Great photos from Jerry -- thank you!

June 2010 Pre-Planning

Have a planning meeting once a month.

June 2009 - Start planning
July 2009 - Select date
September 2009 - Select venue
November 2009 - Design save-the-date cards
December 2009 - Send out save the dates (by mail with Christmas cards)
March 2010 - Have t-shirts/totes designed
April 2010 - Send out invites
May 2010 - RSVPs due/order kids' prizes/favors from OTC
June 2010 - Reunion #2!

Lessons Learned!

The reunion went wonderfully, but we can still improve on a good thing. :-) Things I would do differently:

1. Ask two people to bring vegetables. :-)
2. Allow 30 minutes for setup. I thought 5 hours wouldn't be enough time, but we finished a half hour ahead of schedule.
3. Have an assigned MC.
4. Charge $15 for the t-shirts and use the extra money for money prizes.
5. Didn't need 10 warming trays. Five would've been fine.
6. Bring matches and scissors!
7. Ask everyone to bring a *framed* photo.
8. Create a memorial table with family members that have passed away.
9. Add current spouses to family tree.
10. Bring a CD player.

Pictures!

Thanks to everyone!

I think we had more than 100 people at the reunion - wow! You guys really helped throw a great party. :-) I just wanted to thank a few people:

Tammy, for printing off the programs
Rose, for creating the tent cards
Margie, for the prizes
Kim, for being a great mistress of ceremonies
Mario, for the PA system
Danny & Jerry, for the stage decorations
Jennifer, for helping with the kids' games
David and the boys, for running the pinata
All the aunts and uncles, for renting the community center, the main dishes, setting up, and cleaning up

See you in 2010!

This just in!

Emma has rented a jumper. Please contribute at the party. Thank you!

Leftovers

Bring a tupperware container in case there are leftovers. :-)

After party & after-after party?

If you think you might want to hang out past 5pm, just bring a blanket or folding chair and we can sit under the trees in the park. Should be a lovely day!

And when it gets dark, Emma has invited us to her home to continue the festivities. :-)

Updated Potluck List

I will be updating the potluck list as we go along. Everyone doesn't have to bring food. Look over the following list and see what you would like to bring/do. Thank you!

Everybody with kids: Bring a bag of candy for the pinatas!

Main dishes: Aunts and uncles
Hot dogs: Cindy & George C.
Cole slaw: Landy
Rice: Aunt Esther
White rice: Michelle
Chili beans: Pebbles
Potato salad: Nora
Macaroni and cheese: Lillian & Melissa
Pasta salad: Diane
Baked beans: Natalie
Green salad: Gloria
Bean dip: Harlow & Rose
Hot dog condiments (mustard, ketchup, relish): Aunt Emma
Taco condiments (chopped tomatoes, lettuce, & onion - 1 person):
Cake: Rachel V.
Pies: Paul & Joshua and Margie
Hungarian crepes: Szilvia
Fresh fruit: Danny & Jerry and Anne & George V.
Corn tortillas: Rebekkah
Hot dog buns: Chumano
5 bags of chips/5 containers of salsa: Aleda and family
100 Rolls:
Tortilla chips/salsa: Landy
Bowls for chips: Landy
10 2-liter sodas: Anthony O.
5 2-liter sodas: Rose & Harlow
1 24-pack water: Sarah
1 24-pack water: Christy V.
5 24-packs of water: Uncle Danny
Punch: Aunt Josie
Horchata: Aunt Esther
Plates, Forks, Spoons, Knives: Victor
Cups/Napkins (150): Angie
Ice (50 lbs): George V. III
Ice (20lbs):
4 bags of candy: Krista & Tammy
Cooler: Jessie
Cooler: Danny & Josie
Cooler: Rod & Natalie
Cooler: Rose & Harlow
Cooler w/drinks: Lillian
Serving utensils:
3 warming trays: Lillian
4 warming trays: Cindy
2 warming trays: Josie
1 warming tray: Grace
10 Candle warmers:
4 candle warmers: Josie
6 candle warmers: Grace
12 tablecloths: Aunt Emma
Paper towels: Alicia
Invitations: Kohl
Stamps (75): Kathy
Music: Mario
Photographer: George C.
Games: Gina, Kim, Cindy
Kids prizes: Aunt Esther, Aunt Ana, Cindy, Margie
Adult raffle prizes: Aunt Esther, Lillian, Aunt Ana
Raffle tickets: Kim
Name tags: Margie
Decorations: Emma (balloons), Cindy (tent cards), Rose (tent cards)
T-shirts: Rod
Trash bags: Emma
First aid kit/sunscreen/bug spray: Sistine!
Video: Uncle Roy
Pinatas/rope/blindfold: Lillian, Aunt Emma
Pinata stick: Kim
Bags for pinata candy: Tammy
RSVP/Potluck reminders: Jessie
Programs: Cindy & Tammy
Supplies (air freshener, foil paper, saran wrap, ziplock bags, 409): Mamas
Crayons

Lower priority:
Wristbands for kids:

Wardlow Park!

Kitchen

Recreation Center

Recreation center entrance

Playground

Toddler Area

Smeltertown

From El Paso, Tx to Gardena, CA!

Once a thriving community sat in the shadows of ASARCO's giant smoke stacks. Today, little more than a tree or two, some bricks and the cemetery remain.

Many former residents all over the country have fond memories of Smeltertown, or La Esmelda, a town erected in the 1890s on the eastern banks of the Rio Grande.

Located about two miles northwest of El Paso, Smeltertown came into being with the startup of the Kansas City Consolidated Smelting and Refining Company, later known as the American Smelting and Refining Company or ASARCO. While most residents of Smeltertown worked for ASARCO, some also held jobs at the El Paso Brick Plant, Portland Cement Company and the Courschene rock quarry.

In her 1996 thesis on Smeltertown, Monica Perales writes that the town, divided into upper and lower sections, El Alto and El Bajo, had further divisions or neighborhoods. Both Anglo and Mexican families lived on the hill, but ASARCO's managers and officials tended to live in company frame or brick houses, while Mexicans lived in the neighborhood called La Calavera or "The Skull."

The rest of the community built their own houses in El Bajo on parcels of land they rented or leased from various private landowners, paying as much as $15 or $20 a month.

Workers and their families began building their adobe homes at the foot of the plant in the early 1890's. The small one- or two-room buildings had dirt floors, thatched roofs and windows without glass.

But exceptions existed. Perales writes about a seven-room frame house in El Bajo belonging to Melchor Santana. The land on which it stood, however, belonged to A. Courschene. Even the most humble structure had homey details like colorful curtains, a small garden or a porch on which neighbors could gather and visit.

Wells and nearby businesses supplied water to the community. Residents pumped water into barrels and then rolled the barrels home. The smelter furnished outdoor bath facilities in the housing area for employees. Houses in El Alto were more likely to have running water, gas and electricity.

Smeltertown residents faced other hardships along the way. They had a high disease rate, and the river produced mosquitoes and occasional floods that destroyed their adobe homes. Low wages, dangerous working conditions and choking smoke and heat from the nearby plant also plagued them.

Explosions and other accidents occurred in the plants, sometimes resulting in workers' deaths. In an interview, local historian Fred Morales recalled hearing a story about a worker at the cement plant who fell into the silos, got mixed up in the cement and was never found.

Workers at ASARCO often had to deal with harsh supervisors as well. Morales stated that foremen at that time were inconsiderate and very demanding of the workers. In the Spanish vernacular, "Eran muy perros," (They were vicious dogs). According to a former resident, men worked twelve-hour days, seven days a week, for as little as ten cents an hour.

Although the community experienced many privations, the predominantly Catholic community began building a church soon after they arrived. The bulk of the first residents migrated from Santa Rosalia, Chihuahua, and named their church for their home in Mexico.

Jesuit priest Carlos Pinto dedicated the church in 1892, Santa Rosalia Church became the center of Smeltertown's spiritual life. The residents supported the Church and raised money to build a small house for the priest.

Its best known priest was Reverend Lourdes Costa, the visionary behind the establishment of the monumental cross atop Mt. Cristo Rey, a border landmark. Later, the Church was renamed San José del Rio or San José de Cristo Rey.

ASARCO established a company store in 1890, extending credit to employees for necessities. The company then deducted payment form workers' checks, keeping some people constantly in debt. But Perales writes that as early as 1908, some 15 privately owned stores offered goods on credit to residents, often at lower prices than the company.

People have often perceived Smeltertown as a company town, but evidence shows that the town and its residents emerged apart from its employers. Perales says that Smeltertown had its own barbershops and bakeries, small restaurants and dairies, as well as taverns, pool halls, post office and jail. Perales writes that a woman by the name of Doña Apolonia ran a small restaurant from her home near El Alto. "She owned some cows, and made extra money by making and selling asadero cheese as large as a tortilla for ten cents a piece."

According to Perales, children in Smeltertown often learned basics in private religious preparatory schools called escuelas particulares, meeting in homes and the parish hall. Although these schools existed primarily to prepare children to make their first communion, students also learned math, reading and writing in Spanish and enough English to enter county schools.

For many years, students then attended Courschene Elementary, about a mile from Smeltertown in the Puente Colorado neighborhood, now Buena Vista. If they could afford to continue their education beyond seventh grade, students attended El Paso High School. In the 1930s, E. B. Jones Elementary School provided education for Smeltertown children.

Perhaps even more important to the community was the Smelter Vocational School directed by Miguel Carrasco, Sr., and opened in 1923. Girls studied home economics; boys learned various industrial trades, thereby producing a skilled work force. The school, moreover, offered opportunities for Smeltertown's young people to socialize.

Along with the church and schools, a branch of the YMCA, established in the early 1920s, became an important social center in the lives of the residents. There, children could participate and compete in organized sports, go to movies and play games. The "Y" also sponsored a Boy Scout troop and held dances for the older youth.

Throughout Smeltertown's existence, residents described the community as "one big family." Former resident Connie Delgado said residents slept with their doors open and left their homes unlocked when they were away. Children played outside where everyone helped supervise them. Neighbors walked into the homes of others when visiting; they didn't bother to knock.

At the height of the Great Depression, Smeltertown spanned about 25 acres and the population had grown to about 5,000 residents. The population grew steadily until World War II when it slowly began to decline. One resident described Smeltertown as a "holding place" for immigrants to live until they bettered themselves. However, many considered it home and remained there until forced to leave.

In the early 1970's, the El Paso County Health district found lead in Smeltertown's soil. High levels of lead were reported in 138 children, about one fourth of the community's children. ASARCO attempted to solve the problems by scraping off an 18" layer of soil and replacing it with fresh soil, to no avail.

Residents denied any ill effects. According to Morales, some residents believed that the move was political and had nothing to do with the health of the community. ASARCO bought the land and ordered the residents to leave. In 1973, the last 100 families were given a deadline to leave their homes. Once Smeltertown was cleared, the homes were leveled.

In 1975, an injunction forced ASARCO to spend $120 million on modernizing and improving emissions. In time, the company stopped its lead and zinc smelting, concentrating on copper. In 1990, the plant spent over $81 million to increase production and further reduce emissions. ASARCO continued operations until 1999 when copper prices plummeted and 370 employees were laid off. A skeleton crew of about fifty was left to operate the plant.

While a part of the old La Calavera neighborhood still exists, the community of Smeltertown proper is just a memory for its former residents, many of whom attend an annual reunion. La Esmelda, like other ghost towns, is now only the subject of nostalgia and academic study.

This entry was copied from here.

Party coordinators - update

We will need some party coordinators on the day of the reunion. Step up and help our party run smoothly!

Setup:
Decorations:
Buffet:
Games:
Kids Games: Gina, Jennifer, Katherine, Karina
Presentation:
Talent Show:
Raffle:
Cleanup: Aunts and uncles

Danny

Danny
->Patricia
---------->Serina
->Erik
---------->Denzik
---------->Ulysis
->Christina
---------->Daniel Erik
->Danielle

Grace

Grace
->Grace
---------->Andrew
---------->Toni

Ana

Ana
->Diane
---------->Melissa
---------->Joshua
---------->Alicia
->Curtis
---------->Sarah

Roy

Roy
->Danny
->Derek
---------->Christine
->Helen
---------->Justin
->Michelle
---------->Davanae
---------->Abre
---------->Nathan
---------->Ethan
->Anthony
---------->Jordan
---------->Alynna
---------->Isaac

Emma

Emma
->Victor
---------->Kim
-------------------->Ryan
-------------------->Mia
---------->Gina
---------->Matthew
->Rose
---------->Sistine
->Stephen
---------->Jennifer

Yolanda

Yolanda
->George Jr.
---------->Aleda
-------------------->Ashley
-------------------->Kevin
-------------------->Fernando Jr.
-------------------->Diego
---------->Krista
-------------------->Kristopher
-------------------->Julia
---------->Tammy
-------------------->Ezra
-------------------->Gavin
---------->George III
->Alan
---------->Alan Jr.
-------------------->Monique
-------------------->Autumn Rain
---------->Nicole
-------------------->Desiree
-------------------->Chayanne
---------->Rachel
-------------------->Ricky
-------------------->Jessica
-------------------->Hailey
---------->Rebekka
---------->Yolanda
-------------------->Tristin
->Lillian
---------->Joe Jr.
---------->Rudy
-------------------->Karina
-------------------->Yvonne
-------------------->Rudy Jr.
---------->Billy Jr.
->David
---------->Jeffrey
->Pebbles
---------->Keri
---------->Kaylen
---------->Michael

Jessie

Jessie
->Cynthia
---------->Rachel Julia
->Kohl
->Rodney
---------->Nathan Ryden
->Katherine

Ruben

Ruben
->Margie
---------->Peter Jr.
--------------------->Vivien
---------->Christina
->Virginia
---------->Ashley Deanne
->Angie
---------->Ray Jr.
--------------------->Rheana
---------->Erik
--------------------->Neomi

Manuel

Manuel
->Romelia
---------->children?
->Robert
---------->children?

Ofelia

Ofelia
->Raymundo Jr.
---------->Rachel
--------------------->Heather
-------------------------------->Tabitha
-------------------------------->Jaide
--------------------->Chayanne
----------->Rosalinda
--------------------->Monica Lindsey
--------------------->Evan Scott
--------------------->Sophia Rayanne
----------->Rosalie
--------------------->Jamie Rae
->Carmen
----------->Nora
--------------------->Genevive
--------------------->Harley Davidson
----------->Adam Jr.
->Jesus
----------->Enrique
--------------------->Isabela Rose
----------->Sammy
--------------------->Annette Lily
----------->Maricela
----------->Melissa
--------------------->David Isaiah
--------------------->Ruben Israel
----------->Monica
->Johnny

Planning meeting - July 10

The order forms are out for the t-shirts! They will be $10 each. Orders and payment should go to Jessie by Friday, August 15.

Kohl sent along a sample of the invitation. It's beautiful! We are currently collecting addresses, so you may get a call. :-)

We've decided that the basic schedule for the party will be as follows:

Noon: Setup/arrive
1pm: Eat
2pm: Presentation/photos/kids games
3pm: Kids Talent Show
3:30pm: Pinata (for kids & adults), musical chairs for adults
4pm: Raffle
4:30pm: Cleanup
5pm: End

Please look over the potluck list to see what you want to bring.

Our next meeting is Wednesday, July 23rd, 6pm, at Aunt Emma's house. See you there!

Update

Uncle Roy has donated invitation paper and Kohl will produce a couple of examples. We'll get to see these on Thursday.

Uncle Ray has offered to bbq hot dogs for the kids!

Rod is working on the t-shirt design and Kathy will put together an order form. We'll pass these out until the end of the month and then send a copy in the invites. Orders due by Friday, August 15.

Rose, Gina, Tammy, and Krista will join us on Thursday. The more the merrier! :-)

Party coordinators

Hello!

We will need some party coordinators on the day of the reunion. Step up and help our party run smoothly!

Setup:
Decorations:
Buffet:
Games:
Kids Games: Gina
Presentation:
Talent Show:
Raffle:
Cleanup:

Timeline

Wednesday, July 9: buy invite paper Donation by Uncle Roy!
Thursday, July 10: planning meeting (everyone invited!)
Wednesday, July 16: print invites
Wednesday, July 23: planning meeting 6pm Aunt Emma's - everyone invited!/address invites/buy stamps
Wednesday, July 30: invites go out
Friday, August 15: t-shirt orders due to Jessie!
Saturday, August 16: RSVPs/potluck assignments due to Emma or Cindy
Saturday, August 30: prep at Emma's house
Sunday, August 31: party!

June Planning Meeting

The aunts and uncles met to decide the basic format of the reunion. It will be a potluck! Uncle Roy will arrange videotaping the event and the kids can have a talent show. Roy would, also, like to put together a CD of old family photos. Kohl will be working on the invitations and Rod is looking into t-shirts. Please email me if you need any more info: hijola@yahoo.com . We hope to set up the next meeting for the 2nd week in July. Plan to join us!

The venue has been reserved!

Our reunion will be at Wardlow Park! The community center is nice and big and has a kitchen. There is a large enclosed patio where we can watch the kids run around. Also lots of shady trees and an enclosed playground for the little ones. A fountain/sprinkler is available if it's super hot. Bring a change of clothes. Sponsored by the aunts and uncles!

Name History

According to the heraldic scholars, the Garcia Carraffa Brothers, the Spanish surname O originated in the mountains of Leon. From there, a member of this family moved to Avila, where he established a "casa solar" or ancient family seat. The surname O is of toponymic origin, being derived from the place of residence of the original bearer.
In this case, the surname derives from the Marquisate of O, lands which were first granted to this family in 1677; the title Marquis of O has been held by Don Joaquin Cabrera Trillo Figueroa since 1916. Thus the surname O signifies "one from O".
The place name derives from the Basque word "ote, ota" meaning "stack, vine" and Latin word "verus" meaning "true, real, genuine".

References to the surname O include one Isabela de O, as registered in the Index of Noble Surnames of the Order of Carlos III, a Spanish military order. At the same time, this surname was established on the American continent in areas where the Spanish influence was most notable in the sixteenth century. Isabel de O is mentioned in "Americans in the Orders of Nobility"; she was married to Don Juan de Torre Luna, "Alcalde Ordinario" of San Sabastian de Leon in 1687. In the index of the personal expenditures of the "Archivo General Militar de Segovia" are registered some bearers of the name who served in the ranks of the Royal Army of Spain. Among them were: Jose O - nobleman, who served in the Artillery Regiment in 1796; Antonio O Ruiz of the Volunteer Battalion in 1896, and Pascual O Medrano, also of the Volunteers in 1822. Listed in the "Biographical Index of Spain, Portugal and Latin America" was the Spanish writer, professor and veterinarian, in the year 1814.

Also know that there were two sets of O' that came across the Atlantic in the 1500's. The first ones stopped into Mexico after Cortez and remained there. These are the O' from Mexico. The second wave stayed on the boat around the horn to Spanish California. These are the Californian O'.

La Familia de Pedro y Consuelo

Ofelia, Manuel, Ruben, Jessie, Yolanda,
Emma, Roy, Ana, Grace, & Danny

The Family Crest

"En campo de oro, trece roeles de azur."
When translated the blazon also describes the original colors of the arms as:
"In field of gold; Thirteen circles of blue."

Welcome!

Stay tuned for the fun details to follow!