By Sarah Ruperta Mora-Nigro
(1922 - 2008)
(1922 - 2008)
Life in La Cieneguilla was very good to all of the Mora family and their cousins who lived in that small community. It was mostly an agricultural area where large gardens, vegetable crops, and fruit trees were grown. There were also cattle, but when the cows became sick so easily and would die, the settlers herded goats. Goats were heartier and we would get good milk, cheese, and meat from them. In fact, when a woman married, the couple would get a dowry that might consist of a few goats, sheep or cows, one dollar, and sometimes a small parcel of land. In those days, this was a sign of wealth and good fortune for the newly married couple.
My Grandpa Eulogio Mora’s cousin, *Carlotta Romero, lived across the small Santa Fe River on the land grant homestead in La Cieneguilla. She had three boys and four girls. Her daughter, Nellie, was one year older than I was, Esabella was one year younger, and Mary was the baby. We all played together and we had a great time. Later, Nellie became a nun. I think she took the name Sister Carlotta.
Every year after all the crops were harvested, Carlotta Romero would have our family over for dinner. Her brother, Maximilliano Romero, lived next door and had a family of eight and they would join us. It became one big picnic in their backyard. My Uncle Jose would kill a calf, Grandpa’s sister-in-law, Trinidad Romero de Mora, would bring watermelons and honey dews. My Mom would bake breads and pies and Grandpa’s sister, Manuelita CdeBaca, would make homemade ice cream. The older children entertained the younger ones while the picnic was being set up. We would all pitch in. After the big picnic, we would clean up and then the children played games we learned at school. The adults would sit around and talk.
I remember one of my cousins, Albert Romero, who I liked very much. Albert left for about four years to study to become a priest. He eventually dropped out. It was said he had met a beautiful blond and fell in love. He later married the blonde woman and moved to Washington, D.C. where the woman had lived. Albert later got a job at the Pentagon and would come back to Santa Fe in the summer to visit. I remember when my brother, Fred Mora, was older he traveled to see Albert and visited the Pentagon. Fred also was introduced to several politicians there. The President at the time was Harry S. Truman.
I can remember my Mother would take me to visit my Aunt Trinidad and Uncle Martin Mora. They had always owned their own land and they grew crops and had cattle. They never worked for anyone. After they moved to Santa Fe, Uncle Martin got a job in town. Later, after he died, I remember my Aunt Trinidad telling my Mother how hard it had been for Uncle Martin to go from being his own boss to working for someone else. She said crying, “It must be better to begin at the bottom, then to start at the top and go to the bottom.” This may have happened to others as time changed in La Cieneguilla and Santa Fe and people sold off their land and changed their life styles.
In the early 1900s, the families still picked the bride for their sons. Eulogio Mora brought his son, Federico, to ask for the hand of Genoveva Gallegos. Since her father, Nestor, was deceased, her brother, John Gallegos, did the honors. I was told that my Mother was so bashful. She could not answer if she would marry Federico. Federico had seen her and danced with her at several weddings in the past. Uncle John asked Genoveva later if she liked Federico and if she wanted to marry him. She told him yes.
Uncle John went to visit Eulogio and to tell him that Genoveva was ready for marriage. My Grandpa and Federico traveled by horse and wagon about twelve miles and Federico asked for Genoveva’s hand in marriage. When Federico asked Genoveva, she said “yes, I will.” She received a new hope chest from Federico with his suit and money for her dress and veil inside. They were married in January of 1918. They both had big families and all turned out for the wedding. There was food, music and dancing, like waltz and square dances. Mother’s uncles and aunt were Bruno, Elias, Celco, and Delumina.
My parents moved to La Cieneguilla to build a home and begin their family. My Father worked with his father and brother with cattle and agriculture. My Grandpa was the only one who owned a capilla in the valley. The capilla was called St. Anthony’s. My Aunt Rita took care of Grandpa and Tio Jose Mora who lived with them.
On my Mother’s side she had brothers, John and Alfred, and sisters, Pally, Pablita Gallegos de Tapia, Frances Gallegos de Sandoval, and Virginia. My Uncle John and his spouse, Demicia, had four sons and two daughters: Elfido, Esequiel (Poncho), Victor, Nestor, Nellie, and Clara. My Aunt Pally and Uncle Philipe had five boys and two girls: Adalaido, Fidel, Philipe, Bennie, George, Florence, and Clorinda. My Aunt Frances and Uncle Francisco had one boy and three girls: Ernesto, Ruby, Victoria, and Adelina. I only remember one of my Uncle John’s uncles and we called him “Tio Celco.”
Tio Celco was a carpenter and one unique project was a cart he designed and made that only needed one burro to pull it. Later, our family donated the cart to the Santa Fe Museum for display. Once my Father was digging around the mesa and found an Indian baby wrapped up with an ear of corn in his hand. My Father gave the baby to the Santa Fe Museum where it was on display until sometime in the 1990s. Indians asked if they could have the baby back and put it to rest in an Indian burial site and the museum granted their request.
My Grandpa and his sons worked very hard all year round. They had to dry meats, make cheese and butter, can vegetables and dry fruit. The also would store apples in large wooden barrels and kept them in large pantries where they stayed fresh. When the family would have relatives over for dinner, they would make calf meat, chicken, chili stew, macaroni with tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, bread pudding, apple pies, and drank coffee or milk. My Grandpa, like my Father, also played the accordion and other cousins played the violin, piano, and guitar. My parents would love to dance and everyone had a lot of fun. All of our family lived as did most of the Spaniards living in La Cieneguilla – they worked very hard and played very hard as well.
My Godmother for baptism was my Father’s cousin, Dolores Baca Y Carrillo and my Godfather was her husband, Filiberto G. Carrillo. He was a rancher. We were still living in La Cieneguilla so my Godparents came from Santa Fe to our house to pick me up. We traveled by horse and wagon to the Guadalupe Church for my baptism. As my Mother told me later, the trip to the church and back was a very wild ride.
As my Godfather was steering his horse and wagon, my Godmother and some friends were sitting in the back covered with blankets because it was still cold in May. I was wrapped tight like a little papoose and had extra blankets around me. While my Godmother was talking, her husband looked back and told her she was holding me too tight. He was afraid she would squeeze me to death. So, she looked into the big blanket and no baby! My Godmother cried out “Stop, I lost the baby!” My Godfather stopped his wagon and asked “Woman, where did you lose her?” My Godfather got out and walked back down the road to look for me. In the meantime, my Godmother looked around the wagon and she found me under the blankets on the wagon floor. I must have slipped off her lap and was fast asleep. Every time I would visit with my Godmother she would tell me that story and we would always have a good laugh. She would laugh with such gusto her whole body would shake! I was Sarah Ruperta and named after both of my Grandmothers. I did not know them well because they both had died young.
After me, my Mother had Abel, who died after six months. I was about 2 ½-years-old and I remember him. My Mother’s cousin, Elfido, made a wooden casket with a glass window. I remember he looked so beautiful in white clothes and a flower in his hands. Then came Carmen. She was a chubby and happy baby with black hair and brown eyes. Then came Lucinda, Tonie, and I remember my Father singing rock-a-bye baby in Spanish to her. The last baby born was Maria in 1933. I was 11-years-old at the time. Maria was still born and my Mother just cried and cried. My Mother’s nephew made a little coffin for Maria. Mother dressed her in white and my Father lead a procession from our house to the Capilla of St. Anthony. We prayed and sang hymns for her. She was going to be buried under the left window inside the Capilla and when they were getting ready to bury her, I asked my Father not to put her in that hole. I asked him to put her on the alter and St. Anthony would come and take her later.
I told my Mother what happened at the Capilla. She sat me down next to her on her bed and said Maria was a little angel now and in heaven. I wanted to know where this heaven was and could we go see her. My Mother said some day we will see her again and began crying. I looked at my Mother and asked why she was crying if she was going to see Maria again soon. Then my Mother and I both started laughing and hugging each other. That was the summer that we began to make plans to move from La Cieneguilla to Santa Fe on Agua Fria Road.
I must have been 7-years-old in the winter of 1929. My mother Genoveva, my father Federico, Sr., my brother Fred, and sister Carmen, were all very sick with the flu. Many people in La Cieneguilla and Santa Fe were dropping likes flies from this flu. Both my little sister Lucinda, who was about 1 ½ -years-old, and I did not get this flu. I helped to clean all of them and I put a mattress in the kitchen where the large wood burning stove could keep them warm. We had one neighbor nearby and he was a minister. So I went to see his wife at their house and asked her about help for my family. I told her they were so sick and I was afraid they were going to die.
The lady asked me if we had onions at home and I said yes. We did not have any honey so she gave me a jar. She gave me instructions to make an herbal remedy: boil water in a large pan and place the chopped onions in the boiling water and cook them until they looked slimy. Then take the pan off he heat to let it cool and add ½ jar of the honey and mix it in very well. Then have each family member drink cups of this mixture until they could not take any more of it. I kept making them drink the remedy and after three days the flu broke and they all got well again. The good Lord must have been watching over me and helped me get my family better. Some were not as lucky. My Mother’s cousin had lost all of her family to this flu.
The summer of 1933 or so, in our new Santa Fe home, I remember a large thunder storm rolling in one afternoon. I was playing outside with my doll and really not paying much attention to all the thunder. Shortly, after more thunder, I went into our kitchen and watched the storm from our kitchen window. It was a few minutes later that a bolt of lightening hit a tree near our home. The power of the lightening vibrated into the house and knocked me to the middle of the room. I could not hear a thing. Later, my parents took me to the doctor and he gave me some ear drops and he said it should clear up in a few days. I learned early not to sit near a doorway or window during a thunder storm! By the way, my hearing finally came back.
However, when it would rain, it really helped water our vegetable garden and my Mother’s many flowers and plants. The garden in Santa Fe was much smaller than the one we had when we lived in La Cieneguilla. My Mother planted peas, green beans, cabbage, green chili, onions, garlic, pumpkins, corn, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, watermelons, and honey dews. My sister Carmen and I would help pull the weeds. It was fun helping my Mother. When she would take a break, she would sit on a chair, pull out her Bull Durham tobacco, her small thin papers, and roll a cigarette. She would strike a wooden match and enjoy a good smoke. Most of the men in those days would usually smoke cigars. My Father did.
One summer, when we were planning to move from La Cieneguilla, I was sad because we were leaving a place where I began growing up and I loved it there. My brother Fred and I were born there. So, we all reluctantly made the move to Santa Fe where we rented a house next to where my Father was to build our new home. My Father cleared the land and first dug a well with a pump. It was necessary to have water to begin making adobes for the new home. My brother Fred and I tried to help carry water for my parents for the adobes. My Father would mix the mud, sand, straw, and water and then place it into large forms. This made the adobe bricks for the walls. They would make at least a hundred or more adobes a day and let them dry out.
It took two months to get the adobes they needed to build the house. They brought the beams and other wood from La Cieneguilla by wagon. My Uncle Jose and a cousin, Elfido, helped my Father put in the windows and doors. The walls went up fast and the house was soon up. Next the roof was built and tarred. Then they plastered the outside and inside. They papered the walls and put white linen cloth for the ceilings and linoleum floors with area rugs. They put a large wood burning stove in the kitchen for cooking and heating the house. My Father put a pot belly stove in my parents’ bedroom for more heat and comfort during those cold winter months. Of course, the toilet was still outside about a hundred feet from the house and it was stocked with some good Sears catalogues. They made the toilet with two seats, one for the adults and one for small children.
By Easter, we had move into our new home and my Mother’s furniture was Spanish provincial. The tables had kerosene lamps and the windows had lace curtains. We were home. The following summer, my Father built a smaller building for the pantry space for my Mother to dry out meats and store her fruits and vegetables. My Father also built a garage to store his wood and coal to keep it dry. We would use a lot of wood and coal for both cooking and heating in the winter. When my Father was not working, he would entertain us by playing his accordion. No TV to watch in those days. My Mother had a beautiful voice and would sing while Father played. We would sing along at times and other times just take it all in. We were lucky to have such a great Father and Mother.
When we went to school in La Cieneguilla, there were these two bullies who used to pick on my brother, Fred. Several times these bullies took my brother’s lunch. Fred did not say anything about it. I was getting tired of these guys because they were messing with my family. One afternoon after school we were waiting for the school bus. We were near an old wooden bridge that workmen had been repairing. As I recall, the bridge seemed to be about 40 feet high and the river bed was dry. These two bullies showed up and began pushing and shoving Fred around. I got so upset with them I stormed over and told both of them to stop it. I was a skinny girl and they just ignored me. So I r an over and pushed one of the bullies and he went tumbling down the soft dirt all the way to the river’s edge. The other bully took off and he did not come back to bother Fred or me. The one at the bottom of the hill got up and took off. That was that! I told Fred they should not bother us anymore. Fred got mad at me for fighting these bullies so I reminded him I just saved his skin. I think he was glad I did it, but he would not admit it. I have always been one who would stand up for my family any time and any place. I told my children, Fred and Cathy, to never start any fights, but if someone picks on you, stand up for yourself!
When we were not in school, my sister Carmen and I would help my Mother with chores around our house. We had breakfast every morning. Sometimes oatmeal, other times bacon and eggs, but we always had to eat something. We would help clean the dishes, wipe down the stove and table, and sweep the kitchen floor. Then Carmen and I would play house and cut out paper dolls. Our source of materials was the Sears catalogue. We would find men, women, and children and cut them out. We could play for hours. My brother Fred and cousin Roman Romero would play cowboys and would ride brooms like they were horses. The boys would take old emptied sardine cans, punch holes, and put string and tie on anything they could find. This would be their wagon with horses. It is amazing how today our grandchildren have computer games, DVDs, and IPods to entertain them. Times really have changed since I was a young girl.
I guess we got modern. The next Christmas, my Father got Fred a small peddled red car. My Father made a road and small bridge to go over the little arroyo near our house going toward the Capilla. Carmen and I would push Fred up the hill and he would handle going down it. Sometimes Fred would let Carmen and I get on the side panels and take the ride down the hill. We always had to push him up the hill though! You would think he would have let us take a ride in it. When it was lunch time, Mother would have soup and sandwiches most of the time. We would drink good well water or goat’s milk.
We would play most of the afternoons until we got tired. One day I thought I heard my Mother call my name about three or four times. I went to see what she wanted, but she said it was not her. She said maybe it is your guardian angel wanting to play. So I told Carmen that we should chase our guardian angel around the yard until we caught him! We just wore ourselves out and I guess we tired out my angel too. I did not hear anything again that day.
One of my favorite cousins on my Mother’s side was Esequiel Gallegos. His name was hard to pronounce and I am not sure how he got his nickname of “Poncho,” but he was always Poncho. He and my brother Fred were always playing together and getting into trouble with my Mother. However, I remember hearing about this one time when Poncho was very young, he found a baby skunk. Poncho had picked up the little skunk and was playing with him like a pet. At some point, this little skunk had enough fun and decided to let Poncho have a spray. The skunk smelled so bad Poncho had to let go and Poncho did not smell very good himself! When he got home his mother, Demicia, took all of his clothes off and took them outside. Then she put Poncho in a tub of warm water with vinegar to soak. The clothes smelled so bad that she burned them. Demicia had to let Poncho soak and soak and wash with soap. It took a long time for him to smell better. I am not sure where Poncho slept that night because no one wanted to be near him. I still ask him about that skunk when I visit him and his wife Mary. We always have a good laugh about it.
Mary always reminds me about how when Poncho was a teenager he would go to the store and buy a whole bologna and hang it in the front window of his car. Mary would laugh and say she would get embarrassed. When my brother and Poncho were older teenagers they would make funny faces and speak in a very funny way. It was hard to explain, I supposed you had to be there. They were a couple of comedians. Poncho could play the guitar and accordion and he and Fred would sing Spanish songs. Sometimes both would get singing on a Sunday evening and my Mother would join in. This was better than any TV show today! I cannot remember all of the songs now, but I think one was “El Rancharito,” a rancher’s love song, and “El Vancidito,” a song about a little deer.
After Poncho and Mary were married, they lived off Agua Fria road on what today is Gallegos Lane. They had a lot of land, their own well, and made their own adobes to build their home. They still live in it today. I used to baby sit for them so they could go out. They liked to go to the movies or to dances. Mary’s sister, Dora, married Poncho’s brother, Elfido Gallegos, and they live just a few blocks from each other. Dora passed away in the summer of 2005. It was the same summer that Poncho’s older sister, Nellie Gallegos de Tapia, passed away. I am not sure of their ages, but they surely were in their mid 90s. One wishes all of our older family and friends could remain young forever so we could enjoy their company far beyond what it really is.
When we lived in La Cieneguilla, we would go to church and school in Cienguitas. Mass was during the week. When my Father wanted to go to mass on Sunday, we had to travel by wagon to downtown Santa Fe and go to the Guadalupe Church. In the summer my mother would pack a lunch and after we would go to the local church for mass we would sit under some pine trees and have a picnic. I think my parents loved each other very much and they wanted to share it with their children. When we would go to mass at the Guadalupe Church on Sunday, my Father’s cousin would invite us to stop and have noon dinner with them. Our cousin had a maid to help her because she had a grocery store in town that she ran.
When I made my first communion, my Mother invited my grandpa, Eulogio “LoLo” Mora, his daughter Rita, and son Jose. My Aunt Rita never married and stayed at home to take care of grandpa because my grandma Ruperta had passed away. My Uncle Jose Mora and my Father had helped their father with the cows, chickens, and goats and the fruit trees and vegetable gardens. Grandpa would trade his goods with the Indians he knew. The Indians would bring their rugs, pottery, jewelry, and other goods to trade for meat, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. I understand that some of the Indian women taught my grandma how to make tamales with blue corn flour. Grandpa and his sons would go into the hills and chop trees to get wood for cooking and to sell to the neighbors. My Father liked to hunt for rabbits. We had a lot of rabbit meat for dinner while growing up.
When we had the vespers and mass for the feast day on June 13th for St. Anthony, my grandma, grandpa, his brother Martin, and Martin’s wife Trinidad would have a big dinner after mass and kill a goat for the dinner. Eulogio had brothers Martin, Antonio, Leon, Palionio, and sisters Manuelita and Avelina. Everyone helped with different dishes. After dinner they would play music and sing and dance. The Capilla was important to LoLo’s father and his grandfather who had made a promise to build the Capilla in honor of St. Anthony to bring peace to the valley and let all of the Indian spirits there rest in peace. LoLo’s parents were Antonio Jose Mora and Anna Maria Montoya de Mora.
Every May and October my mother would go to the Capilla and say her rosary there. I never knew why she did that, but she did. The rest of the year Mother would say her rosary in the evening before bedtime. All of her children had to kneel on cushions she made for us and join her in saying the rosary. I would usually fall asleep about halfway through the rosary. Today when I say the rosary, I still fall asleep about halfway through! I still visit the Capilla every year since my husband passed away. My son, Fred, drives us to Albuquerque to stay with my brother Fred and his wife Flora. We make sure we make it to the June 13th mass and it is great to see many people from the area still attend the mass. The 200 year anniversary will be 2018. I hope I am around to see it. I would be 96-years-old. Maybe St. Anthony will help me out for this great event in La Cieneguilla.
We loved summer vacations. While Mother would be baking pies, we would head to the canon to go swimming. My Aunt Rita Mora would go with us. There was a small cave where we could go and change our clothes so we could go swimming. We enjoyed ourselves because we knew we would be going back to school soon. The water was cool and so clear you could see the bottom. We would walk and pick berries and dig in the sand. We made a whole day out of it in the canon.
The autumn would come and it was a very nice time of year and I would know it was time to go back to school. Grandpa had a rope hanging from his huge cottonwood tree and a tire tied to it. We would swing on it after school. If Grandpa LoLo was coming home from town, he would always bring a bag of candy for his grandchildren. We liked swinging and eating our candy. Sometimes Mother would catch us before we ate the candy and we would have to wait until we ate our dinner. Sometimes Mother would go to town with Grandpa to get materials for making our clothes. We also made our Christmas decorations of the tree as well. We made things because there were no Dillard’s or Macy’s or Wal-Mart in those days!
I remember Grandpa and my Father taking us into the hills to find our Christmas tree. Father would build a fire and we would take our time. He would cut down the chosen pine tree and load it into this wagon and home we would go. We had fun decorating our Christmas tree with popcorn strings, paper angels, and Mother would put real candles on the tree. Christmas Eve we would leave milk and cookies for Santa and go to bed. Mother would fill our stockings with presents. In the morning we would be so excited about our gifts. Santa always left a note saying “See you next year!”
At school for Christmas one of the upper graders would dress as Santa Claus and give out gifts. Our teacher would have each of us bring a dime to school and she would buy those gifts. Boys got cars, trucks, and marbles and girls got dolls, sewing machines, and dishes. We would sing Christmas carols at school and the older students would put on a Christmas play. This was before political correctness hit the schools. Now days its seems like some people have forgotten how to enjoy the Christmas holiday.
During one winter, we had a severe snow storm while we were at school. It may have been two or three feet of snow and strong winds which made large snowdrifts. After school, our school bus driver, our cousin Adelaido Rael, could not get the bus through the snow. He turned back and took us to his mother’s house where she had lots of room so we could spend the night. There were no phones so the parents would have to wait and worry. Adelaido’s mother, Adelina Rael, fixed us dinner, we did our homework, and we went to bed. The next day school was closed and Adelaido hitched four horses to his wagon and took us home. My Father was out looking for us so he walked us home. He carried Carmen because she was so short that she could not walk through the snow. My Mother was sitting in the window of our house looking down the road. She began crying when she saw us coming. They were glad we were home safe and we were glad to be home!
My Grandpa Eulogio Mora’s cousin, *Carlotta Romero, lived across the small Santa Fe River on the land grant homestead in La Cieneguilla. She had three boys and four girls. Her daughter, Nellie, was one year older than I was, Esabella was one year younger, and Mary was the baby. We all played together and we had a great time. Later, Nellie became a nun. I think she took the name Sister Carlotta.
Every year after all the crops were harvested, Carlotta Romero would have our family over for dinner. Her brother, Maximilliano Romero, lived next door and had a family of eight and they would join us. It became one big picnic in their backyard. My Uncle Jose would kill a calf, Grandpa’s sister-in-law, Trinidad Romero de Mora, would bring watermelons and honey dews. My Mom would bake breads and pies and Grandpa’s sister, Manuelita CdeBaca, would make homemade ice cream. The older children entertained the younger ones while the picnic was being set up. We would all pitch in. After the big picnic, we would clean up and then the children played games we learned at school. The adults would sit around and talk.
I remember one of my cousins, Albert Romero, who I liked very much. Albert left for about four years to study to become a priest. He eventually dropped out. It was said he had met a beautiful blond and fell in love. He later married the blonde woman and moved to Washington, D.C. where the woman had lived. Albert later got a job at the Pentagon and would come back to Santa Fe in the summer to visit. I remember when my brother, Fred Mora, was older he traveled to see Albert and visited the Pentagon. Fred also was introduced to several politicians there. The President at the time was Harry S. Truman.
I can remember my Mother would take me to visit my Aunt Trinidad and Uncle Martin Mora. They had always owned their own land and they grew crops and had cattle. They never worked for anyone. After they moved to Santa Fe, Uncle Martin got a job in town. Later, after he died, I remember my Aunt Trinidad telling my Mother how hard it had been for Uncle Martin to go from being his own boss to working for someone else. She said crying, “It must be better to begin at the bottom, then to start at the top and go to the bottom.” This may have happened to others as time changed in La Cieneguilla and Santa Fe and people sold off their land and changed their life styles.
In the early 1900s, the families still picked the bride for their sons. Eulogio Mora brought his son, Federico, to ask for the hand of Genoveva Gallegos. Since her father, Nestor, was deceased, her brother, John Gallegos, did the honors. I was told that my Mother was so bashful. She could not answer if she would marry Federico. Federico had seen her and danced with her at several weddings in the past. Uncle John asked Genoveva later if she liked Federico and if she wanted to marry him. She told him yes.
Uncle John went to visit Eulogio and to tell him that Genoveva was ready for marriage. My Grandpa and Federico traveled by horse and wagon about twelve miles and Federico asked for Genoveva’s hand in marriage. When Federico asked Genoveva, she said “yes, I will.” She received a new hope chest from Federico with his suit and money for her dress and veil inside. They were married in January of 1918. They both had big families and all turned out for the wedding. There was food, music and dancing, like waltz and square dances. Mother’s uncles and aunt were Bruno, Elias, Celco, and Delumina.
My parents moved to La Cieneguilla to build a home and begin their family. My Father worked with his father and brother with cattle and agriculture. My Grandpa was the only one who owned a capilla in the valley. The capilla was called St. Anthony’s. My Aunt Rita took care of Grandpa and Tio Jose Mora who lived with them.
On my Mother’s side she had brothers, John and Alfred, and sisters, Pally, Pablita Gallegos de Tapia, Frances Gallegos de Sandoval, and Virginia. My Uncle John and his spouse, Demicia, had four sons and two daughters: Elfido, Esequiel (Poncho), Victor, Nestor, Nellie, and Clara. My Aunt Pally and Uncle Philipe had five boys and two girls: Adalaido, Fidel, Philipe, Bennie, George, Florence, and Clorinda. My Aunt Frances and Uncle Francisco had one boy and three girls: Ernesto, Ruby, Victoria, and Adelina. I only remember one of my Uncle John’s uncles and we called him “Tio Celco.”
Tio Celco was a carpenter and one unique project was a cart he designed and made that only needed one burro to pull it. Later, our family donated the cart to the Santa Fe Museum for display. Once my Father was digging around the mesa and found an Indian baby wrapped up with an ear of corn in his hand. My Father gave the baby to the Santa Fe Museum where it was on display until sometime in the 1990s. Indians asked if they could have the baby back and put it to rest in an Indian burial site and the museum granted their request.
My Grandpa and his sons worked very hard all year round. They had to dry meats, make cheese and butter, can vegetables and dry fruit. The also would store apples in large wooden barrels and kept them in large pantries where they stayed fresh. When the family would have relatives over for dinner, they would make calf meat, chicken, chili stew, macaroni with tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, bread pudding, apple pies, and drank coffee or milk. My Grandpa, like my Father, also played the accordion and other cousins played the violin, piano, and guitar. My parents would love to dance and everyone had a lot of fun. All of our family lived as did most of the Spaniards living in La Cieneguilla – they worked very hard and played very hard as well.
My Godmother for baptism was my Father’s cousin, Dolores Baca Y Carrillo and my Godfather was her husband, Filiberto G. Carrillo. He was a rancher. We were still living in La Cieneguilla so my Godparents came from Santa Fe to our house to pick me up. We traveled by horse and wagon to the Guadalupe Church for my baptism. As my Mother told me later, the trip to the church and back was a very wild ride.
As my Godfather was steering his horse and wagon, my Godmother and some friends were sitting in the back covered with blankets because it was still cold in May. I was wrapped tight like a little papoose and had extra blankets around me. While my Godmother was talking, her husband looked back and told her she was holding me too tight. He was afraid she would squeeze me to death. So, she looked into the big blanket and no baby! My Godmother cried out “Stop, I lost the baby!” My Godfather stopped his wagon and asked “Woman, where did you lose her?” My Godfather got out and walked back down the road to look for me. In the meantime, my Godmother looked around the wagon and she found me under the blankets on the wagon floor. I must have slipped off her lap and was fast asleep. Every time I would visit with my Godmother she would tell me that story and we would always have a good laugh. She would laugh with such gusto her whole body would shake! I was Sarah Ruperta and named after both of my Grandmothers. I did not know them well because they both had died young.
After me, my Mother had Abel, who died after six months. I was about 2 ½-years-old and I remember him. My Mother’s cousin, Elfido, made a wooden casket with a glass window. I remember he looked so beautiful in white clothes and a flower in his hands. Then came Carmen. She was a chubby and happy baby with black hair and brown eyes. Then came Lucinda, Tonie, and I remember my Father singing rock-a-bye baby in Spanish to her. The last baby born was Maria in 1933. I was 11-years-old at the time. Maria was still born and my Mother just cried and cried. My Mother’s nephew made a little coffin for Maria. Mother dressed her in white and my Father lead a procession from our house to the Capilla of St. Anthony. We prayed and sang hymns for her. She was going to be buried under the left window inside the Capilla and when they were getting ready to bury her, I asked my Father not to put her in that hole. I asked him to put her on the alter and St. Anthony would come and take her later.
I told my Mother what happened at the Capilla. She sat me down next to her on her bed and said Maria was a little angel now and in heaven. I wanted to know where this heaven was and could we go see her. My Mother said some day we will see her again and began crying. I looked at my Mother and asked why she was crying if she was going to see Maria again soon. Then my Mother and I both started laughing and hugging each other. That was the summer that we began to make plans to move from La Cieneguilla to Santa Fe on Agua Fria Road.
I must have been 7-years-old in the winter of 1929. My mother Genoveva, my father Federico, Sr., my brother Fred, and sister Carmen, were all very sick with the flu. Many people in La Cieneguilla and Santa Fe were dropping likes flies from this flu. Both my little sister Lucinda, who was about 1 ½ -years-old, and I did not get this flu. I helped to clean all of them and I put a mattress in the kitchen where the large wood burning stove could keep them warm. We had one neighbor nearby and he was a minister. So I went to see his wife at their house and asked her about help for my family. I told her they were so sick and I was afraid they were going to die.
The lady asked me if we had onions at home and I said yes. We did not have any honey so she gave me a jar. She gave me instructions to make an herbal remedy: boil water in a large pan and place the chopped onions in the boiling water and cook them until they looked slimy. Then take the pan off he heat to let it cool and add ½ jar of the honey and mix it in very well. Then have each family member drink cups of this mixture until they could not take any more of it. I kept making them drink the remedy and after three days the flu broke and they all got well again. The good Lord must have been watching over me and helped me get my family better. Some were not as lucky. My Mother’s cousin had lost all of her family to this flu.
The summer of 1933 or so, in our new Santa Fe home, I remember a large thunder storm rolling in one afternoon. I was playing outside with my doll and really not paying much attention to all the thunder. Shortly, after more thunder, I went into our kitchen and watched the storm from our kitchen window. It was a few minutes later that a bolt of lightening hit a tree near our home. The power of the lightening vibrated into the house and knocked me to the middle of the room. I could not hear a thing. Later, my parents took me to the doctor and he gave me some ear drops and he said it should clear up in a few days. I learned early not to sit near a doorway or window during a thunder storm! By the way, my hearing finally came back.
However, when it would rain, it really helped water our vegetable garden and my Mother’s many flowers and plants. The garden in Santa Fe was much smaller than the one we had when we lived in La Cieneguilla. My Mother planted peas, green beans, cabbage, green chili, onions, garlic, pumpkins, corn, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, watermelons, and honey dews. My sister Carmen and I would help pull the weeds. It was fun helping my Mother. When she would take a break, she would sit on a chair, pull out her Bull Durham tobacco, her small thin papers, and roll a cigarette. She would strike a wooden match and enjoy a good smoke. Most of the men in those days would usually smoke cigars. My Father did.
One summer, when we were planning to move from La Cieneguilla, I was sad because we were leaving a place where I began growing up and I loved it there. My brother Fred and I were born there. So, we all reluctantly made the move to Santa Fe where we rented a house next to where my Father was to build our new home. My Father cleared the land and first dug a well with a pump. It was necessary to have water to begin making adobes for the new home. My brother Fred and I tried to help carry water for my parents for the adobes. My Father would mix the mud, sand, straw, and water and then place it into large forms. This made the adobe bricks for the walls. They would make at least a hundred or more adobes a day and let them dry out.
It took two months to get the adobes they needed to build the house. They brought the beams and other wood from La Cieneguilla by wagon. My Uncle Jose and a cousin, Elfido, helped my Father put in the windows and doors. The walls went up fast and the house was soon up. Next the roof was built and tarred. Then they plastered the outside and inside. They papered the walls and put white linen cloth for the ceilings and linoleum floors with area rugs. They put a large wood burning stove in the kitchen for cooking and heating the house. My Father put a pot belly stove in my parents’ bedroom for more heat and comfort during those cold winter months. Of course, the toilet was still outside about a hundred feet from the house and it was stocked with some good Sears catalogues. They made the toilet with two seats, one for the adults and one for small children.
By Easter, we had move into our new home and my Mother’s furniture was Spanish provincial. The tables had kerosene lamps and the windows had lace curtains. We were home. The following summer, my Father built a smaller building for the pantry space for my Mother to dry out meats and store her fruits and vegetables. My Father also built a garage to store his wood and coal to keep it dry. We would use a lot of wood and coal for both cooking and heating in the winter. When my Father was not working, he would entertain us by playing his accordion. No TV to watch in those days. My Mother had a beautiful voice and would sing while Father played. We would sing along at times and other times just take it all in. We were lucky to have such a great Father and Mother.
When we went to school in La Cieneguilla, there were these two bullies who used to pick on my brother, Fred. Several times these bullies took my brother’s lunch. Fred did not say anything about it. I was getting tired of these guys because they were messing with my family. One afternoon after school we were waiting for the school bus. We were near an old wooden bridge that workmen had been repairing. As I recall, the bridge seemed to be about 40 feet high and the river bed was dry. These two bullies showed up and began pushing and shoving Fred around. I got so upset with them I stormed over and told both of them to stop it. I was a skinny girl and they just ignored me. So I r an over and pushed one of the bullies and he went tumbling down the soft dirt all the way to the river’s edge. The other bully took off and he did not come back to bother Fred or me. The one at the bottom of the hill got up and took off. That was that! I told Fred they should not bother us anymore. Fred got mad at me for fighting these bullies so I reminded him I just saved his skin. I think he was glad I did it, but he would not admit it. I have always been one who would stand up for my family any time and any place. I told my children, Fred and Cathy, to never start any fights, but if someone picks on you, stand up for yourself!
When we were not in school, my sister Carmen and I would help my Mother with chores around our house. We had breakfast every morning. Sometimes oatmeal, other times bacon and eggs, but we always had to eat something. We would help clean the dishes, wipe down the stove and table, and sweep the kitchen floor. Then Carmen and I would play house and cut out paper dolls. Our source of materials was the Sears catalogue. We would find men, women, and children and cut them out. We could play for hours. My brother Fred and cousin Roman Romero would play cowboys and would ride brooms like they were horses. The boys would take old emptied sardine cans, punch holes, and put string and tie on anything they could find. This would be their wagon with horses. It is amazing how today our grandchildren have computer games, DVDs, and IPods to entertain them. Times really have changed since I was a young girl.
I guess we got modern. The next Christmas, my Father got Fred a small peddled red car. My Father made a road and small bridge to go over the little arroyo near our house going toward the Capilla. Carmen and I would push Fred up the hill and he would handle going down it. Sometimes Fred would let Carmen and I get on the side panels and take the ride down the hill. We always had to push him up the hill though! You would think he would have let us take a ride in it. When it was lunch time, Mother would have soup and sandwiches most of the time. We would drink good well water or goat’s milk.
We would play most of the afternoons until we got tired. One day I thought I heard my Mother call my name about three or four times. I went to see what she wanted, but she said it was not her. She said maybe it is your guardian angel wanting to play. So I told Carmen that we should chase our guardian angel around the yard until we caught him! We just wore ourselves out and I guess we tired out my angel too. I did not hear anything again that day.
One of my favorite cousins on my Mother’s side was Esequiel Gallegos. His name was hard to pronounce and I am not sure how he got his nickname of “Poncho,” but he was always Poncho. He and my brother Fred were always playing together and getting into trouble with my Mother. However, I remember hearing about this one time when Poncho was very young, he found a baby skunk. Poncho had picked up the little skunk and was playing with him like a pet. At some point, this little skunk had enough fun and decided to let Poncho have a spray. The skunk smelled so bad Poncho had to let go and Poncho did not smell very good himself! When he got home his mother, Demicia, took all of his clothes off and took them outside. Then she put Poncho in a tub of warm water with vinegar to soak. The clothes smelled so bad that she burned them. Demicia had to let Poncho soak and soak and wash with soap. It took a long time for him to smell better. I am not sure where Poncho slept that night because no one wanted to be near him. I still ask him about that skunk when I visit him and his wife Mary. We always have a good laugh about it.
Mary always reminds me about how when Poncho was a teenager he would go to the store and buy a whole bologna and hang it in the front window of his car. Mary would laugh and say she would get embarrassed. When my brother and Poncho were older teenagers they would make funny faces and speak in a very funny way. It was hard to explain, I supposed you had to be there. They were a couple of comedians. Poncho could play the guitar and accordion and he and Fred would sing Spanish songs. Sometimes both would get singing on a Sunday evening and my Mother would join in. This was better than any TV show today! I cannot remember all of the songs now, but I think one was “El Rancharito,” a rancher’s love song, and “El Vancidito,” a song about a little deer.
After Poncho and Mary were married, they lived off Agua Fria road on what today is Gallegos Lane. They had a lot of land, their own well, and made their own adobes to build their home. They still live in it today. I used to baby sit for them so they could go out. They liked to go to the movies or to dances. Mary’s sister, Dora, married Poncho’s brother, Elfido Gallegos, and they live just a few blocks from each other. Dora passed away in the summer of 2005. It was the same summer that Poncho’s older sister, Nellie Gallegos de Tapia, passed away. I am not sure of their ages, but they surely were in their mid 90s. One wishes all of our older family and friends could remain young forever so we could enjoy their company far beyond what it really is.
When we lived in La Cieneguilla, we would go to church and school in Cienguitas. Mass was during the week. When my Father wanted to go to mass on Sunday, we had to travel by wagon to downtown Santa Fe and go to the Guadalupe Church. In the summer my mother would pack a lunch and after we would go to the local church for mass we would sit under some pine trees and have a picnic. I think my parents loved each other very much and they wanted to share it with their children. When we would go to mass at the Guadalupe Church on Sunday, my Father’s cousin would invite us to stop and have noon dinner with them. Our cousin had a maid to help her because she had a grocery store in town that she ran.
When I made my first communion, my Mother invited my grandpa, Eulogio “LoLo” Mora, his daughter Rita, and son Jose. My Aunt Rita never married and stayed at home to take care of grandpa because my grandma Ruperta had passed away. My Uncle Jose Mora and my Father had helped their father with the cows, chickens, and goats and the fruit trees and vegetable gardens. Grandpa would trade his goods with the Indians he knew. The Indians would bring their rugs, pottery, jewelry, and other goods to trade for meat, cheese, fruits, and vegetables. I understand that some of the Indian women taught my grandma how to make tamales with blue corn flour. Grandpa and his sons would go into the hills and chop trees to get wood for cooking and to sell to the neighbors. My Father liked to hunt for rabbits. We had a lot of rabbit meat for dinner while growing up.
When we had the vespers and mass for the feast day on June 13th for St. Anthony, my grandma, grandpa, his brother Martin, and Martin’s wife Trinidad would have a big dinner after mass and kill a goat for the dinner. Eulogio had brothers Martin, Antonio, Leon, Palionio, and sisters Manuelita and Avelina. Everyone helped with different dishes. After dinner they would play music and sing and dance. The Capilla was important to LoLo’s father and his grandfather who had made a promise to build the Capilla in honor of St. Anthony to bring peace to the valley and let all of the Indian spirits there rest in peace. LoLo’s parents were Antonio Jose Mora and Anna Maria Montoya de Mora.
Every May and October my mother would go to the Capilla and say her rosary there. I never knew why she did that, but she did. The rest of the year Mother would say her rosary in the evening before bedtime. All of her children had to kneel on cushions she made for us and join her in saying the rosary. I would usually fall asleep about halfway through the rosary. Today when I say the rosary, I still fall asleep about halfway through! I still visit the Capilla every year since my husband passed away. My son, Fred, drives us to Albuquerque to stay with my brother Fred and his wife Flora. We make sure we make it to the June 13th mass and it is great to see many people from the area still attend the mass. The 200 year anniversary will be 2018. I hope I am around to see it. I would be 96-years-old. Maybe St. Anthony will help me out for this great event in La Cieneguilla.
We loved summer vacations. While Mother would be baking pies, we would head to the canon to go swimming. My Aunt Rita Mora would go with us. There was a small cave where we could go and change our clothes so we could go swimming. We enjoyed ourselves because we knew we would be going back to school soon. The water was cool and so clear you could see the bottom. We would walk and pick berries and dig in the sand. We made a whole day out of it in the canon.
The autumn would come and it was a very nice time of year and I would know it was time to go back to school. Grandpa had a rope hanging from his huge cottonwood tree and a tire tied to it. We would swing on it after school. If Grandpa LoLo was coming home from town, he would always bring a bag of candy for his grandchildren. We liked swinging and eating our candy. Sometimes Mother would catch us before we ate the candy and we would have to wait until we ate our dinner. Sometimes Mother would go to town with Grandpa to get materials for making our clothes. We also made our Christmas decorations of the tree as well. We made things because there were no Dillard’s or Macy’s or Wal-Mart in those days!
I remember Grandpa and my Father taking us into the hills to find our Christmas tree. Father would build a fire and we would take our time. He would cut down the chosen pine tree and load it into this wagon and home we would go. We had fun decorating our Christmas tree with popcorn strings, paper angels, and Mother would put real candles on the tree. Christmas Eve we would leave milk and cookies for Santa and go to bed. Mother would fill our stockings with presents. In the morning we would be so excited about our gifts. Santa always left a note saying “See you next year!”
At school for Christmas one of the upper graders would dress as Santa Claus and give out gifts. Our teacher would have each of us bring a dime to school and she would buy those gifts. Boys got cars, trucks, and marbles and girls got dolls, sewing machines, and dishes. We would sing Christmas carols at school and the older students would put on a Christmas play. This was before political correctness hit the schools. Now days its seems like some people have forgotten how to enjoy the Christmas holiday.
During one winter, we had a severe snow storm while we were at school. It may have been two or three feet of snow and strong winds which made large snowdrifts. After school, our school bus driver, our cousin Adelaido Rael, could not get the bus through the snow. He turned back and took us to his mother’s house where she had lots of room so we could spend the night. There were no phones so the parents would have to wait and worry. Adelaido’s mother, Adelina Rael, fixed us dinner, we did our homework, and we went to bed. The next day school was closed and Adelaido hitched four horses to his wagon and took us home. My Father was out looking for us so he walked us home. He carried Carmen because she was so short that she could not walk through the snow. My Mother was sitting in the window of our house looking down the road. She began crying when she saw us coming. They were glad we were home safe and we were glad to be home!
Mora Family Stories
Family Stories