INTRODUCTION
My grandma Carmela was born On June 16,1936 in Guererro Mexico, to Mr. Jose Martinez and Maria Del Refugio Vargas. She grew up on a farm.She had four bothers and four sisters.The family was very poor and lived off the land.They were a close knit family and very hard workers as well.My grandma lived my so many places. She traveled as a migrant worker which took her around the country. She now resides in Somerset and part time in Bulvarde with her boyfriend Lupe.She only went to the third grade in Mexico as a child. As a grown up she had very many different jobs. She worked as housekeeper, a cook, migrant worker, and a housewife.Carmela was married to Guadalupe Epifanio Garcia for 33 years. They were married in Villa De Fuente, Mexico.They had ten children together,seven boys and three girls .My grandfather and grandmother divorced in 1987 after 33 years of abuse and alcoholism. Grandpa died in 1995 from diabetes complications.
TRANSCRIPTION
Grandma what is your earliest childhood memory?
Well I remember walking to school with my sisters and my brothers. We lived about twenty miles from the city. We had to wake up at five AM to help our father milk the cows, and then we could be on our way to school after milking all the cows. In those days their was no money for shoes, and we had a long way to go. My brother Rey would not wear shoes if I did not wear any. My father made two pairs of shoes for each of us, out of an old tire. n those times the cars were those 1920's cars with the thin tires, those are the ones I am talking about.
Did you have school supplies?
No, we had to share a notebook. It was two kids per notebook.
Did you live on a farm?Oh yes, my father built us a house. It was one big room. There were three beds in the house, papa made them out of grass and burlap sacks. He made a box about two feet high. Then he would fill the box with grass till it was filled to the top. He would then cover it with the burlap sack. We had a lot of animals.
What types of animals did you have on the farm?
We had 26 cows, 50 goats,( which I had to take out to the mountains all by myself) 5 horses, and the usual stuff like chickens, geese, ducks, but never peacocks, mama though they brought the house bad luck.
What did your father do for a living?He was a farmer of course, but he also sold firewood. We would load it up on to the wagon and travel to the city. It took us three days to travel 3- to 36 mile trip. My father would take everything that was needed to build a camp site. We had a single horse drawn wagon
and that was the one that my father would use to transport the firewood to the market.
Did your parents ever own a vehicle?
No, the horse drawn wagon was our only way of transportation.
Were you born in a hospital or were you born at home?
In those days, everyone was born at home.
Did you live through any epidemics?No, but the nurses would come out to the farm or go see us at the school to give us the immunitazation shots. I remember that my mom would tell us to prepare for the visiting nurses, and we would run around the farm trying to find a good hiding spot.
What did you and your siblings do for fun as children?
Nothing. We worked all week then on the week end we worked more. We never did anything but work.
How did you cross the border into the U S?
In those times, there was no "border patrol". When you got to the bridge on the other side the people that were manning the booths were normal police officers. When they would ask if we wee U S citizens, we just answered "yes". It was no big deal or searches performed. When I first crossed at the age of sixteen, I simply walked across the river at a shallow point of the river.
Where did you meet grandpa?
When I went to work the fields in Utah, we worked together. He had come down from Chicago to work in Utah. I remember that year because that was the Piedras had the flood of '55.
Did you guys date for a while?
Not really, we saw each other for about a week and a half, and then we got married. Our friends from the campo gave us a little wedding ceremony and reception. After the ceremony, Lupe took me to the little room where we were no going to live in and locked my up. He left me there and went on a drinking binge until about nine AM the next morning.
Where was your first home as a "Married Couple"?
We lived there in Tremont Utah.
In your opinion, were times harder then they are now?
Some what, things were not as expansive but you go a well made product for your dollar. But I will tell you this, I am afraid of a group bung punks more than a single grown man.
Why did you move to San Antonio?
I moved her because I needed to be with my husband. We needed to be a family. He was already working here. I wanted a better life for my children. Everything that I ever did in my life was for my children.
What did grandpa do for a living here in San Antonio?
He did cement and construction work around San Antonio. He helped work on the underground tunnel that connects Santa Rosa Hospital to the Rosa Verde Tower in 1965, during the World Fair that was held at the Hemisfair Plaza.
Is there anything that you would like to add to this informative interview?
Not really.
ANALYSIS
What I learned ain this interview was that my grandmother sacrificed alot and put up with a great deal to maintain her family. I now apprieciate her so much more. I love my grandmother. I plan on spending as much time as possible with my grandmother from now on. The most important points made in the interview were that family is very important and comes before anything in life. I didn't know anything about my grandparents. All I knew was they were they were my grandparents. I verified these stories through pictures and authentic legal documents. I learned so much. I didn't even thinK I would enjoy this.
Overall,this project was an eye-opener. I am glad that we were assigned this project.
TIMELINE
- 1936- Carmela Martinez Vargas Garcia is born to Jose Arroyos and Maria Vargas, at home in Guerrero Coauhila Mexico. June 16, 1936.
- 1942- Carmela begins attending school about 20 miles away from.
- 1951- Grandma Carmela walks across the Rio Grande River, to work the agricultural fields in the near by town of El Indio, TX. She returns to Piedras Negras, Mexico; after working for one month without pay!
- 1952- My grandma decides to work as a house keeper, for a family of four, in Eagle Pass, Texas.
- 1953- Grandma and three of her close friends decide to travel up north to Utah, in search of a better job with better pay.
- 1954- Grandma meets Guadalupe Garcia while working side by side in the agricultural fields. They marry and have their first child Guadalupe Jr. in the same year, after dating for only one week!
- 1955- The new family moves back to Piedras Negras, Mexico.
- 1956- Epifania, their second child is born on April 12th.
- 1959- 3rd child, Jose is born on March 20th. Her father Jose Arroyo dies of old age.
- 1961- 4th child, Lucia is born on August 19th.
- 1963- 5th child Martin is born in November.
- 1965- 6th child Pedro is born also in November.
- 1967- Another baby, 7th child, Graciela is born in January.
- 1969- Grandpa Lupe moves to San Antonio, Texas to work as a self employed contractor.
- 1971- Valentine the 8th child is born in Piedras Negras.
- 1972-Carmela finally brings her family to San Antonio in order to join her husband and
be together. They rent a house on Sims Street on the south side of San Antonio.
- 1973- The last baby is finally born! It is a boy, Tomas is born on October 16th, at Robert B. Green, Hospital; downtown San Antonio.
- 1975- Carmela's first grandchild, Perla is born on September 6th, at Robert B. Green Hospital; downtown San Antonio Texas.
- 1979- Carmela and Guadalupe by property in Somerset Texas; and move the family out to the country.
- Interviewed by Pearla Foster on April 19, 2008.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Handbook of Texas Online
is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the
Texas State Historical Association and the General Libraries at UT-Austin. It was produced
in partnership with the College of Liberal Arts and the General Libraries at the University of
Texas at Austin. Copyright © The Texas State Historical Association.
Somerset, Texas.
This website gives the history of Somerset, Texas and also includes images and local businesses.
All photographs provided by my Grandmother, Carmela Gacia.
POSTSCRIPT
Carmela Garcia died on September 16th, 2009 in Journaton, Texas. She was buried in First Memorial Cemetery in Poteet, Texas.
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