Rodolfo Moreno
What did they do?
They were both farmworkers in the fields.
Why was it so awful, in the pictures you look so happy?
Well, I don't want to bad talk ugly about the United States Navy, but I was there for two years and I didn't learn nothing, and I'm not used to taking orders from nobody and that's all I took orders all day long. And um it was just a waste of time, I hate to say it but that's the way it is.
What were some of your favorite childhood memories?
All of my childhood was great. I loved playing the accordion. I played in Three Rivers, I played in Grady Texas , and I played in alot of night clubs in San Antonio when I was young. I even played against Flaco Jimenez. I met him, I would say about 1950. We were in contests to see who's the best one. But neither one of us won, there were guys better than us. He was a couple years younger than me. I played together with him when he played the guitar I guess about fifteen years ago. He's now a Tejano music legend. Um, I also played the accordion in church for a while. I was once on T.V with the St. Henry's church choir. I loved music, all kinds of music, except rap. I like all music except rap, I don't dig that stuff. Music was my life for so long.
What did you do for fun when you were a teen?
Drank beer(laughs), nah I played my accordion for alot a years. I played all over Texas and in San Antonio.
What were some of the first jobs that you had, and what did you do in these jobs?
I worked in the fields from the age nine to sixteen years old. I worked at Piggly Wiggly sacking groceries, I was thirteen and then um, and then I worked at a car lot, washing cars when I was sixteen and seventeen. No, after that I worked at Kelly Field for one year. I was a mechanic at Kelly Field and after that I went to the car lot washing cars and then I went to work for Shamrock. Then I went to work at a auto supply warehouse and I went to work at a regular auto parts on Broadway. Then I went to work for Cavender Oldsmobile. Then I opened up my own store for nineteen years, then I did upholstery for eighteen years and that's it. Oh, I was a real estate agent for, actually I did upholstery and real estate at the same time, eighteen years.
Did you like any of these jobs in particular? Why?
The real estate business, I was very into that.
How much did you get paid?
Not much, from most of them except real estate, I got paid commission.
How far did a dollar go when you were young?
It went a long ways, I used to buy seven beers for a dollar(laughs). No, it went a long ways.
How old were you when you got your driver's license?
I was sixteen years old. It was easy to get it back then, you didn't need insurance or nothin. It wasn't mandatory back then.
When did you get your first vehicle, how old were you, how much did you pay for it, and what kind of car was it?
I was sixteen, I paid three hundred and ninety five dollars for it, it was a 1942 Chevrolet Fleetline.
How much was gas back then?
19.9 cents a gallon.
Well, how much did you get paid at that time?
Thirty dollars a week, so it wasn't so cheap as you think. It was expensive, couldn't afford it.
what places have you been and visited?
I've been to Halifax Nova Scotia, when I was in the Navy. Lisbon Portugal, Guantanamo Bay Cuba, Colon Panama. I've been to New York, to Chicago, Los Angeles, to San Diego, to Virginia beach, Virginia, Dallas, Acapulco. I've been to Mexico, and Hawaii, I've been almost everywhere.
What things have you done in life, any accomplishments or awards?
I've got tons of awards. Automatic transmission disbrakes, Auto mechanics, I went to St.Philips for furniture upholstery. I went to St.Philips College for real estate school, and I got many awards and trophies at the car shows for my hot rods.
How were you involved with church, and what church?
I used to go every Sunday morning. I played with the church choir for twelve years. St.Henry's Church, I still go once in awhile.
When and where did you meet grandma?
We met in Leon Valley Elementary, when we were in the fourth grade.
How did you propose to her?
Yeah we got married and went and bought a dozen tamales and went to Brackenridge Park and that was it. I only had thirty dollars in my pocket.
Ok, well how did you propose to her?
I never did propose, I never did that. I said let's go get married and weno bye es todo.
How many children and grandchildren do you have?
Six children, three boys and three girls. I lost count of grandchildren.Twenty something, nah twenty one and great grandchildren, I have eight.
I learned alot from doing this interview. I learned things about my grandfather that I never knew before. I learned about his past and I learned about how he felt about certain things that he went through in his life. The most important points made in this interview were the ones made about my grandfather when he would work in the fields. Also when my grandfather was in the Navy. He worked real hard all his life and succeeded to do everything he ever said he would do. I learned alot about my grandfather that I did not know before. I learned how he really felt about the Navy. At first , I thought he enjoyed it, but I learned it actually was the worst two years of his life. I also learned of all the occupations that my grandpa had. He owned his own businesses and worked at Cavender Oldsmobile and Shamrock. I learned that he played with a tejano music legend. I learned that he visited many wonderful places while he was in the Navy. I learned that he went to the same Elementary school as I did and I learned how he met my grandma. I learned so many things about him that I did not know. My grandfather expressed his feelings in the things that he said, like when he spoke of the Navy, he expressed his true feelings about it. ''It was awful'' he would say. That was very shocking for me to hear.He made me feel as if it was something that nobody should ever do and get themselves into. These stories taught me that growing up in San Antonio is great. It is full of oppurtunities and full of great things that you can accomplish in life. My grandafther had a great life here in San Antonio and has everything he could ever need in life. I verified the stories told to me, by making sure I completely got all my questions answered. The benefits of learning about the past through the interview process were that you can learn alot from it. You can learn more about the topic itself dealing with lives from years ago. You can learn how families survived and what they had to do and go through to get where they are. There are many benefits from it, I learned about my grandpas parents and his family as well as how he grew up and the life he had with them. I believe this interview was an effective way of learning about the past because it can teach many people about the life of their relatives years ago or learn about things based on their topic. I had a great time interviewing my grandfather and he had a good time too. I have learned alot from doing this. He is a strong, outgoing man. To me, he did what he could for his family and was a great success at it all.
The Handbook of Texas Online is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association and the General Libraries at UT-Austin. It was produced in partnership with the College of Liberal Arts and the General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin. Copyright © The Texas State Historical Association. Last Updated: May 6, 2004.