Lydia Maldonado (nee Cruz)

San Antonio, Texas

Saturday October 23, 2004

Johnny Maldonado

Palo Alto College

History 1302 - FALL 2004

INTRODUCTION

My maternal grandmother, Lydia Cruz, was born August 3, 1929. Her mother's name was Prudencia Cervantes, and her father's name was Leopoldo T. Cruz. My grandmother had three brothers and two sisters. My grandmother was raised on the west side of San Antonio , at 1116 Torreon Alley. During her adolescent years, money was scarce and jobs were few. She achieved a seventh grade education at Lanier Junior High. Growing up my grandmother had to work to help out the rest of the family with food and clothing. Her outlet from the depression, worries, and responsibilities came from entertainment. To escape from the realities of life she enjoyed being with her friends, and dancing. For 18 years my grandmother endured hard labor as a laundry presser making .50 cents an hour. On August 19, 1949 my grandmother married Benito San Miguel Maldonado. They were married at the Inglesia de Guadalupe (Church), on El Paso Street. The interview takes place in my grandmother's kitchen on Clovis Street.

TRANSCRIPTION

What kind of work did your father have during the depression?
My father worked as a pecan sheller. He worked at Cevallos Pecan Shelling. He made .25 cents an hour. After that he went to Southern Steel. Thats the time when they called him and he was drafted to World War II.

Was San Antonio a good place to receive human resources?
Yes, because it was a big city that provided benefits when my dad went to the war. We received a check every month for $500. With that check we would buy food and pay our bills.

What store did you buy groceries from?
We bought our groceries from a place called Don Juan Mauricio. It was a small family store. It had everything you needed food and clothing.

Where would you go for health care?
Robert B. Green was on Leona street and was our hospital. We would have to wait there a long time before we were seen by a doctor.

During the depression did any other family members help you out finacially?
Yes, if we needed money they would lend it to us, and when my father had money he would pay them back.

What jobs were available to women during the depression?
Well, women were able to shell pecans too, but I worked as a laundry presser.

Where did youll live during the Depression?
I lived on 1116 Torreon Avenue in a house which we payed $5 a month to rent. We never owned a house. We only rented.

What transportation did you have?
Everywhere we went, we took the bus. My dad use to take the bus to and from work.

Lyidia Cruz and brother Thomas Cruz 1944 downtown San Antonio, Texas

How did you communicate with distant relatives?
We never called them, we always wrote letters.

What were the primary foods at your home?
All we had were ice boxes. We didn't have a refrigerator. We had beans, rice, milk, and butter in there.

WHat were some of the things you enjoyed doing?
I enjoyed going out and dancing. I also liked to go to the movies.

Lyidia Cruz in 1944 downtown San Antonio, Texas

What was your favorite restaurant?
It was Juan Vidales Restaurante. They had hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, menudo,and caldo. I liked the enchiladas the most.

What significant historic event do you remember?
I remember when they bombed Japan. It was in 1940. We were all scared, and did not know what was going to happen to us.

Was the United States at war during this time?
No, there was no war until my dad was drafted to World War II. He was drafted in 1940 and was there for two years. My mom took care of us while he was away.

What president was in office during this time?
Roosevelt was president during this time.

Do you think that people were prejudiced to Mexican Americans?
?No, the white's didn't tell the Mexicans anything. They only told the blacks things because their skin was darker. When we would take the bus, the white's and Mexican's were in front and the blacks stayed in the back.

Lyidia Cruz in 1948 with her mom Prudencia and sisters Ofelia and Nena (cotton fields) in San Antonio, Texas

Did education play a big role in your life?
I dont think so because noone really cared, you can drop out at any age.

Who were your role models?
I wanted to be like Dolores del Rio. She was a Mexican movie star. She made movies in Mexico City. I use to write to her and she would write me back and send me pictures. I only wrote to her two or three times though.

If you had the power to change anything in your life what would it be?
Working, I liked to work, and make money. Those days are gone because I'm old.

If you could change something in the world what would it be? and why?
I would like everbody to have freedom, and not be prisioners, and keep going on with their lives. They should let anybody who wants to work, to have that opportunity to do so.

Lyidia Maldonado (nee) Cruz and husband Benito Maldonado (married 55 years) 2004 San Antonio, Texas

ANALYSIS

During this interview I have learned that the hardships of the depression my grandmother faced did not break her family values, but instead it reinforces the fact that she contributed to make her family what it is today, stronger through faith in God. What I found interesting was that my grandmother named most of her children from names in the bible. My grandmother had seven children in all, six boys and one girl. (The names of the children are: Benito, Andrew, Harry, Juan (my father), Reyes, Anna, and Edward.) As long as I can remember religion has been a big part in our family. I still feel the same towards my grandmother but now I admire her more for sharing her time and life stories with me. I think this was an effective way in learning about the past because it was something that I will remember and value.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

West side of San Antonio. New Deal Database (NDN) (http://newdeal.feri.org) is a database of photographs, political cartoons, and texts (speeches, letters, and other historic documents from the New Deal period). Currently there are over 20,000 items in this database, many of them previously accessible only to scholars. The New Deal Network, an educational guide to the Great Depression of the 1930s, is sponsored by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute. Development of the NDN was funded in part through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. This photo was taken during the Great Depression in the West Side of San Antonio, where my grandmother Lydia Cruz grew up.

Pecan Shellers. 2003 New Deal Network. The New Deal Network was developed as a research and teaching resource for students and educators. This is where my grandmother's father worked at shelling pecans in San Antonio, Texas in the 1930's.

Dolores Del Rio.The home of movie cigarette cards in cyberspace of the Franklyn Cards site. This is a Mexican moviestar that my grandmother enjoyed watching, in San Antonio, Texas.

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