The Purpose for this Section of the Site
The
main reason is to collect memories and information on the people of
Smeltertown,
La Calavera, Buena Vista (El Rojo), Anapra, Old Ft. Bliss (El Fuerte) and
near communities that the original Smeltertown families moved to over time.
This community was unique in every sense of the word. For a bit over 80 years these people formed a tight knit community that had many of the original families related through marriage. They came to do work that they were recruited to do that took advantage of their mining experiance in Mexico. Just like today they came to do work the people in the area did not have the experiance to do. They settled in a new country with their work ethic and faith as a guide and they managed to create a complete community. The social segregation and the poverty that came by being an all Mexican community has become a point of study today. An example of what people given the opportunity are capable of achieving. Those achievements are shown in the children and grandchildren of these first settlers. By living where they worked, they were exposed to the harmful elements of living under the stacks of ASARCO. This affected not only their lives and health, but unknown even today, the health of their offspring. I created this site to do my part to keep their memory alive and a place to collect those memories.
I have a couple of special
reasons. First I was raised
there and it was always a home to come back to. Many lives and family lines
were started there that have since moved on to other parts of the country and
the world. It was a town that for the
most part was made up of families that came to this country to work hard and
was a place that its kids were surrounded by good families, many related over
the years of living so close together.
It started as a factory town
and then became a home to come back to as more and more of the younger children
moved on to better paying jobs and higher education. EB Jones school was the only choice for us and it sent many of us
out into the world of higher education with all the limitations that come with
a small town environment and limited resources for teachers to even try to
teach there. Overall it did kick a
bunch of us in the butt to do better.
Living as we did under the
smoke stacks of ASARCO exposed us to many, at the time, unknown dangers to our
health and possibly the health of our offspring. Smeltertown disappeared as the result of the high levels of lead
and other chemicals deposited on the town by its close proximity to the
smelter. If you lived there and went to
school there before the town was leveled in the early 1970’s you should look
for Texas health sites that have addressed health issues affecting the former
residents of Smeltertown.
The second reason is I
really miss the place with dirt streets, where you always got a wave and a
“good day” remark. A place where if you
made noise during mass at San Jose de Cristo Rey church any adult was allowed
to tell you to shut up and at times whack you on the head to make the
point. Try that now in the PC/Handsoff
world of today.
Who remembers the late “60’s when you went out in the morning and
your car had “piles” of ash all over it from the nights smokestack output. That part I don’t miss!
Thanks for reading this and
if you came out of Smeltertown and want to add comments and/or names to the
file, just e-mail me with the info. I
will try to get it on as complete as I can.
Thanks
Add 6-16-2006:
If you do submit a story and/or pictures that you later decide you want removed
because you are planning to use the material in a future project, just let me
know and I will remove it. If you want special permissions associated with the
same, just spell them out. Many of us still hold the dream of creating a 'book'
about Smeltertown and in a couple of cases the wait has been a few years with
nothing published yet. I would hate for any of us from those times to pass away
and the history in stories and pictures be thrown away by unknowing surviving
family. It would be a total waste. If you are planning a project maybe you can
'loan' your stuff here until then.
Want to link to your own Smeltertown memories, just email the url to me and I
will link to it here. Bottom line, "Don't sit on your past and lose it in
the future."
Miguel Cortez
Add: July 18, 2006
I have started putting everybody that I find that was born in
Smeltertown, Tx into this listing. We had many persons born there and later
moving to El Paso or other cities. Many stayed around El Paso and continued to
work at ASARCO, the cement plant and the brick factory. Also many went off to
wars and served their country out of Smeltertown. It is possible that family
long seperated from Smeltertown might one day wish to come looking and at least
find a bit about the rest of the people that became a part of this country
after being born here. Don't forget.
--- Miguel Cortez
Last updated 19.10.2009