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Note: This
is one in a series of historical stories about local families
in the Trinidad region. Click here to find out more
about how these stories were collected.
Maria
Graciana Ritz was born in Trinchera, Colorado on March
6, 1911. Her mother was Inez Medina who was the daughter
of Juan Medina and Lorencita Maestas who were married
in 1905. This puts this side of the family as being in
Las Animas County for over 100 years and thus receiving
the Centennial Family Recognition. Inez married David
Ritz and they lived in Trinchera. David was the son of
Charles L. Ritz from Germany and Rumalda Bent. Her father
was Charles Bent of New Mexico and co-founder of Bent's
Fort. After Charles was assassinated in New Mexico, Rumalda
was raised with Kit Carson's family.
Graciana
Ritz's first marriage was to Isidore Montoya and they
had two children, Jennie and David. After Montoya's death,
Graciana remarried and they moved from Trinchera to Trinidad.
Jennie was ten years old when they moved to Trinidad and
in the summer of 1941 the children had to work to help
the family. Jennie and Dave worked for Dixie Drive Inn
that has been replaced with a gas station and eventually
the White Spot Restaurant.
When
the passenger train would pull into the Trinidad station,
Jennie and Dave would run down and sell the passengers
fresh hamburgers. On one memorable train stop, Jennie
remembers selling lots of hamburgers to a train filled
with soldiers. They were all on special assignment to
protect an important passenger. When Jennie gets to the
end of the train she finds a caboose platform with a man
sitting with a blanket around his legs. She had to step
onto the train to sell him a hamburger for the normal
price of 25 cents and for her trouble he gave her a dollar
tip. She said that he was a nice person who spoke gently,
but she did not know who he was. That afternoon everyone
was talking about the president of the United States being
in town, but the next morning in school the teacher showed
the class a newspaper picture of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt. Jennie recognized the man in the photo as the
man with a blanket around his legs. She had served the
President and got a tip from him.
Jennie
had one son, Samuel Borrego and four daughters, Linda
Marie Barela Cordesco King, Prudence Jane Barela Gettler,
Celia Ann Jaramillo Shadbotl Rall and Shirley Ann Jaramillo
Maldonado-Stanley. As of this writing Jennie has 15 grandchildren
and 11 great grandchildren. Graciana had her picture taken
with some of the children which shows five generations,
but she died at 85 in Pueblo on November 18, 1996.
(Note:
if you have Photos of this family or know of anyone that
does, please have them get in touch with us so that we
might share some photos of the family here)