Grandpabio

Childhood

When Grandpa was very young, his Father decided to move from Puebla to the area of Tlaxcala, Mexico (just north of Puebla) to work in one of the booming Textile Factories called Santa Elena. Later, Grandpa's brothers worked in another Textile Factory called the "La Trinidad." (Grandpa has a book of Testimonies from the workers of this factory--ask him to see it). Grandpa's Father (Andres) knew the rich factory owner who talked him into relocating the whole Martinez family to Tlaxcala so Andres could work for him. Andres eventually worked at the Santa Elena Factory as a "Gate Operator"; responsible for letting in many gallons of water at a time to turn a huge 250-step turbine, which ran the entire factory's machinery. Grandpa started to work at the Trinidad Factory when he was old enough to reach over the conveyor belt platform (approx 13 years old), and did this work many years, and at the same time, working on the Ranches with his brother Jose.

There came a time when Andres was going to pack up the family and leave Tlaxcala because the factory work was coming to an end. However, the factory owner had a disabled daughter, named Dolores, who grew very attached to Grandpa's family and didn't want them to leave, so she talked with her dad and begged him to do something. The factory owner offered to sell the Martinez Family some land for $500 pesos, and also offered Andres his job at the factory as a Gate Operator. The land that was purchased became what is now known as the Martinez Ranch in Tlaxcala. Tio Jose, Tio Manuel, and all their family members currently live on the Rancho de Martinez in Tlaxcala.

Grandpa says that Tlaxcala was, and still is, a beautiful place with lots of rivers, volcanoes and clean air. He says that the temperature is never too hot or too cold because the town is surrounded by huge mountains and trees (my kind of place). Fruits and vegetables of all kinds--watermelon, pears, avocados, apples, squash, pickles, beans, corn and grapes--all grow wild in the huge valley-like area of Tlaxcala. The ground is so fertile, and the temperature so constant, that there is always two growing seasons during the year. Grandpa's family did not have much money to buy extravagant possessions, but the land always provided for them. They were also blessed to have just enough chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows and other animals cycling through the family ranch to keep them well fed. One of their favorite foods was a meal worm found on the underside of giant aloe vera plants, which they collected by flooding the worm's burrow with water and sticking them in the head when they came out for a breath. These worms were then fried and eaten plain.

Grandpa has many fond memories of his hometown. The earliest involves him crossing a river with one of the Family's donkeys, and being thrown into the river by the stubborn four-legged friend. He remembers every New Year's having a huge bonfire in the town to celebrate the passing and coming of a year, and Tio Jose playing the guitar into the early morning, keeping the party going. On Christmas, the factory owners would put up pinatas for all the kids, and put prizes on top of huge greased poles, which contestants would climb and do their best to reach the prize without slipping (This is an old Aztec game). Of course, he remembers fishing, fishing and even more fishing. There were three very good schools in the area of Tlaxcala, which were funded by the factory's high profit margin. However, whenever Grandpa's Mother would send him off to school, Grandpa would pass each one of them by and head to the river to go fishing with his friends (Ahhh, now I know where we all get our fishing fever). He also played his favorite games like, marbles, tops, and throwing arrows with a special piece of wood. You might wonder how Grandpa learned how to read and write without going to school as a child. Well, Grandma's dad (Grandpa Tobias) taught Grandpa how to read and write, and Grandpa picked up these skills quickly, as he needed them while he worked with Grandpa Tobias in the mountains cutting timber. Grandpa's father was very merciful and gentle, but his mom was very strict. Once, Grandpa (he laughs when he tells this story) was asleep and his mom could not wake him up. Now, most parents would let the child sleep nowadays, but back then it was not ok to be this sluggish. So, when Grandapa would not get up after repeated warnings and shakes, his mother got a hot iron out of the stove and poked him with it-OUCH! This may be why Grandpa has always risen out of bed so early. Grandpa was also raised as a Catholic and attended mass every Sunday morning and the Rosary service every Sunday night. He remained Catholic for 24 years until meeting Grandma and her family who attended a non-Catholic church.

Meeting Grandma

Before I get into the details of Grandpa meeting Grandma, and his experiences in the United States, it might be appropriate to give just a small history of the economic situation in the US; which resulted in Grandpa being recruited to work here. The first settlers of European descent to settle in Colorado were men and women of Spanish origins who had been residing in northern New Mexico (This may be how Grandpa Tobias' ancestors came to Colorado). Some of these early settlers migrated to northern Colorado to work the sugar beet fields in the early 1900's. At that time, the Great Western Sugar Company began recruiting Mexican laborers from Mexico via El Paso, Texas for contract labor in the Sugar Company's fields of northern Colorado, to supplement the German-Russian labor supply. This was a contract that would change Grandpa's life in the most dramatic way, and, I feel, has made him what he is today-a great man.

In 1946, Grandpa was given permission by the Mexican Government to work in the USA for 6 months via the special agreement between the USA and Mexico mentioned above. He arrived here in Fort Collins on May 11, 1946. He earned $80 every month working the fields. He pulled beats with short hoes in the hot sun for many hours each day (Grandpa wasn't accustomed to being in hot weather, something that I inherited from him I think). While Grandpa was working the fields, he met another worker who was from Tlaxcala. He would always ask Grandpa to attend his church, but Grandpa would always turn down the offer, and instead would go to the show to watch cowboy movies. After several invitations were made and declined, Grandpa finally decided to attend his friend's church (was located on Pine St. where Northside Rec Center currently is), and that's where he first saw Grandma. He says when he walked into the Church Grandma was sitting way on the other side, but somehow their eyes met and you could say this was the first spark of a long burning flame.

There was a man named Nachito, who was a friend of the guy from Tlaxcala Grandpa had met in the fields, who also happened to be the husband of Tia Martina (Grandma's sister), and Nachito convinced Grandpa to go eat tortillas and chili at Grandma's church one Sunday. Grandpa said he always turned down the offer because he knew no person here in the US could make tortillas and chili like his family back home; but something, other than tortillas and chili, made Grandpa decide to take the venture seriously, and so he went. When Grandpa sat down to eat with Nachito and Tia Martina, Tia Martina introduced Grandpa to Grandma. Fortunately, Grandma and Grandpa fell in love very fast; but, unfortunately, Grandpa's six-month contract was coming to an end. However, Grandpa decided to stay in the US illegally when his contract expired, and could not find it in himself to leave his newly found love.

During these times of love, Grandpa Tobias decided to send Grandma to Cheyenne to stay with her Mom and sister, Tia Elva. Grandpa Tobias didn't want Grandma getting involved with any of the Mexicans working in Fort Collins. This did not keep Grandpa from pursuing Grandma, however, and he proposed to Grandma over the phone while she was living in Cheyenne. Grandma said she would marry him only if he came to Cheyenne, so Grandpa boarded a train and headed for Cheyenne. Now, Grandpa didn't know that trains in those days sometimes stopped a great distance beyond the actual depot, and then backed toward the depot to start letting passengers out. This small misunderstanding almost cost Grandpa his future love, for when the train stopped in Cheyenne Grandpa got out and looked for Grandma, but Grandma was some distance behind him waiting at the depot. Well, Grandma got tired of waiting at the depot and decided to leave, thinking Grandpa wasn't going to show up. In the meantime, a man approached Grandpa and asked him what he was doing so far away from the depot. Grandpa said he was there to meet his future wife, but she was not there. The man told Grandpa about the train and its maneuvering protocol at the time, and Grandpa realized that he was nowhere near the agreed meeting place. It took Grandpa 20-30 minutes to walk back to the depot where he sat and waited for Grandma to show up. When he saw no sign of her he decided to go back to Fort Collins; and when he returned, he called Grandma and asked what had happened. She said that she was there waiting for him and decided to leave when he had not arrived. Grandpa explained the mix-up, and, most importantly, asked Grandma if she still wanted to get married. Grandma said yes again, but Grandpa was unable to take another trip to Cheyenne, so asked Grandma if she would come to Fort Collins--she got on the very next bus and headed South to Fort Collins.

Grandpa and Grandma were then married, and they went to live in Cheyenne with Grandma's mother and sister in their basement. One problem that came out of this glorious union, which didn't come to full bloom until years later, was that the pastor that married Grandpa and Grandma never sent the marriage papers to the court. As you will read later, this caused many problems for Grandpa when he tried to get his papers in 1957 to remain in this Country. The other problem was with Grandpa Tobias (as a father of a beautiful daughter myself, I can relate). He had gone to Cheyenne to pick up Grandma now that all of the Mexican workers' contracts had expired and were being sent back to Mexico. When Grandpa Tobias arrived in the Cheyenne, he called for Grandma to go back with him to Fort Collins now that he felt comfortable that no Mexicans would be taking his daughter away. However, Grandma's mother told Grandpa Tobias that not ALL the Mexicans went back, and one of them decided to stay and marry his daughter. Grandpa says Grandpa Tobias was very angry, but said that there was nothing he could do to change the situation and "what was done, was done", and so blessed the newly wedded couple.

Grandpa's Troubles

Grandpa stayed here illegally for 7 years, and had fathered seven children in that time, before a series of events lead him to the decision to voluntarily go back to Mexico and fix his papers. This is what happened:

Tio Momie, Grandma's brother, talked Grandpa into going up to the Eisenhower Tunnels in Idaho Springs, which was promising big wages for laborers. Grandpa, once again, had to falsify his information on the employment application so he could have one of the working slots. The money was really good, and a worker could easily earn 200/week. Someone on the work crew decided, however, that Grandpa was not welcome there and reported to Immigration that Grandpa was working illegally. When Grandpa got word of this he came back to Fort Collins without hesitation. Unfortunately, Immigration followed Grandpa back to Fort Collins and eventually caught up with him and Tio Momie next to the lake between Loveland and Fort Collins on College Avenue. They pulled Grandpa and Tio Momie over, but when they asked Grandpa for his name he said, "Francisco Martinez." Well, Immigration wasn't looking for Francisco Martinez, but was instead looking for a guy named Emillo Maselo de Raza (this was Grandpa's alias). They were about to let them go, but then one of the Immigration officers asked Grandpa, �where are you from?� and Grandpa said, "Mexico." The officers knew then that this was the guy they were looking for, and were about to start beating Grandpa up for lying to them when a huge presence overcame them. There was one thing, or person, the Officers didn't think about while they over-asserted their authority; and that was the size, temper and strength of our Tio Momie. When Tio saw that they were going to start beating up Grandpa, he got out of the car; and with his huge stance and loud voice, told the officers that they may have the right to send Grandpa back to Mexico, but they did not have the right to beat him. The officers probably heard what Tio was saying, but I guarantee it was his size that made those officers cease the planned beating, and settle for merely taking Grandpa to jail. When Grandpa arrived at City Hall the authorities asked him how long he had lived in Fort Collins. Grandpa told them that he had lived in Fort Collins for seven years, and also told them that he was married with a family of seven; but remember the pastor that married Grandpa & Grandma didn't send the marriage papers to the court. He even took the authorities to see his family as proof of his story, but they didn't believe, or wouldn't believe, him and they initiated his deportation from the US.

They first sent him to Cheyenne for 30 days while they tried to get information from Mexico to corroborate Grandpa�s story about where he was from. However, there were no birth records for Grandpa since his mom and dad never registered any their children�s births with the State of Puebla. Then Grandpa had to meet with the Consulate in Denver, and he told Grandpa, very unsympathetically, that he should have gone back to Mexico as required after his contract expired. However, when the consulate found out that Grandpa was from his same town, Tlaxcala, he changed his attitude and started to help Grandpa get his papers fixed permanently. This, unfortunately, required Grandpa to return to Mexico; which took a whole year of his life, and the lives of his family, to get his papers processed correctly. Grandpa was first sent to Juarez to get his papers fixed, but they said he had to go all the way back home to Mexico City since he was from the Southern part of Mexico. Since Grandpa was using his alias, Emillo Maselo de Raza, the Consulate in Mexico told him that he would have to suffer for it, and would have to wait extra time to get his papers fixed. Three months went by, and Grandpa didn�t hear anything; so he went to see the Consulate, but his secretary said, �you have no right to be here�get out of here.� Grandpa left, but when he returned to meet with the Consulate at a later time to present a petition signed by Grandma and all the kids he told the Consulate what the secretary had said. The Consulate didn�t believe Grandpa, and said that sort of thing would never happen there and everyone had the right to come into his office. This is just the sort of double talk that Grandpa had to endure throughout his whole ordeal, but he hung on. In another six months Grandpa met with the Mexican Ambassador to the United States, and he asked Grandpa, �what will you do if you can�t go back to the United State?� Grandpa said, �what I�ve always done; I�ll go illegally.� The Ambassador said, �wait a minute, you don�t want to do that, and don�t do anything without thinking about it first.� Finally, Grandpa received the letter he had waited for so long, and written on it were the instructions for him to be at the American Embassy at 9:00 am that day. Grandpa went straight there, and when a woman Consulate asked him, �are you happy now that you got what you�ve been waiting for?� Grandpa responded, �of course I�m happy.� She then asked him, �when would you be able to go back to the United States?� Grandpa said, �right now.� Grandpa was given permission to go back to the United States as a Permanent Resident.

So, Grandpa was on his way back and everything seemed to be in order, but there was a problem. Grandpa was given a sealed envelope, told not to open it, for if he did, it would be considered an invalid document. He was told to deliver the envelope to the proper authorities upon his arrival in El Paso, Texas; but when Grandpa arrived in El Paso, he had no money or any idea where to go, so he called grandma to send money. Grandma asked Grandpa's former employer in the Timber business, Ray Lambert, for some money and wired it to Grandpa. Grandpa got a hotel room and was sitting outside thinking how he would find the designated office, when a man came up to him and asked him what was wrong. Grandpa said he needed to find the place where he could present his papers, and the guy told him that the place was just a few blocks away. A taxi driver that day must have seen the anxiety and excitement on Grandpa's face too, and offered to drive him to the place, and all over El Paso, for only a few dollars.

One of Grandpa�s favorite memories upon his return home was Tia Patsy asking him, �why did you leave?� Tio Andrew remembers Grandpa giving him a kiss on his forehead saying, �hello mijo.� All the kids remember everyone telling them and Grandma that Grandpa was never coming back saying, �he�s free over there without seven kids and a wife to support�he�s not coming back.� Grandma says Tio Nachito was the only one who told the kids not to worry and that their Daddy would come home someday. Tio Nachito was right in believing in our Grandfather, and knowing the type of Man that he is-A Great Man.

Grandpa Obtains His Citizenship

Finally, the day came when Grandpa was to take the test for his citizenship. The test proctor was in his office singing Christian songs on his guitar. What are the odds? He told grandpa, �I only have two questions for you. First, who is the Governor of Colorado?� Grandpa knew the answer, but was very nervous and couldn�t seem to get the words to come out of his mouth. The proctor said, �isn�t his name kinda like a lamb?� Grandpa said, �oh yeah, Governor Lamm.� He then asked, �what is the significance of July 4 to the United States?� Grandpa answered, it�s the day of independence. The proctor stamped Grandpa�s certificate of Citizenship with the date of April 13, 1983. Grandpa was 50 years old.

Thoughts On Our Grandfather

Talking with Grandpa about these events, I realized that he never once gave up on his family, and never wasted any time getting back to them in the United States. He had many opportunities to lose faith, but there always seemed to be someone sent to him for a guiding, helping hand. Grandpa could have stayed in the lush mountains of his hometown without the worry of providing for a wife and seven kids, or enduring the prejudice of a whole nation against him because of his skin color. However, his only goal was to get back to his wife and children no matter the strife he had to endure. It's obvious that Grandma chose wisely back in 1946, even if the "train" was missed some of the time.

That�s real love. That�s a real Human Being. That�s our Grandfather.