Biographic Information: English, Male, 76yrs
Themes: Biographical information (where participant is from), Languages spoken by participant, Language use, Participant’s life (childhood memories), Participant’s likes and interests (movies, holidays, music, foods, etc.)
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Transcript:
[00:00]
00:05
Interviewer: Okay hi there thank you for participating in this interview. Today we’ll be talking about your childhood and what you are like today. To begin um where are you from?
Participant: I am from Alamogordo, New Mexico.
I: Awesome um so what languages or language do you speak?
P: I’m sorry?
[00:27]
I: What language or languages do you speak?
P: I’m fluent in English and I can speak Spanish understand it and write it somewhat.
[00:43]
I: Awesome! So, did you grow up speaking both languages what would you, what is your, what
was your first language?
P: My uh I grew up speaking both. My primary language is English.
[01:00]
I: So, when you were at home um did you grow- um primarily speak English or when you at home did you speak um both Spanish and English or just Spanish?
P: Well we did, we did uh Spanish and then somewhat Spanglish because we would mix the
Spanish with the English and so we we we we did a little bit of both.
[01:28]
I: Okay. Um so now talking about growing up do you- what was your favorite memory um about
growing up?
P: Well my favorite sad signs about growing up was uh I played the little league uh sports and uh
our neighborhood was uh (clears throat) we used to have a bunch of kids that on the street that I lived and then on the street uh behind us uh we were always competitive competing against each other our street against their theirs and uh just just the joy of getting out and playing Little League baseball and uh just you know going to the movies and because back then you can go to the movies and get a Coke and popcorn for about fifteen cents.
I: That’s really cool!
P: Yeah!
[2:23]
I: Do you remember like a specific movie that was your favorite that you went and saw at the
movies?
P: Ehhh not not really but uh Hopalong Cassidy and Lash Laroo were the you know we mainly
went to go see western movies and we would get uh a a job on the weekends because the uh
the manager of the theaters was our neighbor across the street and back then in the old days
we used to go out and deliver they had a monthly calendar that would give you uh what was
showing at each one of the theaters we had two theaters and then we had two drive-in theaters
and we had to walk uh all over town he would take us to different areas and we had to walk
around and deliver the uh uh calendars that that would give you the what was playing all month
long at the different theaters and then when we got done he would uh give us about 10 passes
for us to go to the movies and uh tickets to buy a popcorn and get a Coke plus get paid $5 for
doing the whole thing so.
I: That’s pretty cool!
P: Yeah!
[3:47]
I: You remember how much like a ticket would have cost you back then?
It it would have, it would have ran about ten cents.
I: Oh wow!
P: Yeah it wasn’t it wasn’t expensive back then and one of the things I remember that they
used to have uh for the Flickinger center now it used to be called the Sierra Theater and every,
every uh first day of summer he would bring about a uh five hundred pound block of ice and put it there
and people had to guess how long it would take to melt you know and and they would they they
gave away prizes and stuff like that for it and then they had a pretty good you know a lot of
people take guests you know.
I: That’s cool.
P: Yeah.
[04:35]
I: Did you, do you ever remember winning like did you ever get close to guessing?
P: No, no ‘cause I, you know we we were always busy playing baseball or uh doing chores at
home for Grandma for Mom and uh my dad and we always had had to do there so we didn’t
have time to go around you know take a look at the ice see how much it melted and stuff you
know but we would what we did was we would take uh a an ice cube and we would weigh it and
then you know times that into uh the five hundred pound block of ice or whatever and try to guess that way that that’s as close as we got to putting in a uh a guess as to what but I, I, I, never knew anybody that won it.
[05:34]
I: Hmm that’s pretty cool! All right um so what was your favorite holiday as a kid?
P: What was my favorite holiday?
I: Uh huh.
P: Uh well one would be Christmas the other one would be uh Halloween because in our street
we used to have a uh trees that on one side on each side of the street and we would we were
very mischievous and we would put a in before the Halloween night we would string a a piece of
rope from one street on our side of the street and then we’d take the Rope all the way to the
other side of the street and then we would get a bunch of my dad’s you know a pair of pants and
clothes and we stuff it with all whatever we could find and then we put a a uh um we hung it up
with a with a hanger to where it would slide across the road I mean you know the street and the
guy that was sitting on the on the other side of the street and the guy that was sitting on our side
of the street we had a a rope uh not a big heavy rope but each one of us could pull it either way
if if he we pulled it there was a car coming we would pull it to one side of the street and then
those people would be screaming and hollering and then when when we waited till the next car
came and then we pulled it back on the other side and that’s about as crazy as we got but uh
and then Christmas of course was always always good for us uh ‘cause Mom and Dad would
always get us presents and one of them we always look forward because they gave us a little
bag of of uh filled with candy with apple and orange and you know stuff and plus the presents
that were under the tree and we have- always had a good Christmas dinner so.
I: That’s fun! Speaking- thinking back to Halloween do you remember any of your favorite
things you dressed as or did you ever dress up?
[7:57]
P: Uh (clears throat) well we, we would just get different you know uh wear my older brother’s clothes and uh paint our face you know we would either paint it white like Casper the ghost or uh just just try to look you know uh sometimes we would just dress up as Cowboys because that we would that’s the movies that we’d go watch but yeah we just we just dress the way we could and we’d go out trick- or-treating we we’d go from our our side of the of town all the way up to what was considered the rich side of town and we would take a a uh one of those pillow covers and we’d come back with about half of half of that full of candy.
I: (laughs) That’s cool. Do you uh now thinking back on Christmas was there ever um a Christmas gift that you remember that was your favorite growing up?
P: Yeah every time I watch that movie with the that little boy that got a BB gun for Christmas
and shot his eye out or whatever-
I: uhuh
P: ‘Cause I, I got a a BB gun one year for Christmas and that was my favorite toy you know at
that time and then uh I got- about a couple of years later I got my own bike because there was I
had I had uh uh five brothers or yeah five brothers and two sisters and so they always got the
best but my when it came my turn I got my bike and and then one time I got a a guitar for
Christmas too so it it was a good Christmas that year.
[10:00]
I: That’s cool do you remember what your um bike looked like?
P: Yeah it was it was like a turquoise in color uh and it was uh had a little basket on it and uh my
brothers and sister bought me a little uh it’s like a little uh had like a ring, * ring ring* and had a little handle on it that you would put on your handlebars and then my older brother got me a a light to put on the on the front fender to if we were ever out at night which we weren’t allowed to go out at night anyway but we had we had that and it had like a flat uh thing on the back tire to where you could tie your books on there or uh you know just carry uh some of the groceries that we would go to the grocery store and bring back to where you didn’t have to handle or or driver ride the bike with with one hand keep both hands on handlebar so and sometimes we would my
mom would always make tamales and she’d put it in a five gallon or not a but a a one gallon can
of lard and we would go through the neighborhood and sell the tamales but we had to walk
there we couldn’t ride a bike ‘cause one time we were riding a bike and the handle came off the
can and we lost a bunch of tamales so.
I: Oh no!
P: She wasn’t happy with that so (laughs)
I: That sucks!
P: Yeah!
I: Um are Halloween or Christmas still your favorite holiday or do you have a different favorite
holiday in like today?
P: Well it’s the I guess my favorite my favorite days but now is my grandkids birthdays and I, I
still like I still like Christmas and and uh but with growing up as a young kid at the age of thirteen I started playing in a band and so we would always look forward to like Easter Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving, the big holidays because we would play that a big dance and we would make a lot of money and you know ‘cause every time I, I played anywhere I’d always give my mom I’d keep about maybe twenty dollars and I would give the rest to my mom to use as she wanted stuff so uh I Christmas is still one of my favorites uh Thanksgiving is not so much anymore but uh I would say Christmas and uh birthdays are about my best holidays now and Easter Sunday. I do like Easter Sunday.
I: Well that’s cool I like that.
P: Mhm.
I: Okay um what was your favorite thing to do as a kid?
[13:04]
P: Uh again uh play sports up until like I say I got to the age of thirteen and then we had our own
band and so we were always playing uh for dances uh on Friday and Saturday nights and I, I
really enjoyed that ‘cause it it’s it was you know I, I love I love music and so we would we would play locally and we would travel throughout the state to play a different uh different venues and we played weddings birthday parties uh uh quinceañeras and weddings and uh just whatever people want us to play the biggest the biggest Hall that we ever played in was that the at that time the Ruidoso had a convention center and we played that and then we played the uh we got to play at the uh um uh we had a at the uh oh in in El Paso the Coliseum we, we played a dance there and then we also played on television about five times. There was a DJ at that time called Steve Crosno that had a a TV dance show like similar to The Band Stand but his was on from kids from El Paso and Cruces and Alamogordo would go show up on Saturday and they had different bands playing and uh they would they would dance and show them just like just like uh the big big city you know like Band Stand and uh we we played that that about five times uh in that in that TV station so you know we had hopes of making it big recording a uh a record and stuff but it never it never materialized.
I: Gotcha. What did what instrument did you play in your band?
P: I had a a set of drums uh uh that my mom and dad helped me buy or they bought for me
anyway, and I, I was the drummer in the band and uh I, I really enjoyed it my my old old my
brother that it’s older than I am was in the band and all the kids were we were all about the
same age year or two apart but we all got to travel together uh and we everywhere we were at
we were we were together up from the age of uh thirteen till about oh probably about thirty when I turn about thirty-five we quit we quit playing and uh we just we just hung hung up our our instruments and that was it.
[16:04]
I: Do you, did you ever have a favorite song that you played in your band?
P: A favorite song?
I: Mhm.
P: Uh I had a lot of books we played a lot of uh Spanish music but uh we played rock and roll too and Country Western and uh my favorite music was the big band uh we we used to play at White Sand’s Missile Range for the officer club and we would play on a Friday night and Saturday night and that was by far our biggest pay night that we had because each one of us would make about $200 a night and uh so we would make $400 on a weekend and uh we had, I played with some older gentlemen that that uh grew up during the Big Band era and that’s the type of music they wanted and that’s the type of music we played and that was my favorite type of music that I like back then and of course when we played locally I liked uh the uh (clears throat) rock and roll and the Spanish TexMex type music that we played.
[17:17]
I: Was there a specific artist that you looked up to in when you were in your band?
P: Yeah well I had several but back then uh Sunny and the Sunliners and Little Joe were going real strong. They’re from uh San Antonio and uh uh well basically San Antonio area and played
TexMex music and everybody was just crazy about it and I used to sponsor uh Sunny and Little
Joe and and those guys they would come down on a on a weekend and play like Friday
Saturday and Sunday uh either they they would play in Alamogordo on on on a Friday or
Sunday night and I was responsible for bringing them down and uh getting the ticket sold and
just putting advertising all over the the southern part of the state to get people to come down
and back then believe it or not we had problem and kids think they’re spending a lot of money
for tickets their tickets sold for $2 a ticket-
I: Oh wow!
P: and we had we had a lot of problems at time people couldn’t afford $2 a ticket so we we I talk with sunny and little Joe and they said drop it to to drop it a penny start advertising the tickets are $1.99 and man after that we couldn’t keep enough tickets that one penny made a big difference and people were buying tickets like crazy I don’t know it’s crazy but that’s you know it was it was funny ‘cause they they they wanted to go see sunny and little Joe you know so that that’s that’s our entertainment you know for- ‘cause that that was uh going through high school and stuff we had the teen center but that was you know uh it it was good in the beginning but then after a while it like now there was a lot of fights you know but back then it was there was no guns involved no knife no nothing it was just uh mano a mano and you know kids would would fight and then they’d get up dust their selves off shake hand and that was the end of it. No, there was no guns no no knives nothing like there is today but you know we we just quit going to the teen center and that’s gone by by the side and one thing I wish my my grandkids would have uh would have uh uh enjoyed or uh experien would be going to a a local dance locally and and you know I think that they would have enjoyed it because uh we had my wife’s nieces that would go with us when we we would play at at a dance and and they enjoyed it they had a big ball because back then you didn’t show up as a couple or whatever you know you go to the dance and the guys will be there the girls will be there and you like the song and you like the girl you go up and ask her to dance and you know uh before you know it you spend all night dancing with her and at the end of the dance you go your way and she’d go her way you know so uh that that was that was good back then but things change.
[20:57]
I: Mhm. Um so what is your favorite thing to do currently?
P: Do what?
I: What is your favorite thing to do currently?
P: To do currently I like to (clears throat) I like to play golf uh I like to watch college sports uh I think that the pros make a lot of money and they’re a bunch of big babies uh but I like the the women’s college sports and and the men’s sports. I, I like to watch Pro Sports uh when it comes time for World Series Super Bowl or the NBA Championship or the golf championship and stuff but I, I don’t really get into it uh during the season ‘cause they’re I, I like I don’t like seeing a bunch of grown men cry and then they’re always complaining that they don’t get paid enough and you know they need to take a look and say, “Hey you know there’s people out there making a heck of a lot worse than me!” and but you know that’s that’s life.
[22:07]
I: Do you have a specific sport that’s your favorite to watch?
P: Uh golf is one but uh I like to to watch the the men’s basketball and and the women’s college basketball also uh those are be but my favorite ones.
[22:30]
I: Do you have um favorite team’s?
P: Um in the college area?
I: Mhm.
P: I have uh (clears throat) in college in football I, I love Notre Dame uh in in football
uh I like uh well football is I like Notre Dame uh in college uh basketball I like uh uh Louisville and University of Texas uh in in the women’s sport and well and then of course the the ones that
dominate the the airways in in college sports is Duke and North Carolina and all those uh I, I
think they’re overrated they always get beat in the in the tournaments but uh I think uh
basketball I, I like uh Yukon and and Tennessee for the ladies basketball team.
[23:24]
I: That’s cool. Did you ever have a favorite sports team growing up?
P: That I go watch?
I: No did you ever have like a favorite sports team like growing up?
P: Yes (clears throat) still my favorite team I (clears throat) used to like uh the Minnesota Vikings when uh uh Frank Arkington, number ten played for for the Vikings and I, I love I, I love the team and I’ve been with them since I’ve probably been the age of seven, eight, nine when I was old enough to watch sports I can still remember uh when we got our first TV we’d sit there and we’d watch the the football game, and my mom says how do you guys watches what what is it and she said “I don’t like when they give the ball to one one one man and and he runs and then everybody tries to tackle him then everybody jumps on him what the what’s what’s fun about that?” and we all just because we said “Mom it’s football it’s what-” and know she finally uh learned and of course in baseball uh my favorite teams was uh the Yankees and the Dodgers when they played with the Yankees in New York and and the Dodgers in in LA and that was my mom’s favorite baseball team with the Dodgers and my brother lived in a, in a California so we would in the summertime my dad work for the railroad and he would we had passes to travel on the on the train and we would go see my brother in the in California and he would always take my mom to a foot- a baseball game for the Dodgers and she she loved that she love love to play or to watch the Dodgers play ball.
[25:27]
I: That’s really cool.
P: Mhm.
I: All right um what was your favorite food as a kid?
P: Uh you know when I was going to school I never ate in the cafeteria. Really I only ate two
times in the school cafeteria ‘cause no matter where the school was and sometimes uh it was
about oh ten blocks away or sometimes it was even like fifteen, sixteen blocks away when we went to lunch I always ran home my mom always had lunch for us we would eat lunch and we’d run back to school and we still had time about ten, fifteen minutes to play in the playground but growing up I, I would enchiladas was always my favorite food enchiladas and fried chicken that that was my favorite and it still is today.
[26:27]
I: Was it made by someone specific or you liked it from a restaurant?
P: Well my mom it it seems like every Friday was enchilada day so that was special for me and
then if we didn’t have enchiladas on a certain Friday we would always have fish either shrimp or
my mom you know my dad would go fishing and he’d bring some some fish home and we’d
have trout or whatever and my dad would go my dad and my older brother would go fishing in
Mexico and they’d bring a bunch of uh fish from there and they’d filet it and put it in the freezer
and so we always had fish or enchiladas on Friday and then when we finished eating of course
ou- our high school games high school football team played always on Friday uh Friday evening sowe had to we’d ask my mom, “Can we go to the game?”, “I don’t know ask your dad.” so we go ask asked my dad “Dad, can we go to the game?”, “I don’t know do you guys already wash the dishes?”, “Well no.” but we jump on that and we get the dishes done in five minutes sometimes they weren’t that clean but we got them done and then “All right you can go.” and then you know we’d always sneak into the game there was a certain part of the field where you could pick up the fence and sneak under the fence and and go in there and we always had enough money to buy a Coke and a bag of popcorn but you know that was that was part of growing up everybody did it all the all the kids in our barrio and our side of town that’s how we got to the football game until we got into junior high when all we had to do is where our our Jersey and they’d let us in free and said this beats getting in under under the fence, (laughs) yeah.
[28:24]
I: That’s cool when your mom would make enchiladas would she do red or green?
P: My favorite is red. She she hardly ever made green we’d always have red and then if when I
was in high school I, If my mom didn’t make enchilada my my friend would call me my friend
Manuel would call me and he said, “My mom’s making enchiladas”, “Good come pick me up ‘cause my mom’s not making she’s making fish.”. So we go over to his house and eat enchiladas and when his mom didn’t make it my mom was making it so we always we always had them and then there was a lady uh back then there was a gentleman that had a a restaurant close to our in our neighborhood it was called Andy’s Cafe best enchiladas we’ve ever had and and then when he got old enough and old and gave it up a lady by the name of Margo Sandoval opened it up as Margo’s Restaurant and uh me and my friend Manuel we we would always hung around and on
Friday and and Saturday night we we’d be riding around and uh he’d always go with me
because that we were playing in the band and after we finished playing uh we’d go to eat at
there at Margo’s Restaurant on the corner of 7th at White Sands and uh she always you know when Manuel and I uh walked into the restaurant she saw us and we just waved and she knew okay we go get our our seat we’d sit down and she already knew what we wanted and it was a uh red chili and ground beef enchilada and you know we’d eat and then we’d walk out of the restaurant the next day we’d go back and pay her because it was always loaded the restaurant was always packed and she said I don’t worry about you guys cuz I know you coming back you’re always going to pay me and we did we never we never skipped out on a meal and stuff.
[30:34]
I: Oh that’s cool all right um what is your current favorite food?
P: My ff- favorite current food is again enchiladas and and fried chicken and of course uh when
my oldest daughter was going to college I would make her some mean refried beans and uh
burritos and she’d take them off to college and so my favorite on that one is when I go play golf
or anything I always have me some green chili uh uh with refried bean burritos.
[31:31]
I: That sounds good.
P: Mhm.
I: Who makes your fa- who makes your enchiladas now that are your favorite do you make them or does somebody else make them?
P: No because just about all the restaurants that we used to visit when you know uh Margo’s is
no longer in business and uh some of the restaurants that make enchiladas are not they’re not
tasty like my wife makes them uh she makes some very good good enchiladas she’s you know
we we discovered we put away about two to three sacks, (audio inaudible) sacks of chili and about four
years ago the lady that I used to buy my chili from asked me he says you ever eat red chili
enchiladas at all the time and she say no no no I’m talking about fresh red chili when it’s still on
the vine on the uh on the plant and he says and they pick that red chili before it dries he says
and it’s still firm he says all you do is roast it and peel it and then you know when you peel it
stuff take all the seeds out and then make the chili and the chili comes out like an orange
flavored orange colored chili and but oh man it that gives the enchilada the best flavor the best
taste you’ve ever had and also when you make red chili with pork and hamburger meat it’s got a
whole different flavor and that’s so that lady turned me on uh into that chili and that’s you know
my my my my wife and and I make that now occasionally. So it’s good.
[33:05]
I: That sounds good!
P: Mhm.
I: Um what career did you want to have as a kid?
P: That I had- want to have when I was growing up?
I: Mhm.
P: Well when I (clears throat) when I went into the sixth grade my plan was always to have a government job which I did have I, I worked uh my first my first job is when I got out of high school I worked for the gas company uh Southern Union Gas and I worked for them for about five years uh then uh I joined the National Guard and uh I, I left uh Southern Union Gas and I was offered a position with the New Mexico National Guard as an administrative technician and and I went to work for them and I worked for them for twelve years and uh after twelve years I applied at the post office and I got a job and I worked there for thirty-eight and a half years so and then I’ve got a I retired from the military and then I also have a retirement from
the post office but I always wa- I always wanted and I always liked helping people and when I
worked at the post office I worked twenty-five years working the window when serving the public when they come into the post office to buy stamps or to mail a package or whatever and and I always always love doing that and but after a while I just I just got tired and wanted to change and my last uh ten years I just said well well you know I had a good uh Monday through Friday job eight to five and then I left that to go to work at midnight or one, two in the morning to get out at one, two in the afternoon and by that time you know my system was all screwed up because while people were going to when I was going to lunch people were barely eating breakfast so it was hard for us to get uh lunch anywhere so we’d have to wind up eating breakfast for lunch so but it it was it was good a good career for me.
[35:34]
I: Well that’s good. Um who did you look up to as a kid?
P: Do what?
I: Who did you look up to when you were a kid?
P: My brother that was uh he was like my second oldest brother Greg I looked up to him because
he was the one that gave gave me advice he says what do you want to do in life and I said I
don’t know I want a government job and he says start taking typing in school and uh I said
typing I said yeah he said that’ll help you with your the skills that you want to do and to get a
government job so you don’t have to be out you know digging ditches and whatnot, so I did and I
took I took typing for three years uh got to the point that I could do about a hundred twenty-five words a minute typing uh manually on an electric typewriter I could do about a hundred forty words a minute uh so I he was the one that gave me advice and uh he and I would always go fishing and hunting and playing golf and traveling to different sports venues and stuff and he was the one that I really hung around with. I had I had uh two younger brothers and I mean they they were there but we never really did anything my brother that’s older than I am we played baseball uh I was the only one who played High School baseball and semipro and but my brother that’s older than me uh we played on a Babe Ruth team and uh that’s a as far as any of them went and I kept it up and I played the Babe Ruth league then I played American Legion ball and then Alamogordo had a uh semipro team that I played with and just for the fun of it you know I, I wanted to keep playing ball and that’s but my brother Greg was the one that I looked up to.
[37:52]
I: Nice um what scared you as a kid?
P: I’m sorry?
I: What scared you as a kid? Did you have any fears?
P: Uh really no because back then as a kid uhh things have changed quite a bit because back then
you know your house uh we lived at in in in a the poor side of town and you could leave your
door open you never had to lock your door uh you know people in the neighborhood knew you
and somebody would cook something and they bring you know some of the food to to your
house and you’d cook something and in return you’d take it over to their house uh everybody
knew and if you did something wrong in school everybody before you got home everybody in
the neighborhood knew and everybody be sitting outside when you got home ‘cause you knew or
they knew that you were going to get a good whipping and so everybody wanted to see that but
uh really nothing the only thing that really scared me was failing my mom and dad because they
they were really wanted us to excel and continue education and uh all of us have have done
that and only uh four of us four of the kid kids were in the military uh four of the six boys uh two
of them didn’t didn’t uh didn’t serve but there theres you know they’re they’re they’re still good
good people but uh really nothing nothing scared us ‘cause we where we lived the baseball field
was about oh eight blocks away from the house and we would always walk to the Ball Game
and at times sometimes we would the game wouldn’t finish till about ten, eleven at night and we w- we would walk home we there was no there was no gangs at that time there was no nobody
there to you know like kids weren’t crazy like they are today they you know we we would we
would go to the to the movie house and you know we come home in the afternoon there was
nobody following you around or uh only only when uh when we were smaller and before you
know we were like in in school uh the thing that and it it was there was we we encountered
prejudices and the town that we lived in we had a ten block radius that we couldn’t the the the
white people didn’t want us going into their area and so if you got caught after probably six or
seven o’clock at night uh you would wind up getting in trouble and it just that they didn’t want you know uh the the Mexicans and the blacks going into their neighborhood that I guess they thought we were going to rob them or what but there there was very little of that in in our neighborhoods anyway.
[41:29]
I: Gotcha. Um so do you have any fears now does anything scare you currently?
P: Yeah I fear for my grandkids and uh you know kids in general uh this this past weekend or
this past week or so there was a a friend of mine’s son got shot and then uh the night before his
services at the church uh some some kid shot three kids at at at one of the local parks and
when the kids were uh twelve, thirteen and fourteen and one of the kids I don’t know his age got killed and I
mean it’s it’s just that’s what I fear the most my grandkids are out enjoying life and growing up
and just enjoying life period and some idiot comes out and pulls a gun and and shoots but that’s
I, I just wish someone would do something about gun control because it’s it’s kids shouldn’t be
handling guns at that age.
I: Mhm. It’s scary!
P: Yes, very. You know kids kids lives so are are cut short before they even get to enjoy and
and experience life and and that’s that’s not the way it’s supposed to be.
[43:03]
I:No. Um did you like going to school as a kid?
P: Yes. Yes (clears throat) I, I attended one of our older schools here I went to Dudley Elementary uh and then from from about the oh third or fourth grade on until about the uh sixth grade when they really kept good records uh I, I had perfect attendance all those years I never I didn’t like missing school even when I was sick I would I would still go to school and from when I got into the seventh grade I, I got into the sports uh programs and we missed some school but I mean we still got credit because you know back then we used to travel to Las Cruces to Roswell to Artesia and stuff play games and stuff but we had you know they we were excused and you
know we got back late at ten, eleven o’clock at night and we still had to go to school the next day at eight o’clock which you know uh we said well maybe we’ll get to sleep in yeah you get to sleep in till seven o’clock in the morning then got to get up and go to school.
[44:24]
I: That’s cool did you have a favorite subject in school?
P: Uh yeah um I used to love history. I used to love history and uh the other one was uh uh I
took one one year of home economics I mean not not home economics, but it was a well I guess
it was called home ec and they they taught you how to you know they had a one one classroom
that would that had uh uh you took it for two semesters you know one year and and you would
take it and one year they would teach you how to how to cook and how to use a stove and
whatnot and then the next part of the the nine weeks they would teach you they had to washers
and dryers and how to wash clothes and stuff that was that was kind of cool you know but sports
sports was always my favorite but I love I love to to read and uh explore the history of stuff.
I: Well that’s cool. Well I’ve really enjoyed um hearing about your childhood and what you like
today um thank you for participating in my research and I really appreciate it!
P: Well thank you for choosing me to be part of your uh program.
I: Thank you!
P: Alright.
[45:55]
New Mexico Border Spanish Corpus 