A People’s History of the Inland Empire Digital Archive

Items

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  Portrait of Eunice Gonzales

  "Eunice Romero (Gonzales) was a bilingual instructional aid in the 1970s. She recalled one of the biggest controversies ever to engulf the Northside, 'When my children started going to school, there was always this measure of prejudice, especially when they started with this business of integrating the schools. You could see the prejudice, that these people didn't want our kids from the Northside at their schools any more than we wanted theirs over here because it was a two way street.'" Eunice was also active in the parent-teacher association (PTA), Divine Savior Church, and community groups in North Redlands. (Vasquez and Carpio, 46)
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  Carlos and Tillie Guzman Wedding circa 1930s

  "The Guzman family home was located on Stuart Street (515) in Redlands. The house was near the family's Blacksmith shop owned by Carlos' father Epimenio. Connie Guzman McFarland recalled, 'My grandmother [Jesusita] was born in Magdalena, Mexico. That's where they have the coffin of San Francisco Javier .... When she came over, she was a little girl, she brought a sapling of a tree. And that tree, they planted it in front of their house. I think I have the picture of that. And that's why my mom and dad had this type of tree. In fact, those trees are planted, would you believe, at what they call the Catholic Hill at Hillside Cemetary.'" (Vasquez and Carpio, 21)
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  Home of Carlos Guzman

  The Guzman family home was located on Stuart Street (515) in Redlands. The house was near the family's Blacksmith shop owned by Carlos' father Epimenio. Connie Guzman McFarland recalled, "My grandmother [Jesusita] was born in Magdalena, Mexico. That's where they have the coffin of San Francisco Javier... When she came over, she was a little girl, she brought a sapling of a tree. And that tree, they planted it in front of their house. I think I have the picture of that. And that's why my mom and dad had this type of tree. In fact, those trees are planted, would you believe, at what they call the Catholic Hill at Hillside Cemetary."
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  1947 "Mexican League" Pony Major Championship

  Black and white image of four men, including Armando Gonzales (batter, third from left) at Community Park. This image was taken during the 1947 Pony Major Championship held at the baseball fields at Community Park in Redlands. Like many baseball leagues across Southern California and the Southwest, Mexican adults and children played in segregated "Mexican Leagues" rather than integrated teams.
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  Joe and Irene Gonzales Wedding

  "Joe and Irene Gonzales leave St. Mary's after their wedding in 1947." (Vasquez and Carpio, 32) Above the newlyweds, a quote is displayed above an entryway saying, "St. Mary's Church, built to the glory of God by the Mexican people of Redlands under the direction of the Rev. James Gray Pastor. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary by the Most Rev. Charles F. Buddy Bishop of San Diego on the feast of Christ the King," and "SILENCE IN THIS HOUSE OF GOD." On the back, it says "From the Studio of William Kingham, WM. Elmer Kingham 5 1/2 and 91/2 E. State St. Redlands, California."
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  WWII Soldier, Redlands California

  Black and white photograph of a member of the Roque family posing in uniform during World War II under a tree.

• Lupe Sanchez Band, 1964

  Color photograph of the Lupe Sanchez Band with Blas Coyazo on guitar; Hemet Califorina, New Year's Eve 1964. Blas Coyazo said: "I play the bass guitar and the electric guitar and the electric guitar so for the last fifty years also, or more, out of the eighty-three years that I have, I've been playing with bands in the Inland Empire here. San Bernardino, Colton, Riverside, Hemet, Palm Springs, even Indio and Coachella, Perris, Pomona, Fontana, Bloomington, Corona...Saturday nights I used to go out moslty every week and earn perhaps twenty, twenty-five dollars extra...So I made that as a side work, you know, because I'd -- well, I learned how to play the guitar way back in 1927, '28."
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  Redlands Packing Crew

  Black and white photograph of a group of six men in a truck bound for citrus picking circa 1938. Pictured is Joe Hernandez standing center on the truck along with Ismael "Smiley" Tejada (Standing on the truck's running board).
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  The Mexican Drum and Bugel Corps

  Black and white image of the Mexican Drum and Bugel Corps marching down Colton Avenue during the Dos de Abril festivities in the late 1920s. Two members of the band, Samuel "Sam" and Nick Coyazo were members of the group and are labeled in the image with arrows. The band was sponsored by Mexican patriotic and fraternal organizations which were often a pillar in Mexican American communities.
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  Sam Coyazo at Western Fruit Growers

  Black and white image of Samual R Coyazo standing on the bed of a truck. Taken in 1947 the image shows Samual known as "Sam" at Western Fruit Growers where he was a foreman. Handwritten on the photo is "Sam Coyazo, 1128 Lawton Street. Redland California, Best wishes to you always, phone 25636"
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  Guzman Family c. 1915

  "The Guzman family settled in Redlands before it was founded in 1888. Jesusita Guzman and Mercedes Velarde were sisters from the Federico family." (Vasquez and Carpio, 12) The black and white photograph shows Jesusita Guzman (standing), Richard Guzman (Standing Foreground), Epimenio Guzman (seated), Carlos Guzman (seated on lap).
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  Manuel Jacques at Cement Manufacturing Plant

  Mary Garcia's father, Manuel Jacques, is pictured here at a concrete manufacturing plant on Colton Avenue in Redlands on December 18, 1939. Manuel is pictured with two other men as they lean against some cement pipes. Concrete conduit, standpipes, and other products were essential to the citrus industry in the days before plastic pipes.
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  Augustin Ruiz, 1979

  "This photograph shows Augustin Ruiz in 1979 on Cypress Street. In the 1990s, through the efforts of his descendants, Second Street was renamed Ruiz Street in honor of the patriarch, who lived to the age of 104." According to Aurelia Ruiz Reyes, "My grandpa was working, he was here already working in San Francisco at the time of the earthquake in 1906. He went back to Mexico and he brought my dad [Augustin Ruiz] over here to work. My grandpa had some relatives in Yucaipa and they stopped there for, I don't remember, not too long, because they were on their way to San Francisco. They were hitchhiking, and this man gave them a ride up to El Monte. So, the man gave them a job picking walnuts. They made a little money there, so they didn't continue to San Francisco, and they came back to Redlands. They lived... right on the corner of Stuart and Oriental. There's where the, a lot of the Spanish people were, Mexican people were before." (Vasquez and Carpio, 27)
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  Group Portrait of the Ruiz children

  The Ruiz children, from left to right, are Candida, Jose, and Lucille. Felix and Octavio are seated on Catota the mule. Their parents, Augustin and Angela, lived at 509 Lawton Street. Helen Cabral, Augustin and Angela's granddaughter, recalled that her grandfather "came from Zacualco, Jalisco and was born in 1890. He worked on the railroad in Arizona, then homesteaded in Redlands when he was 18. Augustin was a mason who made pipes for irrigating the groves, and he picked oranges seasonally. Catota was used as transportation and for taking the family to Chino to pick walnuts. He was a strong mule. Catota became so recognized that people thought my grandfather's name was Catota, and they called the family the Catota Clan." This photograph was taken in front of their home in 1920.
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  Lupe Yglesias and Lupe Corrales

  Portrait of Lupe Yglesias (left) and Lupe Corrales in Redlands in the late 1940s. In the corner their names are written in cursive.
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  Aurelio Placentia playing guitar

  Black and white photograph of Aurelio Placenta as a child playing with a guitar at his home on High Street, Redlands during the 1930s
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  Romero Family, Fairbanks Ranch, Thanksgiving 1944

  Black and white photograph of three generations of Ramon Romero's family fathered at Fairbanks Ranch in 1944 for Thanksgiving. The photograph includes his granddaughter Ramona and her Swedish husband, Harris "Harry" Dalhberg (standing on the far left). "The ranch, comanaged by Dalhberg and Ramona's father, Jacinto "Joe" Romero (Second row, third from right, holding orange), extended along Highway 99 from California Street in Redlands to Mountain View Avenue in Loma Linda. Eunice Romero (Gonzales) (second row, center, in dark shirt) reminisced about ranch life: 'They had groves of oranges, groves of grapefruit. And they had lemon trees. The Castillos lived on one ranch, the Browmans lived on one ranch, the Martinezes lived on another ranch. So then the Romeros lived on another ranch, the Dahlbergs, the Coyazos lived on Fairbanks Ranch. Those were people that socialized and worked together.'" (Vasquez and Carpio, 45)
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  Home of Carlos Guzman

  The Guzman family home was located on Stuart Street (515) in Redlands. The house was near the family's Blacksmith shop owned by Carlos' father Epimenio. Connie Guzman McFarland recalled, "My grandmother [Jesusita] was born in Magdalena, Mexico. That's where they have the coffin of San Francisco Javier... When she came over, she was a little girl, she brought a sapling of a tree. And that tree, they planted it in front of their house. I think I have the picture of that. And that's why my mom and dad had this type of tree. In fact, those trees are planted, would you believe, at what they call the Catholic Hill at Hillside Cemetary."
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  Joe and Irene Gonzales Wedding Surrounded by Family

  Black and white photograph of Joe and Irene Gonzales's wedding at St. Mary's Church Redlands in 1947. The group photograph shows the newlyweds at the alter surrounded by their many attendants, including a ring bearer and flower girls.
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  St. Mary's Catholic Church

  St. Mary's Church was built in the 1940s when the congregation of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church grew too large. "Lupe Yglesias reflected on the origins of St. Mary's Church, 'Well, you know, before I forget, I was just thinking, all the Mexican ladies got together. We needed a church. So they would all - Concha Viramontes and some other ladies - would go once a month to collect from every Spanish family. One dollar a month to build the church. So actually, the Mexican people helped come up with that church, then it became St. Mary's.'" (Vasquez and Carpio, 32)
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  Abe Romero as "El Capitan" with son Bob Romero

  For the 1933 play "EL Aguila" presented by the Redlands House of Neighborly Service, Abe Romero was cast as the character "El Capitan." El Capitan was the suitor of the heroine in the play. In this black and white photograph Romero is showin in costume patting the head of his young son Bob Romero. The image was taken at the family home on Ohio Street.
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  Abe Romero as "El Capitan"

  For the 1933 play "EL Aguila" presented by the Redlands House of Neighborly Service, Abe Romero was cast as the character "El Capitan." El Capitan was the suitor of the heroine in the play. In this black and white photograph Romero is shown in costume at the family home on Ohio Street. On the back is written "This is my first effort."

• Romero Family at Mary Romero's Home, 1951

  Black and white photograph of twenty two members of the Romero Family at Mary Romero's home on Ohio Street Redlands. The back of the photo indicates it was taken in 1951 or 52 on Thanksgiving day. All members of the family sit or stand on the porch of the house. Rafael Gonzalez is pictured standing in the center holding his infant daughter Christina. Among the younger women and children in the photograph are Joe and Concepcion Romero's daughters and grandchildren.

• Disneyland Festival Mexico Pamphlet

  A colorful pamphlet titled "Festival Mexico" a part of Disneyland's celebration of its 25th anniversary in 1980. The festival took place on November 15th and 16th. The green, white and red document includes a bilingual calendar of events listing all of the many performances given. St. Mary's is listed as "St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico de Redlands" and performed at 11:15 AM at the Small World Mall in Fantasyland.
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  Certificate of Appreciation presented to St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico by the Naval Weapons Center

  A certificate of appreciation given to St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico by the Naval Weapons Center in China Lake, California for the group's contributions during National Hispanic Heritage Week, 1977. Hispanic Week was established by legislation sponsored by Rep. Edward R. Roybal of Los Angeles and was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. In 1988, the commemorative week was expanded to a month (September 15 to October 15). The certificate reads "Naval Weapons Center China Lake, California Certificate of Appreciation presented to Redlands St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico "74" for outstanding contributions to the EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM National Hispanic Heritage Week during the period 11 SEPT to 17 SEPT 1977 awarded on this 13th day of December 1977." The certificate is signed by the Spanish Speaking Program Coordinator and the Deputy EEO Officer. St. Mary's Ballet Folklorico was established at the behest of parents by Petra Lopez, Mary L. Hernandez, Juan Jose Ruiz de la Torre, and Jose Pepe Roa in 1974. Originally the group was supported by St Mary's Catholic Church but later relocated to Orangewood High School. Since 1974 the group has performed across Southern California.