Somos Primos™
April 2004, 
Editor: Mimi Lozano ©2000-4

Dedicated to Hispanic Heritage and Diversity Issues
 Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research

Washington Chapel in the United States Capitol
Preserve me O God, for in thee do I put my trust, Psalm 16:1

 "Those people who will not be governed by God 
will be ruled by tyrants."   
                                                                    . . . . . . . William Penn 

UNITED STATES

AUTO BIOGRAPHY OF PAUL EDGAR TREJO

PART III NAVY - SUBMARINES

The Submarine Training

Parks USN Officers June 1949  

Front Row: Left toRight: Lt. Francis B. Busch, Chief Engineer --- Ensign Marvin S. Hutchinson, Supply Officer------ Commander Herbert G. Claudius, Commanding Officer --- Ensign Albert Bailey Hallman, Assistant Engineer --- Lieutenant R.K. Stewart Cole, First Lieutenant. 

Back Row: Left to Right: Ltjg Harold A. Bres, Jr. Operations Officer --- Lieutenant Daniel M. Karcher, Executive Officer --- Ensign Lewis A. Shea Jr., First Division Officer --- Ensign Robert M. Weidman Jr., Communications Officer --- Ensign Paul E. Trejo, Gunnery Officer
 --- Ensign Albert G. Cohen, Second Division Officer. 

I was detached from the Floyd B. Parks (DD-884) at the Naval Shipyard, Hunters Point, San Francisco, CA on December 8^th, 1950, with orders to proceed to the U.S. Naval Submarine School at New London, Connecticut. I had a months leave, with a reporting in date of January 8^th , 1951. At that time, my family comprised my wife Ruth Emelia, son Leslie age three, and daughter Catherine Ann age one. We left the shipyard and drove south to Pacific Grove, CA, for a brief visit with my folks. We then drove to Fullerton, CA, for a visit with Ruth’s parents, Sophia and Loyd Holley. We returned to San Diego, where we rented our home on a six months lease, since I fully intended to return there after Submarine School, packed up the old 1941 Pontiac and on December 15^th headed cross country. We took the southern route to avoid the ice and snow, especially since the Pontiac had seen better days. We had major engine problems resulting in Tucson, Arizona resulting in a weeks stay at a motel, and more car problems in Hobbs, New Mexico. Any one who has traveled with a small child and a infant is aware of the trauma that can result with the parents.

Floyd B. Parks (DD-884) approaching the USS Boxer (CV-21) (A CV is Fleet Aircraft Carrier) off Singapore on April 24, 1950,  to pick me up. I had been on board the Boxer for three days as the head gunnery observer on a Fleet exercise shoot. Notice the number 2 gun mount is elevated. This is so a "High Line" can be fastened of the bridge of the destroyer and passed over to the carrier. I rode the highline back to the Parks in a Boatswain's Chair.

The Parks 
at the Singapore Man-O-War Anchorage, April 29, 1950. 

We were part of a task force 
sent down to support the British 
who were fighting HUK Insurgents 
on the Malay Peninsula at the time.

May 1950, Floyd B Parks (DD-884), and John R. Craig (DD-885), 
on our way home  from WESTPAC   cruise.  

The first week involved taking a complete physical, and a rigid battery of written psychological tests, and a long interview with a navy psychologist to see if they could find a flaw in your makeup or character that would make you unsuitable for submarine duty. Next you were required to pass the submarine escape test, which was to train you to escape from a bottomed submarine. A 100 foot tower filled with water was used for this activity. This tower had and elevator up the out side that permitted access into the tower from depths of 25 feet and 50 feet below the top of the tank. Access was also made from the bottom of the tank with 100 feet to the top surface. There were air lock chambers at these level, exactly like the escape trunks found in the forward and after torpedo rooms of Fleet Submarines. You were trained to make and escape through the trunk to the surface of the tank using a Momsen Lung, which was a breathing device that you charged with oxygen. A frogman in Scubba gear would swim up along side you, and if he detects that you are in the slightest trouble, will grab you, hit you in the stomach to expel any residual air in your lungs that may expand and as you go up and burst your lungs, and drag you to the surface.

After making three successful ascents from each depth of 25, 50, and 100 feet, using the Momsen Lung, you were required to make free ascents (escapes) from each of these depths without any device whatever. And these were tricky. In this method, one takes a deep breath, holds it and merely steps out of the airlock. Say you are at the bottom of the tank, the air you breath in the air lock is the same as that of sea pressure at 100 feet depth, so you have a lung full of compressed air. This air in your lungs provides the buoyancy to get you to the surface. In other words your lungs are like balloons full of air. The problem arises in that as you ascend and the pressure around you decreases. Your lungs expand, and will burst if some air is not released through your mouth as you go up. So you must release some of the air, but how much? If you release too much you will lose your buoyance or "run out of gas" and drown, unless you are close enough to the surface to see daylight and can swim up. If you hold too much air in, you are in danger of rising too fast and your lungs bursting as they expand from the reduced pressure. This is known as air embolism and is a leading cause of death among scuba divers who get in trouble and must make a free ascent.

You are safeguarded in this training by a scuba diver who swims up alongside you. If you are letting too much air out and will run out of gas before you reach the top of the tank, he will reach over and grab your nose. If you are holding to much air back and rising too fast he will tap you on the chest. The rule was that you were supposed to follow the bubbles you were releasing from your mouth. If you were passing your own bubbles then you were too buoyant and were rising too fast. If on the other hand, your bubbles were rising rapidly and getting away from you, you were letting out too much air and "would run out of gas" before you reached the surface.

What I have said is a real danger. Civilian scuba divers are lost every year when they get in trouble while diving and attempt a free ascent.

All of us that successfully completed the "Tank" were given certificates. It is one of my treasured documents. We lost two of our officers in the escape training. They just didn’t want to take the training, and were returned to the fleet. Over the years they have only lost two people that I know of in the "Tank" due to some accident, but there could have been more.

Our submarine training was extremely ridged, the idea being that if someone had a hitherto undetected flaw now was the time to find out about it. There were four basic departments at the school: Ordnance, Engineering, Operations and Tactics, and Submarine. Each was headed by a Commander who was a submarine hero from WW-II. There were a lot of Navy Crosses on the chests of this group. All taught classes, and it was a delight to get one to digress into the stories of his war patrols. They were all personable, and though there was a lot if discipline, there was also a lot of informal give and take. There were also a large number of experienced Chief Petty Officers on the staff, and listening to them and heeding their advice was a Godsend. There were two phases to our training, the theoretical " book learning" and the "hands on" practical side. The book learning phase involved considerable classroom work, where every system in a Fleet Submarine was studied in great detail.

For the practical training we were divided into groups or "teams" of six students, and this group stayed together as a team the entire time. The practical side involved the use of high tech simulators and trainers. There was an attack trainer that was the exact replica of the conning tower of a submarine where we learned to make and approach and fire torpedoes. There was a diving trainer where you learned to dive and trim a submarine, and every station being manned a team member, and the stations rotated so that every member could master every diving station. On a Fleet Submarine these were the Conning Officer, Diving Officer, Diving Control Board and Vents Chief ( who was also Chief of the Watch), Trim and Drain Manifold Operator, and Air Manifold Operator.

On the engineering side each team had to change a cylinder and connecting rod on submarine diesel. This was not and easy task, as these engines were huge 1600 Horse Power General Motors Diesels and 1400 horse Power Fairbanks Morse Diesels. Depending on what submarine you were ordered to, you might find either kind installed. This was dirty and difficult work, but it was to teach you what your enlisted ratings had to go through to complete this task. Later on, when I was Chief Engineer on Bashaw this background stood me in good stead.

The at sea phase was a real experience. There were a couple of "School Boats" assigned the task of taking out two teams of officers a day to let us dive a real submarine. Wisely, the operating was in Block Island sound, where the depth was only 200 feet, and the bottom was sand or soft mud. If the boat got out of control during the dive for any reason, the most that could happen was that you would bounce off a sandy bottom, and as the boat was usually backing down emergency at this point, the impact was negligible. Every time a submarine goes to sea, the first dive of the day is called a "trim dive". Prior to diving the boat’s designated diving officer, who is normally the Chief Engineer, makes out a "Diving Compensation Sheet". This sheet records all the changes that have occurred on board since the last trim dive that might affect balance of the submarine. Examples of these are stores or fuel taken on board in port, torpedoes taken on board, or even the addition or loss of a crew member. The Chief Engineer then uses this balance sheet to transfer water between the trim tanks, so that when the boat makes its first dive of the day it will be reasonably in trim.

Our school boat was the USS Bergall (SS-320). Remember this was the dead of winter and the topside and superstructure around the pressure hull of the submarine were covered with ice. I had the first student dive of the day. I filled out the compensation sheet under the supervision of the Chief Engineer. I cleared the bridge and had and dropped to the diving station in the control room.

The two lookouts preceded me off the bridge and dropped down into the control room, the starboard lookout manning the bow planes, and the port lookout manning the stern planes. I bled a shot of high pressure air into the boat, and noted the manometer held at 3 inches of Mercury. This tells you the boat is tight, otherwise the pressure would leak off in a hurry. Next, you observed that the blow and vent manifold has a green board, indicating that all hull openings were closed. If a hull opening had been red, that would probably mean that particular opening was still open, and you would terminate the dive in a helluva hurry. You report to the conning officer in the conning tower, "Green Board Pressure In The Boat", at which time he gives you the ordered depth, usually 60 feet. At about 30 feet you start blowing the negative tank slowly. This is a tank that holds about 20,000 pounds of water, and is designed to get you down in a hurry, but must be blown dry if you are to achieve neutral buoyancy and swim around like a fish. In peacetime you usually dive with about a three to five degrees down angle. At 40 feet you slow to one third speed, as at the start of the dive the speed is usually Standard or Full to help drive the boat under.

What happened in this case is that, I being green as grass, had not take into account the great amount of ice in the super structure of the boat, which in effect made us one giant ice cube, until the ice melted. As a result the Burgall would not go under as expected but seemed to hang up at 30 feet. The Captain in the conning tower began shouting at me to get him down, that there was a destroyer bearing down on him ! I ordered 5,000 pounds of water flooded into the auxiliary tank from sea to make us heavy, thinking that I must have screwed up horribly in the compensation. Then the ice melted, and I was heavy by the 5,000 pound I had just put in. Well the boat started down in a hurry, and I involved the old submarine adage, "BLOW, BACK, AND PRAY".

I also had ordered all back full to make the stern squat. The net result of all this was that I was able to stop the boats rapid decent just short of plowing into the sandy bottom. I was to learn later that this was a favorite trick played on student officers in the Winter Class. I was also told that had I screwed up horribly that was excusable, but had I panicked and frozen at the dive, I would have been on my way back to the surface navy next day. In other words, any thing I did was OK, as long as I did something.

Our class started with 110 officers. We lost 21 along the way for one reason or another, graduating 89. On graduation you were allowed to choose the submarine you wanted to go to by class standing. Each submarine was listed, along with it’s home port. I had worked very hard, as I wanted to go back to San Diego where I owned a home. As a result I stood 14 in the class. There were several boats to choose from that were home ported in San Diego. I chose the USS Blenny (SS-324) as she was not only home ported in San Diego, but was being converted in the shipyard to a high speed, streamlined GUPPY IA boat.

I was detached from Submarine School at New London on June 22^nd, 1951. After another memorable trip across country to San Diego, and after taking some leave, I reported on board the Blenny in the San Francisco Naval Shipyard on July 12^th. At that time, the conversion was about 90 percent completed. Blenny completed her conversion in August 1951, and reported to Submarine Squadron 3, alongside the USS Sperry (AS-12) in San Diego. The remainder of 1951 and the early part of 1952 was spent furnishing Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) services to destroyers and aircraft of the Pacific Fleet. Perhaps more important, this time frame served as a shakedown period to increase the proficiency of the officers and crew in handling a submarine that could achieve 21 knots on the half hour rate submerged, and especially learning how to snorkel, which really had it’s exciting moments, especially if there is any sea running.

We departed for the Far East on April 30^th 1952, for patrol duty in Russian Waters. Since this patrol story has been previously documented, I will not cover it here. 

The USS Blenny (SS-324) 
leaving San Diego for her Far East Patrol assignment on April 30, 1952. 

We returned from our Far East tour on November 8^th, 1952. Blenny was awarded the Korean Service Medal, and the United Nation Service Medal for this tour. During my remaining time on Blenny we operated out of San Diego, furnishing ASW services to the fleet. Since I have used this expression before it behooves me perhaps to explain what ASW services entails. This basically is operating with a task force, and assuming the role of and enemy submarine attacking the force. Our task was to penetrate the destroyer screen, make and approach on the carrier if we could get in undetected, and fire a red flare indicating we had simulated firing a torpedo. Part of the time we were to stay on the surface at about ten miles from the task force and let the carrier planes find us. We would then dive. The plane would drop a 25 pound practice depth charge on our dive point, drop a floating flare to mark our point of submergence, called the Datum Point, and call for the "Hunter Killer Force". The Task Force commander then dispatches a division of four destroyers to locate us and make simulated runs over us. We usually left our periscope up so they could get radar contact on it. If there were and inversion layer of cold water we could hide under and their sound beam would be bent upward. So we could remain undetected if we chose to, but then no one would get any training, and a lot of tax payers money would be wasted. There were several occasions that we did remain undetected, just so the surface forces wouldn’t get too cocky. This type of operation normally kept us at sea a week to ten days.

One other story I will relate here, since it was one of those events of such a sheer coincidence. When a submarine is overdue a search and rescue operation is immediately launched called "Operation 1000". In peacetime operations, a submarine is required to send a "Diving Message" when she dives. If operating independently, this message contains the location of the point of submergence, the anticipated course and speeds while submerged, and the time of surfacing. The submarine is required to send a surfacing message immediately on surfacing. If a surfacing message in not received within 10 minutes of the message time due for surfacing, an operation 1000 is launched. When this occurs, all surface ships available steam out of port to the best-estimated position of the submarine. A massive air search is launched to try and locate a marker buoy that the submarine may release. When and exercise to test this is laid on, a submarine is designated to go to a location and play dead on the bottom, release it’s marker buoy, wait to be found, and personnel rescued. To make this more realistic, the Division Commander will come down from the tender and hand the captain of the submarine that has been chosen to be "Lost" a set of sealed orders, which he is allowed to open only after he has rounded the sea buoy. This makes everything that happens spontaneous, and hence realistic.

Blenny was chosen to be the "Lost Submarine" We proceeded to and area off La Jolla and put the boat down in 200 feet of water on a sandy and mud sea floor. We released our red marker buoy from over the forward torpedo room, and waited to be found. Within and hour of bottoming, we were located by and aircraft from the North Island Naval Air Station, an a short time later the Submarine Rescue Vessel, the USS Florikan (ASR-9) arrived overhead, with divers and a McCann Rescue Chamber, more commonly known as the McCann Bell. The basic method is for the rescue vessel to moor over the bottomed submarine. Then the marker buoy containing a telephone, if it hasn’t been damaged when the buoy was released, permits direct communication with those in the torpedo room. The McCann Bell is then used to extract the people from the submarine.

The procedure in this type of rescue was the same as that pioneered when the submarine Squalus (SS-192) was lost on May 23^rd, 1938, of the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. She had suffered massive flooding into the engine room, when her main induction valve failed to close. She lay on the bottom in 250 feet of water. There were 26 men that survived, trapped in the forward torpedo room. The Submarine Rescue Vessel Falcon (ASR-2) arrived with the McCann Bell, and extracted those trapped in the forwarded torpedo room. There were men alive in the after torpedo room, but they were lost before they could be rescued. The main reason for this was that the current kept sweeping the divers off the deck on the after part of Squalus, and thus they could never secure the down haul cable to the bell on the after torpedo room hatch, for the rescue Bell ride on down to the submarine. After the bell is seated over the torpedo room hatch, water is blown from it’s lower chamber, permitting rescuers to enter the submarine. Six to eight people can be extracted at a time, thus making it necessary to make several trips between rescue vessel and submarine to get every one out. Squalus was later raised and renamed the Sailfish and had and excellent record of enemy ships sunk during WW-2.

My high school classmate and good friend Norman Brown was a Reserve Lieutenant who was a qualified deep sea diver. At this point in time he had chosen to serve one month active duty time on board the Florikan. He was asked if he would like to ride the Bell on it’s first trip down to the Blenny, to which he responded in the affirmative. As first Lieutenant and Gunnery Officer it was my job to supervise the evacuation of the 12 people we had selected to be "saved" and make the trip from the submarine to the ASR, so I was in the torpedo room to open the lower hatch and receive the first passengers from Florikan. Who should come through the hatch of the Bell but my old friend and high school classmate Lt. Norman Brown. His first words were "Trejo! What the hell are you doing here on the bottom of the ocean ?? !!! My response was, " Where the hell did you come from !!"

On November 14, 1952, I received orders to the Pre- Commissioning detail of the USS Bashaw (SSK-241), then being converted at the Naval Shipyard Hunters Point from a fleet boat to a "Killer" submarine, that is, a submarine specifically designed to hunt down and "Kill" other submarines. I was detached from Blenny on December 29, 1952, and reported to the Commander, San Francisco Naval Shipyard for duty on January 10, 1953.

  Bashaw Fox  1953

          The USS Bashaw (SSK-241) .  Note the huge "bulbous" bow. This was a special sonar dome that was so sensitive we could hear ships for miles. This boat was specifically designed to hunt other submarines. The name of that game is that the first submarine to detect the other and get her torpedoes in the water first will be the victor. This photo was taken at Fox Island near Tacoma, WA, on Puget Sound where we had gone to evaluate the sonar system. I served on Bashaw from 1953 until 1955 when I was detached to attend the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey.

The heart of this conversion was the installation of a BQR-4 sound array around the bow of the submarine. This array was a passive device which means you could listen only, and not transmit any energy through it. In the event, we were able to lay submerged in a sound channel and hear ships out to more than a hundred miles. The name of the game in hunting other submarines is to hear (detect) him before he hears you. The theory is that the skipper that puts the first torpedo in the water will be the survivor in a submarine to submarine encounter.

The BQR-4 was a real monster. It consisted of about 100 vertical cylindrical tubes, each tube about eight feet long and about 3 inches in diameter. These tubes were filled with crystals that relied on the pizzio - electric effect for there operation. That is, sound energy impinging on these crystals is converted to electrical energy which could then be amplified and displayed on a Cathode Ray tube, similar to a Radar Scope. To protect these tubes, the bow was fashioned into squares of sound transparent windows. These windows varied in size from 3 feet by 4 feet to 6 feet by 4 feet, and were fashioned to shape into a round bow. There was a space between the outer windows and the array of tubes that was filled with castor oil. The space was to provide a shock barrier to absorb protect the fragile tubes in case of colliding with a submerged log, a bad landing, or any other unforeseen event. Castor oil was chosen as it non corrosive transparent to sound energy.

Bashaw had been decommissioned for her conversion, and hence we officers were attached to the shipyard in an advisory capacity. We operated out of a "Line Shack" on the dock, and had an officer of the deck on duty 24 hours a day. The shipyard was working around the clock, in three eight hour shifts, so it was necessary to have a qualified submarine officer patrolling the boat 24 hours a day to prevent any grave error happening. These were prone to occur because Hunters Point had never been a primary submarine yard before, and this was their first submarine conversion. I will sight and example.

There is a signal ejection tube that may be located in either the forward or after torpedo room of a submarine, depending on the class of boat. It is used to eject flares during exercises with the fleet, and to launch distress flares. On a boat built by Electric Boat Company, such as Bashaw, this tube is located in the after torpedo room. On a boat built in the Portsmouth Navy Yard, this tube is located in the after torpedo room. The shipyard had orders to replace the ejection tube on Bashaw with a larger improve model, and we being an Electric Boat submarine had ours located in the after torpedo room. I was making my rounds through the boat on the Midwatch ( 12 midnight ‘till 4 in the morning ) when in the forward torpedo room a shipyard worker was setting up a huge drill. I asked him what he intended, and he responded that he was going to drill a hole in the pressure hull and install a signal gun. I informed him that we already had a signal gun in the after torpedo room, and I thought maybe there was a mistake, as he had the wrong torpedo room, and probable what was meant was to replace the existing signal gun in the after room. I suggested we wait until morning when we could check it out. He showed me his work order, and all it said was to install a signal gun in the forward torpedo room, with a blueprint of how to accomplish the work. He was determined to proceed. It was futile to argue, as he was a big man, so I called the deck watch. He still refused to leave until the deck watch drew his Colt .45 and ordered him off at gun point.

The next morning and official, black navy sedan pulled up to the gangway. Out jumped the shipyard commander, a four stripe navy captain, with blood in his eye. He was followed by our "prospective" Commanding Officer, Harold "Tut" Fry. The first words out of Tut’s mouth were, "I don’t know what you’ve done Paul, but I sure as hell hope you’re right." The first issue was the placement of the signal gun, which made me look like a hero, as drilling a hole in the pressure hole would at best having us end up with two signal guns, and at worst having us in hot water with the Bureau of Ships. Then there was the matter of threatening the use of deadly force on a shipyard worker. And interview with the deck watch settled that matter. It also turned out that some Yo-Yo of a navy architect in the design department had been referring to a set of Portsmouth Shipyard plans when he wrote the job order. We were the first of the four Submarines slated to be converted to SSKs at Hunters Point. The others were Bluegill (SSK-242), Bream (SSK-243), and Cavalla (SSK-244). Thus they learned on us.

The only other error they made, and this was fairly serious, was the relocation of the forward trim tank when they built the massive sonar bow. This tank, along with the after trim tank, are used in balancing the boat to a submerged trim on diving, and are located at the extreme ends of the boat. When they installed the huge hydra phone array around the bow, we lost two of our six forward torpedo tubes, and the forward trim tank, and bow buoyancy tank were both relocated. When we were scheduled to go to sea for our maiden test dive, our skipper wanted two things done. He wanted safety tracks installed on the weather deck, and the bow buoyancy tank moved aft several feet. The tracks were a simple matter, but moving the forward trim tank was a major job and the shipyard refused this request. The next thing that bothered him was that for our maiden test dive out of the yard, they had assigned us a diving area off the Farallon Islands in very deep water. The Captain made a simple point, assign us a shallow area for our test dive or he would not take the boat to sea, as he considered the location of the forward tanks might cause us problems. We were reassigned and area to the south of Point Montera with a depth of 200 feet, and a sandy bottom.

When we dove Bashaw, she took a sharp down angle, and headed down with a mind of here own. Blowing bow buoyancy and backing down full helped, but the net result was that we buried our nose in the sand and mud, and the stern was sticking out of the water. Thank God we didn’t dive in deep water. We could not get much bite with the screws, as they were partially out of the water, but rocking the boat by running the crew back and forth. and blowing all main ballast we freed the boat up. The main casualty was the "tender" bow. Five of the sonar window were damaged beyond repair. This not only was a tremendously expensive proposition, but kept us in the shipyard well beyond our scheduled completion date. There was another "casualty" that could not be predicted, and that was the leading man of one of the shipyard shops. There is a tradition in submarines, that when they go to sea on a maiden dive on completion of a shipyard overhaul, the leading man from any shop that worked on the boat goes to sea with her. The theory being that knowing this the quality of all work done is much more carefully supervised.. This is why when the Thresher (SSN-593) was lost off Portsmouth on October 4^th, 1963, eight of the 120 casualties were civilian shipyard workers. This particular leading man had a good scare, and he swore he would never go to sea on another submarine. He was transferred to that part of the shipyard working on surface ships.

In due time we completed the conversion, but we were still not a part on the US Navy. We had to pass a board of Inspection And Survey, before the navy would accept the submarine. One might think that since the conversion was done in a naval shipyard the acceptance would be automatic, but such is not the case. This board comprises 12 very senior, crusty old navy captains, and they swarmed over the ship in overalls and flashlights, and inspected every nook and cranny. I was amazed to see full captains crawling around in the bilges. When they find any discrepancies they order the shipyard to correct them. We then took the boat to sea with the board embarked, and Bashaw was put through every maneuvering exercise possible, including firing water slugs from every torpedo tube.

We were duly re-commissioned a ship of the United States Navy at the shipyard on March 28, 1953. Our guest speaker was Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, USN (Ret). He had been Commander Submarines Pacific (COMSUBPAC) during WW-2. What a thrill it was for us young officers to get acquainted with famous submariner. We reported to Commander Submarine Squadron Three in San Diego for duty. However, we were not destined to spend much time in our homeport. First the navy was eager to determine just how good the sonar system was. So we were ordered to Hawaiian waters to evaluate the system under a variety of conditions. One problem that precluded determining the parameters of the system was the tremendous amount of biological noise in the water from whale and dolphin noises to snapping shrimp and croaker fish.

To solve this the navy constructed a special Sonar Barge, and moored it at Fox Island, which is on Puget Sound just across the narrows from Tacoma. The barge was actually moored on the Carr Inlet side of Fox Island. This site was chosen because of the brackish quality of the water. The large amount of fresh water from all the surrounding rivers and streams emptying into the inlet would actually guarantee the absence of noisy salt water sea life, thereby assuring a proper environment. The loudest noises heard were those of Mullets jumping and falling back into the water.

I was promoted to full Lieutenant on July 1^st , 1953. Bashaw spent the later part of 1953 and the first six months of 1954 operating with ASW Hunter Killer groups operating out of San Diego.

In the May of 1954 Bashaw deployed to WESTPAC for a six month tour in the waters of Japan and Korea. During this tour we furnished services to Commander Carrier Divsion 3, in the Badoeng Strait (CVE -116 ), and the carriers Bairoko (CVE-115), and Sicily (CVE-118). We were so good at evading the carrier aircraft that we were told to stay on the surface until the plane made contact. The rules were that once we were sure the plane had detected us we could dive. The aircraft was allowed to drop a 25 pound practice depth charge on our "swirl" as we dove, but not if any part of the super structure or periscope were showing. On one exercise and eager pilot dropped his charge on us before we were completely submerged. It destroyed the entire lens on the periscope, blew out all the periscope packing and we started taking a considerable amount of water down the periscope shaft. That ended the exercise for us. We put into Kobe, Japan, where the large Repair Ship Vulcan (AR-5) was stationed. They were the only ship in the Far East at the time with a crane tall enough to pull a 65 feet periscope straight up and drop another in place. A new periscope had to be flown out from the United States to Atsugi, Japan. Then it was trucked down to Kobe by the US Army. This resulted in three weeks of great liberty in Kobe. Best of all the tender personnel completely overhauled our air conditioning system, and completed many repairs during the wait. Bashaw was awarded the Korean Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal for this tour.

On July 1, 1954, our much admired Commander Harold E. Fry was relieved Commander Charles B. Bishop, USN, in WESTPAC.

On returning to San Diego, I had received orders to the Naval Post Graduate School at Monterey for the Ordnance Engineering and Electrical Engineering Course. I was detached from Bashaw at San Diego on July 11, 1955, and reported for duty to the Naval Post Graduate School on July 27^th

1955. The Ordnance part of the course consisted of the study of physical chemistry, stoichiometric chemistry, and the chemistry of explosives. Mathematics courses started with review courses in differential and integral calculus, then progressed to linear differential equations, partial differential equations, and La Place Transformations, Stability of Servo Mechanism Systems by use of a Nyquist Diagram, a host of electrical engineering courses, and for submarine officers a course in acoustics an transmission of sound energy in the sea. The professors piled on the home work, especially on Friday and due Monday. Consequently, not much time was left for family life, even on weekends.

During the summer between our first and second year, the students were ordered to a navy activity to perform practical work in their field of endeavor. In my case I spent part of the summer at the Naval Ordnance Test Station at China Lake, California. There I was assigned to the Sidewinder Missile program, and became involved in the development of the Sidewinder Air to Air missile. This was to be of great benefit to me later on, although I didn’t know it at the time. When I became a Weapons Officer in the Naval Reserve, my Mobilization Billet was as Sidewinder Project Officer in the Bureau of Weapons. The remainder of the summer I was at the U.S. Naval Air Missile Test Center, Point Mugu, California.

On graduating in June of 1957, another round robin of visits to ordnance facilities was ordered. The most beneficial of these to me was ten day spent at the Missile Test Center, Point Mugu. This time was spent entirely on the study of the Regulus I missile. This was fortunate, as I had received orders to report to the USS Barbero (SSG-317), a Regulus I guided missile submarine.

  In September another trip across country with kids and dogs was taken. On August 10^th, 1957, I reported on board the Barbero in Norfolk, Virginia. There I assumed the duties as Guidance Officer, and later Navigator. As third officer I took on other duties to assist the Executive Officer, and was acting Executive Officer in his absence.

Barbero1958

 After two years at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey I reported to the USS Barbero (SSG-317), in Norfolk, Virginia.  The large round cylinder tank you see on the deck was a hanger that contained two Regulus Missiles stored back to back. They were stored in this hanger, with their wings folded on a cylinder system that operated on the same system as a colt revolver. You would surface the boat, raise the launching ramp hydraulically, run the missile out on the ramp, fire it, close the hangar door, and submerge to periscope depth. With a lot of practice we were able to do this in three minutes. We had radio control of this missile immediately, and guided it on its set path from periscope depth. Since it was a radio control bird, we could only guide it to our visible horizon, where we would turn it over to another guidance submarine. He in turn would pass it to another submarine. We had a division of six guidance submarines that could pass it along a couple of hundred miles, when it was turned over to and inertial guidance system within the missile.  Because of the cold war we spent 22 months of the time I was on this boat deployed.       

The Regulus I was actually a small turbo jet aircraft that carried a 100 megaton nuclear warhead. Even though by modern standards it was "bow and arrow", it was still a weapon with a big punch, and therefore a deterrent weapon. Two missile were stored inside a huge cylindrical hanger on the after deck. They were positioned in the hanger back to back, with their wings folded. They were mounted on a large cylinder that operated like and old fashion Colt Revolver. A launching ramp was located in the deck directly behind the hangar, that could be raised hydraulically when getting ready to fire the missile. After launch, the missile was guided initially by a radio control TROUNCE guidance system, and thereafter by a inertial guidance system built into the missile took over for it’s terminal phase. A submarine missile division consisted of the firing submarine and four guidance submarines. On firing the bird, I would keep control until it was no longer in my line of sight. The missile had two altitudes that it could be preset to fly at, 5000 feet, and 10,000 feet. The higher it flew, the longer it was in my line of sight for control. At this point I would turn the bird over to the first guidance submarine. By passing it from guidance submarine to guidance submarine you could carry the missile several hundred miles before putting it on it’s inertial system.

To practice we were based on the Naval Air Station at Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico. We would fire and exercise missile from a position near Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands at a designated target position On reaching this position, I would give the missile a "Dump" command, which was equivalent to firing it. During the exercise I had close radio contact with a "chase plane", and on giving the "Dump" command the chase plane would assume command of the missile, and land it (exercise missiles had wheels!) at the Roosevelt roads Naval Air Station. There the exercise missile would be reworked, and we could pick it us in a couple of days and fire it again. Several of these exercise missiles we considered old friends, in that we fired them many times. Other times we fired the missiles off of the Naval Missile Range, at Wallop’s Island, Virginia.

To fire a missile on and inertial guidance system you must know your exact longitude and latitude on launching, so that the missile computer has a starting point. Therefore it is necessary to calibrate the missile launching computer to a high degree of accuracy. This is done on the Wright Brothers Monument at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. This site has been surveyed to a first order survey, that is, it’s longitude and latitude is known to ten decimal places. The submarine lies offshore, close in, and takes continuous bearings on the Wright Monument for several hours to average out human observation error.

In the Summer of 1957 Barbero deployed on a Nato exercise, to be followed by and Arctic Patrol in Norwegian and Russian Waters. For the Nato phase, Barbero was based at the British Submarine Base at Portland, England. One trip, "To show the flag", was sailing to La Harve, France, from where some of us traveled by train to Paris. The British Navy always assigns a host ship to a visiting foreign naval vessel. That ship is responsible for taking care of your every need, including changing your money to English Pound, when we went to France. We were assigned a British destroyer to be our host. No sooner had we tied along side this ship (her name escapes me now), then a Midshipman came on board with and invitation inviting the wardroom to lunch, "to be served promptly at 1200 hours". In all innocence we trooped across the gangway, leaving only the duty officer on board. Greeting us as we stepped into the wardroom was a Midshipman with a tray of drinks in his hand. You must remember that alcohol is not permitted on board American naval vessels, so one is not prepared to get "snookered" at high noon. We kept waiting for the elusive lunch to be served, but it was soon apparent that the name of the game was to put the Yank under the table. Food was finally served at 3:00 pm., and by that time nobody cared. For the evening meal we would take over steaks and American movies to reciprocate their hospitality. The quickest way to get away from that situation was to take leave and go up to London, which I did. At that time, the exchange rate was highly favorable, so my money went a long way.

It was Sunday morning. In making my get away I did not get off Scot free. I crossed over to the British quarterdeck about 0930 to exchange some dollars for pounds. All was quiet as a church mouse topside. When I entered the wardroom one of the wildest parties imaginable was in progress, and right in the middle of the wardroom table was the ships brass bell, with a fresh inscription engraved on the inside. One of the wardroom officer’s wives had just had a baby boy, and his name had just been inscribed in the bell. The story was that if it was a boy, he would grow up and join the King’s Navy, and if a girl she would marry a Royal Navy sailor. Well, there was nothing for me but to join the party, and it was late afternoon before they deposited me on the tram to London. A wonderful custom !!

We left England and deployed to Norwegian waters where we were based at Trondheim, then Narvik. Our activities included patrol in the Barents sea and other intelligence activities. I was doping the navigating, and it was a real bear. In those days there were no navigation satellites, fixes were obtained from celestial observations. The problem was that it was overcast most of the time, so good sun lines and star fixes were rare. What saved the day were charts I obtained from the Norwegian Coast Guard. They had charted the ocean floor in that area, which was extremely deep. However, there were a great many extinct volcanoes that formed volcanic mountains rose above the ocean floor to within 300 or 400 feet of the surface. It was only necessary to turn of the fathometer and let it run. When the recorded depths began begin to decline from a thousand fathoms to shallow readings, you knew you were going to pass over one of these mountains. Part of the problem of position keeping was caused by the strong currents that are found in these oceans. A surface ship has most of it’s structure above the water, and currents normally have little effect on it. Submarines, on the other hand are submerged in the current, and are thus pushed around some. These currents varied in velocity, but were any where from three to five miles per hour, depending on where you were.

On September 17, 1957 we crossed the Arctic Circle at one degree, thirty minutes East Longitude, and all received our "Blue Nose Cards". We had embarked with us a team of scientific personnel from the Office of Naval Research. They conducted various scientific experiments, and we spent some time under the fringe of the ice cap trying to determine how thick a layer of ice that a submarine could surface through safely, without suffering major structural damage. Of course we were treated while running on the surface at night to glorious displays of the Aurora Borealis.

One of the memorable things that occurred during this deployment was our visit to Oslo during the October Fest. All I can say, is the Norwegians really know how to party.

On returning to the United States we resumed our missile training in the Caribbean, and operated part of the time from and old WW-2 submarine base on the island of Saint Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. It was located at the town of Charlotte Amalie. The most memorable experience here was meeting Herman Wouk, the author at the local watering hole frequented by the American locals. He entertained us in his beautiful home, which was on the other side of the island.

 I had decided to leave the regular navy, as the Barbero was preparing to leave on another Nato cruise. The problem was very basic, every NATO exercise wanted a missile submarine, and we were the only game in town. I detached from Barbero on April 14, 1958, and reported for duty to the staff of Commander Service Squadron Four in the USS Vulcan (AR-5) on April on April 15^th.
There I assumed the duties of Assistant Operations Officer and Gunnery Officer.

My tour in SERVRON 4 was memorable. We immediately left for a "show the flag" trip to Havana, Cuba, which was in a state of unrest, While there, we were guests of the Cuban Navy, who’s commanding officer was also the superintendent of the Cuban Naval Academy, and Commander of the Cuban Navy. It was a memorable visit. Our Commodore, H.R. Prince fancied himself quite a pistol shot, and he was. He challenged the superintendent to a shootout and lost! Two weeks later, Fidel Castro led the Cuban Revolution and seized power. He promptly shot all the officers in the Cuban Navy, including the superintendent of the Cuban Naval Academy.

On returning to Norfolk, Commodore Prince was relieved by Captain William Norvell, USN.

We shifted the squadron flag to the USS Truckee (AO-147). This ship was a brand new oiler, having been commissioned October 3^rd, 1955. She had a capacity of several hundred barrels of oil, and was a fast ship designed to keep up with a carrier task force. The quarters assigned me were six times the size of those on a submarine. Shortly after shifting the flag to Truckee, we sailed for Vigo, located on the North West corner of Spain. Here we were scheduled to refuel a division of diesel submarines. Before sailing, I asked the Chief Engineering Officer if he had ever refueled a submarine before, and he said he had not. I checked the fueling hoses on Truckee, and they were all 6 inches in diameter. The fueling trunk on a diesel submarine is only 4 inches in diameter ! It would indeed be bad news to get all the way to Spain and have to fuel the submarines with a funnel and bucket. I went over to the local submarine squadron, where I knew the squadron engineer, and he provided me with hose reducing adapters to go from a six inch fueling hose to a four-inch hose. I was a hero, at least for a little while.

While in Vigo, I was employed as the Commodore’s interpreter. Spanish was not my native tongue as I had been raised in and Anglo home. However, I took two years of the language in high school, and two years in college, so with the help of a Spanish dictionary in my pocket I managed pretty well. As a consequence, I traveled with the Commodore to all the parties thrown by local officials. I took some leave and traveled into the countryside. I stopped at and inn, where the innkeeper decided he wanted to practice his English which he had taken in school. So there we were, at a table with beers, and two dictionaries between us!

Truckee proceeded to England and then to Norway. We were in Oslo when the Lebanon crises broke out and promptly sailed for a rendezvous at sea with several MSTS tankers and fueled them to capacity. They in turn were to proceed to various parts of the Mediterranean to fuel units of the fleet. These tankers are all manned by civilian crews. When we approached our first tanker they refused to take our hoses. It seems all the crew were members of a labor union that proclaimed they didn’t have to work on Sunday. I have never seen anyone as angry as the Commodore. He promptly came up on the bull horn and threatened to board the tanker, take her by force if necessary, place the captain and crew under arrest, and operate the ship with a navy crew. It got results in one helluva hurry. The civilian crew poured out on deck, and we were able to transfer fuel to the MSTS tanker in short order. We then proceeded to fuel two more of these ships, but encountered no problems. Our modis operendi had proceeded us.

On June 17^th, 1959, I reported to the U.S. Naval Receiving Station for discharge from the regular navy. I was discharged on June 30^th after due processing. The same day I was transferred to the Naval Ready Reserve. On August 1^st I was commissioned a Lieutenant Commander in the United Naval Reserve. I was assigned a running mate in the regular navy for promotional purposes who was one signal number senior to me on the navy’s lineal list. 

NAVY SERVICE BIOGRAPHY
CAPTAIN PAUL E. TREJO USN/USNR RETIRED

SERVICE DATES: February 28, 1944- June 30, 1984

EDUCATION: 
1. V-5, V-12 University Of Redlands 1944-1945
2. Midshipman NROTC, University Of Southern California, 1945-1947
Bachelor of Science, Naval Science (BSNS)
3. US Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, CA, 1955-1957
Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering (BSEE)
Designated Ordnance Engineer
4. San Jose State University1959-1961, Master of Arts in Physical Science (MA)

MAJOR SERVICE SCHOOLS:
1. US Navy Submarine School, New London, CT. January 1951- June 1951
2. Senior Reserve Officers Course, Naval War College, Newport, RI, June 1974
3. Defense Strategy Seminar, National Defense University, Fort Myer, VA, July 1979

HIGHLIGHTS:
1. Qualified in Submarines August 19, 1952. At sea test phase was on board the 
USS Scabardfish (SS-397), CDR Richard M. Wright Commanding. Received
Confirmation Letter: Bureau Of Naval Personnel Qualification Letter, Dated
October 31, 1952.
2. Instructor Guided Missiles, Naval Reserve Officers School, San Jose, CA
1959-1961.
3. 1960 Redesignated EDO Ordnance Engineer (1455)
4. 1961 Redesignated Aeronautical Engineer (1515) on merger of Bureau of Ordnance
and Bureau of Aeronautics into Bureau of Weapons
5. Served on the Captain's Selection Board August1981.
6. Served significant periods of extended active duty : Sidewinder Project Officer, Air 
Systems Command, Washington, D.C., and on Staff Commander Patrol Wings, Pacific 
Fleet, Naval Air Station, Moffett Field, Sunnyvale, CA. 


SEA DUTY:
1. USS McCook ( DD-496 / DMS-36) - August 27,1947 to April 18, 1949.
2. USS Floyd B. Parks (DD-884) - April 24, 1949 to December 8, 1950
3. USS Blenny (SS- 324) - July 12, 1951 to December 29, 1952
4. USS Bashaw (SSK-241) - January 10, 1953 to July 11, 1955
5. USS Barbero (SSG-317) - August 10, 1957 to April 1, 1958
6. Staff Commander Service Squadron Four - April 15, 1958 reported on board
Flagship USS Vulcan (AR-5), Flagship shifter to USS Truckee (AOG-75)


COMMANDS HELD:
1. Commanding Officer: NAVAIR Reserve Unit G-2
2. Commanding Officer: Captain's Management Unit 
3. Commanding Officer: AIRSYSCOM VTU 0380
4. Commanding Officer: WEP RES Unit 1187
5. Commanding Officer: AIRSYSCOM WEP VTU 0187


CAREER MILESTONES:
1. Qualified Officer Of The Deck At Sea, September 20, 1947
2. Qualified Officer OF The Deck In Port, October 1, 1947
3. Qualified In Submarines August 19, 1952 

TRANSFER TO US NAVAL RESERVE:

1. Discharged LT, USN June 30, 1959, Commissioned LT, USNR 
2. Commissioned LCDR, USNR July, 1, 1959
3. Commissioned CDR USNR, July 1, 1964 
4. Commissioned CAPT USNR. November 1, 1969

PERSONAL DECORATIONS: 

1. Navy Meritorious Service Medal 1980
2. Navy Commendation Medal 1983

SERVICE MEDAL:
1. American Campaign WW-II
2. Victory Medal WW-II
3. Navy Occupation Medal (Asia Clasp)
4. China Service Medal
5. National Defense Medal (with bronze star)
6. Korean Service Medal
7. Vietnam Service Medal
8. Armed Forces Reserve Medal with two bronze hour glass devices (10 years each)
9. United Nations Service Medal
10. Republic of Korea War Service Medal 

RETIREMENT:

1. Retired to the Fleet Reserve June 30, 1984, after 40 years 4 months of service.
Retired October 31, 1984, from the US Navy

Hispanic American Heroes Series
Bernardo de Galvez

Eddie Martinez in front of one of the historical maps on exhibit.

Written and sent by Annette Brown

Population began in the Temecula Valley long before cattle started grazing the land. Sometime after the mammoth lay to rest in our dirt and the photographers "captured" California history on film, the first hunters and gathers of Southern California walked the land we now live on. We share the same plains and hills with past Native Americans that were our first rancheros.

They have left evidence of their existence scattered across the region. Sightings of grinding stones are commonplace in some areas. Archeological digs have unearthed clues of who shared our soil, oaks and creeks.

Artist and researcher, Eddie Martinez, has spent several years challenging theories, revealing misconceptions, plotting Native American treks, and awakening the past.

He will share his findings through his artwork, original maps and a lecture at The Temecula Valley Museum from March 6 through April 25. He will be at the museum on Thursday, March 4 for a Gallery Talk at 6pm. Original maps created by Martinez showing routes and settlements of The Native American, including Temeku, will be displayed on the museum’s exhibit walls. He also will exhibit work on the Spanish America and the American Colonies. This reveals how the Spaniards played a vital role in The American Revolution. Two maps also show what he calls "The Pathfinders," everyday men that became heroes as they cleared new paths for men to follow.

Martinez developed a passion for history during his career as an artist. Working on large, intensive projects; such as, The Hall of Presidents for Disney World, often required in depth research. He grew to love the research end of his work and expanded his travels to include historical and archeological sites.

His talent for humanizing history is revealed in this exhibit, as he brings forward the Native and Latin American culture’s intelligence and sophistication. The work displayed includes the Temecula area. Familiar stories we have read or heard about Temecula’s past are expanded upon.

He prides himself on the authenticity of his maps, costumes, military, weaponry, coats of arms, and heraldry. His detailed maps include all of this. You will be awed by his incredible talent, knowledge, and dedication.

SURNAME: Campos 

ORANGE COUNTY, CA

FAMILY HISTORY FAIR at 674 S. YORBA ST., ORANGE, CA.
35 classes on Starting Family History
3 specifically on Hispanic and many general classes, from writing your family history to taking photos and organizing your documents and files.
For more information, call the FHC at 714-997-7710

Lincoln-Juarez Opportunity Center

The combined efforts of Olamendi, Dykema other Orange County Latino businessmen resulted in a monumental, historical tie. John Cruz embraced the cause and helped take the concept to the next level. Traveling to Washington, D.C. and other places, the Latino businessmen negotiated the selection of the city of Santa Ana as Mexico's First Trade Center in the nation. Five thousand people joined Vicente Fox in the inauguration ceremony, March 22, 2001 at 900 N. Broadway, Santa Ana, California

As editor of Somos Primos, a heritage quarterly, Lozano assisted the Visibility Committee by the preparation of documents for the committee, and serving on the U.S. Senate Task Force on Hispanic Affairs. In addition, Somos Primos, was moved to the internet to abstract and chronicle the social changes being observed.

In 2001 a report was published by the National Council of La Raza, Beyond the Census: Hispanics and an American Agenda. The report identified Santa Ana as the city in the nation with the highest number of residents who speak Spanish, 74.0 percent. Community events and data awakened the interest and gathered the support of Olamendi's fellow New Majority and Lincoln Club members, Dale Dykema, and John Cruz. Steps were taken to create a center where the historical understanding of the relationship between the United States and Mexico would form the philosophical base, and the local community would receive assistance from a different political perspective. They recognized this as an opportunity to help the immigrant community achieve their American dream by sharing their philosophy of self-sufficiency.

On Friday, April 23^rd, the second annual major fund raising event for the center will be held. The formal gala, Keys to the American Dream will be held at the Santa Ana Performing Arts and Events Center, 505 N. Sycamore, Santa Ana, CA 92701.

Lincoln-Juarez Opportunity Center
Carmen L. Vali-Cave, Ph.D. Executive Director  cvalicave@lincolnjuarez.org
117 W. 4^th St. Suite 300
Santa Ana, CA 92701
714-245-1408   714-245-1412 fax  

The History & Heritage of Mexican Los Angeles:
  Ranchos to Barrios, 1781-present

Lecture by Dr. Antonio Rios-Bustamante, 
Professor of Chicano studies at California State University, Stanislaus
April 17, 2004 @ 10:00 a.m.

Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, 4600 Virginia Road, Long Beach 90807. Located northwest of the intersection of San Antonio Drive and Long Beach Boulevard.  
$3.00 members & students; $5.00 non-members, (Includes light refreshments)
Advance reservations requested; please call (562) 570-1755. 
CONTACT: Eliza Boné eliza_bone@longbeach.gov (562) 570-1755

Many areas in California inhabited by Mexicans in the 18th and 19th century continue to be part of the core of American cities in the 20th century. Starting with the early pueblos and ranchos and exploring transportation routes and settlement patterns, Dr. Antonio Rios-Bustamante, professor of Chicano studies at California State University, Stanislaus, will examine the development and growth of today's Los Angeles region and its Mexican barrios.

UPCOMING LECTURE: May 8: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Californio Ranchos
More information or make reservations: (562) 570-1755 or visit http://www.rancholoscerritos.org. 
Lecture series supported by Friends of Rancho Los Cerritos and Rancho Los Cerritos Foundation. Rancho Los Cerritos Historic Site, Department of Parks, Recreation and Marine, City of Long Beach. 

Feria de Sevilla,  April 16 and 17, 
Organized by La Peña Andaluza en California, The taste of Spain
Music, authentic foods, flamenco dance, Andulsian horses, games, 
Entrance donation: Friday 11 am to 5 pm, $3  and Saturday, 11 am to 9:30 pm $5.  Under 12, free
Antiguo Gemmrig Park, 7390 Carson St. Long Beach

"Mendez vs. Westminster - 
California's Contribution to Brown v. Board of Education" 
Exhibit Opens

The son, Nolverto, who recently celebrated his ninety-fifth birthday anniversary at his home in Niles, is said by the Chavez family to be in excellent health and he is expected to attend the funeral services here. Arrangements for the rites had not been completed yesterday. She also leaves two brothers, Pete Salas (sic) of Salinas, and Jesus of Los Angeles. She had lived in Los Angeles for nearly a quarter-century.

Latina Conference 2004 - Embracing Our Culture is scheduled for Friday, April 30, 2004 at the Ontario Airport Hilton. Information, 909.789.7336 or visit our website http://www.hispaniclifestyle.com
;

SATURDAY, MAY 8, 2004: Hispanic Lifestyle’s Fiesta at Ontario Mills - Saturday, May 8, 2004 Hispanic Lifestyle Magazine is pleased to announce that we are producing a Fiesta celebrating Latino Heritage at the Ontario Mills, Ontario, California on Saturday, May 8, 2004. The community is invited to celebrate the heritage of the Latino culture in a one day event that will feature Entertainment, Kids Areas, Health Screenings and Latin Artists; To request sponsorship information, please call 909.789.7336

Los Angeles Times, Feb 26, 1890
AN OLD TIMER: Death of the Aged Don Vicente Lugo

Yesterday morning, at Rancho San Antonio, Don Vicente Lugo died after being confined to his bed only a few weeks.  He was aged 80 years, and is about the last of the big family of children left by old Don Antonio M. Lugo.  Away back in the fifties Don Antonio was considered the wealthiest man in California.  The old Don came here from Spain when quite a boy as a soldier, and when he left the army he made up his mind to settle in Southern California.  He belonged to a wealthy family in Spain, and as he was a good business man he soon acquired large land interests, and at the time of his death, in 1860, it is said he could start out from San Diego on horseback and sleep on his own land every night between that point and Sonoma, a distance of over six hundred miles. The family home was Los Cuerbas, where Compton now stands, and it was there that Don Vicente was born and raised.

In 1854 Don Vicente built the old two-story adobe house on the Plaza, that is now used as a Chinese restaurant.  When built it was considered the finest building in Southern California, and if its walls could speak they would tell some queer stories.

Don Vicente has been very careful in business transactions during the past few years, and it is believed that he leaves a large estate.

He leaves several children and quite a number of nephews and nieces.  The funeral announcement has not yet been made, but it will probably take place tomorrow.

Los Angeles Times, Jul 11, 1891
THE PALMS
B. J. Higuera and Concepcion Racha (sic) were the principal participants connected with a Spanish wedding in high life last week.  The festivities were attended by friends and relatives of both parties.  *Rocha

Los Angeles Times, Feb 9, 1892
J. A. Machado, 37 years of age, was granted a license at the County clerk's office yesterday to marry Tomasa Alvarado, 35 years of age.  Both are natives of this State and reside at Pomona.


Los Angeles Times, Jan 27, 1892
OBITUARY: MRS. FRANCISCA SEPULVEDA DE THOMPSON

Mrs. Francisca Sepulveda de Thompson, wife of James Thompson of this city, died January 25, 1892, in the 66th year of her age, having been born in April, 1826, in this pueblo.  She was the eldest daughter of Don Jose and Dona Francisca Abila Sepulveda.  Mrs. Thompson was twice married, first to Don Jose Antonio Carrillo, a former secretary of the Territory of California, and twice a deputy to the Mexican Congress; and second to Mr. James Thompson, who still survives her.

Mrs. Thompson was one of the most amiable and kind-hearted of women.  An American surgeon who arrived here in early times, and who is a resident of Los Angeles, used to say of her that "she was the first Sister of Charity he had ever seen" referring to her active sympathy for those who were in poverty or in distress.  Indeed, all who knew her not only admired her noble character, but they were attached to her by the strongest ties of affection.

Mrs. Thompson being an Abila and a Sepulveda, both of which were prominent families here in the olden times, and being connected by marriage with the Carrillos (her first husband being a brother of Gov. Carlos Carrillo.) she leaves many relatives to mourn her loss; among them are her two brothers, Don Andronico Sepulveda of this city, Judge Y. Sepulveda of the City of Mexico, and two sisters, Mrs. T. D. Mott and Senorita Tranquilina Sepulveda, Mrs. de Valle of Camulos, who was an Abila, and many others, both contemporary and of later generations.  All who knew Dona Francisca will say:  "Of a truth a good woman is gone!"

Los Angeles Times, Jul 13, 1901
FAMILIAR CHARACTER CROSSES THE DIVIDE
DON JOSE CARLON, ONE OF THE ODLEST (sic) PIONEERS

Laid the First Water Pipes in San Luis Obispo and Lassoed Bears in the Arroyo Grande Valley Forty Years Ago.

SAN LUIS OBISPO, July 12. - (From The Times' Resident Correspondent.)  Yesterday at 11 o'clock Jose M. Carlon, one of the oldest residents of this county, passed away at his home in this city.  He was in good health up to within a few days ago, but in some manner contracted blood poisoning, which soon caused his death.

Don Jose Carlon was a prominent figure among the Spanish-Americans of this section of the State.  He was born in Santa Barbara in 1838, and came to San Luis Obispo when a mere boy.  He laid the first system of water pipes in the city, and for twenty years or more had charge of the work of repairing and laying pipe for the San Luis Water Company.

In his boyhood days Mr. Carlon caught a number of bears in the Arroyo Grande Valley in this county, with the lasso.  He was twice married, and twenty children were born to his two wives, twelve of whom are still living.

The Johnson and McCuen quicksilver mines have been purchased by Boston capitalists

Los Angeles Times, Jun 12, 1924
PROPHECY OF DEATHS FULFILLED

"Pick Lilies for Me and Sister," Says Girl, "for We Are Going;" Both Die

Two pure white lilies were blooming Tuesday in the garden of Mrs. Teresa Garcia at 617 Imperial street.  Yesterday the stately flowers were gone, fulfilling a strange request and a stranger prophesy.

The lilies were seen and admired Tuesday by Mrs. Garcia's 17-year-old niece, Mary Garcia, 664 Imperial street.

"Pick me one," Mary told her aunt, "and pick one and send it to my sister."

"Why do you wish it?" asked Mrs. Garcia.

"I want it to lay across my breast tonight, for I am going to die."  she said.  "The other is for my sister."

This brought terror to Mrs. Garcia.

That night at 9:45 o'clock Mary passed away.  Fifteen minutes later word came to Mrs. Garcia that Mary's 22-year-old sister, Laura Garcia, had just died at her home at 739 Oak street, Watts.

Side by side in a darkened room of the Alvarez and Moore Undertaking Company last night the two bodies lay.  On the breast of each was a lily.

Death was unexpected in both cases, Mrs. Garcia said.  Although both girls were not in good health both did not take to their beds until shortly before the end came.

The mother of the girls is dead and their father, said to be a former judge in a New Mexico town, was not here at the time of their death.  An effort was being made last night to locate him.

Los Angeles Times, Feb 27, 1943
OBITUARY, Mrs. Ysabel Garcia

Mrs. Ysabel Mason Garcia, 90, daughter of the late Luz Figueroa, early Los Angeles settler, died yesterday at her home, 1441 W. Palomares St., La Verne.  Solemn requiem mass will be celebrated Monday at 10 a.m. in the La Verne Catholic church by Rev. Jose Gargolla.  Interment will be in Holy Cross Cemetery, Pomona.  Married when she was 15 to Esperidion (sic) Garcia at the Plaza Church here in June, 1868, Mrs. Garcia and her husband settled in Pomona.  They built an adobe home on the present site of the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds.  Garcia died in 1918.

Los Angeles Times, Apr 11, 1946
OBITUARY, MARIA D. MORENO

Requiem mass for Miss Maria Delfina Moreno, 83, granddaughter of Pio Pico, last Governor of California under the Mexican rule, will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. today at Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum chapel.  Entombment will follow there under the direction of Pierce Bros. Valley Mortuary.  Miss Moreno was born at El Ranchito, Whittier, and had been a Southland resident during her entire lifetime.  She died at the home of her brother Manuel, with whom she lived at 1776 Elm Drive, Calabasas.  She leaves two other brothers, Porferio (sic) R. and Alejandro, and a sister, Mrs. Paulina L. Dodds.

Los Angeles Times, Mar 23, 1955
MRS. FLORESTINA GILBERT, DAUGHTER OF DONS, DIES

Born in 105-Year-Old Vicente de la Osa Adobe, Now Part of Historical Monument

Mrs. Florestina Gilbert, descendant of Spanish dons who came to California in the 18th century, died Monday at her home, 1375 W. 25th St.

Mrs. Gilbert was born in the Vicente de la Osa Adobe in Encino. The 105-year-old adobe, now a part of the Los Encinos State Historical Monument at Encino, was built by Mrs. Gilbert's father, Don Vicente de la Osa, who came to California from Spain in the early 1800s.

Don Vicente purchased a 5500-acre estate in the Encino area from three Indians during the 1840s.

Mrs. Gilbert's grandfather, Don Jose de la Osa, Don Vicente's father, was sent by the King of Spain as a special envoy to Alta California, present-day California, during the 1790s.

Dona Eulalia Perez de Guillen, famed nurse and teacher of San Gabriel Mission during the first half of the 19th century, was Mrs. Gilbert's grandmother.

Dona Eulalia was one of the most famous of early-day Californian women. Easter Day of 1827 she was rewarded for her many meritorious deeds with a grant of 14,000 acres that included much of the present area of South Pasadena.

Mrs. Gilbert and the late Harlow Gilbert were married in San Gabriel in 1887. Gilbert operated a marble and stone business for many years in Los Angeles. He died in 1920.

Mrs. Gilbert was active for many years in the Native Daughters of the Golden West. One of her proudest moments was when the Vicente de la Osa Adobe was set aside as a Southern California historic landmark by the Los Angeles chapter of the organization in 1950.

Extremely alert despite her advanced years, she insisted a few weeks ago that members of her family promise not to disclose her age.

Realizing that death was near, she hand-picked several of her nephews to be pallbearers. "They are to be the best dressed and handsomest members of my family," she told her daughter, Miss Inez Gilbert.

Mrs. Gilbert leaves in addition to her daughter, a son, Vernon Gilbert, and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews in the Los Angeles area.

CALIFORNIA

Juarez Family Photos
Courtesy of Helen B. Collins

Standing: Jose Joaquin Juarez 
Seated, his neighbor, Macedonia Lorenzana
Photograph - Tintype

Jose Joaquin Juarez and his neighbor, Macedonia Lorenzana were among the early settlers to Branciforte (Santa Cruz), California in 1798. 

He got there just in time, shortly after the photograph was taken, Jose Joaquin Juarez died.   I have the original tintype that was given to me by the daughter-in-law of Isabel King Victor, my great grand aunt.  Her name was Carrie Victor.   

This photo is kind of famous.  It is in Barbara Juarez Wilson's book, appeared on the front page of the Santa Cruz daily newspaper, THE SENTINEL, is in my book, is in the Santa Cruz files and in my book.  You will have to enlarge or make the attachment smaller.  

Matias Cayetano Juarez with his Grandson, Roy Lolito Juarez, Son of Dolores Juarez and Helena Newhouse Juarez, Circa 1879-1880

Senora Maria Higuera Juarez
Circa 1879

"Don" Cayetano Juarez 
Circa 1879

The original San Geronimo Rancho consisting of two leagues and lying on the coast northwest of Cayucos, California, was granted to Rafael Villavicencio in 1842.  The Cayucos creek adobe was originally 120 feet long and stood at that location.  Little if any of it now remains.  The second Villavicencio adobe located in Villa Creek canyon is under the walls of the house built by my grandfather, John McAuliffe in 1874-75.  There are two smaller ranches now, one in Cayucos Creek canyon and one in Villa Creek Canyon that are called San Geronimo.  Our ranch was located three miles up Villa Creek Canyon, which lies seven miles above Cayucos off of Highway One.  The property has been divided and the house and adobe now belong to Winnie Warren.   The Villa Creek ranch property in McAuliffe Canyon now belongs to other Warren family members.   Helen

My great, great grandmother Josefa P. Garduno Juarez's Grave.   I am the great granddaughter of Francisco Xavier Juarez and Maria Dolores Cota.  Helen B. Collins  hbmsjc@earthlink.net

MEMORIES OF THE SAN GERONIMO RANCHO

By

Helen B. Collins
hbmsjc@earthlink.net

In 1874 my grandparents, John and Mary McAuliffe, bought part of the San Geronimo Rancho from Roberto and Guadalupe Villa (Villavicencio). John paid over $4,000 in gold for the ranch, which was located ten miles northeast of Cayucos, California. In the summer of 1874 the McAuliffe’s moved from their ranch at Pinto Lake, in the Pajaro Valley near Watsonville, to their San Luis Obispo County property.

The original owner of the San Geronimo Rancho was Rafael Villavicencio, and he received the Mexican land grant on July 24, 1842. The rancho consisted of over 8,000 acres of land, which included Villa Creek Canyon, Cayucos Creek Canyon and all the land in between. In 1874 Rafael’s son, Roberto Villa, was the owner of the San Geronimo rancho. Unfortunately, due to two years of extreme drought from 1864 to 1866, Roberto was losing his property. His wife Guadalupe Higuera de Villa was the financial expert, and she knew something had to be done to pay off the bank; because they were threatening foreclosure. There was no other choice so she had to sell the Villa Creek Canyon property and keep the Cayucos Creek property. This was a smart move, because she kept the best land for her family.

The Villavicencios had a small cemetery on the hill above the Villa Creek adobe, and they asked the McAuliffes for the right to visit the graves. For years an elderly Senora Villa would come to the ranch and place flowers on her family’s graves. Alas the Senora and the grave markers are gone, and now they are a part of the past.

In 1874 when the McAuliffes arrived at the Villa Creek Rancho there was no house on the property only an old decaying adobe. Swallows built nests on the outer walls of the building, and bats flew in and out of the windows at night. There was evidence cattle had gone into the building and milled about the dirt floor. The adobe stood amongst tall stalks of mustard and weeds, and the only sounds were the calls of blackbirds and the chirping of swallows. My poor grandmother almost had a fainting spell when she saw where she would eventually have to set up housekeeping. Despite the initial shock of seeing her future home, she pulled herself together and made camp for the family. There were six children; one was a baby, and they had to be fed.

There was no time to lose. A decent shelter had to be built and in place before winter set in. John had contacted his cousins in San Francisco and asked them to come down and help him build the house. The men were carpenters and were only too glad to help. John had ordered redwood from Santa Cruz for the walls of the house, and pine slabs from Cambria for the floors. The redwood lumber arrived at Port San Luis Obispo, and was delivered by a team of oxen. The pine floorboards were hauled down from Cambria in a hay wagon. (1)

The three McAuliffe men immediately started building the house around and over the old adobe as the mud walls were sound. The adobe became the front room with a fireplace at one end. At the other end they added a kitchen, dining room, and on one side they eventually added a parlor. A second floor was built over the top of the lower rooms and made into five bedrooms. Two barns, a dairy and a bunkhouse were built near the house. The original house was completed by 1876, and remained that way until 1927 when it was remodeled, and two bathrooms and three porches were added. Electricity service also came to the ranch in 1927. Today the adobe portion of the house can only be seen from the top of the stairs leading to the basement. While the house was being built in 1874 and added to, eight more children were born to John and Mary McAuliffe.

In 1874 the Native Americans were still coming over the hills from the Paso Robles area. My Uncle told me that the Indians walked silently along the tops of the hills until they reached their old campground, which was located in the lower field of the Villa Creek Ranch. They chose this spot because they escaped the ocean fog when they camped in the canyon. While they were staying in the valley they would travel

three miles to the ocean everyday and spend their time fishing and collecting shellfish. In the fall they would return to their rancheria in Paso Robles for acorn harvesting. The McAuliffe family enjoyed having the Indians there, because they were very interesting. One evening the family heard singing and chanting coming from the Indian encampment, and they hurriedly walked down to the lower field to see what was going on. Their children ran along behind them. Grandfather and grandmother and the wide-eyed children stood in a row watching the Indians dancing and singing. The dances imitated bears growling and prowling, birds flying in circles and sometimes a good rendition of mating deer. When the dance of the mating deer started, grandpa and grandma hurriedly took the children home. The Indians came to the ranch for about another five or six years, then disappeared. All that remains is part of an old shell mound where many contented old cows stand surveying the world, and squirrels dig holes for their nests. The squirrels push up mounds of dirt, and sometimes inside there is an arrowhead.(2) 

In the 1870s and 1880’s there were children riding horses, working in the dairy and playing in the fields at the ranch. When they grew up, they became the Victorian ladies and gentlemen of their day. A teacher lived on the ranch and taught the children until Someo School was built, and then the boys went to school there. The older girls were sent to San Luis Obispo where they boarded with the nuns and attended the old convent school. After the older boys finished their schooling most of them wouldn’t have anything to do with farming so they went to San Diego, and four of their sisters soon followed. They all met their spouses there and were married in San Diego.

After several years of farming Grandfather and Grandmother McAuliffe grew old and went to Oakland to live near their younger daughters. Their oldest son, Gilbert, took over the ranch and was the last of the family to own the land. As he grew older he needed help so he took my father as a partner. My mother and father raised three girls, a boy and two cousins during the 1920’s. The children of the 1920’s attended Someo School and Coast Union High School. They were the flappers of the Roaring Twenties. When they finished high school, they either went to Providence Hospital in Oakland to become nurses or went to work in San Luis Obispo. I was born eleven years after them so I became the child of the 1930’s depression. The depression years weren’t hard on my family, but we watched people passing by the mouth of the canyon in old dilapidated cars with children’s handprints all over the windows, and little faces peering back at us. It was a tough time for many people.

When we lived at Villa Creek the countryside around the ranch was filled with wild life. I remember awakening at night and looking out my bedroom window at millions of stars twinkling in the sky. I could hear the coyotes howling in the distance, and a large owl that lived in a nearby tree was enlivening the night with a steady whoo, whoo, whooing. On three occasions during the night a large skunk wandered into the yard and went under the house. When we awoke in the morning and ran downstairs it would alarm the skunk, and it would create an awful odor before it left. The house had to be aired out in a hurry.

In the 1930’s my Uncle, my parents, my brother and I were the only ones left on the Villa Creek ranch, and when I was twelve years old, I was sent to San Luis Obispo to stay with my oldest sister in order to attend Mission School. I only returned to the ranch for vacations. World War II arrived, and my Uncle, my father and my brother were busy supplying food for the home front and the troops. In 1943 my father’s health failed him and he died in 1944. My uncle and brother remained, but soon they were gone; and in 1957 the ranch was sold to Will Warren, an elderly man, who lived alone in the house until he passed away.

Now the valley is quiet, and the only sounds heard are those of birds singing, cattle lowing and an occasional car crunching along the graveled road. The house looks lonely. There are no children there, and a house without a family to love it and care for it looks forlorn because of lack of attention. There seems to be an overcast of dreaded gloom, the trees seem to be dark and grasping; and they make deep dark mysterious shadows. There are no Indians dancing in happiness now, and no Spanish Dons riding their spirited horses up and down the canyon. There are no shouts of children racing their horses to school or wagons swaying along the dirt road. There are no Victorians riding large old-fashioned bicycles, and no flappers chugging by in their 1924 model Ts. The people who lived at the Villa Creek Ranch are gone, and they live only in the memories of their descendants.

(1) The redwood siding and the pine floors are still in good condition.
(2)  Source: Elder family members of the McAuliffe family.

Newan Park, Riverside 
and the 
De Anza Statue

Located at Magnolia Ave and the 14th Street Intersection. The statue of the Spanish explorer Don Juan Bautista De Anza was sculpted by Sherry Peticolas, with a design by Dorr Bothwell and the support of the Works Projects Administration, in 1940. The model for the statue, Ed. J. Lousanau, was a descendant of De Anza's brother. The Works Project Administration federally funded public improvements in order to create jobs during the Great Depression.

Riverside was founded in 1870 by twenty-five pioneers led by John Wesley North. After the Civil War, Southern California was figured to be the location of the next real estate boom, so North's Colony set out to both invest wisely and to establish a community which would consciously avoid many of the social ills of cities on the East Coast. The original town site measured one square mile and is now commonly known as Downtown.
http://www.ci.riverside.ca.us/museum/exhibit/dwntn.html

Don Juan Bautista De Anza

 
Photo sent by 
Crispin Rendon  Crisrendon@aol.com
This site has a picture of statue and other interesting information. http://www.dustyland.net/anza.html

Felipe de Neve, first governor of the Californias, decided in 1777 that the Santa Bárbara Presidio should be located midway between San Buenaventura and Point Concepcíon. This section of coastline was the most vulnerable to a possible landing by a foreign power or to severance of communication between northern and southern settlements by hostile Indians. Neve chose the Santa Bárbara location because it had the best nearby anchorage; it offered a reasonably good supply of water, stone and wood; the Indians were friendly; the soil was fertile; and irrigation works were feasible. 

Founded April 21, 1782, the Royal Presidio of Santa Bárbara was the last in a chain of four military fortresses built by the Spanish along the coast of Alta California, then a wilderness frontier. Others had been established at San Diego, San Francisco and Monterey. Padre Junípero Serra, well known for his leadership in founding the California missions, blessed the site of the Santa Bárbara Presidio four years prior to the establishment of the Mission of Santa Bárbara in 1786. Presidios played a vital role in the occupation of New Spain. They protected the missions and settlers against attack by Indians, provided a seat of government, and guarded the country against foreign invasion. 
The Santa Bárbara Presidio was both military headquarters and governmental center of the entire region extending from the southern limits of present day San Luis Obispo County to and including the Pueblo of Los Angeles.

Presidial commanders were called comandantes. Comandantes of the Presidio of the Santa Bárbara were as follows: 

1781-1784 José Francisco de Ortega
1784-1802 Felipe Antonio de Goicoechea
1802-1807 Raymundo Carrillo
1807-1815 José Arguello
1815-1828 José de la Guerra y Noriega
1828-1830 Romualdo Pacheco (acting)
1830 Domingo Carrillo
1833-1836 Juan María Ibarra
1837-1838 José Castro
1839-1841 José de la Guerra y Noriega
1841-1844 Gumesindo Flores
1845 José Carrillo

Los Soldados on the internet  http://www.Soldados.us/StBarbara/index.htm
Presidios and soldiers bibliography http://www.ca-missions.org/biblio.html

The Society of California Pioneers' building, called Pioneer Hall, is located at
300 Fourth Street (at Folsom), San Francisco, CA 94107.

This exhibition spans the period of Western exploration from the later eighteenth century up until the establishment of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. During this time, vast, uncharted areas of the West were gradually explored, mapped and remapped, while utopian fantasies of "lost" cities of gold, a Northwest Passage to India, and an American Arcadia on the Pacific Slope were reconciled with geographic reality. This 100-year period of exploration and westward expansion is traced through an evolution of foreign and American maps and mapmaking techniques. In a multitude of ways, many of the maps featured in the exhibition played an influential role in determining the economic, social and political future of the American West.

Territorial Ambitions contains approximately fifty maps from The Society's collection that are being exhibited for the first time. Works on view include Didier Robert De Vaugondy's 1772 Carte de Californie, La Pérouse's journal of 1785-88, John Frémont and Charles Preuss' 1842 Map of Oregon and Upper California, A Map of Discoveries Made by the Russians on the North West Coast of America, 1771, and G.K. Warren's 1854 Map of the Territory of the U.S. from the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean. The exhibition also features gold region maps, coastal surveys, railroad maps, bird's eye views, early maps of San Francisco, antique surveyor's equipment and a 15-minute orientation video. 

Exhibition hours: Wednesday-Friday, 10-4, and the first Saturday of the month, 10-4
Admission: $3 Adults, $1 seniors and students
For visitor information, please see www.californiapioneers.org/visitorinfo.html
or call The Society at (415) 957-1849. 

NORTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

Heritage Gateways 
     A re-enactment of the Mormon Trail Trek of 1847

SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES

Wills of a Father and Son
 and 
A Contribution to the American Revolution
By
Virginia Sanchez
virginia.sanchez@comcast.net  © 2004

The soldiers of the Santa Fe Presidio were located in Spain’s most northern area and therefore could not participate in active duty on behalf of the American Revolution. However, they honored the request of the King of Spain and gave money to the cause, even though they were sometimes not paid in full or paid in pesos de la tierra (e.g., crops) as opposed to pesos firma (cash).

On January 9, 1765, a soldier lay ill at the Royal Presidio in the Villa Capital of Santa Fe and asks his teniente (lieutenant) to document his last will and testimony. In this will, Cristobál Madríd affirmed his faith in God, his guardian angel, and the saints. He requested of his named executors, his wife Francisca Herrera and son Juan Antonio Madríd, to be buried in the San Miguel parish church in Santa Fe and that his body be shrouded in the habit of Saint Francis. Most notably, he listed among his possessions six horses and his complete military equipment with which he "served the King." 1

On January 4, 1768, Cristobal’s son, Antonio Xavier Madríd, enlisted in the Spanish military "in place of his father," and in all probability, used his father’s military equipment. This recruit signed by the mark of a cross to signify his understanding of his responsibilities as a soldier. Antonio Xavier, age 25 and described as having a swarthy complexion with black hair, eyebrows, and eyes, was assigned to the Tropa de Cuera, the Leather Jacket troop, at the Presidio of Santa Fe. 2 3 4

Antonio Xavier Madríd served in the Spanish military in colonial New Mexico when Spain actively supported the revolution of the American Colonies. During this time, Spain’s northern territory included almost all of the United States west of the Mississippi, Louisiana, and Mexico. Spain and its colonies in America played a significant role in the American Revolution by providing military support, loans, and gifts of cash—historical facts of which most United States citizens are still unaware.

When the American colonies waged a war for independence against England, King Carlos III of Spain sought opportunity to regain land Spain lost to England in 1773. Spain agreed to join France as an ally and covertly shipped arms, munitions, cattle, uniforms, medicine, blankets, and money to the American colonies using France as the go between. Visitor-General José de Gálvez, Spanish secretary of the Indies and his nephew, Count Bernardo de Gálvez, provided secret aid to the American cause by allowing guns, ammunition, and tons of supplies to be shipped up the Mississippi to patriot forces in the north. By 1777, Spain had sent a large shipment of the following from a French port by way of Bermuda to Boston: 215 bronze canons, 4,000 field tents, 12,826 grenades, 30,000 muskets, 30,000 bayonets, 30,000 uniforms, 51,314 musket balls, and 300,000 pounds of gunpowder. 5  Money and supplies were funneled through the French and handled by a third party—appearing as open business transactions. 6

Spain’s support for the American colonists remained secret until June 21, 1779, when Spain officially entered into war with England. Thomas Jefferson wrote to Bernardo de Gálvez on November 8, 1779 and expressed his thanks for Spain’s assistance to the revolutionary cause. 7 History books in United States schools relate the aid France gave to the American Colonists and mention very little about the aid given by Spain.

As stated by Thomas E. Chavez, "…United States history is a story of a country born out of English colonies, the role of Spain has not been genuinely recognized. Nor…have the sacrifices of Spain’s colonies been acknowledged. Eighteenth-century Spanish subjects, who lived in areas that make up the present states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California, answered Carlos III’s call for a special [donation] to help with the war and, in the end, secure American independence." 8  In March of 1780, Carlos III decreed that to sustain the war "his vassals in America" were to contribute a one-time donativo (donation) of one peso (approximately $30 by today’s standard) per Indian and other castes and two pesos per Spaniard and noble. Collectors went to towns and pueblos in the New World and collected one peso per Indian over 18 years old and other castes, and two pesos from each Spaniard. Donativos were collected from soldiers and citizens throughout Cuba and Spain’s hard-pressed North American colonies, including the provinces of California, New Mexico, and Texas. 9

New Mexico Governor Juan Bautista de Anza was officially notified of the decree in a letter dated August 17, 1780 from Teodoro de Croix. 10  With regard to donativos made by the Indians of the Province, Anza obtained permission to exempt the Indians of the Zuni and Hopi pueblos. (In the Province of California, Fray Junípero Serra used church funds to pay the [donations] for mission Indians.) 11

By 1783 a total of 3,677 pesos (approximately $110,300) had been collected from soldiers and citizens in the Province of New Mexico; 247 pesos came from soldiers of the Santa Fe Presidio. 12 The donativos were shipped to "Mexico then shipped to Havana and transferred to the American colonies, sometimes via French carriers." 13

Supplies and aid to the American cause came from almost every part of the Spanish empire and currently, historians and genealogists throughout Spain, Mexico, and the United States are reviewing historical documents in an effort to rightfully give Spain and its Colonial Patriots credit for their aid.

The Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution are two national lineage societies that are interested in Spain’s involvement in the American Revolution and they are reaching out to descendants of all Spanish soldiers to research their lineage and apply for society membership. By submitting their genealogy, these Colonial Patriots can be catalogued in the SAR and DAR national repositories of genealogical and historical information, and thereby become a part of America’s history.

Some activities recognized by the SAR and the DAR include service in the Spanish military, service in the militia, service as Indian auxiliaries, making voluntary contributions to defray expenses of the War, Spanish cowboys (in Texas) who drove cattle to feed the American colonial troops, and mission priests who lead public prayers on behalf of Spain’s support of the American Revolution. Because many priests did not leave descendants, the SAR’s interest is in locating and marking their graves as patriots. For example, California’s Franciscan mission priest, Fray Junípero Serra, led a prayer for the success of the American colonists "because we believe their cause is just and that the Great Redeemer is on their side." 14

Antonio Xavier Madríd’s military possessions listed in his will dated January 3, 1813 include two rifles (muskets); a Spanish military uniform consisting of a hat, an old blue wool cape, and a heavy woolen waistcoat; an ardaga (shield); a pair of boots and spurs; and miscellaneous garments. Also listed among his possessions are a mule, a horse, a donkey, and an additional musket. According to the Reglamento of 1729, a presidial soldier’s uniform should conform in some measure or common standard and each soldier was required to have six horses and a mule. 15  Even though maintaining any uniformity in military dress was difficult in New Mexico due to short supply and minimal replacements, Antonio Xavier’s uniform and arms on the most part met the day’s requirements. 

To his son, Juan Nepomuceno Madríd, he left a musket from the armament; a cartridge belt without cartridges; and his hat, old blue cape, aged waistcoat, and miscellaneous garments. To another son, José Antonio Madríd, he left a musket, a pair of boots and spurs, and his blue uniform, and shield. His daughter, María Josefa, was married to Josef Manuel Sena, armorer of the Presidio and one of the executors named in his will. In addition, Antonio Xavier entrusted his son-in-law to "guard" 22 pesos. Josef Manuel Sena and two other named executors, brothers-in-law Juan Nepomuceno Madríd and Miguel Rodriguez, were asked to "collect the horse owed" Antonio Xavier by his brother, Juan Antonio Madríd. (For detailed information on the Madríd family genealogy, refer to the following article by Henrietta Christmas.)

Based on the time Spain was at war with England and the Spanish military service records of New Mexico Colonial Patriot Antonio Xavier Madríd, we know he donated two pesos ($60) toward the cause of the American colonies. At this time, the Province of New Mexico was rather poor and sparsely populated. His sacrifice to the cause of the American Revolution came at a time when cash was hard to come by and soldiers were sometimes not paid in full or paid in pesos de la tierra (e.g., crops) as opposed to pesos firma (cash).

Antonio Xavier Madríd’s father, Cristobal Madríd, listed as possessions in his will dated 1765 six horses and his complete military equipment with which he ‘served the King’. In Antonio Xavier’s will dated 48 years later, all that remained as symbols of honor and service were some muskets, a cartridge belt; a shield, various articles of military attire, a mule, and two horses. Like his father, Antonio Xavier affirmed his belief in God and the saints and asked that his body be shrouded in the habit of Saint Francis.

From their wills and from research, we can piece together only a portion of their lives. From their contributions we can document an important part of history that recognizes significant contributions to the American cause by the eastern as well as the southwestern parts of these United States. Only years later would many learn of the significant roles Spain and its colonies played in the American Revolution.

For a Patriot to be recognized by the SAR and the DAR, descendants of Patriots must research and document their lineage and apply for membership. One source of vital information is the Spanish enlistment papers, which provide service dates, physical descriptions, and occasionally name of a soldier’s parents. The list of Spanish enlistments for the Province of New Mexico, as excerpted from Hough and Hough, Spain's New Mexico Patriots During Its 1779-1783 War with England, is available on NMHS Vice President José Esquibel’s website at http://pages.prodigy.net/bluemountain1/patriota.htm; and in Virginia Langham Olmsted’s, "Spanish Enlistment Papers of New Mexico, 1732-1820," published in the December 1979 issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. The SAR accepts male applicants, 18 years or older, who can prove lineage back to a Patriot ancestor who contributed to the American cause between the 1779-1783 timeframe, the time Spain officially was at war with England.

The DAR’s criterion for descendants of New Mexico Colonial Patriots is slightly different. Female applicants, who are descendants of New Mexico Colonial Patriots, must be able to prove that the Patriot soldier was at the Presidio of Santa Fe between April 3, 1782 and November 18, 1782, and that he was discharged after November 1782. April 3, 1782 is the date Governor Anza authorized collection of the donativos within the Province of New Mexico. November 18, 1782 represents the date of Anza’s letter to Croix informing him that all but three donativos were collected. 16 The list of New Mexico Patriots and Alcalde Mayores who qualify for DAR patriot status is available on the New Mexico Genealogical Society’s website at http://www.nmgs.org/artPatrDAR.htm and from the author’s website at http://home.comcast.net/~virginia.sanchez/

As stated by Robert H. Thonhoff, "An important door of recognition has been opened for many thousands of Hispanics if they but do their genealogical homework."  17 Consider the number of descendants of Spanish Colonial Patriots who served under the Spanish flag (including Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico) who, as a result of Spain’s aid, can say their ancestors aided in the American Revolution and can now be officially recognized through societies such as the SAR and the DAR. Thomas Chavez adds, "Hispanic families in the United States range from recent arrivals to people whose ancestors settled in what is today the United States before Jamestown or the Puritans and Pilgrims." 18 Members of these families can now be included in stating that their ancestors aided the American cause. There is no better way to "open that door of recognition" than to document the contributions of our Colonial Patriots and get their information officially recognized, microfilmed, and catalogued in historical documents.

Antonio Xavier Madríd was but one of many Spanish soldiers and citizens who contributed to the American cause. For generations, descendants of New Mexico Colonial Patriots have made significant contributions by proudly serving in defense of their countries. During the period when New Mexico was under Mexican rule, José Antonio Sena, Antonio Xavier Madríd’s grandson, was recognized for valor in recognition of his service against the aventureros tejanos (adventurous Texans) in 1841. Manuel Armijo, commanding officer and Governor of New Mexico, recommended Sena for an escudo de honor, the Mexican equivalent of the Medal of Honor. This honor was granted to Sena by the President of the Republic of Mexico, along with a promotion to Captain. 19

Continuing in this tradition, descendants of New Mexico Colonial Patriots as United States citizens have continued to proudly serve their country. As stated by the Eugene A. Obregon / Congressional Medal of Honor Campaign, "unquestioned service to the country is part of the ethos of the Latino community…. Out of a total of 3,427 medals granted by the U.S. Congress, 38 have been given to citizens of Latino ancestry, making Latinos the largest single ethnic group, in proportion to the number who served, to earn this prestigious award." 20

To date, only about ten New Mexico Colonial Patriots have been recognized by the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution; and joining these types of societies isn’t everyone’s "cup of tea." However, there is no better way to honor our Patriot ancestors than by working to ensure that future generations will be aware of the contributions of Spanish Colonial Patriots to the American cause. If you take the number of New Mexico Colonial Patriots, add to that number all their descendants, we would have an impressive number of newly found daughters and sons who can impact and change what traditionally was taught about American colonial history. Through the actions and support of our Spanish Colonial Patriot ancestors, we, as their descendant daughters and sons, solidify our right and privilege to be called Americans.

About the Author:

Virginia Sanchez is an author, historian and genealogist.  She has published articles in cultural and genealogical journals, and family histories she has written are cataloged in libraries in Colorado, New Mexico, and Wyoming.  She worked for a Fortune 500 telecommunications
company for 20 years as a senior writer and has been researching her family genealogy for 15 years.  She received her Bachelor's degree in Music from the University of Wyoming and received a Master's degree in Technical Communication from the University of Colorado at Denver. She is a member of several genealogical and historical societies and she regularly presents her findings at their annual conferences. She serves as webmaster for the Colorado Society of Hispanic Genealogy. Her application to the DAR, which honors her eighth great-grandfather, New Mexico Colonial Patriot, Soldado de Cuera Antonio Xavier Madríd, was approved July 3, 2002.

Additional Information:

Any interested male descendant of a New Mexico Patriot can contact any of the following for additional information about the SAR: Charles Martinez y Vigil at granbelador@hotmail.com, the New Mexico Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, Box 525, Placitas, NM 87043; your local SAR chapter; or visit http://www.sar.org. Any interested female descendant of a New Mexico Patriot can contact Virginia Sánchez at virginia.sanchez@comcast.net; New Mexico DAR State Regent Mary Ann Thornton at mathornton@comcast.net; your local DAR chapter; or visit http://www.dar.org. Application and membership fees apply. Chapter membership is optional.

¹ Ralph E. Twitchell, Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Series 1, Roll III, Frame 116.

Every year Borderlands  features a theme, either a decade or another time frame, or a subject topic. The first theme was Food Folkways of the Border. We have produced two issues on Border Customs and other issues on the decades of the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, and the 1960s. The 1998 issue explored the 400-year history of El Paso as the city celebrated its Quadricentennial.  The last three issues have dealt with El Paso in the 1800s and have researched topics such as the coming of the railroad, gunfighters, prostitution, early schools, the influence of Catholicism, early pioneers, architecture, and many others.  The 2001-02 issue will feature articles on the Mexican Revolution and other topics relevant to the late 1800s to the 1920s

Student editors turn scholarly research papers into feature articles. Students may illustrate their papers with original or historical photos and/or original art. Over an academic year, editors produce 15-18 articles with illustrations that are printed in a tabloid-size project. Often, several papers are used for one article and all student authors share credit. Historical photos come from local library collections and the El Paso Historical Society. Students also take their own photos and are credited for use. In addition to appearing in the El Paso Times, Borderlands can be found at the El Paso Community College Northwest Campus Library. 

Copyright  2001-2004 Northwest Community Library
Contact Ruth Vise RuthV@epcc.edu  for reprints.   
 

BLACK

Black Mexicano

The Recollections of an Artist 
from Izalco, El Salvador

Mayan design based on the lid of a sarcophagus in Palenque, Mexico

http://www.mesoweb.com/palenque/features/sarcophagus/pakals_tomb.html

The Recollections of Arturo Campos
Artist from Izalco, El Salvador
by 
Jaime Cader  
jmcader@yahoo.com

SEPHARDIC

Sobrenomenomes Portugueses e Origem Judaica
http://www.lusaweb.com/comunidades/sobrn.htm

A presença judia na Península Ibérica é de remotíssima memória, já se referindo a ela o Concílio de Orleans, realizado no ano de 538, e o de Toledo, em 633. Por essa época, os judeus ostentavam nomes e sobrenomes hebraicos.

Mais tarde, com a ocupação mulçumana, a antroponímia judia também assimilou essa influência, aparecendo nomes de sonoridade árabe, ao lado dos puramente hebraicos e espanhóis.

Em 1492, os Reis Fernando e Isabel de Castela, conhecidos como Reis Católicos, decretaram a expulsão dos judeus da Espanha. Em razão disso, cerca de cento e vinte mil pessoas foram buscar refúgio em Portugal e, nessa mudança, levaram consigo sobrenomes árabes, hebraicos e espanhóis, além dos nomes de família representados por topônimos.

O crescimento da comunidade judaica em Portugal não agradou aos Reis Católicos, que passaram a exercer pressão política sobre o rei português no sentido de que este também expulsasse os semitas do território lusitano. Em 1496, D. Manuel I decretou a expulsão dos judeus de Portugal, oferecendo, contudo, a oportunidade de permanecerem no país, mediante conversão ao catolicismo. 

Essa conversão, através do batismo, exigia nomes cristãos e, via de regra, o converso assumia nome e sobrenome tipicamente portugueses. Muitos mantinham, reservadamente, seus nomes originais, pois grande parte das conversões eram apenas de fachada, preservando a fé na lei mosaica na intimidade da família.

Com o estabelecimento do Tribunal da Inquisição, em 1536, iniciou-se um caçada aos cristão-novos. A bem da verdade, o escopo do Santo Ofício era expungir da sociedade os "infectos de sangue" (árabes, negros, mulatos, judeus, ciganos, etc) e os de conduta reprovável (feiticeiros, adúlteros, sodômicos, etc). Ocorre que o comunidade judia era a de número mais significativo e sempre associada, pelo anti-semitismo popular, à imagem de assassinos de Cristo, passando, portanto, a sofrer maior perseguição.

Nas listas de processados pelo Santo Ofício, por serem judeus ou cristão-novos, encontram-se milhares de nomes e sobrenomes genuinamente portugueses, causando mesmo estranheza que nomes hebraicos raramente sejam mencionados.

Analisando essas listas, nota-se que qualquer sobrenome português poderá ter sido, em algum tempo ou lugar, usado por um judeu ou cristão-novo. Não escaparam ao uso sobrenomes bem cristãos, tais como "dos Santos", "de Jesus", "Santiago", etc. Certos sobrenomes, porém, aparecem com maior freqüência, tais como "Mendes", "Pinheiro", "Cardoso", "Paredes", "Costa", "Pereira", "Henriques", etc. O de maior incidência, no entanto, foi o "Rodrigues." 

Alguns documentos ainda mantêm registrados os nome originais dos judeus que, ao serem batizados, assumiram nomes tipicamente portugueses. Eis alguns exemplos:


Nome Original Judeu --> Nome Cristão Português 
Abraão ...? --> Gonçalo Dias 
Abraão Gatel --> Jerônimo Henriques 
Benyamim Beneviste --> Duarte Ramires de Leão 
Eliézer Toledano --> Manoel Toledano 
Isaac Catalan --> Rafael Dias 
Isaac Tunes --> Gabriel Velho 
Icer ...? --> Grácia Dias 
Luna Abravanel --> Leonor Fernandes 
Salomão aben Haim --> Luís Álvares 
Salomão Coleiria --> Gonçalo Rodrigues 
Salomão Molcho --> Diogo Pires 
Samuel Samaia --> Pero Francisco 
Santo Fidalgo --> Diogo Pires 
...? Arame --> Francisco Martins 
...? Cabanas --> Estevam Godinho 
...? Cohen --> Luis Mendes Caldeirão 
...? Gatel --> Francisco Pires


Costuma-se dizer que os judeus tomavam como sobrenomes nomes de árvores e animais. Mas, a bem da verdade, esses sobrenomes já apareciam na antroponímia portuguesa desde que se tornou usual a adoção de um nome de família, não sendo, portanto, de ocorrência exclusiva entre os hebreus.O Brasil Colonial recebeu um grande contigente de imigrantes portugueses. Estima-se que durante o ciclo do ouro cerca de 800 mil pessoas fixaram-se em nosso país. Entre esses adventícios, certamente, vieram os cristãos-novos. Nas listas dos Autos-de-fé da Inquisição, mencionam-se centenas de processados nascidos no Brasil ou aqui radicados. Contudo, identificar algum deles em pesquisas genealógicas não constitui tarefa fácil.

Muitos judeus modernos, descendentes dos expulsos da Espanha e Portugal, que hoje vivem principalmente na Holanda, Itália, E.U.A. e Israel, preservam seus sobrenomes portugueses, às vezes com grafia já deturpada.

Em resumo, em termos genealógicos, a incidência de determinado sobrenome português, que tenha sido de freqüente uso entre judeus, por si só não autoriza dizer que determinada família seja de origem judaica ou cristã-nova. Por outro lado, nem os sobrenomes tipicamente cristãos garantem que a família seja, usando a terminologia da época, cristã-velha.

TEXAS 

Juan Francisco Farías, 
Great-Grandson 
of  Captain Tomas Sanchez 

CAPTAIN 
TOMAS SANCHEZ

Founder, Alcalde 
and Chief Justice 
of  Laredo, Texas

Laredo, Texas was founded on May 15, 1755, twenty one years before the signing of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. 

Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera on that day arrived with three other families to establish a town under permission granted by Northern New Spain colonizer José de Escandón who named the new settlement after Laredo, Spain, a town close to his home located on the Bay of Biscay.

According to New Mexico historian José Antonio Esquibel, Sánchez was a descendant of Francisco Sánchez de la Barrera born in 1603 in the town of Lepe, in the Andalusian province of Huelva, Spain, during the reign of Philip III. Francisco’s Parents were Juan Sánchez de Ortega and Juana María Márquez de la Barrera. Francisco came to Nuevo León in New Spain in 1626 as a soldier in the company of Governor don Martín de Zavala, and served as notary of the town council in the city of Monterrey in 1632 where he permanently established his family in the New World.

Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera was born at Valle de Carrizal ( Ciénega de Flores) in Nuevo León in 1709 and baptized on July 4^th of that year. His parents were Tomás Sr. and María Josefa de la Garza. His mother’s line is a distinguished one noted by Nuevo Laredo, Mexico genealogist Rodolfo González de la Garza as being from la linea de los reyes ( A royal line). María Josefa was descended from Catalina de Salazar from her first marriage to Ruy Díaz de Mendoza. The Mendozas, one of Spain’s wealthiest and most powerful families, were descendants of King Alfonso X "The Wise" whose father was King Ferdinand, later canonized by the Catholic Church as San Fernando. Catalina’s second marriage was notable. She married Cristobal de Oñate, one of the founders of Zacatecas, at that time perhaps the richest man in New Spain. Their son, Juan de Oñate, became the colonizer of New Mexico.

Tomás Sánchez first served in the frontier military forces of Spain and later managed a large ranch in Coahuila. He was known to be a pragmatist who handled current affairs in a fair and capable manner. He had a vision for the future, was aggressive in his relationships, and did not shrink from responsibilities that required decisive action. He apparently had a knack for dealing with Indians, as did Escandón, especially with the Lipan Apaches. Laredo historian Jerry D. Thompson mentions an interview with doña Encarnación García, wife of Bacilio Benavides, wherein she described Sánchez as a man of fair complexion with blue eyes and blond hair. He was known to be "fond of his toddy and of the ladies." Herbert Eugene Bolton, the father of borderlands history, depicted Sánchez as a "veritable medieval lord."

Sánchez first married Catarina de Uribe in 1729 produced as many as 12 children. When Catarina died he married Teodora Yzaguirre and they had a boy Tomás and a girl, Andrea. In 1768 Sánchez gave up the office of Chief Justice to José Martínez de Sotomayor. From all indications Sánchez had governed well and breathed life into an area referred to by historian Thompson as "a Wild and Vivid Land."

While efforts were underway by the British colonists in America to free themselves from their mother country in an unprecedented experiment in democracy, Captain Sánchez and other pioneers like him were developing agricultural, mining, and livestock industries that would later merge with westward moving Americans to form the new culture of the American West.

PEDIGREE OF GEORGE FARÍAS
From the 
Tomás Sánchez line

1. Tomás Sánchez de la Barrera married (February 11, 1729) Catarina de Uribe.

2. Their son Santiago de Jesús Sánchez married (September 30, 1776) Maria Santos González.

3. Their daughter Guadalupe Sánchez married ( November 30, 1803) José Andres Farías, a member of the Third Flying Cavalry Company of New Santander.

4. Their son Juan Francisco Farías, mayor of Laredo in 1861 and secretary of the Republic of the Rio Grande, married (June 15, 1832) Inocente Benavides.

5. Their son Francisco Farías, rancher, county commissioner, and first chairman of Laredo’s school board, married ( September 27, 1862) Francisca Benavides.

6. Their son Cristobal Farías married Marcelina Fernández.

7. Their son Anastacio Farías married (June 12, 1937) Isidra Martínez.

8. Their eldest son is George Farías, San Antonio, Texas.

Juan Francisco Farías, great-grandson of Tomas Sanchez, was mayor of Laredo and secretary of the Republic of the Rio Grande.   Juan Francisco was a friend, neighbor and business associate of Evaristo Madero, the grandfather of Francisco Madero, the president of Mexico. Juan Francisco's youngest daughter Manuelita, became Evaristo's second wife after his first wife died. They married at San Agustin Church in Laredo on January 1, 1872.  

Colonel Santos Benavides
         and wife Augustina Villarreal          

Fabian Pedro Farías,
 son of Francisco Farías 
and Francisca Benavides

Laredo, Texas Police Department, Cristobal Farías is in the middle in plainclothes.
January, 1923 

Thomas, Michael, George Jr., George, Mary Helen (Lozano), Diane, Cynthia, and Richard 

George Farías is the owner of Borderlands Books in San Antonio.
Photos courtesy of Hector Farías, Jr. as found in  
He is also the author of the book (c) 1995
The Farías Chronicles, 
A History and Genealogy of a Portuguese/Spanish Family

Borderlands Bookstore 
gfarias@borderlandsbooks.com
6307 Wurzbach Rd (at Evers Rd)
San Antonio, Texas, 78240
http://www.borderlandsbooks.com/

Family Surnames found in the Ancestry of George Farías  

Father: 

Mother:  

Pedigree Information by a Descendants 
of  Tejano Cattle Rancher, Felix Gutierrez

Sylvia Jean de Jesus Garcia
Sent by Robert Garcia  rgarciajr2@satx.rr.com

Robert writes, "My wife, Sylvia Jean de Jesus Garcia is one of the many descendants of  Felix Gutierrez, a Tejano cattle rancher. You published her article First Settlers of Villa de Bejar in 1718." In the June issue of 2003, http://www.somosprimos.com/sp2003/spjun03.htm , Sylvia wrote:   

"Our family has inherited the legacy of being descendants of one of the very first settlers (Francisco Hernandez) of our City of San Antonio .  In subsequent generations, each of our ancestors had a difficult and trying life.  Living and soldiering in San Antonio in the 1700s’ during the period of aggressive Comanche and Apache reparations; living in San Antonio and actively participating in the 1800s’ during the period of Mexico’s fight for independence from Spain, Texas’s fight for Independence from Mexico and then Texas’s fight during the Civil War.  We have much to be proud of and there is still much to learn about our ancestors."

Felix Gutierrez m. Barbara Torres  (d. 11/03/1823)
↓
Josefa Gutierrez m. Santiago Diaz  (b. 1780) (b. 1777, d. 08/30/1828)
↓
Julian Diaz m. Eulogia Fernandez  (b. 1808)
↓
Leonides Diaz m. Mariano Trevino  (b. 1841) b. 11/12/1829)
↓
Leonides Trebino m. Jose Felix Casanova  (b. 1860, d. 01/16/1928) b. 05/13/1842, d. 08/19/1917)
↓
Mariano Casanova m. Virginia Chavez Charles  (b. 10/10/1886, d. 02/11/1969) (b. 01/23/1887, d. 11/10/1950)
↓
Virginia C. Casanova m. Benjamin de Jesus (b. 11/27/1912, d. 04/22/1973) (b. 02/14/1915, d. 12/10/1996)
↓
Sylvia Jean de Jesus Garcia (b. 11/23/1948)

"People without history have no future. But our future together is outstanding because we already know and appreciate each other," Vallejo said. 

A Mass celebrating the 273rd anniversary of the arrival of the Canary Islanders will be held at San Fernando Cathedral at 10 a.m. today.  After the Mass, descendants of the city's founders will re-enact the establishment of Villa San Fernando to commemorate the anniversary. 

Saturday's symposium was presented by the university, the Friends of the Canary Islands Foundation, the Government of the Canary Islands Foundation, and the UTSA Department of History. 

De León, A Tejano Family History 
by Ana Carolina Castillo Crimm
University of Texas Press, 
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, Texas 78713-7819

Ana Carolina Castillo Crimm is Associate Professor of History at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.  she is known throughout Texas for her presentations on borderland issues and her writing on the Wild Horse Desert, "Bones" Hooks, and Martin and Patricia de León.

Vaquero, Genesis of the Texas Cowboy 
http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/books/witvaq.html
By Bill Wittliff, Introduction by John Graves
Sent by George Gause ggause@panam.edu

"It would almost certainly be impossible to find such a group of traditional vaqueros [now] . . . doing their beautiful, strenuous work with horses and cattle in the old, old ways. But at least they can be found here, in Billy's lovely and meaningful photographs. We are most fortunate to have them."

-John Graves, from the Introduction

In the early 1970s, noted Texas historian Joe Frantz offered Bill Wittliff a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity-to visit a ranch in northern Mexico where the vaqueros still worked cattle in the traditional ways. Drawn to this land-out-of-time again and again, Wittliff photographed the vaqueros as they went about daily chores that had changed little since the first Mexican cowherders learned to work cattle from a horse's back. In the tradition of the great cowboy photographer Erwin Smith, Wittliff captured a way of life that now exists only in memory and in the pages of this book. Here you'll find photographs that reveal the muscle, sweat, and drama that went into roping a calf in thick brush or breaking a wild horse to the saddle. Wittliff's evocative text recalls the humility and pride of men who knew their place in the world and filled it with quiet competence. John Graves brings his own memories of the vaqueros to the text, writing about the kinship between the vaquero and the cowboy and about how "the old, old ways," which Wittliff preserves in these "lovely and meaningful photographs," still tug at the modern imagination.

12 1/4 x 8 1/4 in. 176 pp., ca. 100 color photos ISBN 0-292-70557-3 $39.95, hardcover

The Serna Family Tree website:  http://louisserna.com/worldhistory.html
Sent by John Inclan fromgalveston@yahoo.com 

Texas Marriage Records and Certificates 
http://www.vitalsearch-ca.com/gen/tx/tx_/txmarrim-go.htm

Links to: 
Texas State: Heritage Quest, 1870s Federal Census
Texas State: Marriage Index 1851-1900
Texas State: Heritage Quest, 1910 U.S. 

The Texas Marriages database is comprised of over 6 million groom/bride entries from 1967-2002 displayed in straight text form (using robust-SQL). First time viewers should visit the About This Database section below before continuing.  You will need a free GuestPass


Submit Your Ancestor's Marriage . . . . Make the Hispanic presence known.
http://texas.i-found-it.net/bexarmarriages.html#AROURR

INDEX:
~ AROCHA, Captain Don Simon Francisco de
~ BOWIE, Colonel James
~ CLARK, Washington
~ DASHIELL, Lucy
~ HERBERT, Kessler O.
~ JOHNSON, Angelina
~ LOCKWOOD, William
~ LOGWOOD, Elizabeth (Lizzie)
~ SMITH, Henry C.
~ SYBIL, Kelley J.
~ TRILLO, Don Pedro Mariano Ocon y
~ URRUTIA, Dona Juana de
~ URRUTIA, Dona Maria Ignacia de
~ VERAMENDI, Dona Maria Ursula Fructuosa

New Book: Marriages 1854 to 1916 of the Graytown Churches: 
La Capilla de Santiago (1854-1877) and Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (1877-1916)
Located at Graytown (present-day Wilson County, TX). 
By Doris Fischer & Larry Kirkpatrick. 

This book has 1118 extracted and translated marriage entries with all the information in the original record except for dispensations. The entries usually give the names of the parents and witnesses. The entry sometimes gives ages and places of birth of the individuals getting married. The book has a bride and groom index. The book contains an historical description of Graytown, the church, and the surrounding area. Many descendants of Canary Islanders settled in this area. 

Paperbound, illustrated, 250 pages including index. $30.00 $ 2.25
Mail your order for this book to: Los Bexarenos, Post Office Box 1935, San Antonio, TX 78297 For questions or faster service, send your e-mail to elindio2@hotmail.com

Volunteers from UNIMOS, an online interactive exhibit of West side families, look through photos from the past at the Benavides Learning Center on the West Side. A new project chronicles the history of the community beginning in the 1920s through modern times.

Photo from article Searching for Lost History in San Antonio Express News,  Oct 15, 2003

With its Internet debut on December 1, 2003, UNIMOS is functioning as an on-line, interactive collection of photographs uniting the families of San Antonio’s Westside neighborhoods. Based on the fact that bricks and mortar projects consume vital community dollars and time, this virtual exhibit allows for greater audience participation for contributing materials and developing content that can be update as acquired.

This project is funded and supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the University of Texas-San Antonio, The URBAN-15 Group, the Youth Opportunities Program of the City of San Antonio’s Department of Community Initiatives, Alamo Community College District and private funds.

The UNIMOS-SA Project is fully operational. Over 2,700 images have been acquired and reside on the server. These images were obtained from the participating seniors with the help of volunteers and students from Fox Tech High School, Lanier High School and San Antonio College. The City of San Antonio’s Community Initiatives Program has been helpful by allowing the UNIMOS-SA teams to work in the Senior Nutrition Centers. Over eighty individuals from these nutrition centers have provided family images. The centers include: The Madonna Center, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Holy Family and Christ the King Nutrition Programs. In addition, social services providers such as the Guadalupe Community Center and the Edgewood Family Network have hosted scanning events to include their members.

Over the next six months, the UNIMOS-SA Project will continue to develop its eMuseum site to reach its goal of 6,000 images. The text descriptions of these images are being collected and edited. The next level of content will be the oral histories and video interviews that are being recorded. Much attention is being directed toward extended family members to help archive and identify pictures.

For more information, contact UNIMOS at 210-533-2912 or contact@vutureart.com.
Vuture Arts P.O.Box 906 San Antonio, TX 78294  cisneros@dcci.com

EAST OF THE MISSISSIPPI

MEXICO

MILAGRO 
EN LA HACIENDA DE NUESTRA SEÑORA DE MOYA EN 1673  
       
Manuel Robles de la Torre 
key9west@yahoo.com

MIRACLE

At the Hacienda of Captain Juan Arias de Baldez on the eighth day of the month of July of 1673 years, having arrived at the aforesaid Hacienda of Our Lady the Most Holy Virgin of Moya in the parish of Los Lagos, the following miracle occurred.

A team of horses suddenly came about, that itself a mystery, and ahead of them they ran down and caught up a young boy of about seven to eight years of age, and after a great distance, he was hurled to the ground. 

And because of the extremely great blow, the boy was lifeless and bleeding profusely from the mouth, nose and ears and was dead from all indications. Well then, many persons that were present, certified that he was without any pulse. 

Inconsolable, his parents, carried him before the Most Holy Image of Our Lady of Moya without any hope for his life and only offered him up, sobbing with fatherly and motherly tears. 

And there, after a great while, the boy regained consciousness opening his eyes, and he is, to this day, alive in this town of Tacotlan, and for the record for all to see, I signed it, and it was signed by some of the persons who know how to write. (Br.) Joseph de Sevilla.

CONCLUSION 

Looking for additional information on the Hacienda of Our Lady the Most Holy Virgin of Moya, I came across a website for the city government of Lagos de Moreno where they describe an indigenous town named El Pueblo Tlaxcalteca de Nuestra Señora de Moya.

It says, that in the XVII century, an indigenous group of Tlaxcaltecas traveled from Apaseo to the hacienda Santa Cruz de Moya (Holy Cross of Moya), where they worked as day laborers, bringing with them an ancient image of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception which they placed in the chapel of the hacienda Santa Cruz de Moya. Presently, that image is venerated in a sanctuary that was built in the nineteenth century in the the town of Moya.

The main altar of the sanctuary has, at its center, a wooden niche with a crystal cover where is kept a small and devout image of Our Lady and it is one of the most ancient Marian images conserved in the city of Lagos de Moreno.

This miraculous image measures 50 cm tall and the virgin is standing and represents the Immaculate Conception. As an exception, the image has legs and bare feet with silver sandals. The arms are movable, made of linen as all ancient images. The face is oval shaped and imperfect and the eyes are made of glass.

According to the description, it appears to be the same image, in front of which the inconsolable father and mother of the boy, sobbing with tears in their eyes and without any hope for his life, offered him up on that tragic day July 8, 1673 at the hacienda of Captain Juan Arias de Valdes more than 330 years ago.

Of the feasts that are celebrated annually, one is traditionally celebrated on the 8th of December, feast of the Immaculate Conception. However, ANOTHER feast is celebrated on the 8th of June where the townspeople implore of Our Lady a good rainy season for their crops.

Could it be that the annual feast celebrated on June 8 could have started in commemoration of the miracle that occurred on July 8, 1673? 

Note: Mexican states do not have official flags, in fact some state constitutions forbid the adoption of flags. The unofficial local flags that do exist are mainly used for tourism purposes.

Aguascalientes:  23 May 1835, State of Aguascalientes, previously part of Zacatecas.

Governors for Aguascalientes

"Los mitos de la Historia de España" de Fernando García CortázarPortal de Historia  http://www.portaldehistoria.com
Sent by Armando Montes AMontes@mail.com

Features reviews of new books and Diccionario de Historia en Linea "Miles de definiciones

Por Lic. Leonardo de la Torre y Berumen

Al paso de los años me he dado a la tarea de paleografíar los dos más antiguos libros de partidas de matrimonio existentes en el Archivo de la parroquia La Inmaculada de Jerez, Zac. Y ahora presentó la primera de varias partes que he realizado, abarcando los años de 1731 a 1732, esperando sirva de algo esto que en mi tiempo libre he capturado para ti.... 


                                                                  1731

ESTEBAN BERMUDEZ, español, originario de la jurisdicción de Jerez, hijo legítimo de Pedro Bermúdez, difunto y de Antonia González. Casado y velado por el Bachiller Salvador de la Vega en Jerez el 1 de agosto de 1731 con Simona Tadea, española, originaria de la jurisdicción de Jerez, hija legítima de Francisco de Ayala y de Teresa Carrillo. Padrinos: José Guerrero y María Bermúdez. Testigos: Juan Medrano y Pedro Medrano. Foja: 2.

JOSE DORADO, mestizo, originario de la jurisdicción de Jerez, hijo legítimo de Nicolás Dorado y de Inés Fernández. Casado y velado por el Bachiller Juan Antonio de Aldrete en Jerez el 4 de septiembre de 1731 con María Josefa Morquecho, española, originaria de la villa de Aguascalientes y residente desde hace 4 meses en la villa de Jerez, hija legítima de don Vicente Morquecho y de María de San Juan, difunta. Padrinos: Ignacio Cayetano y Antonia Jerónima. Testigos: Juan Medrano y Pedro Medrano. Foja: 2 vuelta.

ANTONIO FERRER GARAY, mestizo, originario y vecino de la jurisdicción de Jerez, hijo legítimo de Pedro Garay y de María de Valenzuela. Casado y velado por Juan Antonio de Alderete en Jerez el 6 de septiembre de 1731 con María Magdalena, mulata libre, originaria de la hacienda de Buenavista, hija legítima de Nicolás Alvarez y de Ana de Santiago. Padrinos: Antonio Garay y María Efigenia. Testigos: Pedro de Medrano y Juan de Medrano. Foja: 2 vuelta.

VALENTIN DE SANTIAGO, indio, originario del Barrio de San Miguel, hijo legítimo de Baltazar de los Reyes y de Inés de San Diego. Casado y velado por el Bachiller Juan Antonio de Aldrete en Jerez el 25 de septiembre de 1731 con María Teresa Gómez, mestiza, originaria de la jurisdicción de Jerez, hija legítima de Miguel Gómez y de Juana Rosales. Padrinos: Alonso Romero y Dominga Rodríguez. Testigos: Juan Medrano y Pedro Medrano. Foja: 2 vuelta.

JOSE ISIDORO, originario y vecino de la villa de Jerez, hijo natural de María de la Rosa. Casado y velado en Jerez el 8 de octubre de 1731 con Ignacia Susana Tello de Orozco, española, originaria y vecina de la villa de Jerez, hija legítima de Juan Bautista Tello de Orozco y de María Pasillas. Padrinos: Juan de Acuña y doña Isabel Sánchez Castellanos. Testigos: Bernardo Carrillo y Juan de la Vega. Foja: 3.

JOSE FELIX, español, vecino de la villa de jerez, hijo legítimo de José Félix y de María Clemencia Cordero, difunta. Casado y velado por Juan Antonio de Aldrete en Jerez el 22 de octubre de 1731 con Felipa Neri Pérez de Saucedo, mestiza, originaria de la villa de Jerez, hija legítima de José Pérez y de María de la Rosa y Casas. Padrinos: Pedro Carlos de Godoy y Juana Pérez. Testigos: don Alonso Mateo Ruíz y José Valdés. Foja: 4.

EUGENIO SANCHEZ, español, originario del puesto de Jimulco, hijo natural de María de Olague. Casado y velado por Juan Antonio de Aldrete en Jerez el 11 de noviembre de 1731 con Ana de Santiago Sánchez, española, originaria de la villa de Jerez y vecina del puesto de Jimulco, hija legítima de Simón Sánchez y de Catalina Espinola, difuntos. Padrinos: Juan José y María Pinedo. Testigos: José Carlos de Godoy, Diego de Medrano y Juan de Medrano. Foja: 4.

JOSE MANUEL GONZALEZ, español, originario del Real y Minas de Sombrerete y residente desde hace 8 años en la ciudad de Zacatecas, hijo legítimo de Antonio González, difunto y de María de la Rosa Bernal. Casado y velado por el Bachiller Salvador de la Vega en Jerez el 15 de noviembre de 1731 con María Florencia Vázquez, española, origianria y vecina de la villa de Jerez, hija legítima de Baltazar Vázquez, difunto y de Sebastiana Flores. Padrinos: Nicolás Lujan y María de Medina. Testigos: Juan de Medrano y don Alonso Ruíz. Foja: 4 vuelta.

GABRIEL DEL RIO, español, originario y vecino de la jurisdicción de Jerez, hijo natural de Miguel del Río. Casado y velado por Salvador de la Vega en Jerez el 29 de noviembre de 1731 con Josefa Gallegos, española, originaria del puesto del Niño Jesús, hija legítima de Cristóbal Gallegos y de María Gómez, difuntos. Padrinos: Juan Cayetano Barajas y Pascuala de San Juan. Testigos: Juan de Medrano y Pedro de Medrano. Foja: 5.

                                      1732

JUAN DE MEDRANO y CLEMENTE DE NAVA testigos de matrimonio en Jerez el 3 de enero de 1732. Foja: 5 vuelta.

EXTRACTOS DEL PRIMER LIBRO DE MATRIMONIOS DE ESPAÑOLES 
DE LA PARROQUIA DEL SAGRARIO DE PÁTZCUARO, MICHOACÁN.

Primera parte.


Lic. Guillermo Padilla Origel

CARIBBEAN/CUBA

Latin Beat Magazine, in association with the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration Office of California is hosting a Latin Jazz Symposium for four days between Puerto Rico and the United States in April 2004, which will include seminars, live music, and an art exhibit.

The main purpose of the event is to analyze and discuss the current state of Latin jazz music in Puerto Rico and in the United States and the future outlook of the genre. The event is scheduled to take place in two of the Western Hemisphere’s leading educational institutions; Universidad del Sagrado Corazon in Santurce, Puerto Rico, and California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). 

April 13 & 14, 2004 at Universidad del Sagrado Corazon in Santurce, Puerto Rico. 
The event, hosted by Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, will open with a multi-media art exhibit on April 13, curated by Yvette Mangual, art director of Latin Beat Magazine. The same afternoon, the conference segment of the event will take place, headed by a panel of music historians, musicologists, music professors, musicians and journalists. Confirmed speakers include historian/musicologist/author Cristobal Díaz Ayala; Sacred Heart University professor/author/radio DJ Elmer González; Latin jazz bandleader/trumpeter Humberto Ramírez, and Latin Beat Magazine publisher/editor/musician Rudolph Mangual. The following day, April 14, 2004, a concert/jam session will take place under the musical direction of Humberto Ramírez and an all-star ensemble of local musicians as well as guest musicians from the United States. 

April 19 & 20, 2004 at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB)
The event at CSULB is hosted by the Department of Chicano and Latino Studies and will open with a multi-media art exhibit on April 19, 2004, curated by Yvette Mangual co-publisher/art director of Latin Beat Magazine, followed by the conference segment of the event that same afternoon. Confirmed speakers for the conference are University of California at Irvine (professor and curator of the Smithsonian traveling Latin Jazz exhibition, "La Combinación Perfecta") Raúl Fernández; University of Northridge music professor/bandleader Danilo Lozano; actor/poet/writer

Ismael Carlo; Grammy nominee/bandleader/educator John Santos; bandleader/musical director Oscar Cartaya; radio DJ/bandleader/educator José Rizo; writer/music analyst/promoter Nelson Rodríguez, and writer/music analyst Luis Tamargo. The following day, April 20, 2004 a concert/jam session will conclude the event at the same location.

Musical director Oscar Cartaya will lead an all-star ensemble of local and international musicians with guest musicians from Puerto Rico. The events in each city will be free of charge and open to the general public. All ages welcome.

The Latin Jazz multimedia art exhibit will include photographs, paintings and sculptures in both cities. For consideration, call Yvette Mangual at (310) 516-6767 or e-mail samples to Yvette@latinbeatmagazine.com. Sponsorship opportunities for both events are still available. For more information call Rudy Mangual at (310) 516-6767 or e-mail to Rudy@latinbeatmagazine.com.

INTERNATIONAL 

Genealogia familia   http://www.gomezrobledoydelbarrio.com
Carolina G. Tomkinson Ctomkinson42@aol.com
 

GOMEZ ROBLEDO

COIMBRA, PORTUGAL - MAQUEDA - TOLEDO, ESPANA
CANDIA, GRECIA, SEVILLA - CIUDAD DE MEXICO - REINADO DEL NUEVA MEXICO

DEL BARRIO

OVIEDO, LLANES Y LA BORBOLLA REINADO DE ASTURIAS - REINADO DE LEON - NUEVAS FILIPINAS - PASSO DEL RIO DEL NORTE - VILLA DE SAN FELIPE DEL REAL, - SAN FRANCISCO JAVIER DE SATEVO - CHIHUAHUA, CHIHUAHUA., MEXICO.

HISTORY

Moses and Ten Commandments, 
U.S. Supreme Court facade, 
Sent by Odell Harwell hiridr@sbcglobal.net 

Copy of Carving of Ten Commandments on doors of the U.S. Supreme Court

Patrick Henry, that patriot and Founding Father of our country said, "It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religions but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." 

***************************************************** 
Every session of Congress begins with a prayer by a paid preacher, whose salary has been paid by the taxpayer since 1777. 

***************************************************** 
Fifty-two of the 55 founders of the Constitution were members of the established orthodox churches in the colonies. 

***************************************************** 
Thomas Jefferson worried that the Courts would overstep their authority and instead of interpreting the law, would begin making law ... an oligarchy--- THE RULE OF FEW OVER MANY. 

****************************************************** 
The very first Supreme Court Justice, John Jay, said: "Americans should select AND prefer Christians as their rulers." 

Sent by Bill Carmena  JCarm1724@aol.com

FAMILY HISTORY

Searching for Cemetery Records  

by Salena Ashton
shhardatabase@yahoo.com

There Are Many Ways To get In Touch With Us.  You probably have some questions about your ancestors, surnames, or perhaps a question or two about geography, history or some other related topic.  We've made this easy for you by establishing the Hispanic Genealogy Forum.  This is an online community of genealogists, historians, beginners, intermediate and advanced researchers.   All sharing information and helping one another to find our Hispanic ancestors.

Membership is FREE It costs nothing to join our online community and everyone is welcome.  You should be able to get most of your questions answered there or get leads to where the answers can be found.  The Hispanic Genealogy Forum now has its own newsletter.  Read Enlaces, the new tool for Hispanic Genealogy researchers

ARCHAEOLOGY

Inca graves are often found by accident during building work. He said Puruchuco-Huaquerones was the largest Inca cemetery in Peru and the largest excavated cemetery in the Western Hemisphere. But observers say the new find is a rare piece of luck for archaeologists. "The important thing about this discovery is that it is intact," Mr Cock said, pointing out that the area showed evidence of funereal rituals such as corn, beans, coca leaves and pots.

Lima plans to move the find to a museum before pressing ahead with work on a busy new highway. Another archaeologist, Federico Kauffmann, suggested it would be better to dig a road tunnel instead, given the site's importance.

MISCELLANEOUS

Inspirational Flash Movies  http://www.inspiringthots.net/index.htm

[[Editor's note: This website was sent to me by Armando Montes. There is listing of brief, uplifting flash movies based on Bible verses. It is lovely. I encourage you to go to it and spend a few moments reflecting on the good in your life.]]

Purpose: InspiringThots.com is to remind and energize people of the timeless truths of living; to encourage and support them; their family and friends with Inspirational Flash movies. That they may use these Flash movies to discover their compass of life and find happiness. That they may spread this joy around, everyone in a small way to make our world a better one. To this end, I hope to produce hundreds, even thousands of Inspiring Flash movies to meet the needs of people in any circumstance or situation, and deploy my NaviMapTM technology to fulfill this mission.

English "transliterations"
Sent by Carlos Villanueva latino-business@yahoogroups.com
Source: Eric Rojo

English language signs throughout the world
(collected by Foreign Service
people):

Cocktail lounge, Norway :
LADIES ARE REQUESTED NOT TO HAVE CHILDREN IN THE BAR.

At the Budapest Zoo :
PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE ANIMALS. IF YOU HAVE ANY SUITABLE FOOD, GIVE IT TO THE GUARD ON DUTY.

Doctors office, Rome :
SPECIALIST IN WOMEN AND OTHER DISEASES

Hotel, Acapulco :
THE MANAGER HAS PERSONALLY PASSED ALL THE WATER SERVED HERE.

Information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner, Japan :
COOLES AND HEATES : IF YOU WANT CONDITION OF WARM AIR IN YOUR ROOM, PLEASE CONTROL YOURSELF

Car rental brochure, Tokyo :
WHEN PASSENGER OF FOOT HEAVE IN SIGHT, TOOTLE THE HORN. TRUMPET HIM MELODIOUSLY AT FIRST, BUT IF HE STILL OBSTACLES YOUR PASSAGE THEN
TOOTLE HIM WITH VIGOUR.

Sign in men's rest room in Japan :
TO STOP LEAK TURN COCK TO THE RIGHT

In a Nairobi restaurant :
CUSTOMERS WHO FIND OUR WAITRESSES RUDE OUGHT TO SEE THE MANAGER.

On the grounds of a private school :
NO TRESPASSING WITHOUT PERMISSION.

O n a highway, Canada:
TAKE NOTICE : WHEN THIS SIGN IS UNDER WATER, THIS ROAD IS IMPASSABLE.

On a poster at Kencom :
ARE YOU AN ADULT THAT CANNOT READ? IF SO, WE CAN HELP.

In a City restaurant :
OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, AND WEEKENDS TOO.

On a mental institution building :
MENTAL HEALTH PREVENTION CENTE.

A sign seen on an automatic restroom hand dryer :
DO NOT ACTIVATE WITH WET HANDS

In a maternity ward :
NO CHILDREN ALLOWED

In a cemetery :
PERSONS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PICKING FLOWERS FROM ANY BUT THEIR OWN GRAVES.

Tokyo hotel's rules and regulations :
GUESTS ARE REQUESTED NOT TO SMOKE OR DO OTHER DISGUSTING BEHAVIOURS IN BED.

On the menu of a Swiss restaurant :
OUR WINES LEAVE YOU NOTHING TO HOPE FOR.

In a Tokyo bar :
SPECIAL COCKTAILS FOR THE LADIES WITH NUTS.

In a Bangkok temple :
IT IS FORBIDDEN TO ENTER A WOMAN EVEN A FOREIGNER IF DRESSED AS A MAN.

Hotel room notice, Chiang-Mai, Thailand :
PLEASE DO NOT BRING SOLICITORS INTO YOUR ROOM.

Hotel brochure, Italy :
THIS HOTEL IS RENOWNED FOR ITS PEACE AND SOLITUDE. IN FACT, CROWDS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD FLOCK HERE TO ENJOY ITS SOLITUDE.

Hotel lobby, Bucharest :
THE LIFT IS BEING FIXED FOR THE NEXT DAY. DURING THAT TIME WE REGRET THAT YOU WILL BE UNBEARABLE.

Hotel elevator, Paris :
PLEASE LEAVE YOUR VALUES AT THE FRONT DESK.

Hotel, Yugoslavia :
THE FLATTENING OF UNDERWEAR WITH PLEASURE IS THE JOB OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

Hotel, Japan :
YOU ARE INVITED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHAMBERMAID.

In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery :
YOU ARE WELCOME TO VISIT THE CEMETERY WHERE FAMOUS RUSSIAN AND SOVIET COMPOSERS, ARTISTS, AND WRITERS ARE BURIED DAILY EXCEPT THURSDAY.

Hotel catering to skiers, Austria :
NOT TO PERAMBULATE THE CORRIDORS IN THE HOURS OF REPOSE IN THE BOOTS OF ASCENSION.

Supermarket, Hong Kong :
FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE, WE RECOMMEND COURTEOUS, EFFICIENT SELF-SERVICE

From the "Soviet Weekly" :
THERE WILL BE A MOSCOW EXHIBITION OF ARTS BY 15,000 SOVIET REPUBLIC
PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS. THESE WERE EXECUTED OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.

In an East African newspaper :
A NEW SWIMMING POOL IS RAPIDLY TAKING SHAPE SINCE THE CONTRACTORS HAVE THROWN IN THE BULK OF THEIR WORKERS.

Hotel, Vienna :
IN CASE OF FIRE, DO YOUR UTMOST TO ALARM THE HOTEL PORTER.

A sign posted in Germany's Black Forest :
IT IS STRICTLY FORBIDDEN ON OUR BLACK FOREST CAMPING SITE THAT PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT SEX, FOR INSTANCE, MEN AND WOMEN, LIVE TOGETHER IN ONE TENT UNLESS THEY ARE MARRIED WITH EACH OTHER FOR THIS PURPOSE.

Hotel, Zurich :
BECAUSE OF THE IMPROPRIETY OF ENTERTAINING GUESTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN THE BEDROOM, IT IS SUGGESTED THAT THE LOBBY BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.

An advertisement by a Hong Kong dentist :
TEETH EXTRACTED BY THE LATEST METHODISTS.

A laundry in Rome :
LADIES, LEAVE YOUR CLOTHES HERE AND SPEND THE AFTERNOON HAVING A GOOD TIME.

Tourist agency, Czechoslovakia :
TAKE ONE OF OUR HORSE-DRIVEN CITY TOURS. WE GUARANTEE NO MISCARRIAGES.

Advertisement for donkey rides, Thailand :
WOULD YOU LIKE TO RIDE ON YOUR OWN ASS?

The box of a clockwork toy made in Hong Kong :
GUARANTEED TO WORK THROUGHOUT ITS USEFUL LIFE.

In a Swiss mountain inn :
SPECIAL TODAY - NO ICE-CREAM.

Airline ticket office, Copenhagen :
WE TAKE YOUR BAGS AND SEND THEM IN ALL DIRECTIONS.

On the door of a Moscow hotel room :
IF THIS IS YOUR FIRST VISIT TO THE USSR, YOU ARE WELCOME TO IT