Maria Magdalena Hernandez (nee Gonzalez)

Faithful, Grateful, Strong, Love, Life, Family

Maria Hernandez in Brownsville, Texas (1958)

San Antonio, Texas

October 17,2010

Vanessa Marie Guerra

Palo Alto College

History 1302 - Fall 2010

 

INTRODUCTION
TRANSCRIPTION
ANALYSIS
TIMELINE
BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

INTRODUCTION

Maria Magdalena Gonzalez, the daughter of Guadalupe and Dolores Francis Gonzalez, was born on June 20, 1940 in Mercedes, Texas. She has three siblings, one brother named Guadalupe, and two sisters, Irene and Monserato. Maria was rasied by her aunt. She attended school until the completion of her 5th grade year, after which she had to leave school so that she could work as a migrant worker with her family. When she was thirteen she stopped working in the fields and began working in other people's homes as a maid. After two years of working as a maid she went back to working the fields with her family. When she was seventeen she moved to Michigan with her family, where they picked cherries for about six months. She was seventeen her uncle decided to move the family to Brownsville, Texas. Soon after she moved to Brownsville, Maria began working in the bakery at the Piggly Wiggly. After about a year she left her job at the bakery and went to work in a Shrimp factory where she cut, packed and peeled shrimp. Im 1958 she married Ramon Sanchez at a courthouse in Brownsville. A year later on May 23, 1959 she gave birth to her first child, Ramon Sanchez Junior. Immediately after the birth of her first child, she left her job at the shrimp factory in order to become a full time stay at home mom. In 1960 Maria and her family moved to San Antonio, Texas. On November 28, 1960 Maria's second child Roger Sanchez was born. A year later on October 26, 1961 she gave birth to her third child, Mary Diane Sanchez. In 1962 Maria and her husband decided to move to Galveston, TX. On August 27, 1963 Maria's fourth child Mary Ann Sanchez was born in Mercedes, TX. Two years later Maria gave birth to her fifth child Mary Helen Sanchez in Galveston, TX on May 14, 1965. A few days after Mary Helen was born Maria and her husband Ramon moved their family back to San Antonio, TX. Just shy of three years after they moved back to San Antonio, Maria's husband of ten years died of heart enlargement at the age of twenty-nine on February 25, 1968. In 1969 Maria got remarried at the courthouse in San Antonio to Gilbert Perez. On December 1, 1970 Maria gave birth to her sixth child Sylvia Perez in San Antonio, TX. Five years later when Sylvia started school, Maria began working as a nurse's aide at the Four Seasons Nursing Home. Three years later she stopped working as a nurse's aide and began working as the house keeping/laundry supervisor at the nursing home. In 1984 she left the Four Seasons Nursing Home and went to work as house keeper at the San Jose Nursing Center (elderly home). She worked at San Jose until 1999 when she was diagnosed with Lymphoma(cancer). In 2002 Maria officially declared herself retired from working, only to come out of retirement later on that night. In 2007 Maria began working as a house Keeper at Highlands Nursing Home. A year later she left her job at highlands and began working as an in home provider for patients with various disabilities and/or handicaps. In 2009 at the age of 69 doctors officially declared her cancer free. In two thousand ten she began volunteering at a thrift store in her apartment building two to three hours a day. Maria is a catholic women who deems herself to be part of the working middle class. Her hobbies consists of visiting casino's, playing bingo, cooking, crocheting, embroidering, sowing, and volunteering to help the elderly as well as all others in need of help. She also enjoys spending time with her family. Maria Magdalena Gonzalez Hernandez is my grandmother. She is 70 years old and is now planning to retire later on this year. However, she has already begun to offer to help people out after she retires, doing light work whenever she can.

 

 

TRANSCRIPTION

What was your aunt like?
She was a widow and she was very strict. She raised two of her nephews, her son, and me. she was a seamstress.

What was it like living in Mercedes, TX as a child?
Boring, We where poor and couldn't go to the movies, parks, or anywhere. we could only go to work and school. It was little bitty town even though it used to be called the queen of the valley, I don't know why though.

Did you enjoy living in Mercedes or would you have rather lived in a larger city?
I would rather live in the city ,but i enjoy the country.

What was a typical day like for you as a child?
Get up go to work, go pick cotton.

Did you ever have any free time? if so, where did you spend it?
Yes, I would go to my Grandma's to visit.

Who would you say was your biggest influence as a child?
My grandma.

What were your dreams and wishes as a child?
My dream was for me to get to finish school.

Maria G. Hernandez at Sunken Gardens in San Antonio, TX (1983) Maria G. Hernandez in her Station Wagon in San Antonio, TX September 1983

What chores did you have to do when you where a child?
I would wash laundry (with a washing board), cook, and make tortillas.

Where you ever allowed to visit your siblings while you were living with your aunt and uncle?
No, I never did.

What was it like working in the fields?
I used to like it, I used to like to go to work in the fields.

Did any of your friends or other family members work in the fields with you?
Yes, my cousins.

When did you learn how to drive and who taught you?
When I became a widow. My youngest brother-in-law taught me(when I was 28).

At what age did you get your license?
I was 28 and my cousin Lucy took me in her station wagon.

When you think about your child hood and how you grew up, what memory sticks out to you the most and why?
When I left my aunts house cause she was, was so strict and used to use physical punishment on me a lot, she was mean.

You have lived in Texas practically your entire life, what do you like most about it?
I was born here and I am not ambishes, I just go with what god gives me. Here I was born, So here I stay. All of my family is here now: my kids, my grand kids, and my great grand kids.

Do you ever think about moving out of state?
Not really No.

Whenever you would move was it hard to adjust to living in a new town or city and which place did you like best?
It was about the same every where but I like San Antonio the best because it is a bigger city and I have a lot of friends here.

Maria G. Hernandez at Sunken Gardens in San Antonio, TX (photo taken by Jennifer Simmons (nee Perez) on June 11, 2000)

At what age did you find out you had cancer and how did it make you feel?
I was 59 and I felt lousy. I was really sick when I got chemo and Radiation so it made me feel really week and so sick. I didn't really care if I died that's how bad I was feeling but I used to pray to god, that if I got well or if he made me well, I would visit the elderly people at the nursing home where I used to work, but now I thank god so much because I got to meet 18 of my grandkids and 26 of my great grandkids. I've been blessed that I am rich in family and friends. They could kill me for a dollar but I am still rich because I am blessed and that's the way I see it.

You have both retired from work and returned to work several times. Why is this?
Because life has gotten to expensive, the cost of living has gone up and the money social security is giving me is not enough, so I need to make a little more money, so I can pay my bills.

Would you say technology has changed your life for the better or the worst?
Yes, it's made it better.

If you could change one thing about your childhood what would it be?
I would have loved to be raised by my parents.

Is there anything else you would like to add to this interview?
Yes, there is somthing else that I would like to say. I would really enjoy it for my kids, grandkids, and great grandkids to come closer to god.

 

 

Maria G. Hernandez(left) and grandaughter Vanessa M. Guerra(right) at Pleasanton Elementary, Grandparents day 2001 Maria G. Hernandez(left) and grandaughter Vanessa M. Guerra(right) in San Antonio,TX October 17,2010

ANALYSIS

While conducting this interview I learned that my grandmother is more than just a loving and caring person, she is also very stronger then I could have ever imagined. Through this interview I learned that my grandmother had to overcome so much more struggle and hardship than I had ever imagined. Yet somehow she still remains faithful, faithful to the lord and faithful to her family and friends. During the interview there where both moments of laughter and sorrow when questions were both asked and answered. Oral history projects are both fascinating and frustrating; fascinating because you get to learn so much about the life of someone. Frustrating because you know that they deserve to be portrayed as the amazing people they are but not everything can be written or said on a single page, some things must be left out. I have tried my best to properly portray my grandmother through this project. However, to me it will never be enough because a woman like my grandma deserves better, much better after doing this project I can honestly say that I believe that this is an effective way to learn about the past. Because there is truth in every story that is told and unfortunately its true stories like these that are left out of the text books. Which is a shame because you can learn far more about the past just by talking and listening to someone for a few minutes then you ever could reading from a book for a few hours.

 

 

TIMELINE