I had a rough time during adolescence. It really sucked. My eyes were a mess, I felt ugly and fat, and I was very lonely. My home life wasn’t great, as my mom was sick a lot, and my brother Fred and I fought all the time. He was Mr. Cool, had lots of girlfriends and was good looking and athletic. I was the exact opposite. The only thing I had going for me was school. I continued to do well in my classes, and I continued playing the cello. By the end of the 8th grade, I was pretty good at it.
My brother Fred, “Mr Cool”.
I was a late bloomer physically, but emotionally, beginning in the 7th grade, I was discovering that I was more attracted to boys than to girls. I hid my desires, of course, and had girlfriends throughout my time at junior high, but they came and went. I really fell head over heels for two boys in particular, one each year I was in school. They will remain nameless, because I don’t think they ever knew how I felt, and I wouldn’t want to embarrass them in any way. I never “wanted” to be attracted to boys, and I fought it with all my might, but my feelings would not change. This drove me crazy, and I was quite unhappy and felt totally alone with nobody to talk to about it. I even had a couple of episodes where I could not stop crying. I was a such a mess. The one person that did help me through some of these rough spots was my dear sister Becky. She came over to the house once while I was having one of these little dramatic breakdowns, and she held me and told me it was all going to be okay, and that we were all in this together. I’ve never forgotten and I’ll be forever grateful to her for her kindness and support.
My sister Becky
One day as I was riding my bike home, a couple of boys started throwing rocks at me. I usually tried to avoid conflict at all costs, but on this particular day, I decided to confront them. I rode back toward them, got off my bike and told them to stop it. One guy, the taller of the two, had on a pair of heavy boots, and he decided to kick me right in the groin. He missed his target, however, and kicked my thigh instead, and boy did it hurt! I got really angry and started to fight him. I wasn’t good at fist fights, but we tumbled on to the ground and somehow I managed to grab onto his boots. I was a hefty kid, and stronger than I realized, and I picked him up by his ankles and I started to swing his body against the fence, which was covered in privet bushes, as hard as I could. I swung him like a bat into the fence, smashing his face right into it, time and time again. His friend stood there watching and wanted to jump in, and I yelled at him and told him two on one wasn’t fair, and, luckily, he backed off. The guy who started the fight was pretty badly beaten up by the time I was done. Once I thought he’d had enough, I got on my bike and went home, while they both yelled that they were going to get me again. When my brother Fred saw me, he told me I looked like I had gotten into a fight. I replied that he was crazy, but he just laughed like he knew that I had. The next day I saw the kid in the hallway, and his face was all bruised and scratched up. It was a mess. He tried to lunge at me, but the hallway was crowded and he stopped. I never saw him again. This was the only other fight I ever got into as a kid. I lost the one in grade school, but this time I fought back and won.
While I had a rough time, I must admit it wasn’t all bad. I did have fun playing in the orchestra, and I enjoyed learning. I also started reading more and I learned how to play the organ. I spent a lot of time too with my sister Irene and her kids, and with my friends Ernie, Roman and Oscar, and enjoyed listening to music. I also spent a lot of time with my brothers Rudy and Charles, who had started new families in the early 70s. They both lived in the Pueblo Gardens neighborhood, which was close to our house on 22nd. I was never made to feel unwelcomed, and being with them gave me a sense of comfort and safety. Even though I felt alone, I really wasn’t.
My brother Charles and his wife Elaine
My brother Rudy
My brother Rudy had a beautifully framed copy of this print of the Beatles in his living room.
Thank goodness I survived.
Mansfeld Jr. High School
The best part of the new school year was that we could buy new school supplies. I loved shopping for this stuff. It was the one time of the year my parents would actually let me indulge in stocking up. Now I’m a bit pack rat when it comes to pens, notebooks, paper etc.
My 7th grade Spanish textbook. Mrs. Rodriguez, whose photo is below was our teacher.
Back in 1971 I had no idea I would graduate twice (1982 and 1986) from the University of Arizona or that I would be spending the bulk of my adult life working there (1992-present). I started attending classes in 1977, and I’m still here 46 years later…
Ernie Carrillo, one of my best friends growing up. We are still in touch, after all these years and remain as close as ever.
This is what the corner of Park Ave and University Blvd. looked like back in the early 70s. I rarely made it to this part of town, ever.
My 7th grade portrait. My lazy eye got even lazier during adolescence. I would get an eye operation the following year, but it didn’t help much.
My brother Charles took us to see this when it was showing at the Jerry Lewis Theater. He wanted us to learn about social issues like race and class and he thought this movie would help.
From the Tucson Daily Citizen, October 16, 1971.
Released on October 24, 1971. I knew all the lyrics. I’m sure a lot of kids knew this song. It was very popular. 7th grade orchestra cello section Members were Lori Fibel, David Boyer, Becky Baldwin, Susan Matte and me.
7th grade. The entire orchestra, led by Mr. Lauritz Bjorlie.
This is one of the many songs we played in the orchestra. The melody is so sweet. This version isn’t exactly the same, of course.
The auditorium at Mansfeld. The orchestra practiced on the stage, and had one big concert here at the end of the year. This is also the space where we would have our “Blue and White” socials, our student assemblies, and where we ate lunch.
I clearly remember borrowing this book, titled “Louis Armstrong: A Self Portrait”, from the public library downtown. Armstrong was well known among the general public. I would see him on television all the time and of course knew he sang the song “Hello Dolly”. I didn’t know about his long career in jazz, however. I was much too young and didn’t know anything at all about the history of jazz at this point in my life. This book was my introduction to the topic. Armstrong died on July 6, 1971. I believe this book came out shortly after that.
This film premiered on television on 11-30-71. It was so sad.
My report card, 1st semester, 7th grade. I was in the honor roll all throughout junior high.
My brother Rudy bought this when it was released in 1971. His wife hated the record, but we couldn’t help cracking up every time we heard it.
I bought this 45 and played it to death. It was released in late 1971, reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on January 15, 1972 (my birthday!), and earned a gold record. The song is linked below.
The following month, in February, 1972, a group called “Malo” released one of the most memorable songs of the era. The group was led by Carlos Santana’s younger brother Jorge. I remember this song was later played at our “Blue and White Social”, an annual dance held towards the end of each school year.
This album was a huge hit in the Mexican American community. The cover art is by Jesus Helguera, one of Mexico’s most popular artists. His calendars have become collector’s items and are quite easily identifiable and well known.
I was not very sophisticated when it came to music. I mostly listened to what was on the radio, and to the albums my brother Rudy had. Being in the school orchestra did, however, make me want to learn more about classical music. I remember we took a field trip once over to Palo Verde High School to listen to the University of Arizona orchestra perform. Slowly, but surely, I did start to get more interested in classical music.
One day my sister Becky brought home a stack of classical albums that a friend had given her. I listened to all of them, but this one was my very favorite, and continues to be to this day. Nobody plays Mozart like Ingrid Haebler! Both concertos follow.
Still, I loved certain popular songs. The following two were favorites of mine.
This was released on April 21, 1972.
One of my favorites songs, released on May 18, 1972.
Mrs. Rodriguez, my 7th grade Spanish teacher. She was the best. I continued to take Spanish up until the 11th grade. By the time I got to college, I passed the foreign language proficiency exam with flying colors.
Mr. Bjorlie started teaching me the cello in the 4th grade all the way up until the end of the 8th grade. He was a very patient and talented teacher. Unfortunately, when I switched to catholic school in the 9th grade, I had to give up playing. I took up the saxophone instead.
My 7th and 8th grade English teacher, Mrs. Virginia LaFraniere. She taught us English grammar mostly, and gave weekly quizzes. I always aced them. And she always wore a wig, every single day.
I loved this space. It’s the front entrance to the school. The doors on the right lead in to the auditorium. .
I was a klutzy, chubby geek, but at least I did well academically.
My report card, 2nd semester, 7th grade.
There’s an interesting story behind the following two certificates. I didn’t really deserve them. I think I played in one basketball game and one football game the whole year. I had other things going on, like being in the orchestra. However, at the end of the year, when certificates for participation in various extracurricular activities were being given out, I went to the head P.E. teacher, Mr. Tripp, and politely insisted that I be given certificates for having participated in these two activities. He balked at first, but I held my ground, so here they are, and after all these years, the truth has been revealed. Ha ha ha.
My buddy Ernie and I joined the boy scouts for a short while in 1972. We went on a big hike up into the Catalinas and later participated in the Boy Scout Pimaree. See the article below.
Ernie in the 8th grade. We were in the Scouts together.
We went to Ft. Huachuca to participate in the Pimaree. I didn’t have a very good experience. There were bullies all over the place.
I used to love reading through these merit badge books. Being a boy scout was an expensive hobby and I never had the money to fully participate. No merit badges for me…Levy’s at El Con had a complete selection of Boy Scout clothing and accessories. Like I said, being a boy scout cost money!
Our troop also went to Tombstone, and I bought this photo from a man who claimed he was Chief Cochise’s grandson. It turns out, I learned much later, that he was a fraud.
Another memento from our Tombstone trip. I still have the newspaper that came inside this envelope. It’s a reproduction, of course, but in good shape still.
I received a scholarship to attend music camp at the University of Arizona in 1972. My friend David Boyer, pictured with me below, also attended. It was a memorable experience and my first exposure to the University campus.
My friend David and I in the 8th grade.
My I.D. card. My brother Fred had one too just like it. I have it now.
My eighth grade portrait. I was out sick a lot, and had my eyes operated on at around this time. I had high blood pressure and got put on a diet at one point. I didn’t lose much weight until later in high school.
I loved this movie. It came out on t.v. on 09-24-72.
I sold greeting cards, and this is the only one I have left.
I didn’t become a Joni Mitchell fan until I was in college, but I quickly grew to love her and her music. For the Roses was released on November 21, 1972. It’s a brilliant record. One of my very favorite songs, The Judgment of the Moon and Stars, follows.
Our Christmas tree, 1972. I started playing the organ at this point in time. It was a Magnus “chord” organ, and I learned it all on my own.
This is exactly how my organ looked. Mine didn’t have legs, however, if I remember correctly. I also had several music books, and learned a lot of songs from different eras of American music.
I had a ten speed just like this one. I would ride it to school early in the morning to attend algebra class at Tucson High School. The class started at 7am, and I was always late.
Our algebra class was held at Tucson High School in the Vocational Education building. Considering my home life still wasn’t very stable, I did well. My mom was sick and spent a lot of time in the hospital.
Bruce Springsteen’s debut album was released on January 5, 1973. My sister Becky’s husband to be, Paco Sharer, went to high school with Springsteen, and when they moved to New Jersey, he introduced Bruce to my sister. I didn’t get into Springsteen until much later, but I do love this album. I have all of Springsteen’s stuff.
I would love to go to the carnival at Southgate. I would usually go with my sister Irene and her kids. Below is a photo of them taken at the carnival. From the Arizona Daily Star, February 23, 1973.
Anadine, my sister Irene, Michelle and Belisa.
During my last semester of the 8th grade, I had to write a “research paper” for my social studies class. I decided to write it about alcoholism. I went to the library and used the “Reader’s Guide to Periodical Literature” to find sources for my paper, but the library wasn’t that well stocked with magazines, so I ended up writing a personal testimonial about my mother, who was an alcoholic. She started drinking around 1956, a couple of years before I was born, and it got her very sick over the years. She’d spend months at a time in the hospital in the 70’s, and would attempt to quit several times, but never could completely. I loved my mother dearly, and would do anything for her, but her drinking took its toll on everyone in the family in one way or another. It made life at home quite difficult. When I had my eye operation around this time, she showed up to the hospital quite inebriated, and I burst out crying, begging my dad to take her home. I was coming out of anesthesia at the time, and was quite messed up. I have always regretted that moment. Her drinking eventually killed her. She died of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 64 in 1988.
We played this song in orchestra.
I bought this book while in the 8th grade. It had a profound effect on me, and marked the beginning of an awakening to the world’s social realities.
I bought these tarot cards through the Scholastic Book program. I still have most of them. This is but a sampling. I never knew what they were really for. I just liked the artwork.
More Tarot cards
These were also bought while I was in junior high. I never did read Dune and I gave it away a long time ago. I’m not a big science fiction fan, but I still have the music books.
More stuff I read. This author wrote a whole series of books about troubled youth.
My final junior high report card.
Getting six honors put me way at the top of my class. There were just two or three other kids who had more than that.
Have I mentioned that adolescence was rough? I carried this book around everywhere I went at the time. Oh god…
I spent countless hours watching this stuff. As alone as I felt, at least I had something to keep me occupied.I think back on it now, however, and wonder what I might have been able to accomplish had there not been any tv.
A great movie to close out the summer before the start of high school. Released on 7/16/73.
Stay tuned for Part III of My Life in Pictures: High School, 1973-1976…Coming soon!
Note: I decided to split my original post, “My Life Story: 1959-1971”, in half. It was too long. This is the second half of the original post, and it covers the years I was in elementary school.
One of the fondest memories of my childhood was when my uncle Failo and his wife Armida came to Tucson back in 1965. They took me with them shopping to the new Sears store way out on East Broadway. They bought me a hamburger and fries at the restaurant there. It all came in a little plastic boat with an American flag. They made me feel so special. I loved my tios dearly.
My tia Armida and tio Failo. The new Sears store on Broadway opened on September 1, 1965.
Released in September, 1965, Judy Collins Fifth Album is filled with wonderful songs, including the one below, written by Billy Ed Wheeler, a folksinger from Kentucky whose songs speak about life in Appalachia and the southeast.
I attended Robison Elementary School on 18th Street and Treat Ave. from 1965 to 1971. I cried on the first day of school, but quickly adjusted. I was in Mrs. Goldbaum’s class. She was a very nice lady, and had taught 3 of my brothers and sisters.
The front cover of my 65-66 Robison Elementary School yearbook.
My first grade portrait. My two front teeth had grown back by then. Thank goodness!
I used to love reading the Dick and Jane stories. It’s how I learned how to read.
These were my classmates in the first grade. My photo got cut out somewhere along the way. Mrs. Goldbaum was a wonderful teacher. I’m still friends with several of these kids, and I even got to see some of them at the Tucson High 40th year reunion back in 2017.
One of my earliest memories of being on the playground at Robison was seeing all the boys playing marbles out by the ramada. There were some very competitive kids out there. They would make a big circle in the dirt and put their marbles all in a pile in the middle of the circle and then take turns shooting them out of the circle. I must admit I lost a few here and there, but I still have most of my marbles…Ha ha ha.
Billy Fass, Ernie Carrillo and Ricky Fass were my closest friends. We lived just a couple of houses away from eachother and were together all the time.
These were my next door neighbors, Becky, Tiny and Debbie Romo. I would go over to their house and play school with them and dance with them all the time. They had an older sister who gave them her old 45’s. I remember they had “The Loco-motion” “The Mashed Potato” and a lot of other fun songs. I loved being with them. It was a lot more fun than being in the Rat Finks, the little gang of boys in our neighborhood that I got thrown out of for not wanting to give back the coloring book they gave me to play with and for being a cry baby. The girls had a little brother they all called “Boy”. He was a year younger than me and we played together a lot too.
Another great Beatles album, released on December 3, 1965. My brother Rudy had all of their albums and my brother Fred and I knew all of the songs.
What a song!
Released in the US on December 6, 1965
This premiered on 12/9/65.
Every year at Christmas, our mom and dad would make tamales, and then a week later, it was menudo. I grew up eating the best stuff!
This premiered on 12/31/65. I remember going with my parents, Freddie and Becky to see this at the Prince Drive-In. It was a beautiful film, but it went way over my head at the time. The theme song to the movie was quite beautiful. See below.
My mom used to have a music box that played this song.
My mom threw me a birthday party when I turned 7 in January, 1966. Some of my friends from school were there as were my neighborhood friends, including Billy Fass, who gave this album to me as a birthday present. It’s a great album, with songs like the Hokey Pokey and the Bunny Hop. I lost the original along the way, but was later able to find a copy on Ebay.
More first grade reading material.
My brother Charles was in the Navy from 1964 to 1968. He was always sending my brother Fred and me gifts. One year he sent us stuffed animals and another year we each got matching sailor suits with white sailor caps. We wore them to school with pride!
“USS KRISHNA”
My brother Charles joined the Navy in 1964 with a friend of his named Art Carrillo. Art was very fond of my brother Fred and me and he sent us this photo of his ship. According to Wikipedia, “the USS Krishna (ARL-38) was one of 39 Achelous-classlanding craft repair ships built for the United States Navy during World War II. Named for Krishna (a deity worshiped across many traditions of Hinduism), she was the only U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name, and only one of three ships (along with USS Indra and the Civil War era gunboat USS Varuna) to be named after a Hindu deity”. Art also sent us several oversized color portraits of a number of other Navy vessels, but they are long gone. He referred to me and Freddie as his two “little men”.
This drive-up burger joint was just up the street from where we lived. They made huge hamburgers and the strawberry shortcake was delicious. Our parents would bring us here a lot.
This premiered on March 17, 1966. I saw it later on television. I would watch it every time it came out. I just loved the music.
Javier Solis was a Mexican singer whose voice was well known throughout the Latin world. He sang rancheras, but was best known for his lovely boleros rancheros. His voice was strong, but also had a very sweet, soft quality to it. Between 1961 and 1966, he had 12 number one hits. He also appeared in a number of movies. He was born on September 1, 1931 and died on April 19, 1966 from complications that arose during surgery on his gall bladder. He was only 35. My mom and dad were big fans of his, and on the day he died they went out and bought one of his record albums. I was with them and I still have the album, although the cover is missing.
Amaneci en Tus Brazos was composed by Jose Alfredo Jimenez. This is Javier Solis at his finest.
This was the very first book I ever owned. I acquired it when I was still in the first grade. The Scholastic Books program was in place at the time and I bought it at school. I still have it. My brothers and sisters also had books, including old spelling books and science books. I enjoyed them all. I was lucky to have five older brothers and sisters.
My brother Rudy was a great athlete. He loved baseball. Az Daily Star, 5-4-66.
My sister Becky graduated from Tucson High in 1966, and when we went on our family vacation to San Francisco that summer, she decided to stay with my aunt and uncle. She didn’t come back home until a year later.
This postcard shows a mariachi group performing in a restaurant called La Caverna, which was on Elias Street in Nogales, Sonora. My parents would bring us here sometimes for a meal whenever we would go shopping in Nogales. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of these day trips. My mother loved mariachi music and she would often get my dad to pay the musicians to sing a few songs for us. Unfortunately, La Caverna burned down in 1986 and never re-opened.
I saw this at the Fox Theater downtown with my friends and brother Fred. Released on 06-21-66. I didn’t care for war movies, but went anyway.
My mom and dad went to see this when it came out. It was considered an “adult” film, and I wasn’t allowed to go. It premiered on 6/22/66.
This photo was taken in Needles, California during my family’s summer vacation in 1966. Included in the photo are my brother Fred, my cousin Sylvia’s daughter whose name I don’t remember, me and my Uncle Val’s nephew, Richard. It was about 118 degrees that day, and there were were, barefoot! Wow!
My brother Rudy took a radio training course while in high school. This photo appeared in the October 12, 1966 issue of the Tucson Citizen. Rudy loved to wear nice clothes. Our mom spent hours ironing his shirts, most of which he would buy at expensive men’s clothing stores like Franklin’s on University Blvd. He worked all through high school and paid for his clothes with his own money. He even bought a car, which was a really cool little Anglia that had a four track tape deck.
More of my favorite TV shows…
I wrote a separate blog post about our 1966 family vacation. Click here to read it.
The front cover of the Robison Elementary School yearbook. The font page is all I have left of it.
My 2nd grade photo, 1966. Miss Stevens was my teacher. I was 7 years old here. The one thing that stands out from this year in school was that I wet my pants one day while in class and didn’t tell a single soul. It was a very uncomfortable day.
This is the reading program that was used when I was in the second grade, in Miss Stevens class.
This film premiered on 10/17/66. I remember going to the drive-in with my sister Becky to see it, probably about a year later, after she came back from California.
My brother Rudy during his junior year of high school in 1966.
This premiered on 10/27/66.
Released on November 16, 1966, this was my brother Charles’s favorite album. He especially loved “My Girl. ” I still have his copy of this album, I think.
Don’t Look Back, featuring the vocals of Paul Williams. This is one of my favorite songs by the Temptations.
The first ever Superbowl to take place was in 1967 on January 15, my birthday. I watched the game with my family at my sister Irene’s house.
Aretha Franklin’s first Atlantic album was a monster hit. The song “Respect” went all the way to number one on the pop charts in the summer of ’67. A live tv recording of the song follows:
This book was published in April, 1967. My brother Rudy bought it new. I still have his copy. Joan Baez appears in the book too, but at the time I thought she was weird and had no idea who she was. She wore black and had long straight black hair. She reminded me of Morticia Adams. Little did I realize how much I would admire her later.
This photo was included in the Dylan book noted above. I had no idea at this point in my life how influential it would later become.
My first holy communion took place in 1967. I had to attend catechism at St. Ambrose Church in order to participate.
My first holy communion photo. Included in it are my good friends Bubba Fass, Victor Rivera, Mugsy Olivares, Henry Quiroz and a lot of other guys from my neighborhood.
Relics from my first holy communion. I still have some of them.
I stopped attending catechism after I received this certificate. I never did go through the confirmation ceremony. Several years later, one of my high school teachers, a nun, thought I was a little heathen because of this and she kept me from participating in some of the class sessions that involved learning about “sex”. Go figure…
I remember reading this book in the second or third grade. I was inspired by Roosevelt’s determination to overcome childhood asthma. I was sickly too as a kid.
My brother Rudy bought this the day it was released on May 26, 1967. Freddie and I knew all of the songs by heart.
Here is a photo from February, 1967. My dad is on the right. The man in the left is one of his co-workers but I don’t know his name. After his mining accident, my dad was trained to be a blacksmith.
July 2, 1967. Here’s another photo of my dad, wearing his blacksmith’s apron at work in San Manuel, just before the copper strike started.
My dad worked for Magma Copper Co. for many, many years. This particular strike lasted through the following year, ending in March, 1968.. It sure made life difficult for everyone. My dad had to find other temporary work and my mom even found a job at a hamburger joint. We had to go on welfare too for a while. The food was nasty!
My mom worked here during the copper strike.
Times were hard, and we went on welfare for a while. But not for long.
Aretha Franklin’s second recording for the Atlantic label was released on August 4, 1967. It’s one of her best ever. The following song was recorded just a month or two earlier, and it is one of my all time favorites.
This film premiered on August 13, 1967. I don’t know if I saw this film when it was released or later. It feels like I saw it when I was a kid. The theme song was a big hit (see below).
My third grade photo, Fall, 1967. Miss Conn was my teacher. She was the nicest lady. I hated this photo. I look like I’m choking and my hair is all wet and flat.
My third grade teacher was a lady named Mrs. Conn. She loved to teach us music, and we sang a lot. There were several songs she taught us, including the one that follows, “Love is Blue”.
My next door neighbors, the Romo sisters, had a Ouija Board, and we used to find out each other’s secrets by asking the Ouija Board for answers to our questions. One time one of the girls asked the Ouija Board to tell us who I liked at school, and before we knew it, the words Selina were spelled out. And it was true! I had a crush on a little girl named Selina in the third grade. One of the Romo girls later told me that once they were making fun of the Ouija Board, being disrespectul in some way to it, and suddenly the pointer moved straight across the the word “goodbye”, and it never worked for them again. No kidding.
I used to check out this book from the school library all the time. My favorite poem was by Ogden Nash. It was short and sweet. “Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker”.
I don’t remember if this was Freddie’s or mine, but we had something just like this, and I just loved spinning the roulette wheel.
This film premiered on 11/22/67. I didn’t see it until many, many years later. Wow. What a funny movie!
This premiered on 12/22/67. I didn’t see it until much later, but I knew the song “Mrs. Robinson” well. It was a big hit on the radio.
I’m not sure exactly what year it was, but at one point, my mom and dad bought an aluminum Christmas tree. I would love to sit and stare at the tree as the color wheel turned and made the aluminum change colors. We also had red and white round ornaments. They were made of styrofoam and were wrapped in vertical synthetic red and white thread. They had a candy-cane like look to them. I liked the live trees our dad would buy better, however. It was always an adventure going with him to find a tree to bring home.
We had all of these games and toys at one point or another. I also enjoyed chess and chinese checkers., tinker toys and pick up sticks. One year my sister Becky and her husband bought me several games and books. I was a lucky kid that Christmas!
What a year it was for music!
This was released in October 1967, but later played at the Cactus Drive-in. I went with all my Mendoza and Basurto cousins to see it. The ad below is from February 1968.
My sister Becky’s husband Larry took this photo at the University of Arizona when Bobby Kennedy visited during his presidential campaign. He was assassinated 3 months later.
This album was released on March 25, 1968. My sister Becky was living at home at the time and she had a copy of this album. I remember it well.
One of many wonderful tunes from the album, Eli and the Thirteenth Confession…
from the Arizona Daily Star, April 5, 1968. I watched the ensuing riots on the nightly news. That along with the daily body counts from the war in Vietnam were reported each night by announcers like Howard K. Smith and Walter Cronkite. I was a kid, and I didn’t understand the significance of any of it, but I do remember it because I watched the news practically every night.
Charles would be coming home soon, after 4 years in the Navy.
My friend Larry Mendoza, my niece Michelle and me at Randolph Park, summer 1968.
Randolph Park, 1968. I’m nine years old.
My sister Irene would always dress my nieces Belisa and Michelle in matching outfits. Here they are having hotdogs. Seated next to them are Rose Fass and Leo Carrillo, who were my friends Bubba’s and Ernie’s moms. In the background are Ernie’s sisters Lorraine and Cathy with another neighbor, Anna Arenas. Lorraine was always telling me, “Go home, Bobby Joe” whenever I’d visit Ernie at their house.
“The Games People Play” by Joe South, was released in August, 1968. It was one of my mom’s very favorite pop tunes. She’d sing it to all her grandchildren over the years.
My brother Freddie and I collected baseball cards. This is a sampling of some of the better known players back in the day.
My favorite team was the St. Louis Cardinals. They won the 1967 World Series the previous year.
4th grade, 1968. This is yet another photo that I didn’t care for. I had just gotten a haircut . My hair was sticking out all over the place, and my shirt was buttoned all the way up and choking me. I would’ve looked better with a tie on, but I never wore ties as a kid. Still don’t like them.
In the 4th grade, I joined the school orchestra. I really wanted to play the violin, but the teacher urged me to take on the cello, because there weren’t any cello players in the goup. I grew to love playing the cello, but it took me a while to figure it all out. Unfortunately, my parents could not afford paying for lessons, so I did my best to learn it on my own. A man named Lauritz Bjorlie was our teacher. He did what he could to teach us the fundamentals, but real lessons by a private teacher never happened. I did okay anyway.
This was the book we used to learn how to play. My brother Rudy took me one day to the Chicago Store to buy this along with a music stand. I loved going to the Chicago Store! I was a real dump, but there was cool stuff everywhere!
My 4th grade class photo. I was “in love” with the two girls on either side of me, Janet and Susan. I even wrote one of them a love letter once and she just had to read it out loud to all her friends. I was so embarrassed, I wanted to die.
I loved to read as a child. My sister Becky and her husband Larry would take me to the Wilmot branch of the Tucson Public library all the time. I remembered this series, and after searching and searching on the internet for these, I finally found them on Ebay. I read these in the 4th grade (68-69) during a reading contest in Mrs. Pilling’s class. I had to write a book report on each title and created a fact sheet for each state by copying information like the size of the population, the date the state joined the union, the geographic size of the state, etc. etc. I won the contest!
There was a book for each state of the union. This is a sampling of them.
My brother Fred started junior high in 1968.
Dark Shadows was my favorite show of all…
My sister Becky married a guy named Larry Baker in September, 1968. They went their separate ways a couple of years later.
Becky on her wedding day.
This photo was taken on October 20, 1968.. We’re in my mom’s kitchen celebrating my niece Belisa’s birthday. She had just turned 6 two days earlier. Included here are me, Bubba Fass, Larry Mendoza, Roman Jaurigue, Ricky Fass, my brother Fred and Larry Ochoa.
Here’s the entire photo. The little girls are my nieces Anadine, Michelle and Belisa and one of our neighbors, Theresa Ochoa.
The 1968 Summer Olympics were very popular. Everyone watched them on TV. They took place October 12 through 27.
I remember this well.
But I don’t remember this. The massacre of students at Tlatelolco in October in the Plaza of Three Cultures claimed hundreds of lives. The students were protesting the social and economic conditions that kept millions in poverty. The massacre took place 10 days before the Olympics.
My dad was back at work at the mine in San Manuel in the summer of ’68, and he made these bookends and pen holder for me right around the time that the 1968 Olympics were taking place. They weighed a ton. Both of the bookends had rings attached originally, but one set fell off after a while. Dad also made my mom knives and spoons, but they were very heavy. I wish I’d had kept them, but they’re long gone!
A bunch of us kids from the neighborhood saw this when it came out. The story was about a writer, George Plimpton, who decided he was going to try his hand at football. He got creamed. The film was released on 10-23-68.
These were the “official” candidates for President. Too bad Humphrey lost. Who knows how many lives would have been saved? While he had supported Johnson’s stance on Vietnam while he was vice-president, Humphrey changed his stance and was against the bombing that was occurring in 1968.
Pat Paulsen would appear on the Smothers Brothers show. He was very funny, and he ran for President in ’68. Too bad he didn’t win. We ended up with Nixon…
Becky took Freddie, me and some of our friends from the neighborhood to see this at the drive-in. It was released on November 13, 1968, just a little over a week before the White Album came out.
From the soundtrack to Yellow Submarine, “All You Need is Love”…
Released on 11-22-68. Rudy bought this the day it was released. Another Beatles classic that we knew by heart.
Rocky Raccoon was my favorite song.
I clearly remember the Honk Kong flu epidemic. My mom and aunt took all of us kids to the Southern Pacific Hospital downtown for vaccination shots. In the end, I didn’t get one, however, because I had a cold. I never did catch the flu this particular season. I guess I got lucky. At least I don’t remember catching it, but I did get sick a lot as a kid. I had the measles, the chicken pox, the mumps, and even scarlet fever.
From the Tucson Citizen, December 17, 1968.
The Southerrn Pacific Hospital, also known as the Carl Hayden hospital was where we had to get our vaccination shots for the flu during the Honk Kong flu epidemic. It closed shortly after this.
I had the best Christmas in 1968. My sister Becky and her husband Larry went all out and bought me several games, like Password, Concentration and Operation, plus several books, including “The Call of the Wild” by Jack London, and “Little Men” by Louisa May Alcott, plus a new dictionary. I also loved the book, Heidi, but I don’t think they included that one. I used to check it out from the school library.
This movie, which I saw, premiered on 12-24-68. I probably saw it a few months later.
What a year for music!
Although I was too young to know what was happening, students at both the college and high school levels were engaged in protests throughout the country. They were fighting for more relevant courses and rallying against the war in Vietnam. This happened in Tucson too. See the articles that follow, student activists fought to have a Mexican American studies program created at the University of Arizona, and high school students from Tucson High and Pueblo staged walkouts protesting conditions in their high schools. It was a volatile, but exciting time. The Chicano movement was in full swing.
2-13-1969 Tucson Daily Citizen
2-14-1969 Tucson Daily Citizen
My sister and her husband Larry lived in an apartment north of Speedway near Jones Blvd. at one point and then in the University of Az area near Helen and Mountain. My brother Fred and I would love to visit them. They were “hippies” and smoked pot and listened to groovy music. Larry took the following photos of Becky in February and March, 1969. I just love these.
My sister Becky was always reading.
I thought my sister Becky was one of the prettiest young women I’d ever seen. She was beautiful, and still is.
I used to love to read Archie comics and to watch the Archie cartoons on TV. I also had my own copy of the above 45. It was bubble gum heaven. Released May 24, 1969. Below is the cartoon version of the song.
My 4th grade report card. Even though I was out sick a lot of the time, especially this particular year, I always did well in school, and I loved to read. This is also the year I started playing the cello. I played up until the end of the 8th grade and used an instrument loaned to me by the school. I wasn’t athletic at all and was a chubby, klutzy kid, so playing music became my favorite pastime.
Rudy also spent time in California after graduation from high school, but by 1969 he was back home coaching a little league team with his friend Hector Carrillo. My brother Freddie and our friends Ricky Fass and Ernie Carrillo were on the team and my friend Roman was the bat boy. I was nowhere to be found…
The Stonewall riots started on June 28, 1969. This was the beginning of the gay rights movement. Within a couple of years, I began to realize that I liked boys and that I was gay, but I didn’t come out until I was 19. I would later write about this event in one of my Sociology classes on social movements.
Police would raid the gay bars in New York regularly. This time, however, people fought back.
This song, written and sung by Jackie DeShannon, was released in June, 1969. One of my brothers girlfriends loaned it to him, but he never gave it back, and I kept it. I later bought the album by the same title, but this was the only song I liked.
During the summer of 1969, my sister Irene and her family brought my brother Fred and me along on their vacation to California. They took us to Disneyland, the San Diego zoo, and Buena Park, where we visited Knott’s Berry Farm and the Movieland Wax Museum.
It’s A Small World after all…loved it!
We went on all of these rides and more. It was an experience of a lifetime. I enjoyed every minute of it.
In Buena Park, we went to the Movieland Wax Museum, where my brother Fred and I took the photo below.
I was 10 1/2 and Fred was going to turn 13 in a couple of months.
Knotts Berry Farm was a lot of fun. It had a bunch of kiddie rides.
We then drove down to San Diego and visited the zoo. It too was a lot of fun. I’ve only been back once since.
My nieces Michelle, Anadine and Belisa. We grew up together.
This song was released in July, 1969, a few months before the album was released. It is one of my very, very favorite Aretha Franklin songs.
We spent summers at St. Ambrose Pool. This isn’t it, but it’s similar. The pool was eventually closed due to high levels of radiation in the area.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, this was happening…
Three days of love, peace and music, August 15-18, 1969. I remember when the movie came out in March, 1970. I wasn’t allowed to go see it, because it included nudity and was rated R.
It would be a few more years before I even knew who Joan Baez was, but here she is performing at Woodstock. Wish I’d had known about her back then.
This film was cool. I saw it when it came out. It premiered on 9/23/69.
My fifth grade portrait. I was a big crybaby as a child, and I guess my sadness showed sometimes. My mom got very sick this year, so things at home were difficult.
My fifth grade class photo. The adult on the far left in the photo was a substitute teacher. Mrs. Wagner, our regular teacher, was out this day.
In the fifth grade we would sometimes swap teachers. I remember, for example, taking reading from a teacher named Mr. Koster, even though Mrs. Wagner was my regular teacher. Some of Mr. Koster’s kids would also take classes from my teacher, Mrs. Wagner. Mr. Koster wrote the word PIG on the chalkboard one day, and next to each letter spelled out the words pride, integrity and guts, letting us kids know where he stood on the hippie issue. He was a crotchety old guy, that’s for sure and wasn’t a fan of what was going on in places like Chicago during the Democratic national convention. The youth of America were on a mission to yippify the world.
A pretty blonde girl that I had a huge crush on the year before in the 4th grade named Janet Harrison was a student in Mr. Koster’s class, but one day while she was sitting in with my class, she wrote the lyrics to the Beatles tune Nowhere Man on the chalk board while Mrs. Wagner was out on a coffee break. The rest of us watched in awe as she spelled out every word of the song. Everyone was worried she was going to get caught, but she managed to erase it all just as Mrs. Wagner was walking in the door. Janet was the coolest, hippest student in school as far as I was concerned. I was still smitten by her, but she never paid any attention to me. I didn’t know it at the time, but she was a little rich girl, whose father Harmon Harrison was a well-known surgeon in town. I was way out of her league. We later attended Mansfeld together. In high school, she was a debutante with the Tucson Symphony Cotillion Ball. Later, in college, she became a party animal. She managed to complete her degree in Russian and went off to work at the embassy in the Soviet Union before returning to the US. I haven’t seen her since college.
He’s a real nowhere man Sitting in his nowhere land Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
Doesn’t have a point of view Knows not where he’s going to Isn’t he a bit like you and me? Nowhere man please listen You don’t know what you’re missing Nowhere man, the world is at your command
He’s as blind as he can be Just sees what he wants to see Nowhere man, can you see me at all Nowhere man don’t worry Take your time, don’t hurry Leave it all ’til somebody else Lends you a hand Ah, la, la, la, la
Doesn’t have a point of view Knows not where he’s going to Isn’t he a bit like you and me? Nowhere man please listen You don’t know what you’re missing Nowhere man, The world is at your command Ah, la, la, la, la
He’s a real nowhere man Sitting in his nowhere land Making all his nowhere plans for nobody Making all his nowhere plans for nobody Making all his nowhere plans for nobody
My brother Rudy got married in November, 1969 to Lillian Villaescusa. They later divorced sometime in the mid-1970s.
This premiered on television on 12/6/69.
My brother Rudy and his wife Lillian took Fred and me to the drive-in movies one night and we ended up watching Bonnie and Clyde and this film. I guess my brother and his wife didn’t realize what the film was about, but as soon as they learned it included nudity, we left.
I don’t like films with lots of violence, but this one was a thriller.
This is the ad for the films we watched. I don’t remember seeing Bullitt. The ad appeared in the Tucson Citizen on November 1, 1969.
I remember the night the two pedestrians were killed on the overpass near our house on 22nd St. My brother Charles had just started training to be a paramedic, and he was on the scene of the accident helping out. It was horrific. There were body parts strewn all over the place. There was another accident on the overpass that occurred later that involved a truckload of kids. I can’t remember when it was exactly, however. It happened after this particular incident if I recall correctly.
The Youth Fitness project, I believe, was a nationwide project funded by the government to get kids to be more physically active. I remember that there were a bunch of activities that we participated in that were intended to gauge our physcical abilities. These included sprinting races, and long jump competitions. They were fun. I wasn’t at all athletic, but I enjoyed participating nevertheless.
I was a school safety patrol officer for two years in a row. Each year, we received a certificate of recognition for our efforts.
This is exactly what my patrol belt looked like.
I was a bright kid, and did better than most of the other students in my class. I think my teachers gave me lower grades than I deserved sometimes because they either didn’t like me or they thought I shouldn’t get all 1’s. It’s funny how those things mattered so much more back then to me than they do now. If only someone had told me that such things wouldn’t mean anything at all in time…
I was on this Little League team, but wasn’t present the day our team photo was taken. Included here are Bubba Fass, Davey Santander, Mugsy Olivares, Bobby Kivel and Freddie Corral, plus a bunch of guys who lived on 19th street. Bert Otero was our coach. I hated Little League, but stuck it out for two years.
Just thought I’d add this to give some perspective to what things were like cost-wise in 1970.
My sister Becky and her husband split up sometime in 1970. She moved back home for a while, and at one point got involved with people who were active in local issues. The El Rio Coalition was fighting at the time for a park and space for community activities. One day, my sister came home with a little pin and a book about Che Guevara. I didn’t really understand what this stuff was all about, but I kept the pin and still have the book. Here they are:
This belonged to my sister Becky.
El Rio protesters march to El Rio from Tully School on Tucson’s west side.
This also belonged to my sister. I don’t know if she ever read it or not.
This was a lot of fun. I was never great at it, but I loved to skate.
My sixth grade portrait. This photo was on display in the exhibit window in front of the main office when I was named “student of the month” by my teacher, Mrs. Darnall.
My sixth grade class. Lori Fibel was my girlfriend. She’s the fourth girl in the first row. She told me years later I was the first boy she ever kissed. She was likely the first girl I ever kissed too.
While I wasn’t good at sports, I loved to play tether ball, and there were several such courts on the playground. In the sixth grade, I was known as “the king of the tether ball court”. The only kids who could beat me sometimes were two girls named Edith Pringle and Gloria Contreras. They were both very tall, and it worked to their advantage.
I went to see this with a bunch of friends from the neighborhood. I was a tad too young to really understand the deeper meaning of the film.
My brother Charles married Elaine Romero in November, 1970. They are pictured here with my uncle Donato and Aunt Mary, their padrinos.
My uncle Nato, pictured above, loved this song by Ignacio Lopez Tarso. It’s called “Dona Elena y el Frances”. I still have his 45.
What a sad movie. Seems like everyone saw it. Released on 12/16/70.
Released on 12/23/70. I very clearly remember seeing this when it was first released.
Christmas Day, 1970. I’m here with my mom at Tony Galvez’s house. He and his wife later joined us at our house for dinner.
Standing are: Carlos Diaz, my brother, me, Tony Galvez, a family friend, my dad Alfred Diaz, Jesus Pesqueira, another family friend. Sitting are, Josephine Diaz, my mom, a little girl whose name I don’t remember, Tony Galvez’s wife, Delia Pesqueira, Jesus’s wife, and Elaine Diaz, my brother Carlos’s wife. Christmas Day, 1970.
Close up of me from the above photo taken in our family living room on Christmas Day, 1970.
My mom and dad, Christmas 1970.
Christmas, 1970 or 1971, not sure…
More toys from the 60s. I loved playing jacks with the girls next door!
My brother Rudy and his wife took me and Freddie to see this at the Rodeo Drive-in. I was too young to understand what was happening. Boy, was I naive! Movie release date: 04-18-71.
My 6th grade school patrol certificate. If I remember correctly was named a “patrol captain” this year.
My last report card from Robison Elementary School.
This fun film premiered on June 30, 1971.
I loved reading comic books when I was a kid. I loved Archie comics the most.
I did really well this year, and almost got all 1’s my last quarter. Mrs. Darnall was one of those teachers who didn’t like me too much. This was the year that another student, Steven Fontes, beat me up after I pushed him on the playground. Mrs. Darnall was not very empathetic. She thought I was a big weenie because I couldn’t stop crying. That was another low point for me, but life went on and I’m still here. Steve isn’t. May he rest in peace.
My last attempt at baseball. Summer 1971. My brother Charles was the coach. It was a humiliating experience, and I never went back to playing it after this. I had other talents and pursued those things instead.
Our neighbor Dolores Jaurigue insisted that I take this picture. In the months that followed, I’d begin junior high school and a whole new world would greet me. I put away my baseball uniform and never looked back.
This ad came out in the May 8, 1971 edition of the Arizona Daily Star. I’m not exactly sure when I saw it, but I know it wasn’t at a drive-in and it wasn’t part of a double feature. This was a funny movie, and some of the sillier, salacious lines of the film have stayed with me all this time.
I am not exactly sure when I bought this, but it was around this time. I remember it was at a bookstore called Focus on Books at 920 E. Speedway, just west of Park. I was with my two sisters, who were doing laundry next door. This was one of the very first books I ever bought. I don’t know what compelled me to choose this one. I kept it for a very long time, but I think I let it go when I gave a bunch of books away before moving to Michigan in 1987.
This album was released in August, 1971, just before I started junior high school. My brother Rudy bought it and we listened to it all the time. These guys were hilarious.
Stay tuned for Part II of My Life in Pictures: Junior High School… 1971-1973. Coming soon!
1965, first grade photo. It’s not included in the little yearbook that follows. Someone cut out my photo.
I started first grade in September, 1965. I was six years old. My teacher was Mrs. Goldbaum. She had been at Robison a very long time, and taught several of my older siblings. I was a bright kid and loved school, but I do remember crying on the first day. I was a big chipilon. I also remember reading Dick and Jane books and singing Frere Jacques in front of the class. My friends were Billy Fass, Larry Mendoza, and Hugo Ruthling. If I recall correctly, I had two little girlfriends, Roberta and Sue. One time in reading circle, they both kissed me on the cheek at the same time. I was in heaven. Another time, I was walking Sue home and my mom came by to pick me up. She said she came to get me but I told her, no thanks, because I was walking my girlfriend home. Mom got a big kick out of that and told everyone about it. Sue didn’t come back after first grade. Her family moved away from the neighborhood. She was a cutie pie. I made some lifelong friends in first grade and am still in touch with several of them. I can’t believe this was over 55 years ago!
I attended Robison from 1965 to 1971. My teachers were Mrs. Goldbaum, Miss Stevens, Mrs. Conn, Mrs Pilling, Mrs. Wagner and Mrs Darnall. Five of the six of them are pictured here. Mrs. Pilling was my 4th grade teacher and she was new that year and replaced Mrs. Leinhardt, who isn’t included here either. Over the years, I was in the same classes as a lot of these kids. Most of them went on to Mansfeld Jr. High and Tucson High. I still remember most of their names, and some are friends on Facebook to this day. Here are the names of some of the kids I remember whose photos are on this page: Victor Rivera, Jane Cleary, Raymond Rodriguez, Cindy Zimmerman, Carole Ruiz, Bobby Felix, Jeannie McKaben, Ernie Moreno, Yolanda Gomez, Billy Hernandez, Mike Leskowski, Yvonne Virgil, Janet Harrison, Chuck Leon, Christina Linarez, Greg Gibson, Helene Diamond. Mrs. Goldbaum, my teacher, also taught my brothers Carlos and Rudy, and my sister Becky back in the 50’s. My two girlfriends are in the third row from the bottom. Sue is the second girl in that row and Roberta is the last girl. My photo was just above Roberta’s, but as I said, someone cut it out. Here are some of these kids’ names: John DeConcini, Doug Adamson, Reuben Beltran, Laura Johnson, Ronnie Hale, Billy Fass, Olivia Contreras, Susan Wood, Larry Mendoza, Roberta Aros, Michael Pearlman, Linda Calloway, Hugo Ruthling.Pictured here: Selina Suarez, Linda Lucas, Albert Soto, Oscar Munoz, Freddie Corral, Valerie Filip, John Maldonado, Tommy Kraft, Eugene “Mugsy” Olivares, Peter Otero, Sara Horowitz, Tommy Craney. and many others…Pitured here: Cathy Paredes, Ernie Carrillo, Steven Fontes, Marion Franc Albert Yanez, Cathy Zimmerman, Jerry Mendoza, among others.Included here: Susan Miner, Tommy Calloway, Debbie Romo and many others. Included here: Elsa Montoya, Sandra Hernandez, Sandra Gardner, Ricky Fass and others. Included here: Maritza Suarez, Rick Giglotti, Ruben Suarez, John Barrios and others. Included here: Delma Rivera, Melinda Palacios, “Tiny” Romo. Included here: Frankie Franco, Freddie Diaz (my brother), Cathy Carrillo, Brenda Jaurigue, Becky Romo and others. Included here: Anna Marie Arenas, Mickey Lopez and others. Included here: Xavier Suarez, Oscar Hernandez.Included here: Chris Perez and others.
