Joseph,

I had been meaning to ask you about that picture of the men in front of the "Puentes Bros" store.

My husband and I were brought from the Southwest to San Jose as children right after WWII (he from El Paso, age 12, and me from New Mexico's Mesilla Valley, age 8). We lived there, went to school (St. Joseph's, Washington Elementary, Wilson Jr. High, SJ High, SJCC, SJSU), worked there, and retired there before moving up to the Northwest in 1996. Our families in San Jose always bought the corn tortillas at Puentes Bros. since Safeway didn't sell any Mexican products, and I remember my mother would pick up the masa, chiles, etc. for tamales there too.

What a small world. There are several in the group that grew up in what is now called "Silicon Valley". It was so beautiful there after the War, all Victorian houses, Craftsman houses, Spanish style houses, only about 50,000 population, all palm trees and blossoming orchards, the smell from the trees and the canneries that packed the fruits, etc. My folks last lived at 409 N. 18th Street, corner of Washington, I think.

I also lost a fingertip (middle) when I was a child of five in New Mexico. It got lopped off when a heavy wooden door I was going through slammed shut suddenly behind me while I was still holding onto its edge. My aunt later found the finger tip. I will have to ask her what she did with it. (She's 92 now). I remember I was in such pain for weeks that my whole left side was paralyzed, and I had to wear a sling to hold my arm up later. It took so long to heal; all they did was bandage it with gauze. OOOh. That finger is more than a quarter inch shorter than the corresponding one on the right hand.

Emilie Garcia
Port Orchard, WA ---