"When we went walking we'd go to the post office, tell my mom we'd go to the post office. The first time I remember we were sitting there by the church in a building they called El Salon. We were sitting out on the porch, a whole bunch of us girls, then Daddy and some other guys came by. Then Daddy started pairing off this with this and this with that (laughs). He was the one that did all the talking. But he paired himself off with Josie first then he gave me the one that Josie liked. I was supposed to go with him. I said, "I'm not going with nobody!" So Josie got a hold of the other guy, David, and so Daddy was left, stranded with me. (laughs)

"We went together. I graduated in May and we met them in September. Daddy was working at the mine already. We had seen him up at the Imperio before when we'd gone for our walks to the post office and I liked him. He was wearing this gorro (hat) and we used to call him "el del gorro" (the one with the hat). Somebody asked what was his name and we didn't know what his name was so I said, "let's call him Angel." So that's what we called him. He didn't know who we were or nothing.

After we didn't know what his name was, one of the other girls said, "well, let's call him Jerry." I think it was Josie. But she liked his friend. His friend was David. (laughs) He got stranded with me too because he wanted to pair off with Josie. They [Josie and Jerry] were the ones that were talking all the time. They sure wouldn't have [gotten along], they never did.

I don't know [how we decided to marry], he just asked me. We went around from September of 1940 and in '41 this lady told my mother that I was going around with a married man and he had a baby. It wasn't your daddy, it was Manuel [his brother]. So then my mom says that I had better quit so I did. I minded everything my mother told me. So I didn't talk to him for all that year. Then one night when Chelado took us to the dance, he asked Chelado if he could dance with me. So we started up again. (laughs) July 18th, 1942, [we got married]. Fifty-nine years ago!

Daddy says it was a big wedding because he'd never been to one before, but everything was done at my mom's. My mom made the food and of course mole. Then his aunt, she was the one that came to ask for my hand with Father Narcisso, she made a goat. She put it in the oven over there with the baker, his name was Frank. That was part of the food too. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Uh huh, [the guests came and they spent the whole day.] Diego was sitting on the porch playing his guitar. Diego was Daddy's friend. All he played was la marcha de Zacatecas. (laughs) We had a dance at the Imperio. It ended up at one o'clock.

No, [we didn't go on a honeymoon]. We went home. We went to Teresita's [my mother] house and we stayed there for awhile then we went to our house. We had a little apartment up above my mother's [house]. [In] Compaño's house. After that we moved to the top floor. We had another two rooms at Compaño's. From Compaño's we moved to the new apartments. In the new apartments, we moved to the Old Mill Apartments. It was a big, big apartment house. We moved to the downstairs, the down below. That one had three rooms, the front room, the bedroom, and the kitchen. You were a baby. [These were] company houses [but not Compaño's]. Compaño charged us $10 a month for the little two rooms then when we moved up above it was bigger rooms, and he charged us $12. Then the PD charged us $18. It was a two bedroom. When he came back from the service, from the other little apartment, we paid, no this one we paid $18 and the other one, the Old Mill we paid $12. We moved in with my mom and dad until Daddy came back from the service. We had Richard.

Remember the Alvillar's house? We moved in there after Daddy got back [from the war] and then we got the adobe. We paid $12 there. Then we moved to the yellow house which we bought. [We paid] $2000.

Just a housewife, that's all I thought about. No, [I never wanted to work outside]. I was scared of people, too timid, and shy, still am. When I stayed home, I just had my mom. After I got married I'd do my housework. I had three [children]. (laughs) Elena on April 14th 1943, Ricardo on March 14th, 1945, and Daniel on May the 4th, 1956. They were all born in Morenci and went to school in Morenci. Just you and Richard, Dennis went to school in Duncan. Before I had you, [how did my life change?] Ooh, I had you nine months after I got married. Everybody loved you. Tere [gave you the nickname, Cookie]. She said, "parese un cookie!" (she looks like a cookie!) It started from there.

No, no way [did I have appliances]. Just my bed. Daddy bought me a wood stove and I think he paid $5 for it. Then I gave it to my grandma. I don't know what happened to it. I guess they threw it away. No, [the apartments weren't furnished]. We took our bed, a little chest of drawers. Daddy bought me a cupboard, unpainted, and a table and chairs unpainted and I painted them. In fact even after we moved in with my mom and dad, we used it until it fell apart. [No vacuum cleaner], I mopped.

[For entertainment] we went to the movies. We went to the football games and then we went visiting. [We visited] his dad, Dominga, his family and mine. We'd go to el rancho in Duncan to visit Mike and Monica. Arguments? Ooh, yes! We used to argue about any little thing but it was over in a minute. [Our relationship was] close. He did [made the decisions.] He still does! I let him. Like I tell you, I'm timid. He says, "we're gonna do this." And I say, "okay."

She passed away, that was my best friend Jessie. [She was my maid of honor] but she was a friend of mine since we were little. Elvira, [my comadre] we used to go around together.

We wanted them [ourchildren] to get educated, and go to school, and be something that we weren't. We hadn't had the opportunity to do so. Yeah, [I wanted more than a high school education for my kids]. [I did] not really [have prenatal care]. I remember I never went there when I was expecting. I went my seventh month. [We paid] $21. (laughs) If we had to go out of town, they charged [for medical care]. They [PD] charged when a baby was born. That's what they charged."