TRANSCRIPTION
What was your first job?
Working at the ELENA Theater!
Was there a difference in wages for women than men?
…. I have no idea. I was 16 years old. Who would ask? And my job was the concession stand, there was a couple of young boys that were ushers so you know it wouldn't have been the same. I wouldn't have known anyway because I don't know if they would have gotten more or less. I should have gotten more because I worked the hardest and I'm sure they felt that way too. You know what, now that I look back today I wouldn't doubt in my mind that the men were paid more cause they haven't even gotten up to that today .
What do you think is the biggest change since you were younger?
Well I'm gonna have to say… electronics. Technology. Electronics/technology absolutely. What god-sent that was. You know I used to type for different people, on the typewriter. If you made a mistake, you would have to go back and white them out and then line them up again haha it was really bad.
Does it bother you how much things have changed?
OH NO! I think it was great. You know why? Because I can see my grandchildren grow up and I don't even have to be there. They're in other towns. And I know when I was little I've seen my grandma twice. And I'm sure it was more often than that. But on the internet I could know what my grandchildren are doing every single day because they put everything in their life on there. You know?
How old were you when you got a tv?
Oh that's a good question. Hmmmm…. I would have to be somewhere between 6 and 10. We were one of the first ones to get a TV because my dad was a doctor. Had to be 7, because shortly after we moved into our new house and my sister was born.
What were your earliest childhood memories?
Oh this one is gonna be hard hahaha. Earliest childhood memories….well ok so there's so many different areas to go in. I could remember going to grade school to North loop grade school. I know all kids make fun of this when I say this, but it was one or two miles from our house. And I walked, and no it wasn't uphill. We thought nothing of it. And we didn't have any buses. That I remember doing, and here's an exciting episode. We got out of school to go home, and we cut across a vacant lot a dog came out from under a porch and bit my leg. I got blood going down the back of my leg. When I got to the filling station in Tigua to call my dad, he was in there and I said "that dog bit me!!" we had the dog pound come pick it p and had it quarantined.
Was it a big dog?
It was medium sized. I was a little girl though, so the dog was big to me. And I was wearing a skirt. We couldn't wear levis. There were no pants allowed for girls. I always asked "Why can't we wear pants?" I was a renegade even back then.
What was your first car?
I think it was… it was either a '48 or '49 Plymouth. And it was green. And it was a standard. Because those days when you bought a car it was a luxury to have an automatic. See when you bought a car it was called a "strip down". I don't think there's any such thing nowadays. Strip down meant you didn't get a air conditioner… you didn't get a radio… see those aren't choices anymore. In those days you had to order them and they get added to your bill.
How much was your car?
Actually it was a used vehicle….. I bet you I paid $400 dollars. These days it would be considered a junker. But it worked fine. It ran, there was nothing wrong with it. Wish I could have saved it and sold it today.
Did you buy the car yourself or did you get help from your parents
NOOOO!!! Our parents did not help us with anything. You worked for it. You paid for it. Other kids in school had cars but it was for work. They would go to school and go to work right after. So their cars were NOT for fun. It was strictly for work.
Was it normal for kids to have a job to support their family?
A lot of kids did… a lot of kids. I was lucky, I wasn't one of them because my dad was a doctor. I was a minority, very much a minority. I didn't know when I was growing up because people were people. They were your friends, you don't think of race or religion or anything like that. Most of them were Mexican families, they had large families and they had to work to help support their family.
Did you ever see or deal with racial discrimination?
No. I didn't. my dad worked for the lower valley. The Upper valley was for the rich people, that's where all the doctors were. My dad decided to stay in the lower valley where all the poor were. My school was full of Mexicans with a few whites. I don't know if there were any Indians. I do know I went to Ruidoso where Mescalero Indians were. We would go down to the movies that were western movies. The cavalries were coming to wipe out the Indians and we never cheered because I was very much aware that 99.9% of the theater was full of Indians. So we were outnumbered and scared to get beat up haha. We were NOT going to clap. There was no discrimination though. We were in the same theater, you know?
What event has affected your life the greatest?
Alcoholism…. When the kids' father died of alcoholism, I don't think I had a drink since then. It was just alcohol poisoning… It was horrible. I remember driving down the street saying "you idiot!! You got two kids, Laura just had a baby, you had a grandchild" I would tell him that. He was very smart but not smart enough to get away from alcoholism. Anything that can alter your mind can take you, and if you want to give up your life for that… I just don't get that.
Who or what has been your life's inspiration?
You know… I'm gonna have to say my dad. He set an awfully big example for all of us. Because he was honest, he was thoughtful of other people, he believed in having pride in yourself to have a job and do it right
Is there anything else you would like to add to the interview?
You know, this is a fun little project your class is doing. I hope you learn something from it. When you look back, a lot of things have changed for the good. And if I had to do the whole thing over again I probably wouldn't change anything. Because you know, no matter what life you lead, you're gonna have your ups, your downs, your problems, and you gotta solve them. And I think Troy and I talked about it one day and we said if there was one thing we would change, we would make sure our kids went to church and know God.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Intel Corporations"Intel: Tablet, 2in1, Laptop, Desktop, Smartphone, Server, Embedded." Intel: Tablet, 2in1, Laptop, Desktop, Smartphone, Server, Embedded. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. .
- Movie Poster ShopMGM. movie poster. N.d. Movies, El paso. Blogspot. Web. 1 May 2014.
- City-data Maps. La crosse, Wisconsin. 2007. ., La crosse, wisconsin. google maps. Web. 1 May 2014.
- Desert Diary Wright, Bill. Indians. 2004. tiguas, El paso, Texas. Desert Diary/ tigua. Web. 1 May 2014.
- Photographs and/or documents on this website were partly provided by Ida Lands and images found on the internet.
Return to Oral History Projects
14:27 1/31/2012
