HISTORY I LIVED

History I Lived - by Baptistina S. Aparicio (writer, poet, and traveler) - edited by Snake Blocker (Baptistina’s grandson)

These are some of my memoirs as long as I can remember…since 1912. 

The Mexican revolution had started in 1910.  The City of Monterrey was nearly normal, as it was not attacked yet.  I remember my mother and aunts were really worried about their sister, whom was married to General Mendoza.  They were also worried about a brother, Colonel Brijido Sepulveda, serving in the Army of the Federal Government.  Brijido later became a Presbyterian Evangelist. The President was Jose Porfirio Diaz, a cruel Dictator for about 30 years (1876-1911). I heard all the talk of what was happening, as the family was alert to all news.  The newspapers printed pictures of the battles, and I too began to feel the worries of my mother.  I was paying attention to all that was around me.   To add to the family worries, my grandfather, who was a judge in the town of Hualahuises, was taken prisoner by the revolutionaries who thought all public employees worked for the government.  The Revolution was started by Francisco Madero.  He had planned to overthrow the government of Dictator Jose Porfirio Diaz, who favored just the rich families.  Poor people were treated as slaves with no right to vote…no school for them…and no right to defend themselves.   Dictator Diaz was overthrown on 24 May 1911.  Francisco Madero was President from 1911-1913.  Back then the daily pay for a field laborer was 12 cents and about 5 pounds of corn, no matter how many were in the family.  They lived on the property of their landlord.  It was like feudalism.  The middle class was a little respected.  Francisco Madero belonged to a rich family of Industrialists.  He was a good lawyer and a compassionate man, who wanted to see Mexico free…all equal…and all respected.  During this time, my grandfather was investigated and he proved he was not against the Revolution.  He was then taken to Monterrey, to the state capital.  My mother took me to visit him when he was in jail.  Later, he was found innocent of those charges and was freed in two weeks.  Then by the middle of 1913, the city, Monterrey, was attacked by the Federal Party, without warning.  Many men were on their way to work.  By 8:00 a.m. the American Smelting (Fundicion) company, all factories, and industries, began sounding alarms…but it was too late.  The assault had already started.  All who were on the streets tried to run to safety.  Some made it, while others were caught on firing lines and many were killed in our neighborhood.  We all were running for safety in better constructed houses.  In a big house where we stayed, there were about 300 people.  There were babies crying…children frightened…men trying to calm the panic, while leaning mattresses along the walls as shields for bullets.  By the third day, the battle was over.  The soldiers gave notice that it was safe to return to our homes.  Everyone returned to their houses, just to find them full of holes from the bullets.  The soldiers had taken what places they could as barracks.  The next day, city employees were lifting the dead bodies from the streets.  There were so many corpses that could not be buried.  The soldiers then decided to burn them outside the city limits.  President Madero was betrayed and assassinated in 1913.  Then, Victoriana Huerta was President for only one year (1913-1914).  Next, Venustiano Carranza was President from 1914-1920. After the next battle, Carranza ordered his soldiers not to fight inside the city, and for a short time it was peaceful.  Next, Francisco “Pancho” Villa rebelled against Carranza, some soldiers followed Villa, but others stayed with Carranza.  The Mexican Civil War went on from 1911-1914, but there was civil conflict and small battles until 1920, and Pancho Villa fought in battles from 1911-1916.

By 1914, Monterrey was controlled by General Francisco “Pancho” Villa (the first General of the Mexican Revolution).  He printed his own money then he called the poor people to his military train where he gave each person a 200 pesos bill.  My mother took me to see him and that’s how I came to know Pancho Villa.  Soon afterwards, Carranza came back to attack Villa.  This time, Pancho Villa left the city peacefully.  Then Villa became a bandit…assaulting trains, ranches, and whatever else he could.  Some say he became a very bad person. 

When the Mexican revolution ended, my uncle returned to Monterrey as a civilian.  My aunt’s husband, General Mendoza had been wounded.  So he left the Army and boarded a ship from Yucatan to Florida.  Then he went to Galveston, Texas and ended up in Laredo, Texas.  At one point, he dressed up like a woman so he wouldn’t be recognized, since he knew his enemies were after him.  Others knew that he also had gold, that he had gotten when we was in the Army. By some means he sent word to my aunt, whom he had left in Mexico City, to come meet him in Laredo.  My aunt, and the children, embarked to Veracruz, all using aliases, so they would not be discovered.  They arrived in Galveston, and then to Laredo, where her husband was waiting.  They all were able to get a lot of gold across the border, and this was the start of a new life for them.  They started a grocery store in Laredo which was opened until 1932, when my uncle died of a heart attack.  My aunt died in 1985, at the age of 102 years old.  

The stress wasn’t over until 1915.  I went to school and finished my first year.  Then, my aunt, who was the principal of a Christian College, enrolled my sister and I into a college named, Instituto Christiano.  Professor Enrique Westrup was the superintendent of the school board.  There I finished my second school year.  The college was founded by the Board of Missions of the Christian Church from Cincinnati, Ohio.  All the teachers received their checks from the U.S.A.  

In 1916, we came to the U.S.A. to stay.  In those years, nothing was required to cross the border.  Just leave your name and pay a nickel.  We stayed in Laredo, Texas for a short time.  In 1917, we moved to Sequin, then to San Antonio, then Kennedy, and then Aransas Pass, Texas.  We lived in Aransas Pass for 8 years.  It was on those years that the U.S.A. was sending troops to France.  World War I had started on 28 June 1914 and ended on 11 November 1918. So during this time, supplies were scarce.  Sugar, coffee, flour, and other commodities were in short supply because they were sent overseas for the war effort.  By 1918, the soldiers were coming back home victorious and the first Armistice Day was celebrated. 

In 1919, a strong hurricane hit Aransas Pass and the town was nearly destroyed.  We barely escaped, but thank God, He cares for us at all times and through all circumstances. 

In October 1929, the entire nation began to feel the Great Depression when the stock market crashed.  It lasted till at least 1933.  Banks closed…the stock market was at an all time low, and all industries seemed to be failing.  There was little to no work in those years.  There was no welfare and it was hard times, until Franklin Roosevelt became President of the U.S.A.  He was a great president and a good man.  He began to open work for men and recruited teenagers to work in the forests.  It’s a long story, but things got better.

Since he died, the nation has not been the same “Good-old-U.S.A,” where you could live in peace and security. 

Next, WWII broke out, every citizen tried hard to help.  Even children helped in everything they could.  Everyone worked harder with the idea to stop the war.  Temples and churches were opened, so everyone who wanted to could go and pray.  At work, all businesses and factories gave employees five to ten minutes to pray for peace.  Catholics and Protestants shared the same wish to pray for our soldiers.  It’s another long story, but the U.S.A. and our Allies obtained victory against Adolf Hitler and the evil Nazis. 

But once it was all over, what happened?  When prosperity came back, then the morals went down, and the nation seemed to have forgotten God, who gave them the Victory.  Now, it seems to be hard times for Christians that try to please God.

 

I can’t say much about dates of some of my elders, only those given to me by my mother, when she too came to the U.S.A.  I lost trace of other relatives, except my mother’s brothers and sisters.  Of my grandfather…all I know is that his name was Jose Sepulveda.  The book, I have, says that my great-grandmother was a widow when she was converted to the Gospel in 1865, by a Baptist Missionary named James Hikey.  The one who wrote about the family was Mr. Tomas Westrup.  He was an English man who came from England to Mexico to open up a flour mill and to cooperate with others to establish the First Baptist Church in Monterrey.  The Sepulveda family was living at that time in Villa de Garcia, N Leon State.  My great-grandmother and eight of her children were baptized.  Only one remained a Catholic…Guadalupe Sepulveda.  I already mentioned Colonel Brijido.  Eugenio Sepulveda was a book keeper and the first elder of the First Baptist Church in Monterrey.  Tomas Sepulveda was an Inter-Denominational Evangelist.  Anastacio Sepulveda was distributing Christian literature and was killed by Catholic fanatics.  Octaviano Sepulveda was a judge and lawyer.  Dominga Sepulveda was married to Jose Garza.  Juanita Sepulveda was married to a Mr. Dominguez.  And Luciana Sepulveda was married to Jose Uranga. These were my mother’s side (uncles and aunts).  The Sepulveda’s also owned a hotel in Sabinas Hidalgo,  Mexico.       

Mama Aparicio
by Pastor John J. Fox, Jr. - Corpus Christi Altar of Prayer Church, Corpus Christi, Texas written about Baptistina S. Aparicio

As I looked at Mama Aparicio,
Lying there in her bed;
I thought, LORD, here is a mother, ready to go;
As I remember what she said.
“Thank you Jesus. I love you too.”
She could hardly whisper, but we all knew.
Days passed and nights continued on;
Just any moment, the Angels would take her home.
They would ask the question, “What keeps Mama here?”
Little did they know, it was someone near.
A mother who worked both night and day;
Had a child, she prayed for, who had gone astray.
Supper was about ready, Mama was going home;
And she could hardly bear to leave them alone.
She prayed for her children and grand-children too.
And in this life, she did all that she could do.
So the other night, on the LORD’s Day;
The Angels came to take Mama Aparicio away.
And from this country of sin and shame;
To a city over there where they glorify His name.
And if I could see into heaven as I see you;
I would see this dear mother with other loved ones too.
I believe she is beckoning to the ones who are so dear;
Saying, “I love you children, but keep Jesus near.”

Baptistina S. Aparicio, born 25 May 1907 (age 84), of 2226 Howard Street, Corpus Christi, Texas passed away Sunday, 10 November 1991.  She was preceded in death by her husband Alejandro Apraicio (Lipan Apache) in 1978; and a daughter, Esther A. Galvan in 1983.  Survivors are two daughters, Nancy Dalia Blocker-California (Snake's mother), Gloria Morgan-Colorado; five sons: Neftali Aparicio-Texas, Alejandro Apraricio-Texas, Ricardo Aparicio-California, Samual Aparicio-Washington, Abel Aparicio-Arizona, one brother: Ike Saldana-California; 38 Grandchildren; 56 Great-Grandchildren; over 100 Great-Great Grandchildren.

Baptistina Aparicio
by Tiffany Hernandez (Baptistina’s Great-grand-daughter), Texas – 04 February 1994

Baptistina Aparicio, better known as Wela, was born in 1907.  She had only one brother and one sister.  Their names were Ike “Chayo” Saldana and Dora Villerial.  She was born in Monterey, Mexico, but she spent most of her life in a small house in down-town, Corpus Christi, Texas.  Towards the later years of her life, her son, Neftali Aparicio, came to live with her in the small house.  I’m not sure if my Wela went to school for long because she had to help support her family.

Wela loved to make little crafts, which she passed on to her daughter, which is my grandma, Gloria Morgan.  She also made cloths and little dresses for Barbie® dolls and other toy dolls.  I asked my mother, Karen “Sissy” Hernandez, what was something she would never forget about Wela.  She told me, “I will never forget Wela because she was the person that helped me with my drama and with memorizing things.   Whenever I had something to memorize, she told me to show expression…and that would make everything more interesting. And she was right!”

Wela died on 10 November 1991.  She was in her 80’s.  She had breast cancer.  The cancer eventually spread throughout her entire body.  She also had cataracts.  Wela was a wonderful person and had a good heart, as well as, spirit.  Although she mainly spoke Spanish, I think we had a wonderful relationship.  I wish she could have lived until I died.  But, there is a reason for everything.  Wela was my favorite Great-grandma that has passed away.  I loved the times that we shared together, and I only wish we could have had a lot more time.

Written in Memory of Baptistina Aparicio

(Tiffany Hernandez wrote this for her 7^th grade English class assignment and received a grade of 110% for the paper)