"Eva is somewhere on the north side of ninety and has lived in Fordlandia practically her whole life. Her father was one of the first native workers hired by Henry Ford, and he brought his whole family. Eva was around ten at the time. After Ford left, her family stayed, and she's been here ever since. I did some calculations. If your relative and his friends arrived here around 1930 or a little after, Eva would have been in her early teens. She might have some memories of them. It's a shot in the dark, but her mind is still pretty good for her age, so you never know."

Eva turned out to be a hoot. Funny and talkative—not that I could understand a word of it; Emil translated—Eva loved having the company. She had a large, round body, but a wizened face—like a mummy's head attached to a pumpkin.

For about twenty minutes she regaled us with stories of her chickens and goats. When Emil was able to guide her to the early days of Fordlandia, her tone changed slightly, as she reached back into her memory. We let Emil ask the first few questions, such as what life was like there in the beginning.

With Emil as the translator, she said, "I didn't like leaving my home to come here, but my father said we would have a good life with lots of money. It wasn't a good life. It was a life I didn't understand. The Americans were mean. I don't think they liked their life here either. They made us eat American food. I was sick much of the time. My body was not used to the food. It tasted awful."

Emil asked her about life there after the first couple of years.

She smiled and looked at me when she spoke.

"The Americans were stupid."

She had to look at me when she said that?

"My father always talked about how the Americans didn't know what they were doing. He tried to tell them, as many of my people did, that the trees would get sick and die. But they were ignored. My people got angry, and then the Americans got angry. There was much conflict. Many fights. My father often told me to stay inside the house. He was afraid, but he was also afraid to leave to go back to our home. When the Americans finally left, we stayed. He said life would be easier after the Americans. He was right."

Emil looked at me, indicating that it was my turn. He informed Eva that I had some questions. At first she was wary, but Emil assured her that we weren't from any government and wouldn't tell her she must leave. Once he paved the way, the worry disappeared and she was back to her jovial self.

"Eva, I'm sure you don't remember, but maybe three years after you came here, four American men arrived on a boat."

"Americans were always arriving" she said through Emil, "and it was always by boat."