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ED PADILLA
Contributed by Karen Mitchell Interviewed by Fred George Ed Padilla, born 4-1-1913 Parents - Dabris Padilla and Rose Padilla Grandparents - Anastacio Aragon and Bedulia Aragon Ethnic group - Indian Location of first family settlement - North Veta
May 1979
Fred: When did you come to this area? In what year?
Ed: In 1913.
Fred: You're an old guy, eh?
Ed: Yeah - sixty-three.
Fred: Where at, Ed?
Ed: About two miles north of La Veta on a ranch.
Fred: How big was La Veta then?
Ed: It was a small town, a cow town.
Fred: Do you remember your folks pretty well?
Ed: Oh yeah, my Dad a little, but my Mother no. She died when I
was little.
Fred: You were young when she died. You told me once that either
your Mother or Dad was Indian.
Ed: Both.
Fred: So you're full blooded Indian.
Ed: My Dad was a full blooded Navajo Indian. My Mother was a Ute.
Fred: How neat. What did your folks do for a living?
Ed: Nothing.
Fred: Did they use a little horse and buggy and a saddle horse? "
Ed: That's right.
Fred: No automobile at the time?
Ed: Well no, not until the 1920's when Dad and Mom bought a Model T
but to me horses were the best thing in the world.
Fred: Hey Ed, tell me about your life out on the ranch like that in
La Veta. How did you grow up, what were some of the games you
played, where did you go to school, and who were some of the
teachers?
Ed: At the ranch, Fred, we didn't have much to do but take care of
milk cows, pigs and the ranch. The first three years of school
I went down here to Saint Mary's.
Fred: In Walsenburg?
Ed: Yes. We had two places close to where your Mother lived.
Fred: In North La Veta?
Ed: Yes, one ranch two miles from your Mother's place in North La
Veta, and another up in the hills. So, Mother moved down here and
we went to school here at Saint Mary's. I was a cowboy all
the way.
Fred: All the way, yeah. You had a good time, didn't you?
Ed: I'm still a cowboy, Still an Indian all the way. You know,
I'm proud to be an Indian American.
Fred: You bet.
Ed: I'm an Indian American. I belong to the Denver American
Indian Organization. (cannot remember the correct title)
Fred: Good; that's neat. So, you're one of the people we can actually
say: "Hey, you are a true American all the way".
Ed: I knew Spanish and I knew English.
Fred: Do you know any Indian language?
Ed: No.
Fred: Do you remember any of your grandparents?
N
Ed: No, because I didn't have any -I mean from my Mother's side - yes.
Anastachio used to speak English and Spanish and he knew the
language because he was from the Ignacio Reservation.
Fred: What was his name?
Ed: Anastachio.
Fred: How old was he when he passed away?
Ed: Well, I don't know. He was registered as Aragon in town.
Fred: Here in town?
Ed: Yeah.
Fred: Hey, tell me how big was Walsenburg in well, uh, you know.
Did you have movies at that time - silent or something like
this?
Ed: The first time I came down here to a movie, I was about thirteen
years old. The Sisters from Saint Mary's brought me over. There
were all Sisters then at the school. There were no private
teachers like there are now. There were all Sisters and
Fathers at Saint Mary's School. And the first show I saw in
my life a train was coming my way. It frightened the hell out
of me. I thought it was gonna run over me. (laughter) I was out
on the ranch. I didn't know anything.
Fred: You were a character. What were the Sisters like in those days?
Were they pretty mean in school?
Ed: You better believe it.
Fred: Did they tell you what to do and show you what you were supposed
to do?
Ed: Everybody respected them. Everybody. The Sisters were all
Catholic at that time, and they were pretty mean.
Fred: Why were they mean? How were they mean? Wouldn't they let you
get into trouble?
Ed: You couldn't get into trouble.(laughter)
Fred: Ed, do you still have some relations in Walsenburg or La Veta?
Any Aunts, Uncles, etc?
Ed: I do have an Aunt. Actually an Indian Aunt in La Veta. Outside
of that, I do not. In Las Quideros there's supposed to be
relations. Fred, I'm going to tell you something. It's the idea
this: I'm an Indian. My ancestors were Indians and the people
that raised them. Actually my name is Padilla. It's a Spanish
name, but it's not right.
Fred? What is it?
Ed: None
Fred: You don't know, really?
Ed: No, no, the Indians don't have last names and the people that
raised them, my ancestors, gave them their name Padilla.
Fred: Do they have first names'?
Ed: Oh yeah, Eddie.
Fred: Of course, that's more Americanized that the Indians.
Ed: Oh yeah, we're all Americans you know, and as far as Spanish is
concerned I'm pretty poor at that, but all I learned is English.
Fred: This is neat. I feel lucky to be able to work with an Indian;
but I know you and I have been friends all our lives too, Ed.
Ed: We are, Fred, but I don't mean for you to work.
Fred: Tell me something; I can remember myself as just a little kid
back in some part of the late thirties and still in a depression
type stage there. Do you remember how you lived on the farm?
Ed: I'm gonna tell you something, Fred. My Father had a ranch above
North La Veta and we had a ranch in the hills. We had lots of
cattle.
Fred: So the depression didn't hurt you at all then?
Ed: No. I remember the day- election day. Your Mom and Dad. Your
Dad was a couple of years younger than your Mother, right?
Fred: Right. He is.
Ed: Did I know anything about it?
Fred: Yeah, that's before I knew aboutit. (laughter).
Ed: So it's Election Day and your Mom came down to vote and your
Dad to vote; she's too young. Your grandpa, I knew him well,
my Dad knew him well too. He comes up the ranch and stops by.
Your grandpa's in the car and your Mom.
Fred: Yeah, I heard about that.
Ed: So he comes in the barn.(mumble)That's the way it went on and
God damn it's a story. sorry I haven't (mumble) and now and
help you.
Fred: Hey Ed, what kind of games did you playas a little fellow?
Did you have ranch neighbor boys that played with you and
visited?
Ed: No, we lived too far away from each other. My only hobby was
riding God damn horses and laying bucks. I was a good rider.
Fred: You broke horses?
Ed: Oh shucks. On the ranch? What do you expect?
Fred: Okay (laughter). I know, Ed. That's pretty neat. Did you celebrate
the different holidays like Christmas?
Ed: Oh yeah. I'm gonna tell you something. During the 4th of July I
used to take care of calves when I was little. He said that's
your calf, and I would milk cows. At seven years old I would go
out there and I had to do that. Okay. He said, that's yours.
I had to come down here. - what you call the villas,
to sell some cows or turkeys or whatever. She gave me money and I
had it to spend, but I had to work for it. See, the mama was a
clean person, a clean Indian. She was a smart person. She taught
me to respect people and anything else. That's why I respect
people today.
Fred: Ed, were there more Indians at the time as a little boy around
Huerfano County?
Ed: No because they'd run em off all to New Mexico.
Fred: How long ago?
Ed: Before my time.
Fred: During your parents time?
Ed: That's right.
Fred: They were able to stay then?
Ed: Yes. That at the Huajatolla. That's where my ancestors were
born. What they call the Spanish Peaks. You know that.
Fred: Yeah. That's where they tell me there were a great number of
Indians.
Ed: That's where my people came from.
Fred: Tell me what your parents used to tell you about them?
Ed: Just Indians. You know the sulpher spring area? I mean my great
grandfather's ranch and where are Goemmers today - the dude
ranch. That's where he lived.
Fred: Did they own the property?
Ed: Well
Fred: Course, they took it away from him.
Ed: Yeah. They just lived there, see?
Fred: Oh I see.
Ed: They lived there.
Fred: Yeah, because they were Indians and the didn't actually - the
government just pushed them out. I'll be darn, they pushed them
into New Mexico then.
Ed: Well, some yes, but my Dad and them took off down here, see?
Fred: Did your Dad have to buy that property in North La Veta?
Ed: No, the government just gave it to him.
Fred: It was just open? The government gave it to him? That's neat.
Did your Mother ever talk about the avocado was produced in this
country, or the soap coming from a yucca plant or anything like
that?
Ed: No, she never did. She didn't live long enough.
Fred: How old were you when your Dad passed on?
Ed: I was about forty. My Mother passed on when I was ten or eleven
years old.
Fred: Are they buried here or in North La Veta?
Ed: North ~a Veta my Mother is, and my Dad at La Veta.
Fred: Hey Ed, when did you get married?
Ed: In 1935.
Fred: 1935? I was only four or five years old then. You knew me when
I was born then, didn't you? (laughter)
Ed: You know Milt? Your Dad and your Morn was up there at North La
Veta at the store. They were the god-damned best people I've
ever met. I was a kid and had a bunch of sheep on the ranch up
there and I'd come down and your Mom would let me have candy
and put it on my bill. I'd come down here and sell the sheep.
I'd come down here and your Mom and Dad would forget the bill.
(Laughter)
Fred: That's nice, Ed. Did you cut the wool by yourself, or did you
have help?
Ed: I had a man named Castro help me. He's a full blooded Indian
too.
Fred: Hey, wait a minute. There's a man here in Walsenburg named Lee
Castro - is he any relation?
Ed: No ,no, no, no. Yah. He's related. That's his grandpa, a full
blooded Indian. Lee's Indian too. I don't know how they were liv-
ing. His grandfather was a smart son-of-a-gun. He got there from
those other Indians- the Ignacios. He had money to throwaway.
Fred: How did he get his money?
Ed: They boot-legged too easy. (laughter)
Fred: Good for them. I'd have helped them.
Ed: Sure. Grandma tells you. Grandma you don't need Spanish or
French to help them, like my sister in Guava. Grandma used to
say when they were in Durango. He was just a young boy when he
got out of the reservation and then he got busted for busting
an officer's car and he got caught for he was an Indian and
taking a booze in the Indian Reservation. Well, he's one of
them. You know Ed, he said, we had little sacks like sugar
sacks we used to use before- full of gold. They all vanished.
They took them. God-damn whites, you know. They gonna drain
you.
Fred: Oh sure, what'd they do with the gold? Keep it? Put it in their
pocket?
Ed: Sure, they put it in their pocket.
Fred: That's pretty neat. I didn't know the Indians boot-legged.
Fred: What did you do when you grew up, Ed?
Ed: After I grew up I went into business. I was trucking. I was a
C.F.&I supplier- their props and all that.
Fred: Lumber?
Ed: Yeah, you know. C.F.&I. I was a great guy then. I had the equip-
ment and everything. I used to have Cameron, Valdez and Crest de
Butte.
Fred: How long ago was that Ed?
Ed: I quit in 1954 when the mines went down.
Fred: When did you first start?
Ed: 1930 when I got out of school -sixteen years old. ,
Fred: And you started in business? Had your own saw mill?
Ed: No, no saw mill, just props.
Fred: Would other people own the land and contract the lumber?
Ed: No, I owned my own land and I brought props from the forest land.
Fred: Would other people own the land and you contract the lumber?
Ed: No, I owned the land and.
Fred: How many people work for you?
Ed: Maybe 15, 20, 5, maybe none, so you never know.
Fred: Depends on the contract of the orders.
Ed: Well, depends on the people that want to work. It's just like it
is today.
Fred: Same thing; work for a while then take the money and cut out.
Ed: Come in there and work for a week and then you'd pay them off and
they dont't show up for a week.
Fred: What'd they do?
Ed: Go drink. That' s normal though. You know, Fred, whether you're
recording this or now, it's the truth.
Fred: That's what we want-
Ed: I was one of the greatest guys in this county as far as hiring
people. I hired alot of them.
Fred: You're still one of my best friends. Oh, how did you get to La
Veta from North La Veta and then move to La Veta? You lived
there for several years.
Ed: We had a ranch about five miles north of La Veta. When I got
married I bought two houses in Ojo. I lived there. You know we
are fighting over that God damn house today. They're trying to
take away my sister's house away from her. I bought those two
houses.
Fred: You mean you still have a house in OjO?
Ed: Oh yeah. No I don't. I tore them down and brought them to La Veta
and gave them away.
Fred: To who- your sister?
Ed: No, the Galvans here.
Fred: The same Galvans that live next door here? That's Albert's
parents?
Ed: Yes.
Fred: What was Ojo like at the time?
Ed: It was a little mining camp.
Fred: I heard it was. How many mines did they have there?
Ed: Just one. Well, at the time I really don't know. I was too young
It was before my time. I came after. They had truck mines here
and truck mines there and Peachy.
Fred: Yeah, Peachy was at Ojo wasn't he?
Ed: Yeah, that's who I bought the houses from.
Fred: Was Peachy the owner of the mine or just a businessman?
Ed: No, he was just business.
Fred: I can remember when I was a little kid that peachy had a little
cafe there at Ojo.
Ed: Yeah and he had a store.
Fred: And he supplied the food.
Ed: And he had the mines running. It was all truck mining then.
Fred: At that time Ed, were the roads dirt or were they paved?
Ed: Dirt. You mean the main alley?
Fred: Yeah, the main highway, 160.
Ed: No, no, no, that was paved already.
Fred: You don't remember it being gravel?
Ed: The county roads, yes, but not the alley.
Fred: My Dad said he worked on a construction company when they were
paving La Veta Pass.
Ed: Oh, he could have worked for Popos.
Fred: Who, Popos?
Ed: Yes.
Fred: Are they the ones who black topped?
Ed: Well there's Popos and Lioni.
Fred: Lioni too was still in business then?
Ed: Yeah, they all worked then.
Fred: But La Veta pass was all gravel then.
Ed: Yeah, it was.
Fred: Did you work on it?
Ed: No. I was on the ranch then -just a kid.
Fred: Did you ever go with my Dad to Mexico when he was hauling hay
or beans in that old Model T trailer he had in North La Veta?
Ed: No, I saw it. I used the hay anyway. (Laugh). Your Dad could
tackle anything. I saw him build a trailer down here once.
Fred: I remember that. I was a kid myself. Did you know Chester
Bartlett? or the Bartlett family, the cattle king people?
Ed: I can recall the name, but -
Fred: Towards Gardner or Farisita.
Ed: No, I don't think so.
Fred: Can you remember any of the people that were pretty big at the
time, the cattle ranchers, cattle king people?
Ed: There was us - we were pretty big ourselves.
Fred: Ed, I want to ask you a question. This one I have to know the
answer to it. You were pretty big people at one time. You had
alot of land, timber land, cattle, animals and so on. What
happened to all this land change. Did the gringo people come in
and buy?
Ed: The gringo people came in and bought lot of this stuff and the
old timers, especially like my ranch up there in North La Veta.
My Dad was an Indian and he didn't give a God damn and that's
when Mother died. They were good. I don't know what he did with
it all. I asked him. But he had eighty head of cattle, a
very good spread. During that time he got to drinking, as an
Indian does. Mother was gone and couldn't tell him what to do ,
so finally he sold the cattle and everything, and he thought I
was pretty young then and went to the ranch in the mountains.
We had two ranches.
Fred: Where about Ed?
Ed: Middle Creek, so he comes up there and gives me the place.
One hundred sixty acres. So we came down here about time I
quit school, and bought me a truck and I was a big shot with
C.F.&I. They'd send me anywhere. So I was single, I married my
wife and bought this house in La Veta. A guy wanted to sell it
It was five hundred dollars. House right in town. Remember Mazzone?
Fred: Yes, Victor?
Ed: Yes and they made the deal. So I went and gave the guy five
hundred dollars. We had just been married three or four months.
I bought the house because it was cheap. It was a big house.
Fred: What happened to the house?
Ed: I sold them.
Fred: To whom?
Ed: I sold it to Tomas* - Eloy.
Fred: What'd he do with it? Live in it?
Ed: No, he turned around and traded it to Willard North. I didn't
want to sell my house to those SOB's down there. I sold it for
eleven hundred, but six hundred dollars don't mean nothing to me.
I should have the place now. That's the place I loved, not this
place here.
Fred: Are you buying or renting this?
Ed: No, I paid cash for it. It's mine.
Fred: Hey, Ed, you were telling me before we started talking a while ago
that was real interesting. We have some new neighbors here across
the street at Mutual and they're from Kansas. This young fellow
his wife and their six little children. They bought the house
here supposedly. They asked you about the graves across the river
up on the hill somewhere.
Ed: Yeah, that's where we went yesterday.. I showed them where they
were at.
Fred: How many are there?
Ed: I wouldn't say. Whatever they are, whites or Indians. I just
don't know.
Fred: What do the graves look like? Do they have cross pieces or what?
Ed: Just ordinary.
Fred: Stones piled up above the ground?
Ed: Well, no. Just stones andposts, along the walks longways. There
are twenty graves, maybe more.
Fred: How far from here?
Ed: J Just up there about a mile, mile and a half, two miles.
Fred: You have to walk it? That's interesting.
Ed: Yeah, there's nothing to show where to come in.
Fred: Whose land is it? It's just a forgotten graveyard. Do you
remember the war we had here over the coal mining? Were you
around here then? - between Ludlow, Trinidad and Walsenburg?
Ed: I was born afterward.
Fred: You were born after that? What'd your folks tell you about that?
Ed: Dad was recruited as a soldier through the CF&I and I was a CF&I
boy all the way.
Fred: Tell me about this recruiting now. Did your Dad tell you if
CF&I were for or against the union.
Ed: Against the union. These guys that went for soldiers were for
the company. They were Rednecks. They were like the Unions today.
Fred: I've heard that expression "Rednecks".
Ed: The United Mine Workers was what the Rednecks were and CF&I
picked night companies to recruit as soldiers and they also had
the State Militia.
Fred: What'd your Dad do when he was recruited? Was he a guard?
Ed: Yeah, guard in Oakview and down here and Lascar and Ludlow.
Fred: He was guard during the massacre at Ludlow?
Ed: Yeah; they took him on the train; it's an open car, and he
never got out of the car. Bullits flying everywhere, so they,
went up there and all they did was hide in the cars and every-
body's shooting them so they came back, but they all got paid.
Dad was a farmer anyway, but they were trying to pick up some
fast money.
Fred: So they were paying them fairly well to do this?
Ed: Right.
Fred: What happened when your Dad came here. Did he go back home?
Ed: He went back to the ranch.
Fred: And they didn't bother him anymore? What else do you remember
about the good old days?
Ed: Riding horses. Talk about horses - You take the Marlboro. They
used to call it Gia Day or something. After that they called it
Black Diamond Jubilee.
Fred: Where is Gia Day?
Ed: Gia Day - they brought it back from New Mexico somewhere and
it's a Rodeo celebration for two days. Santana and Gia Day. They
come down here and we were just kids. They'd come down here
where the Marlboro is and we'd ride horses and were bucking
off cowboys. We'd get on those horses. I was a good cowboy.
Hell, I'm an Indian.
Fred: I didn't know they called it Guia Day. What does that mean?
ED PADILLA
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