TRANSCRIPTION
What was life like growing up for a child back when you were a kid?
"Well if you had money, you stayed in school, if you didn't usually by the age of twelve you were taken out of school and put to work. I was one of the unlucky ones I worked mainly all my life."
What kind of jobs did you have while growing up?
"At 10 I worked as the front clerk at my parents dry cleaner's, but my father was sick so I needed to help. Between that I would baby sit for my little brothers and sisters also iron all their clothes; other times I would go to other peoples house's and take care of their children."
How did your father's sickness affect your families life?
"Since he could not work there was a lack of help, a lack of money, we lost everything even with my help.
Did the other children in the family work?
"No, the other children stayed home to tend to the house, and the older of us took care of the younger children."
The cleaners, Moreno's Cleaners, when was it open, where, was it hard to keep up?
"It was open Monday- Saturday, since it was family owned and we lived next door to the business we would have days starting at eight till about eleven. Between nine and eleven thats when I would start doing my homework. We worked long hours, there was only five people working, my grandfather, my father, a lady we hired who was only there while I was in school, my mother, and my self. The lady and I worked the front desk, because my mother could not read or write, and the men were needed in the back."
Working and going to school at such a young age, how did it affect your childhood?
"I hardly had friends, I never really got to play, there are really no memories that I have of playing. All my time was taken up from working, and after work I would stay up late doing home work, because daddy, he expected only good grades from me."
Where did you go to school, how did you like it?
"First I went to a private school, Sacred Heart of Mary, then I went to the old old Edgewood. The private school was very strict and the teachers were very mean, but at Edgewood, it was very different. I liked school there, I was smart the teachers liked me."
How would you get around trasportation wise for school and work?
"To get to school I would walk about two and a half miles. You had to cross the picking fields where people worked, through the middle of the cemetery to get to school. At that time I was going to Edgewood. But, in the afternoon at work, for deliveries, my dad taught me to drive the truck. I was fourteen when dad taught me to drive, he needed the help making house deliveries."
Did you ever work out in the picking fields?
"Yes, I was between 14 and 15, my mother and I would go pick everything from strawberries, cherries, apples, onions, potatoes, and cucumbers. Cucumbers, now those were hard work, I disliked those the most. You had to fill your crate, carry it down to the end of the aisle, and then lift it and dump it into a big crate."
At the age of 16, you worked as a nurses aid, how did you like that?
"I liked it because I worked in the delivery room, you learned a lot just by watching, and I got to see a lot of new things."
When you worked at the hospital, what did you get to experience?
"When I worked at Robert B. Green, I got to see mother's give birth to babies, I saw pain of mothers in delivery, I learned a lot just by watching, and I got to see a lot of new things."
When you worked at the hospital, what did you get to experience?
"I got to see mothers give birth to babies, I saw pain of mother's in delivery, I learned to give shots, than I would sometimes comfort the patient while they were getting their spinal shot (epidural(."
Did you ever get scared seeing what you saw?
"The first time that I saw a baby come out of a mother's womb, and the baby's head pop out; I didn't know what it was. I got so frightened, I ran and hid in the closet, I didn't know what it was. Back than you never talked about things like that, sex boys, babies, nothing. I had to learn everything on my own from hearing the doctors and nurses talk about it."
How would you spend your money you made?
"Working at the hospital on pay day, I would walk across the street to a restaurant, where I had an account. They would cash my check, than I would pay about ten dollars every two weeks on my tab. I would buy lunch there, but they would just put it on a tab. With the money that was left, I would buy clothes for my younger brothers and sisters."
What would you do for fun?
"Well, when I wasn't working, we would play marbles, jacks, and I would make little cars or wagons for my Brother Rudy, out of anything I could find laying around."
In the picture wtih Grandpa David, where were you going?
"We went to prom, but we didn't have any money; So the lady I would baby sit for lent me her dress that she wore to her prom. We went with another couple, like a double date."
Were you allowed to just go out, or were they strict with you?
"Well for prom, they told David I had to be home by twelve, but it was the lady that I baby sat for, who gave me permission. I would stay with her sometimes to watch her kids; My mother must have trusted her.
How old were you when you got married? How did you meet David?
"I was eighteen when I got married; I met David through my Aunt Anna. She was dating David's brother Ernest."
In the picture with the family, what was the occasion?
"In that picture it was me, David, and Rosie as a baby; I was expecting with Diana at the time. It was Easter Sunday, we were at Espada Park."
In the picture with the statue, where were you, what was the occassion?
"That picture was taken in Mazatlan, Mexico. We went on vacation, me teh girls, and David. At the time we had a little bit of money, I started working at Lancer, and your grandpa worked part time as a architect."
How do you enjoy life now that you are retired?
"I love it, after working about 42 years at Lancer, I was the first hired employee and the first to retiree. I worked so long I knew how to do everything. There we made soda dispensers, but it was hard work. But, thank God, finally after all my life working I can enjoy "my" time now."
Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview?
"Throug all my hard work, I was able to accompish it, but only because i had
the love adn support of my family. I now have my two beautiful daughter's, three grandson's,
and my grandaughter. I lived life with no regrets, and I love where I am today."
