Padilla, Trinidad
Part 1 of 2 was recorded in Tucson, Arizona on March 25th, 2019 and covers the following themes:
b. 1924.
Childhood in Gilbert, Arizona. Death of parents in 1936 and 1938. Life in Gilbert.
Move to aunt and uncle’s ranch in Sasco, AZ. Town and ranch description life. Ghost town ghost stories.
Dairies near Red Rock, AZ. Growing feed, milking, working hours.
Santa Cruz flooding and commuting to school in Red Rock. Taking a car on derelict mining rail lines.
Red Rock agriculture.
Rural schooling until 7th grade.
Going to California to work in agriculture in the early 1940s. Working in a factory underage.
Enlisting in Army in 1942.
Service as a combat engineer building airfields in New Guinea. Jungle, combat, disease.
The invasion of Luzon as member of demolition unit. Mine sweeping, blowing up railroad bridges, clearing caves and pillboxes. Running into brother.
Serving with occupation forces in Japan after the war.
Return to United States and demobilization.
Part 2 of 2 was recorded in Tucson, Arizona on April 2nd, 2019 and covers the following themes:
More stories about ranch life near Sasco: food, working hours and working alone.
Leisure and life after the workday: cards, radio.
Distribution of ranches. Ranch kids and rural education.
Occasionally working with La Osa ranch to drive horses to Red Rock.
Meeting future wife at Red Rock in the mid-late 1940s. Going to see a movie at Eloy with chaperone.
Impressions of Tucson in the 1930s: the Blue Moon Ballroom, El Casino Ballroom, El Charro.
Language at home, school, socializing.
Challenges of courtship in a small town during the late 1940s.
Move from Sasco to Tucson in late 1947, marriage, buying a house.
Living in Menlo Park near Bannister Steel in the 1950s. Life in the neighborhood.
Living in Barrio Viejo in the 1950s. Description of Myer Avenue and downtown Tucson. Rodeo Parade.
Working at a service station at Speedway and Main. Early long-haul trucking. Local roads and tow truck rivalries.