One Man's Musings

  I arrived in Michigan It was a foggy summer afternoon when I arrived in Michigan fifty-two years ago. The year was 1968. I had an uneventful four-hour flight from Guadalajara, Mexico to Chicago. The 45-minute trip from Chicago to Flint was on an old prop engine commuter airplane. My brother in-law Robert Gatrell, my sister Connie and my niece Ana Lourdes picked me up from the airport, I had been admitted to the US as a foreign student. I was a high school drop-out in Mexico. I did not know what to expect regarding high school requirements to obtain a diploma in the US, but I had the most fervent desire to graduate. My English vocabulary was rudimentary at best; my slang vocabulary was non-existent. I had previously met Bob some years back when he married my sister. I knew little about Bob. He was previously married, and he worked as a general foreman. Bob’s kids from the previous marriage were all adults, except for Mark, a sixteen-year-old who was also a member of Bob’s fa...

 I have fond memories of Maria Josefina Mendoza Mendez de Leon. She was born in 1907. Josefina's parents were Guillermo Pablo Mendoza Ramos (1870-1907) and Ana Mendez de Leon (1876-1947.) Ana Maria was the second wife of my grandfather Felipe N.  Brambila. They married on August 8, 1921 in Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico. Grandpa was sixty-seven years old; Ana Mendez de Leon was forty-six years old. My mother lived with my grandfather since my grandmother had passed away on May 11, 1921. My mother Carmelita was seventeen years old when grandpa married the second time.My mother and Josefina became lifetime friends, considering each other sisters. Josefina had a heart of gold. She helped my parents in time of need. She was charitable  to others as well.  Tia Josefina (term of endearment in Spanish) died on April 6, 1993 in Mexico City. She wrote me a letter on June 16, 1990. She told me that she just returned from Russia, where she spent 22 days. The letter was a farewell note....

My  avatar is a picture of a person holding a child. The picture depicts my uncle Jose Miguel Brambila with my mother in his lap as a young lad. 

Maria Rita Naranjo Gomez was born on July 3, 1796. She was born in Tecolotlan, Jalisco, Mexico. Rita was my great-great grandmother. She was the daughter of Rafael Naranjo Castillo and Ursula Gomez. Rafael Naranjo was born in Tecolotrlan, Mexico on October 27, 1766. Rita's siblings were Felipe, Antonio, Jose Maria, Roberto and Pedro. Rita married Juan Jose Fregoso. Juan Jose Fregoso was the son of Juan Antonio Fregoso and Maria Antonia Toscano. Juan Antonio Fregoso was the son of Tadeo Gomez de Teran, member of the Justice Department in Tecolotlan in the XVIII century. Hme was the owner of the Santa Rita hacienda located to the north of Tecolotlan. He passed away on September 19, 1811. My source is FamilySearch.co  My grandpa does not know the date of Juan Jose Fregoso's passing; however, Rita passed away on August 5, 1871 in Tenamaxtlan.

According to my grandpa's notes, my uncle Felipe was born on December 17, 1888 in Mascota, Jalisco, Mexico at six o'clock in the evening. Grandpa was so meticulous in his documentation. The following day, uncle Felipe was presented to the civil authorities to be registered. He is registered under number 370, file 121, front. He was baptized by Msgr. Francisco de Davalos; his godparents were Maximiano Gil and Elvira Rosalez de LLaguno.  Grandpa further notes: Felipe de Jesus married Maria de Jesus Franco. My uncle and his wife had a son named Felipe. Felipe married a second time. His second wife was Domitila Ibarra. The offspring were Armando, Domitila, Yolanda, and Florencia. When I was approximately ten years old, my uncle Felipe visited us in Guadalajara. He was accompanied by my cousin Yolanda and two kids, one was Jacinto and I don't remember the name of the other kid. Jacinto Maldonado Reyes was my cousin's husband. I never met him. I w...

My uncle Jose Miguel Brambila was born in Ameca, Jalisco, Mexico on May 24, 1881. He was the first born to grandpa Felipe and grandma Florencia, who are noted in this blog. My mother was Jose Miguel's kid sister, as she was born when he was 23 years old. Jose Miguel was a tough individual. He was a blacksmith by trade; a man of incredible strength. He was a foreman at a railroad round house. He supervised a crew of men who built and repaired the long metal rods that simultaneously propelled the wheels of steam locomotives. When I met my uncle Jose Miguel, uncle Jose, I was an infant. I still remember him visiting us for supper on a regular basis. He walked with difficulty; always assisted by a walking cane. He used to stutter a bit. He called me endearingly "rafaga" which translates to "burst", as I had a lot of energy often particular to young kids. Jose Miguel was a very generous person. For example; as a railroad employee he was able to obtain train tic...

My dad Ramon Araiza was born in the small town of Etzatlan, Mexico on February 6, 1904. My dad's parents were Juan Jose Araiza Reynoso (1851-1906) and Maximiana Fregoso Fernandez (1851-1950.) They married in 1888. They were 33 years old at the time of their wedding. My father became an orphan when he was two years old. Juan Jose Araiza, his dad, passed away when he was 55 years old. I have a separate narrative in this blog as to the somewhat strange circumstances surrounding his passing. The economic conditions for the Araiza family must have been dire. My grandfather did not leave any economic resources to my grandmother upon his passing. Grandma became a widow with three mouths to feed. My father had two siblings: Felicitas and Jose Maria. To illustrate the hard times my father endured, he once told me that he wanted to contribute to the home by getting a job at a jewelry store. He was told by the owner that he (my dad) had to wear shoes to fill the p...