Larry and Nellie's pillow

Embroidery - Nellie Martinez

Attitude - Larry

Back I go to work on talk.

Thursday, May 16, 12-1 PM (CCD Common Area, 2nd Floor Student Services)
Roberta Martinez will talk about the Bandini family whose history is a familiar thread woven through the history of Pasadena--from Throop to Caltech. The talk will focus on the intersection of local Latino history, the Bandini family and areas for future study. 

When in doubt, or short of time, post

vergetables, 

fruit, 

and a poppy 

or two.

Cast in order of appearance - 

zucchini blossom, baby limes, pomegranate blossoms, poppy flower, California poppy seeds.

Down the hatch

Or down the rabbit-hole.

Surprises, always surprises.

Time to find out more about Pedro E. Duarte who graduated from Throop in 1911.   Throop went through several iterations, with a name for each iteration.  It is the root institution for both Polytechnic School and the California Institute of Technology.  But that's another story.

While at Throop Pedro was active in El Club Mercurio, member of the Spanish Play, and a member of the Gnome Club.  His nickname, it seems every student had a nickname, was the "Guam Terror".  I suspect this was a result of his being from Guam and he was a superb athlete.  In one column talking about alumni, its reported that he was signed by the Cubs.  

Image courtesy of the Archives, Pasadena Museum of History

Questions I have are how did he get to California from Guam?  Where did he live?  I don't find a Duarte family in the copies of the Thurston's Directory - a sort of early Yellow Pages - during the years he was at Throop.  Another question that keeps coming to mind has to do with his relationship with the Cubs.  Did he ever play for them in Chicago?  Did he play for the farm team - is that even the correct use of the phrase - or did he get signed and not play?  

May not have answers in time for my talk on Thursday, but I'm going to push it a bit and see if I can at least find a hint or two.   

So here I gooooo again, back down that rabbit-hole.

Thursday, May 16, 12-1 PM (CCD Common Area, 2nd Floor Student Services)
Roberta Martinez will talk about the Bandini family whose history is a familiar thread woven through the history of Pasadena--from Throop to Caltech. The talk will focus on the intersection of local Latino history, the Bandini family and areas for future study. 

Mother's Day

My mom was raised by her grandmother.  Her Grandma Aniceta was born in the mid-nineteenth century.  To put this in perspective, my mom was raised by a woman who lived most of her life in the Victorian Era. Mom was nearly 40 when she gave birth to her only child in the mid-twentieth century.

I miss her greatly.  Only children and older parents can have very special bonds.

Most of my friends who knew my mother would describe her as "sweet".  Well, was that but, she could also be harsh, loving, smart, witty, clever, mischievous, and an amalgam of so much from two different centuries.

Here she is with her younger cousin.  A preteen bereft of a mother to guide her.   Luckily she was surrounded by loving aunts and uncles.  She lived in the home - without the bow.

And on the beach at Catalina.  A single woman in her post-WWII bathing suit, comfortable in her 30s and her spinster status.  Five years from becoming a mom.

I miss her.  She can't give me a hug, but her memories make me smile.  That's a gift, too.

Feliz Día de la Madres

Not long before our daughter Kate got married, I learned about El Día de Las Madres.  Having grown up with more U.S. than Mexicano customs this holiday was new to me.  I embrace it because, well, why not find another day to celebrate a good thing?

I've not looked into the origins or the reasons for its always taking place on May 10th.  I guess that will be another thing to explore some other year.  Or maybe somebody knows the answer and can share.

In any case I wanted to share good wishes with you and with those who had a loving person who gave you love and helped you when times were rough.

Case in point.  A couple of years ago I was in Portland for Halloween and accompanied Kate and girls to Lili's class.  Being the Nana I get to be the fly on the wall.  I can watch and, mostly, not say anything.  

Kate had worked hard on the costumes - Lili was a Dragon and Cheli a horse.  And then it happened.

You know that moment when a young child has something "take place" that has a magical quality about it.  Cheli can be about experimenting and measuring outcomes.  Who knew that could extend to suckers and hair?  Who would try that?

Yet another opportunity for Kate to earn her nurturer stripes.  To love, to talk, to guide.  Feliz día, m'ija, your kiddoes are lucky to have you for their mom.

Reporting from the Caltech Archives

A week from tomorrow I'll be prepped with images and words to share something of the intersection of the experiences and history of the Latino community and Caltech.  I'm still in the midst of the heavy research and will start writing Friday.

Loma Karklins, Archives Assistant, has been most generous in her help as I've been delving into folders and viewing their online archives.  Her knowledge of the archives and of the interactions among the Caltech administrators and professors have already helped me open up my approaches to researching the talk.  At this point I'm thinking of quoting Luis W. Alvarez' speech - given when he received the Nobel Prize.  I would have never had a chance to view this without her help.

You can be sure that I'll include a bit about some of the "First Latinos" at Caltech, but you can also be sure that I'll be sharing something of the Bandini House and its connection with the Biology Division.  At this point I'm also thinking about how Caltech might have influenced the non-academic community, what was going in local schools, and how science itself was developing.  We'll see 45 minutes isn't much time to cover all that.  I know some really interesting things will have to wait for another talk.

Funny thing about these sorts of talks.  You start out with one idea in mind, or often in my case a quiver full of ideas, and then time, access to documents, and seasoned intuition begins to kick in.

I might be able to write on the blog in the next week, but I'm not counting on it.  So in the meantime, I'll post what might feel like random images.

Yearbooks tell their tale both inside and out.

Into Plowshares

Someone shared this unsourced image with me, I now share with you.