"I was born in the state of Jalisco, Mexico on May 1, 1901. On May 1st, I will be 98. Everyone tells me I do not look 98, but it's true. Physically, no, it has been recently that my knees make me fall so I need a walker. I was born in Jalisco. We came to El Paso first, in 1905. At that time there was no immigration. People went to Mexico and came back. No one detained them and no one asked them anything. Everyone walked. We lived there from 1905 until 1910. En el Smelter Town.

My father was named Tereso Gomez and my mother Maxima. We came to Morenci in 1910. We came because on my mother's side we had our grandmother and she had a son who came to Morenci and got a job. He brought his mother to Morenci and afterwards, we came. That is why we came to Morenci, my uncle and my grandmother. In 1910 and since then we lived in Morenci. Eighty-five years. In 1965 I moved to Clifton because they were going to move our house. The mine was expanding. Because all the land belonged to the mine, all the houses had a lease. We signed a paper that if someday the company needed the land, we had to move. We paid $2.00 a year for the lease.

My father worked in the mine, underground. It was all underground. Some worked in the mine. My mother was a housewife. She never worked. In those days when we came in 1910, everything was worked the hard way, by hand. Not until 1915 did they get jackhammers. Before we came, the men used to work ten hours a day. When we came, it changed to eight hours. It was a state law. They could work eight hours underground. The eight hours started at the gate of the mine and then they would enter the mine, then at 3:30 they had to be at the gate again. The wages were very low. The ones, who worked on the surface, outside, earned $1.60. The ones that worked in the mine earned $2.00 per day. The foremen earned $2.50. Yes, there were one or two [Mexicans] who were foremen in the mine. There were a few who were foremen. Not me, when I began to work in 1922. I've never worked in the mine.

I was the oldest, then there was one named Francisco, then there was another brother named Anastacio he was born in El Paso. I was born in Mexico and Francisco in 1906 in El Paso. Anastacio [was born] in 1909. Then we came to Morenci and there my sister María was born in 1911. Then another one was born in 1913. She was also named María. There was confusion there in the family. The first one was named when she was baptized, Secundina. Names they used in Mexico, strange names at least to us. There they were not. They called her Secundina and after they baptized her, they did not like the name and they began to call her María. Then when the other one was born, that one was baptized with the name of María. To distinguish between the two, the youngest was called "Quita." To say María chiquita, they called her Quita. Then there was another one, Abras, and then Andres, and then Guadalupe and the youngest was a girl also. I do not even remember. Sometimes I forget the name."