Mary Tejeda (nee Silva)
My Grandma's Den
October 30, 2005
Christopher Tejeda
Palo Alto College
History 1302 - Fall 2005
INTRODUCTION
The name that I know her by is Mary Guzman Silva Tejeda but, her maiden name is Marie de Reyes she is my Grandma on my fathers side. She was born January 6, 1946 in Somerset ,Tx Her father was Pedro Davila Silva and her mother was Christine Casias Guzman Silva. At the age of four my grandma and her family migrated to Thelma, Tx. My grandma had two brothers one named Frank Davila Silva and the other Pete Davila Silva. When my grandma was twelve she had her first paying job, she would iron clothes for a teacher. My Grandma went to Southside High School. She got married at St. Phillips Church on December 1,1966. His name is Jesse (Jesus) Gil Cano Martinez Tejeda. Mary said, “We have four children which three are ours and the fourth being the youngest and adopted”. My grandma has been through alot within her years and she still maintains to be a good hearted person.
TRANSCRIPTION
What is Share cropping?
Share cropping is when you rent from a land lord that has property and you plant their land and you get like maybe one fourth of the crop for him or her and three fourths for the one that did the work and planting...
Was share cropping fun?
At times it was fun but it was hard work.
Did you learn anything from share cropping?
I learned to pick okra,cucumbers,corn all kinds of vegetables because thats how we made our living.
Did you get paid? How much?
I didnt get paid money, I ate.
How old were you when you started and when you finished?
I was about five or six years old with my family with my parents and my brothers and most of the time I did the cooking for them but sometimes I had to do that and go out and help with the harvesting when I finished I have not finished yet because I am married and we continue it so we are still share cropping me and my husband.
Was share cropping hard work?
Very hard work at times.
Did you receive any injuries?
Not that I can remember.
Who worked with you?
My mom, my dad, my two brothers and myself.
Did your family pay any body else to work?
Yes at times sometimes like at harvest time we had only so much time to harvest like tomatoe, cucumber, watermelon we had to hire people to help us with the crop.
Did you sell the crops?
Yes thats how made thats how we ate and made a living?
How did you start share cropping?
My dad was a share cropper he grew up as a share cropper himself.
What properties did you share crop from?
We share we didnt own any property we sharecropped we like rented for share cropping from the Toudouzes.The Mission Toudouze that have their business down South Flores St. We share cropped at another place we called Ms.Berry it was another place we went to live at. And we sharecropped there.Then we moved to another place to sharecrop and that was with Mr. and Mrs. Wisdom and prior to all of those when I was about three or four my parents sharecropped in Somerset, Lytle with someplace,some people called Houch. I remember the house and I remember the peanut fields because we used to do alot of peanut or they used to do alot of peanut and I remember the old house and I remember the peanut fields and how at my age, little when I used to shake peanut vines from the dirt and stack'em up to dry we didn't have machinery to do those things.
What was your favorite crop to pick?
Umm, tomatoe because we would eat it (laughing).
How much education did you receive?
I dropped out of school on the eleventh grade but then I went to worked in the city after I got married and then I got a GED at age maybe at forty years old.
What were some of your hobbies?
My hobbies were to sew. I used to sew alot for other people they used to bring me their dress and their style that they would want and I would figure it out and create a dress for them how they want it. My dreams were to be a dress designer. So don't ever forget your dreams, do it!!
What activities were you involved in during school?
Yes, I used to love volleyball.
Were you any good?
I thought so.
Were your friends jealous because of that?
Because of the sport? no, but I used to hang around white girls all the time, white friends and some of the hispanics would get jealous of me because I hung around with whites when I was a young girl about seven,eight,nine.
Did your friends share crop also?
My close friends had their own properties and did their own farming but they did work alot. but as far as sharecropping only my uncles and their families did the sharecroppping that I can remember. I'm sure other people did it but I can't remember that any body else did it.
When you were younger, Did you think the world would have many technology advances?
No way. I thought I'd be doing diapers and cooking tortillas the rest of my life but it didn't happen I went to work for Levi I worked twenty-three years as a supervisor and then I went to go work for a telephone company and I worked twelve years then there.
Were your parents very strict?
Not necessarily.
Would you like to add any thing else for this interview?
They were very backward I was a girl I was not allowed to do anything, because I was a girl. The boys could go and come as they please because they were boys, but thats the way it was then, and you had to accept it or you were a floozie.
How old were you whenever you got your drivers licence?
I think I was about twenty-five. I drove since I was sixteen, fifteen I used to dirve through the fields to take my parents baskets of... Empty baskets for their crops. I'd go across the field with a Model A truck. I would tie little wires to make it start with key, because it didnt have a key like today they turn it and the car starts. We had a little old truck with a long techo (a long roof) and no doors the doors were just like that
Did you have a hard time turning the steering wheel?
Not really I was strong there I was a very hard worker pursay so I was strong no it was fun my dad would whistle "Mary bring some baskets" or "bring us water" and I'd get in the little model A truck and do the wires for the key and start it and at first I didn't know how to drive with changing the gears so I'd go vroom vroom but then after. Dad started showing me how to change my gears and then I started driving all over the field to go get water, to go take baskets to we had to haul our water too from a well.
ANALYSIS
During the interview with my grandma I asked her alot of questions and I learned that my grandma was a very hard worker and back then the children didn't have life as easy as we do today. Now and days we don't have to pick from the fields, although some families still do the majority of them don't. Share cropping was one hell of a job. I also learned that my grandma had to go through alot of issues. I didn't know that my grandmother was a tomboy when she was young. I thought she was a girly girl. She spoke like she had many great memories from when she was younger. She was also very happy to talk to someone about her past. My grandma is a very proud woman. I was able to learn more about my grandmothers' history and now I know more than my family does. I don't believe there were any drawbacks every thing she said was of good nature.This is one of the best ways to learn about our history because it is coming from a loved one who I respect more than the teachers at school.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
Somerset ,Tx is off State Highway 1604 fifteen miles southwest of San Antonio in Bexar County.