Sarah Morales Interview
This is my interview with Sarah Morales. Sarah lives in Leakey. Sarah’s aunt Mary is a friend of my mother's. I met Sarah at Mary’s house. Sarah has two children. They both went to school in Leakey. Sarah works at Leakey ISD.
Cynthia Valdez: CV
Sarah Morales: SM
CV: Today is Saturday, October 1, 2005. This is Cynthia Valdez interviewing Sarah Morales.
CV:How long have you lived in Leakey?
SM: Since ’74. Married and moved to the big city of Leakey from Rio Frio.
CV: What are the biggest changes you’ve noticed since you moved there up to now?
SM: I guess its maybe the amount of retirement homes. People that bought, not necessarily retirement, but out of town wanting to get away from Houston and the big cities. They come and buy property here. When we were in school, we’d know all the kids and we don’t anymore. Not like we used to. We were a pretty secluded community.
CV: So would you say the population is about the same as when you were younger?
SM: Well it stays the same. I work at the school. Like other communities, big or small, we’re seeing more grandparents raising the children and younger moms. And they’re not necessarily people that grew up here in Leakey, maybe their grandparents retired here or maybe the grandparents have the little ones now.
CV: So you work with the school district?
SM: Yes, I’m a teacher’s aide. I’ve done that for 30 years. I’ve never had any inclination to be a teacher. I like working with the kids.
CV: Was the school ever segregated?
SM: No, because I went from first to twelfth.
CV: Has the school grown in the last few years?
SM: Maybe not necessarily the enrollment, but as far as the buildings. I can remember when I was going to school we had the two story building, the gym. The elementary building is our newest one; we’ve probably had it four years. We’ve added the Ag building and the covered play area is new.
CV: So you have all grade levels on the same campus?
SM: Yes. We have K-12. Actually we can say we have Pre-K. We have around 245 students. Our graduating classes are 12 to 15.
CV: Does the school normally have one teacher per grade level?
SM: Yes. This year some grade levels are split because of guidelines of the state of Texas.
CV: What do you like about living in Leakey?
SM: I like the small town. The fact that you still know the majority of the people. There’s an active interest in each other’s families. The Hispanic community has always been small here, but I’ve never felt that there’s been a bias towards us.
CV: Have you noticed any big changes in the businesses in town?
SM: Oh yeah. They passed the beer election. We were a dry county or precinct; I’m not sure which it is.
CV: Have there been more tourists in town because of the increased restrictions on the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers?
SM: Well, we get the tourists, but I don’t know if they’re coming because of all the rules in the other communities.
CV: Do you ever wish you lived in a big town?
SM: No, I like the small town.
CV: Would you recommend Leakey to someone looking to move to a small town?
SM: It would depend on the person. We don’t have any medical facilities. You would have to go into Uvalde or Kerrville. So if you have medical problems, no. If you’re looking quiet, peaceful, then yes.
CV: Are there more businesses aimed at tourists?
SM: Yes. Especially in the last five to 10 years.
CV: What would you say the biggest employer in town is?
SM: The school is a big employer. The courthouse is another. The bank is a big employer. There are a lot of carpenters. The camps, a lot of them built lately, have been made so they can be rented all year round. Tourism is number one. The hunters. People still do ranching. But in order to subsidize it they do the hunting leases.
CV: What is the most interesting thing about living in Leakey?
SM: The people themselves. It’s nothing to run across someone and ask,” How are your children doing?” I think it’s just the small town environment.
CV: Is there anything else you would like to add that we haven’t gone over?
SM: I can tell you that our family has been in this community since; well my grandfather was born in 1898. My grandfather is the youngest of 18; we’ve been here ever since. My children are fourth generation Texans. We’ve been on the Frio for one hundred years.
CV: Thank you for your time today.
This interview helped me better understand the town of Leakey. It’s interesting to hear the graduating classes only have about twelve students. Leakey seems to a very close-knit community
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