TRANSCRIPTION
You were born and raised in San Antonio correct?
Yes
What neighborhood did you grow up in? Street?
West side of San Antonio. I grew up on S Laredo St. between Guadalupe and El Paso.
Most Memorable moments in San Antonio?
I have tons of memories growing up, it was nice growing up where I did there was many different cultures and many things to do. The church was like a block away and downtown also was 6 or 7 blocks away, so it was wonderful growing up in the West side.
Describe a typical day as a child in San Antonio.
Typical day was getting up and going to mass every morning because I was in catholic school. Going home and doing my chores, then after I would just relax and read comic books with a pint of ice cream. I would read Superman and Batman but my favorite was Charlottes web
Did you have any hobbies as a child?
As a child I went to catholic school so there wasn't that much time to have many hobbies. How many brothers and sisters did you have? And what age were you adopted at? I had 3 foster brothers and 3 foster sisters. And I was adopted when I was a year and seven months old.
I know your biological father was in the Navy right? Did he serve any wars that you remember?
Yes, my biological father was a Navy Seaman. He was in the Navy and he was a Frogman in the 1940's. I don't know if he served any wars because I was adopted at a very young age to remember. But my father (pause) drowned. Being a frogman it was something funny about that but it hasn't been known differently, he just drowned.
Growing up do you recall any wars?
2nd world war in the 40's. Everything was Russian when I was growing up I wasn't that old and we had to use money that was made out of cardboard. Sugar, coffee, nylon was all Russian.
Did you have a rough a childhood growing up?
I didn't have a rough childhood, I lived pretty comfortable. My foster sisters were always taking care of me since they were older, I was considered the baby. They were all already married when I was adopted, so I grew up very loved and they did everything for me.
Was it tough being Hispanic growing up in San Antonio considering the time period you grew up in?
My first eight years of school I went to catholic school, but when I started public school it was a little hard to take because Hispanics were not treated as equals.
How was the crime activity during your years of growing up? Was it as bad as today?
It probably was, the drug of choice was marijuana and heroin for those who were in to drugs. There wasn't as much killings back then like there was today, they left that to the war.
What High School did you graduate from? And what was your first job after High School?
I graduated from Burbank High School in 1956. My first job after high school was at Santa Rosa Hospital as a nurses aide. I liked that job because I like being around people and helping.
What was the year you were married?
1957 is the year me and my husband got married on September 29th and we are still happily married and we had nine children.
How was it raising nine children?
It was a lot of work with a lot of struggle and it was hard doing it but it's rewarding now because they are all gone and married (laughs).
Last question, how would you say San Antonio's different now than from the time you were growing up?
San Antonio is very different now from when I was growing up because it seems like people were more courteous, more respectful and we didn't have so many one way streets like downtown. It's grown a lot, it's beautiful now you know but it was more serene, more quiet, and you liked going downtown before. Now you don't like going downtown because all there is are meters, meters, meters to park and all that. It's just too congested. Just like we grow old, San Antonio grew too.
