, we were speaking relatively fluent English.”
Luis is currently the executive vice president and multicultural markets manager with BB&T. Earlier this year, he was honored with the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. The award is presented annually to American citizens who have distinguished themselves within their own ethnic groups while exemplifying the values of the American way of life.
Within a few years, Costa Ricans who had followed the elder Lobo to New York were now moving to Lincolnton, preceding the Mexican migrations of the 1980s.
Lobo was known as a resource for Costa Ricans moving into the area. He assisted them with paperwork, finding jobs and affordable housing. He helped them navigate the language barriers and cultural nuances of their new home. He is recognized as the founder of the Costa Rican community in North Carolina.
“I remember my father helping people,” Luis said. “I can remember knocks at the door at 2 a.m. When the sheriff would need an interpreter or an immigrant would need some help. My father helped all immigrants.”
In an interview with the Lincoln Times-News in 1983, 11 years before his death at 52 from complications related to gastric cancer, Lobo expressed his happiness for being able to bring his family to the U.S.
“I kept dreaming about coming to this country since I was very, very young,” Lobo said. “It’s a dream that almost every Costa Rican has. My goal was to bring my family here. My family wanted to have a better life. (Lincolnton) has been a fine place to raise our children. I have been very, very impressed.”
In that same interview, Lobo said his family spoke Spanish regularly in the home and that it was important for his children to embrace their heritage. They would often spend summer vacations in Costa Rica.
“How could I send my grandchildren to their grandparents and they can’t communicate?” he said. “We don’t want them to lose the language.”
The bench that is being dedicated holds a special meaning for Luis and his siblings, Mark, Carlos, Roberto and Martha.
“My father used to sit under a dogwood tree on a bench and read his Lincoln Times-News,” Luis said. “He loved reading the paper and he loved that tree.”
Fittingly and thoughtfully, the bench is scribed with dogwood leaves in his memory.
The event is scheduled for 11:45 a.m. A Spanish mass will be followed by a dedication and reception.
Image courtesy of Contributed
