https://voicesofignacio.cvlcollections.org/files/original/3918a43cd5ecea9acadeb040c8587c4b.pdf 913dbad2c343c4a815bc91cb25569676 PDF Text Text JOE AND NATIVIDAD (Gallegos) MARTINEZ Only one of Adolfo and Santitos Martinez' ten children survived early childhood. The other nine died in infancy or young childhood. Joe, who was born in 1917, was understandably very spoiled. "I was born on my parent's ranch in Montezuma Canyon south of Pagosa Springs. It's rolling forested country good for grazing and farming when there is enough rain. When my dad first came to Pagosa Springs from Park View, New Mexico, he worked as a bartender and owned two houses in town. When one of them burned to the ground, Dad decided he should put his money into something a little more permanent, so he sold the other house and bought the ranch at Montezuma. Dad built a log house near a spring. Oates, barley, wheat and corn grew well on the dry land. Some years the large flock of turkeys mother raised for market earned more money than Dad's lambs. With our garden and the pigs and sheep and goats to butcher we were almost self-sufficient as long as there was enough rain." "My parents took it very hard losing all the other children. Most of them were not healthy or strong when they were born. The longest any of them lived was seven years. Being the only child, I was accustomed to getting what I wanted. Once when both my parents were gone, I told our hired man, Narcisso Jaramillo, to put the harness on one of the horses and to hitch up to one of my mother's wash tubs and give me a ride. He did that just to humor me. The tub was ruined, but my parents were upset mainly because of the danger to me of such a ride." ) ) ) J J _) _) _) _) "Our area had two schools and one teacher. Lena Archuleta taught at Montezuma School from June to October and at the Edith School from November till March. The same students attended both schools. While school was going in Edith, Lena who was a good friend of my parents, kept me with her. After I finished 7th grade, I quit school to stay home on the ranch. There was plenty of work with the sheep and cattle. Our neighbors were far apart, but whenever there was a wedding or a holiday we got together tor a dance." "The first car Dad ever had was a 1928 Chevy. He was never very comfortable driving it. He let me do most of the driving after he almost had a wreck meeting a car on a curve. Times were hard in the 30's. The harder times got the more moonshine was cooked in the hills. I knew one old lady who bought a new car with what she earned from the moonshine." _) -.) ..) ...J ..) -J -J ...J ...J ...J ...J In 1941 Joe got engaged to Natividad Gallegos, who was raised at Trujillo on the San Juan R iver. Her father, Nemecio Gallegos, was born at San Luis, Colorado. Her mother, Gumesinda Salazar Gallegos was born near La Puente, New Mexico . "My parents got acquainted because my Dad's sister married one of my Mom's relatives. After my parents were married they settled at Trujillo where they lived almost all their lives. She said, "I was the oldest of seven children. I helped my mother wash on 111 �the board and take care of my little brothers. Our fun came from simple games and entertainments we invented for ourselves. Christmas was not a time for toys. The best we could expect was a good pair of shoes or a good dress. Our school house was heated by a large Warm Morning Stove, but in the coldest of weather, the uninsulated building was uncomfortable." "We got to go to Pagosa only twice a year, once at Christmas and once on the 4th of July. With no radio, no lV and no telephone, most people would probably go crazy today, but we were very happy. We did not feel trapped or bored. We had plenty of work to do, which kept us busy. Our dances and parties and what few trips we took really meant a lot to us. When I remember how we lived in those days, and how we live today, it makes me think the more people have, the more depressed and unsatisfied they are." Joe and Natividad have five daughters. When they reached school age, Joe bought a place near Juanita so the children could ride the school bus to Pagosa. Most of the girls were able to get education beyond high school, something their parents were not able to have. Today their daughter Mary Gomez lives in Dulce, N. M., Ruth Peterson lives in Denver, Polly Haloubek is in Denver; and Bernice Nelson and Rosann Gomez both live in San Francisco. In 1962 the Martinez sold the ranch at Montezuma and bought the place near Ignacio where they now live. Joe worked at a filling station near Durango until he got sick in 1977. Today Joe is at home and Natividad works in Ignacio. Once in a while they go to visit the girls. We wish them many happy years together. December 1980 - Shelby Smith 112 � Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Shelby Smith Interviews Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource https://rightsstatements.org/page/NoC-NC/1.0/?language=en Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1973-1980 Subject The topic of the resource Ignacio; Southwest Colorado Description An account of the resource Collection of biographies, predominantly of residents from the Ignacio Senior Center, based on interviews conducted by Shelby Smith from approximately 1973 to 1980. The abridged interviews were originally published as individual entries in The Thoughtful Years newsletter, published by the Ignacio Senior Center, beginning in 1973. They were later published as a whole in Smith's book: Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley, from which the original scans in this collection have been derived. Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Joe Martinez and Natividad (Gallegos) Martinez Biography Date Created Date of creation of the resource. 1980-12 Subject The topic of the resource Martinez, Joe; Martinez, Natividad (Gallegos) Description An account of the resource Biography of Joe Martinez and Natividad (Gallegos) Martinez based on an interview conducted by Shelby Smith. Originally included in the December, 1980 issue of "The Thoughtful Years" newsletter published by the Ignacio Senior Center. Later included in the book "Oral Histories of the Southern Pine River Valley" by Shelby Smith. Spatial Coverage Spatial characteristics of the resource. Ignacio, Colorado; Southwest Colorado Type The nature or genre of the resource Text Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Martinez, Joe; Martinez, Natividad (Gallegos) Extent The size or duration of the resource. 2 pages Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NKC/1.0/ Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Smith, Shelby