As I remember Laredo between 1938 and 1948 (the year I joined the U.S. navy).
Erasmo Elias Riojas (Webmaster)
email: docrio45 [at] gmail DOT com
Erasmo Elias Riojas, is my birth name but when i joined the U.S. Navy, I dropped my middle name.
I was born in Dolores Texas in 1931 and I collect history and pictures of my birth place. When the coal mine in Dolores TX flooded, all the miners moved to Laredo. Mr. Dick the owner of the land had farm hands that stayed in Dolores but eventually they all moved to Laredo TX. Most families formed barrios in Laredo, ie: "La Ladrillera", "Canta Ranas"
Vicentico - No Te
Apartes De Mí
Under Construction!
The Lucy Meriwether Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution
March 25, 2015 Our sincerest gratitude to:
and
their Staff.
<
Ceremony For Laredo's Vietnam Veterans
Laredo Texas 25 March 2015
The Lucy Meriwether Chapter
Daughters of the American Revolution
Gerry Schwebel & Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
Daughters of the American Revolutionrecognizes
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas, M.D. U.S. Navy SEAL
for your service in the wars
in Korea and VIetnam and for sharing your experiences with us.
The Lucy Meriwether Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution
Lt to Rt: Mary Freeman Esq., Erasmo "Doc" Riojas & Jane C.
Unzeitig MD
Lt. to Rt.: Doc Riojas, Joe Soto, Jane and Mary Cigarroa, Gerry, and Valentin
Moreno
Joe Soto & Family
http://www.mcallen.net/veterans/
Below are the Awards presented to Joe Soto and Erasmo "Doc" Riojas
26 March 2015 Luncheon to honor WWII and Korean War Veterans of Laredo Texas
Henry "Gutz" Gutierrez and Erasmo "Doc" Riojas Veterans of
the Korean Police Action, USMC, First Marine Division, 1st Reg. 2nd Bat. Fox Co.
Very
Old Map found on U.Texas Web Site
Please NOTICE that this map shows SANTO TOMAS and DARWIN which were coal mines very near to DOLORES (birthplace of Erasmo Riojas). They were closed when i was born in 1931. The coal miners that moved from those two towns to Dolores have relatives buried in the cemetery in Santo Tomas, Riojas' used to visit there in "El dia de los Muertos." Darwin, I don't remember ever my relatives going there.
Lt - Rt: Raul Flores, Dimitri Pappas, ? "Pepino"Cortinas, Erasmo "Doc" Riojas, Arturo Garcia & Missing: Lalo Rocha and Rudy Castañeda 15 Jan 2016 at Tepatitla Restaurant , Houston, TX.
Laredo's Julia Vera !
I paid Amazon.com to watch HOMEBOUND. I it is not on NETFLIX. waste of money !
Imelda's mother: Christina Cardenas was the sister of Erasmo's mother Antonia Cardenas. Prima Imelda was a retired school teacher in San Antonio Tx.
Raul Flores Jr. "Zapata
TX kid"
click on image to see ONLY this clip of the movie VIDEO !
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas and the Mayordomo of the Ranch. Note the improvements to the cemetery site. FENCED! thank you !
Please Note this information!: NUESTRA SEÑORA DE LOS DOLORES HACIENDA. Ruins in Zapata County, twelve miles north of San Ygnacio, mark the site of a ranch settlement that was part of the plan of the Spanish colonial government to settle a region between the Nueces River in the north and Tampico in the south. In 1750 the Hacienda de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores was founded by a grant of land from the crown of Spain to José Vázquez Borrego, a wealthy rancher from Coahuila, who had previously extended his livestock operation to the north bank of the Rio Grande. This settlement, at the junction of Dolores Creek and the Rio Grande, is considered to be the first Spanish colonial venture on the north bank of the Rio Grande. This Dolores, however, is not to be confused with a mining community of the same name north of Laredo in Webb County, nor with a village called Nueva Dolores located just two miles up river from the ruins in question.
Juan Jose Gonzalez R.I.P.
HAPPY FATHER' DAY from Bill Simpson,
olspice AT satx.rr.com
22Jun2015
to me GOOD HEARING FROM YOU, ERASMO, AND TO READ MUCH OF YOUR MATERIAL ABOUT
YOUR EARLY DAYS IN LAREDO AND VACINITY. DAYS WERE HARD IN THE EARLY YEARS, EH?
SOME OF THE NAMES I REMEMBER. MY DAD HAD AN UNCLE, "UNCLE OSCAR"
PERRON. HE HAD A RANCHITO OUT THE OLD MINES ROAD AND MY DAD, MOM, LITTLE SISTER
AND I ALONG WITH A COUPLE OF MY PARENT'S FRIENDS WOULD DRIVE OUT TO RANCHITO TO
FIX OUR MEALS OVER A FIRE AND HAVE OUR PICNIC. WONDERFUL MEMORIES. THE LAST TIME
I MADE THAT JOURNEY DOWN THE OLD MINES WAS WHEN I WAS ABOUT 8 TO 10 YEARS OLD.
At Aranda's Mex Restaurant on I-45 Houston TX, Arturo, Lalo, Pepino, Erasmo
"pepino" Cortinas USN
"Pepino" COrtinas USNavy
Lalo Rocha with his picture taken when he was in Vietnam
Pepino Cortinas on leave in Laredo TX with his buddies
LareDOS magazine
http://issuu.com/laredosnews2/docs/september_2013
Photos
contributed by Ireneo Gutierrez
Story by: Mr. Victor J. Dodier
Thank you : The Laredo Morning Times 7/2/2000 Thanks to LMT's R.R., I received a snail mail from Mr. Victor J. Dodier of PO 11495, Portland OR including six pages of History of the "Ladrillera", his drawing of a "matachin" and map showing Fort McIntosh, Laredo Water Works, Eagle Pass RR tracks and listing all the streets from Washington northerly to Jefferson, and showing the block where the "Ladrillera" used to sit. Thank you very much Mr. Dodier.
approval has arrived to post it. My sincerest Thank You, Victor J. Dodier
Kirk Douglas wrote book a bout his life and hard times titled "The Junk Man?s Son" in which he complains about the prejudice he encountered because he was a junk man?s son. He was luckier than he believes. He could have been like my brother or me, "The Money Changer?s Son" and attending the St. Peter?s Parochial School in Laredo Texas. My father had a small dry goods store at 217 Convent Ave. Laredo TX. This address is about two blocks from the International Bridge on the Rio Grande. On the Mexican side of the river is the city of Nuevo Laredo Tamaulipas Mexico. The year was 1927- 1928. About a year later we moved the dry goods store across the street to 216 Convent Ave. He went into a new enterprise. He sold patent medicines only, no prescription drugs. Those premises were a part of a large building which extended from the corner to about the middle of the block along Convent and housing four groceries and my father?s place. None of these stores had back exit doors because along what would be the rear of this building was a large garage and auto repair shop on Grant St. This store had at least 25 by 40 feet for a total of 1,000 square feet of floor space. It had glass show windows and a glass door. For me, those years from about 1929 to 1937 were not the most pleasant of my life, especially after 1932. My brother and I were either at school or at the family business. My brother and I were both in the 9th grade at St. Peter?s High School. For about one year, give or take a few days in 1933 my brother and I alternated one day on and one day off because working together had gotten too quarrelsome. But that was just a respite. And so everything was going along quite well at home and our business. The Great Depression started in the Fall of 1929 and life was tough but my father was making a decent living. My brother and I helped at his business so that he did not have the expense of hiring someone. Until this year, he would always here somebody to help us in the running of our small business. I remember the names of some of the people who worked for him. Maria and Xenovia, Rolando Garcia, Mario Chavez, Dora Chapa. The great depression was not a bad time for everyone with a fair and a steady income from government bonds, business rentals or a good job. Any person in Laredo with a steady income, even a modest income, could have servants , dress and eat well, could travel, drive a good automobile and own a good home. Our cousin who lived in Corpus Christi Texas once told me that he had gotten on at the Post Office about the year 1928 and that thourghout the depression he was earning $5.00 a day and that one of his biggest economic problems was trying not to flaunt his "wealth." His good luck and was difficult to suppress in front of his neighbors whom were struggling to survive. We kept regular business hours from 0800 AM to 1900 hours PM six days a week until the year 1933 when father started the money exchange ( USA dollars to Mexican pesos) business. The hours then were adjusted to include working at night and we opened seven days a week. This was a hard-scrabble business in these times. The rate of exchange was very steady and the profits were $0.15 cents on the sale of 100 pesos. This worked out to about $0.75 cents per $100.00. Divided by the number of hours it took to earn that, it was basically a nickel and dime operation. Luckily, father seldom ever drank a beer, much less hard liquor, but he had a passion for the game of dominoes. That was dad?s most precious pastime. During those years, and especially before prohibition was repealed, the Missouri Pacific ( or the International & Great Northern) used to have "excursions" from San Antonio Texas to Laredo Texas during national holidays and some weekends. The 4th of July was good for the money exchange business in Laredo because of this flow of tourist into Mexico. I remember that it would cost the passengers a couple of dollars for a round trip and usually they would transport several hundred people about 99% being men. The train would arrive in Laredo early in the morning before daylight. Of course the main objective of these people were to be entertained in the many Nuevo Laredo saloons with cheap whiskey. The travelers did not have a lot of money and they did not waste it on taxis. They arrived from all directions to Convent Ave. and at the money exchange in mobs from the train station on the west side of town which is about five miles away. They exchanged their dollars and rushed on South of the Border towards the promised land. Our goal was to get to the money exchange early enough to get a little extra business but sometimes it was disappointingly small. For a large part of my life I disliked holidays because they remind me of the many times that I had to get up in the darkness before dawn to go down and work the money exchange so as to make an extra buck or two. In the summer of 1934 my brother quit school to go to work at the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), a government relief program. He was an office boy working 14 days then being off work for two weeks. He was being paid $25.00 per month. Of course with that huge salary came his independence and he flat refused to help my father any longer and I was stuck with being the lone slave at my fathers place of business. I was working there practically every free moment while I was not attending school. It got so stressful that once in a while I would play hooky and go to the movies. My mother was aware of this and she gave me her permission. I graduated from High School in May of 1935. I continued to work full time for my father. I also worked for Mr. Ezequiel Salinas, a lawyer, and later on I also worked for the Halsell Electric Co. My life was stressful, I felt tired of working so hard and about June of 1937 I rebelled and stopped going to my dad?s Money Exchange business near the international bridge in Laredo TX. My father was forced into hiring someone and it was at this time he begun to supervise his business with greater attention. My dad continued his obsession with the domino games until he became extremely ill in 1949. That was his final Illness. Mr. Norman Baker, lived in Laredo TX. A book titled "Border Radio," contains a lot of information on the life of Mr. Baker. He moved to Laredo in the year 1932. This book states that he had discovered a cure for cancer and had left a hospital and a radio station in Muscatine, Iowa. It is believed that he was more or less forced out of that town in Iowa. Mr. Baker opened a hospital in Laredo and then he went to Nuevo Laredo and built a powerful radio station, XENT, that beamed to the Midwest United States, from where he drew his patients by offering cures for cancer and other diseases. The reason Mr. Baker is part of my life in Laredo Texas is that he bought the property where we had our business on Convent Ave. from Mr. Serna. One half of 216 Convent along the south wall, where we sold radios and victrolas. My father and Mr. Serna were friends. Mr. Serna?s business failed and dad bought all of his merchandise including a bankrupt electrical supply store for $200.00. There was a huge supply of pretty glass shades, both large and small. The electrical wire and stock was mostly obsolete. We helped our father partition off the rear third of the store and placed that new stock in the back and along newly built shelving along the north wall. We sold the small one bulb shades for $0.25 and the large ceiling platters for $1.00 to $2.00. Following Mr. Baker?s purchase of this building and property, he arrived to collect the rent from my father. My father paid the rent and Mr. Baker angrily stated that he wanted the full month?s rent. My dad told him that was the amount that he was paying Mr. Serna for a full months rent and showed him his old receipts. Baker stormed out of the store to confront the rest of his tenants. Since nobody wanted to pay what Mr. Baker was asking for rent, they were given notice to move out in 30 days Every merchant moved out and the building was converted to offices. Baker realized he had been taken in, he refused and it became impossible to negotiate a fair increase in rent. He was angry at having been made a fool and took out his hostility on all the tenants. Mr. Serna?s cunning and dishonesty coupled with Baker?s ignorance and greed, my father, and the other businessmen, were deprived of a favorable business location and forced to move to substandard places. All of us were barely able to scratch out a bare living for the next several years in money exchange. Father could not pay my brother, or me, or my mother. We did not have a weekly allowance like the other kids in school. Had we been able to stay on at our location we could have continued with the drugstore, and perhaps added a prescription department and later enlarged to a complete Drug Store. We also could have given up on the medicine business and expanded the electrical supply business. In 1932 it was a time my brother was beginning to demonstrate that he understood electronics. We could?ve branched out into electrical or electronic merchandise. We could?ve also converted into a grocery store, or whatever. That location at 216 Convent Ave. was good because of the show windows, a wide sidewalk and glass doors. My mother?s diary shows that on October 30, 1932 was the closing day of our drugstore. We survived one month without working while dad was looking for a place to open his business. Finally, he found a "hole in the wall" place which she wrote that it was 7-8 feet wife by 20 feet deep and without any sanitary facilities except for one water faucet. The address is 114 Convent Ave., and closer to the bridge. The great flood of 1932 left high water marks on the wall about fifteen inches from the floor all around the room. We set up shop here and we promptly disposed of what was the reaming stock of patent medicines and that is when father started the money exchange business. This location was about the only type of business that it was suited for. The money exchange from dollars to pesos was a pretty much fixed rate, unlike the present state of that business, and the profits were really and truly only a tiny handling charge. Next to 114 Convent was a little cafe. It closed down and we moved into that location. We gained some floor space but there was no toilet. It is beyond my imagination how a cafe could have operated at that location and passed the sanitation codes. These building were a group of shacks constructed on cedar post stilts and starting from 112 Convent to 120 Convent Ave. and were owned by Mr. George Reuthinger. George had paid $5,000.00 for all this property, all shacks and he never spent a nickel on repairs, improvements whatsoever. Our rent here was as high as the rent was at our 216 Convent address. We spent our time and our money to hire a handyman to help us put in a ceiling made of salvaged cardboard from shipping cartons, and other repairs. My brother succeeded my fathers money exchange business and subsequently went into the insurance business was still at that location until about 1963. Jacobs Photo Studio occupied at 114 Convent for a couple of years after we moved next door. Mr. Jacobs had a reputation of holding some liberal ideas on government and was referred to as a Communist by some of the local people of Laredo. Elias Faena went catty corner to Amado Leal?s old place, Jose Cruz suffered a heart attack and soon died. What became of the other merchants I do not know. During the time that we were having trouble barely scraping out a living from that miserable money exchange we had a different situation at home. My father had purchased the house at 1412 Victoria St. for $2,000.00 in the year 1919. Even then it was an old house in need of major repairs but he intended to tear it down and build a new house on that very well-located lot in a nice neighborhood but it was right after WWI and his fortunes took a turn for the worse. My parents? dreams were shattered when his dry goods store, the Union Dry Goods Co., burned down about 1923 with little or no insurance. By being the owner of his home, he did not have to pay rent. Even back in those years an older home in a good neighborhood commanded a rental of $20.00 to $25.00 per month. Supposing that my father had been luck enough to find a house for $15.00 per month? That meant that he would have had to pay out $0.50 cents per day in rent but by not paying rent he therefore had fifty cents daily available with which to buy food. Incredible as it may seem, we ate T-bone steak daily in our house, it cost more of less twenty cents a pound. In Nuevo Laredo, across the river, T-bone was twenty five cents a kilo (two and two tenths pound.) We ate Falfurrias Creamery butter which cost sixty cents a pound which was double what Cloverleaf butter used to cost. Yes, that fifty cents available each and every day made a very, very large difference in our budget. After my parent?s deaths I bought my brother?s half interest in the old house and rented it for several years but in 1989 I had it torn down and the property was sold. The taxes on this house were minimal but we found out my father was not paying them. Our house was protected from seizure for taxes by the Texas Homestead Law. During my brother?s and my young adulthood we helped my father pay off the 10 to 12 years of accumulated tax debt.
What I learned from all these years of living in Laredo Texas: 1412 Victoria St. home made me a believer in home ownership. The Union Dry Goods Co. made me believe in insurance. 116 Convent Ave. made a believer of business location out of me. When we first married I promised my wife that soon rather than later we would have our own home, however humble it would be. I was lucky in that within a few years we were able to build a debt-free house on a lot my father-in-law gave us. I guess that my experience as a young man in Laredo made me decide that we would always own our own home and that I would have insurance for everything we owned When I started my own business in 1955 the very first thing I did was buy a lot at 102 Gustavus St. and I got insurance on the stock. I have always been lenient, perhaps too much so, in my relations with my rental tenants. Thank you very much Victor, I am sure a lot of us can relate to your growing up in Laredo. |
Las Minas Cemetery, AKA: Dolores TX
Margarita Ortega tombstone, Las Minas, AKA: Dolores TX
The Improved Cemetery, Thanks to the New Owners of this Ranch
Mr. Zaragoza Garza Forman of the Dolores Ranch
Dolores, TX, AKA: Las Minas cemetery, cleaned up and fenced by
Mr. Zaragoza Garza Forman of the Dolores Ranch Aug 2014
Mr Garza was instumental in getting permission from the Ranch Owner which is the Budweiser Distributor in Mc Allen TX. I believe his name is Mr. Joseph V. Lamantia Jr. 956 686 1023 ( but don't quote me on that one)
DOLORES, TEXAS. Dolores is on Farm Road 1472 and a private road called River Road, on the Rio Grande in southwestern Webb County. It originated before 1860 as a Mexican village called San José. In 1882 the Cannel Coal Company opened mines along the Rio Grande. Charles B. Wright, president of the company, built the Rio Grande and Eagle Pass Railroad to ship coal from the town and renamed the San José station for his daughter Dolores. The post office began service in 1913 and was discontinued after 1930. In 1914 Dolores reportedly had a population of 1,000 and a general store run by the coal company. Thomas Gardner, Jr., was a leading local cattle breeder. The mines had declined by 1920 and were closed in 1939. In 1936 Dolores had a school, a mine, one business, and a population of twenty. The population was reported as twenty from 1958 to 1990, and the populace supported two businesses. In 1983 Dolores had two cemeteries, an inactive mine, and a few houses.
Eufemia Riojas, Rosalio Riojas, Silvestre Martinez, Erasmo Riojas, Gloria Ann Riojas, Hilarlio Riojas
Tuesday, August 14, 2001 No Running Water en la Ladrillera
I remember very well that we moved from Dolores to Laredo Texas in the middle of the night, or to be more exact, when it was dark. I did not know until I was a teenager that the reason we moved was because my father, Hilario Riojas, was to be killed by the order of the owner of the properties in Dolores. I believe his name was Dick, I don?t know if that is his first or last name.
The time of year was winter. IT was very cold and we were packed on top of this open truck. Inside the Cab was the driver, my father, and mother holding our twin sisters, Esperanza and Enoe. On top of the houshold belongings were my uncle Rosalio Riojas, my sister Elvira Alicia, and my brother Emanuel Juan and me. I remember it being very cold on top of the truck and we were all cuddled up around each other.
Suddenly there was a violent change in the motion of the truck. We were out of control, there was a sense of the truck tilting abnormally to one side. Then we came to a stop. My parents were asking my uncle Chalio if we were all OK. Nobody was hurt except for the truck. IT lost a front wheel. I remember they got off and built a fire and the driver and father went on ahead looking for the wheel. It was daylight when somebody came to our rescue from Laredo Texas. The details of how they communicated with somebody in Laredo I do not know. I remember we were taken to a house in Laredo that was Owned by my maternal grandmother (her husband was deceased) Luisa Avila Cardenas.
I know we lived on Santa Ursula St near the school we attended which was named BRUNI Elementery School. Elvia and I attended school there until we moved to barrio "La Ladrillera" way out in the sticks almost on the high bank of the Rio Grande. My father bought a corner lot on Sanchez and Camp Ave. I lived there until I left of the U.S. Navy in September 1948.
My father paid $100.00 for a corner lot. My paternal grandparents, Matilde and Juan Riojas, moved from Dolores after we were already gone, and they paid $25.00 for one half of a lot, and some other distant relative of my paternal grandmother paid the other half of the price of a middle of the block lot. Ultimately they had an argument about the entrance to the back of the lot where my grandfather had moved the house to and they were forced to sell their half and move to the corner of Park and Camp Ave, a block from our house.
When we moved to La Ladrillera, we did not have running water or sewage or electricity. That land was farm land. We had to buy water and haul it in buckets to a 55 gallon drum we had in the back of the house. My father and one of my uncles, Juan Cardenas, dug a deep square hole to sit the outhouse toilet on. Dad built a small shack in the back of our house so that we could bathe there using a tin tub and a bucket. He built the floor of cement which drained to the back where we had some trees planted.
It was not much of a shock moving from almost downtown Laredo to way out in the boondocks at la ladrillera. The main difference was that we did not have running water. Also , there was no paved streets or bus service. La Ladrillera is a barrio at the extreme end of Sanchez street in Laredo. The opposite end of Sanchez is at what we used to refer to as Las Lomas. There are about a dozen or more railroad tracks to cross right at the Brick Factory on Sanchez. Of course they could have several trains blocking the street at the same time, so that one never knew if we would be late for school. As everything else that was a problem with living there, we eventually adapted to all situations. Erasmo Riojas
When we first moved into the house that was moved from somewhere in Laredo TX to 1820 Camp El barrio La Ladrillera there was no sewage, no running water, only electricity. All the roads were dirt and when it rained, the few autos that drove in and out of our barrio created large pot holes. Most all the teenagers rode bicycles. Dad, my sister and I used to haul water from a faucet that was at the corner of Pinder and Sanchez. I don't remember whose water it was, but that is where the city of Laredo put water to that house. I don't remember how much we paid per bucket of water that we hauled to our house. We walked from Camp through Anna, Lee, to Pinder Ave. Long city blocks. We filled the buckets with water, and our father built us mesquite carrying sticks, padded on the center with rags and which extended on each side of our shoulders about 15 inches. There were attached a wire on each side with a hook about our hip level where we attached the buckets. Dad carried larger containers that were square and held about 2-3 buckets of water. The water we used at home to bath, etc, was always dumped on our plants and trees. We had three peach trees on our lot. No water was ever wasted!
Hamilton Hotel , Erasmo lettered as a MHS tiger, 2nd Team, and their awards banquet was held at the Hamilton Hotel. My Father, Hilario Riojas attended with me. We all got a gold football. My sister Elvira Alicia Riojas kept it; I gave it to her.
Postcard
of Hamilton Hotel in before the top floors were added and
before the cyclone of 1906 that destroyed the balconies. On
the back of the postcard there is a letter addressed to Mrs.
J. J. Duffy (Aunt Katie) from Alex discussing current news and
relatives.
The Riojas' worked this coal mine in Santo Tomas TX. we have relatives buried there but i don't know if the cemetery exists.
Steel Tipple at the Dolores TX coal mine, note smoke made by coal
Historical Marker on the Farm Road leading to Las Minas.
Coal
Mining
in Las Minas, Santo Tomas
Coal Field, 1880s to 1930sOctober 19, 2013
MINING HISTORY By Robert W. Hook and Peter D. Warwick U.S. Geological Survey
The Santo Tomas coal zone of Webb County was first mined commercially by the Rio Grande Coal and Irrigation Company
(RGCIC) between 1881 and 1914 By1895, the Cannel Coal Company had completed a shaft and had driven mains in both the Santo Tomas and San Pedro zones at Darwin, Texas (founded in 1882) which was about 25 miles northeast of Laredo, Texas, along the Rio Grande.
The company, which employed several hundred miners, was directed by David Darwin Davis, a mining engineer from Wales. In 1914, the town's population grew to 800 and the Rio Grande and Eagle Pass Railroad was built to transport the coal extracted in nearby mines. By 1939 the mines were shut down and the population declined to 75. Today, Darwin is a ghost town where all that remains is a cemetery. The Rio Grande and Eagle Pass railroad was abandoned in 1947 and the rail was picked up.
In 1979, Farco Mining started to do surface mining of cannel coal. This coal was not allowed to be burned in the U.S., so most of it was trucked to Laredo, then transfered to rail cars and shipped to Corpus Christi where it was put on Ships headed for Ireland.
Leading this group is my friend Ramiro "Moe" Saucedo, USMC Ret Dolores Texas School about 1937
Ramiro Saucedo Jr.
22June2015
to me Saludos Doc! My father died from complications related to diabetes. he
already had partial amputations of his feet and was on dialysis and died of
heart failure while at dialysis. He was always a good patriot proud of his
service. I think my sister up in Allen, Tx., north of Dallas has a copy of what
you are asking for, I will aske her for a copy and forward it to you. My uncle
Tony Perez also passed away a long time ago. All of the Perez clan are all gone.
I will send some pictures of our family later to you. Take care and thanks for
being a good friend to my father. And thanks for your service to our country.
You are greatly appreciated and hope you had a great Father's Day.
Ramiro
Saucedo Jr. and His Dad, Ramiro "Moe" Saucedo.
"Moe" and I were in the Korean War with the First Marine
Division. We were not in the same Regiment.
Ramiro
was a Marine Forward Observer and was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat
"V" for heroic actions. Semper Fi !
Ramiro "Moe" Saucedo
My MHS buddy Reynaldo "Morro" Vargas made this Airborne combat jump in the Korean War. He survived the war, as I did and at a young age died of a massive heart attack.
Los Vigiles, y Elvira Riojas en La Ladrillera, Laredo TX 1940 something. Lt. to Rt. Standing: Ramon, Elvira Riojas, Petra Vigil, and the rest I don't remember but they are all Vigiles.
Dear Doc Riojas,
Any reproductions made from the WCHF can be published with our permission and credit is to be given to the Foundation. The credit line should appear as Webb County Heritage Foundation, Laredo, Texas. Thank you for allowing us to download the photos in your website. They will sure help us in the on going research of Laredo's history.
Sincerely, Research Assistant
From: Elsa Navarro
The
Republic of the Rio Grande The story of an independent republic, declared and
fought over during the span of ten months in 1840, begins years before
that in the political and social turmoil that embroiled Mexico and its
vast geographical domain. Repudiated by Mexican historians and validated
in the writings of Texian and American journalists and travelers, the
Republic of the Rio Grande's very existence, like almost everything else
in the border region, is a cause for contradictory opinions. Coming out of
a valiant and victorious struggle for independence in 1821 against the
300-year rule of the great Spanish empire, Mexico eventually adopted the
republican constitution of 1824, which favored a federalist form of
government. Almost immediately, the young nation was set upon with
attempts at reconquest by Spain, as well as by an independence movement in
its northern province of Texas. Indeed, the Texan separatist faction based
their secession on the change from the federalist form of government in
Mexico to a centralist one in 1836. This move from a states' rights
government to one dictated and funded from the capital in Mexico City, led
to numerous revolts in Yucatán , Zacatecas, and eventually the northern
states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Coahuila. Seeing an opening for its
won expansion, France also embarked on a blockade of Mexican seaports. On November 5, 1838, Antonio Canales, a prominent
lawyer born in Monterrey, issued a proclamation in Ciudad Guerrero calling
for the re-adoption of the federalist constitution of 1824 and opposition
to the centralist government. By February 1839, the citizens of Laredo had
joined the cause. Helped by the French blockade of the Mexican ports, the
Federalist were able to capture several towns. By March, 1839, however,
the French had lifted their blockade and made peace with Mexico, allowing
the Centralists to devote more resources to fight the Federalists. Between
May and September of 1839, Centralists captured Saltillo, Tampico,
Monclova, and Laredo. Antonio Canales and his chief Lieutenant, Antonio
Zapata (For whom the South Texas county was named in 1858), retreated to
the Nueces River and sought the support of Mirabeau B Lamar, President of
the Republic of Texas, Counting on a buffer state between the newly
independent Texas republic and its former government, Lamar officially
remained neutral, hoping for Mexico's eventual recognition of Texas as a
sovereign nation. President Lamar, however, did allow the recruitment of
Texians into the Federalist armies. The participation of these Texians,
who had themselves chosen to separate from Mexico, caused outrage on the
part of some Federalists who, still considering themselves loyal Mexicans,
believed their rebellion to be one of a temporary nature, to last only
until the official government returned to its former constitution. There
serious philosophical differences eventually led to insurmountable and
tragic military disarray for the Federalists.
Between September, 1839 and January, 1840, Guerrero,
Mier, Laredo and other villas were taken by the Federalists. On January 7,
1840, the Republic of the Rio Grande was proclaimed by constitutional
convention and Laredo was named its capital. A small structure across the
square from San Agustin Church became its headquarters, that structure now
houses the Republic of the Rio Grande Museum. On the 17th of that same
month, officers and a general council were elected to the new republic,
Jesus Cardenas, a Lawyer from Reynosa, was chosen President. Antonio
Canales was named Commander-in-Chief of the army; Juan Nepomuceno Molano
was selected as delegate for Tamaulipas; Francisco Vidaurri y Villaseñor,
delegate for Coahuila; Manuel Maria de Llano; delegate for Nuevo Leon; and
Jose Maria Jesus Carbajal was chosen to be secretary to the Council.
Colonel Antonio Zapata served as commander of the cavalry. Almost
immediately, the Republic's forces embarked on a series of battles with
Centralist forces taking, losing, and re-taking various villas along the Río
Grande and further into Mexico. After a disastrous defeat at Santa Rita de
Morelos in Coahuila in which Canales' role is ambiguously described as
either as either cowardly and militarily inept or as cautiously prudent
depending on the historian, Federalist survivors of the battle were
court-martialed, found guilty, and shot. Antonio Zapata's head was cut off
and preserved in a cask of brandy until it was returned to his hometown of
Guerrero where it was displayed on a pike for three days as a warning to
others. The armed struggle for the border villas continued through the
summer months and by the fall it was clear that the Federalists could not
prevail. On November 6, 1840, Canales surrendered his troops on the north
bank of the river at Camargo, and President Cárdenas and his forces
stacked their rifles and arms in Laredo. The Republic of the Río Grande
was no more. The Republic of the Río Grande Museum hosts guided tours for
school age children and adults year-round and makes presentations to
schools, detention facilities, civic groups, and travel writers on a
regular basis. © 2011 Webb County Heritage Foundation | 500 Flores Avenue, Laredo, Texas
Look at the automobiles ! This is OLD
Laredo, so beautiful ! Erasmo "Doc" Riojas was born in
Dolores Texas, 1931, now it is a farm/ranch. Back then it was a coal
mining town until it flooded about 1938. Our families moved to Laredo
TX. I attended grammer school at Bruni, then Mc Donald, on Main St. and
from there to this school pictured here. It was called Kathryn tarver.
From here we then attended Christen Junior High School, on Park Ave. next to MHS.  
La trambilla en Laredo TX, back in the 1930's, i was taken
there by my uncle Rosalio when i was about six years old. and I remember
the Trambillas !
Back
when we were in MHS, Reynaldo "Morro" Vargas and
Erasmo Riojas used to deliver the San Antonio Express newspaper in the early
morning before school. we always stopped here for a cup of coffee and a
piece of Pan Dulce. Then on to "Las Lomas" on our bicycles
to deliver our newspapers. The Navy Marine Corps Ribbon is called "COMBAT ACTION
RIBBON" there is no medal for it. The star in the center
indicates that i received a SECOND award for two wars: Korea and
Vietnam. I was a Hospital Corpsman , Fleet Marine Force Corpsman
with the 1st Div. Korea. The Daughters of the American Revolution,
Laredo CHapter, in March 2015, in Laredo Texas honored several Vietnam Veterans,
one, the guest speaker was Erasmo "Doc" Riojas who was invited by Ms.
Mary Cigaroa Freeman. She attended this Mc Allen memorial and gave a
donation to place a plaque with "Doc" Riojas name indicating his
service in two wars, Korea with the USMC and Vietnam as a Navy SEAL. My uncle, Ildefonso Cardenas, my Dad,
Hilario Martinez Riojas, My brother, Emanuel, Erasmo (Both Laredo Tigers) and
our pet "monko"at the edge of our old swimming hole on the bank of the
Rio Grande located at the very end of Sanchez street which was also where our
home was 1820 Camp Ave. "La Ladrillera" Laredo Texas.
All our families were coal miners and almost all of us were born in Dolores
Texas.
Erasmo
Elias "Doc" Riojas joined the USNavy in Laredo TX Aug 1948 and was
called to active duty 28 Sep 1948. He retired after 22 years and 2 months
active duty. He now resides in Pearland Tx with his wife Lourdes Tolentino.
He is mentioned in this book: SEAL WARRIOR by Tom H. Keith, his SEAL Team
TWO warrior brother.
Martin High School at the corner of Park St. and San Bernardo Ave.; Shirley
field at the top left of this picture. Home of the Laredo Tigers and the
MHS Kittens.
Sammy Ward and I played football together with the Laredo Tigers. We were very
good buddies. We both drew cartoons and had a lot of laughs together with
out school buddies. I joined the Navy during my last year as a senior in
High School. I would have graduated in Sammy's generation class. May
he Rest in Eternal Peace.
way before my time, top fo the picture the Rio Grande and to the left the only
bridge we had going across to Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Top
of the picture one can see the train bridge to N.L.Mex.
SEMPER
FI!
This
is where Dolores Texas was located. there were two other coal mines that
also flooded. The one in Santo Tomas and then The Canel Coal Mine.
Dolores, Texas From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dolores, Texas unincorporated community Coordinates: 27°41'19?N 99°43'57?W Established 1860 Population
Dolores, Texas is near the Rio Grande in western Webb County near Laredo, Texas. It was established as a Mexican village called San José in 1860. In 1882 the Cannel Coal Company opened mines along the Rio Grande. Cannel Coal Company built the Rio Grande and Eagle Pass Railroad to ship coal from the town and renamed the San José village after its company President's daughter Dolores. In 1914 Dolores reportedly had a population of 1,000. The mines were closed in 1939. Its population declined to 20 in 1936.
we got relatives in both cemeteries. I only visit the one in Dolores.
Darwin Cemetery
Located approximately 15 miles northwest of Laredo, Texas on Old Mines Road at Dolores Ranch.
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Old Laredo Story Room: Laredo TX
Webmaster: Erasmo "Doc" Riojas AKA: Doc Rio Navy SEAL
Tuesday, August 14, 2001 No
Running Water en la Ladrillera I remember very well that we moved from Dolores to Laredo
Texas in the middle of the night, or to be more exact, when it
was dark. I did not know until I was a teenager that the
reason we moved was because my father, Hilario Riojas, was to
be killed by the order of the owner of the properties in
Dolores. I believe his name was Dick, I don?t know if that is
his first or last name. The time of year was winter. IT was very cold and we were
packed on top of this open truck. Inside the Cab was the
driver, my father, and mother holding our twin sisters,
Esperanza and Enoe. On top of the houshold belongings were my
uncle Rosalio Riojas, my sister Elvira Alicia, and my brother
Emanuel Juan and me. I remember it being very cold on top of
the truck and we were all cuddled up around each other. Suddenly there was a violent change in the motion of the
truck. We were out of control, there was a sense of the truck
tilting abnormally to one side. Then we came to a stop. My
parents were asking my uncle Chalio if we were all OK. Nobody
was hurt except for the truck. IT lost a front wheel. I
remember they got off and built a fire and the driver and
father went on ahead looking for the wheel. It was daylight
when somebody came to our rescue from Laredo Texas. The
details of how they communicated with somebody in Laredo I do
not know. I remember we were taken to a house in Laredo that
was Owned by my maternal grandmother (her husband was
deceased) Luisa Avila Cardenas. I know we lived on Santa Ursula St near the school we
attended which was named BRUNI Elementery School. Elvia and I
attended school there until we moved to barrio "La
Ladrillera" way out in the sticks almost on the high bank
of the Rio Grande. My father bought a corner lot on Sanchez
and Camp Ave. I lived there until I left of the U.S. Navy in
September 1948. My father paid $100.00 for a corner lot. My paternal
grandparents, Matilde and Juan Riojas, moved from Dolores
after we were already gone, and they paid $25.00 for one half
of a lot, and some other distant relative of my paternal
grandmother paid the other half of the price of a middle of
the block lot. Ultimately they had an argument about the
entrance to the back of the lot where my grandfather had moved
the house to and they were forced to sell their half and move
to the corner of Park and Camp Ave, a block from our house. When we moved to La Ladrillera, we did not have running
water or sewage or electricity. That land was farm land. We
had to buy water and haul it in buckets to a 55 gallon drum we
had in the back of the house. My father and one of my uncles,
Juan Cardenas, dug a deep square hole to sit the outhouse
toilet on. Dad built a small shack in the back of our house so
that we could bathe there using a tin tub and a bucket. He
built the floor of cement which drained to the back where we
had some trees planted. It was not much of a shock moving from almost downtown
Laredo to way out in the boondocks at la ladrillera. The main
difference was that we did not have running water. Also ,
there was no paved streets or bus service. La Ladrillera is a
barrio at the extreme end of Sanchez street in Laredo. The
opposite end of Sanchez is at what we used to refer to as Las
Lomas. There are about a dozen or more railroad tracks to
cross right at the Brick Factory on Sanchez. Of course they
could have several trains blocking the street at the same
time, so that one never knew if we would be late for school.
As everything else that was a problem with living there, we
eventually adapted to all situations. Erasmo Riojas When we first moved into the house that was moved from
somewhere in Laredo TX to 1820 Camp El barrio La Ladrillera
there was no sewage, no running water, only electricity. All
the roads were dirt and when it rained, the few autos that
drove in and out of our barrio created large pot holes. Most
all the teenagers rode bicycles. Dad, my sister and I used to
haul water from a faucet that was at the corner of Pinder and
Sanchez. I don't remember whose water it was, but that is
where the city of Laredo put water to that house. I don't
remember how much we paid per bucket of water that we hauled
to our house. We walked from Camp through Anna, Lee, to Pinder
Ave. Long city blocks. We filled the buckets with water, and
our father built us mesquite carrying sticks, padded on the
center with rags and which extended on each side of our
shoulders about 15 inches. There were attached a wire on each
side with a hook about our hip level where we attached the
buckets. Dad carried larger containers that were square and
held about 2-3 buckets of water. The water we used at home to
bath, etc, was always dumped on our plants and trees. We had
three peach trees on our lot. No water was ever wasted! Flooded International Bridge, Laredo,
Texas], Photograph, September 3, 1932
https://www.google.com/search?q=laredo+texas+flood+1954&sa=X&biw=1360&bih=576&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=
niv&ved=0CBwQsARqFQoTCIr8ztaGvMgCFU_EYwodgI0Nng#tbm=isch&q=laredo+texas+1945
Dear Doc Riojas, Any reproductions made
from the WCHF can be published with our permission and credit is to be
given to the Foundation. The credit line should appear as Webb County
Heritage Foundation, Laredo, Texas. Thank you for allowing us to
download the photos in your website. They will sure help us in the on
going research of Laredo's history. Sincerely, Research
Assistant From: Elsa Navarro
McFarland, USA
by José Antonio López:
The-Rio-Grande
-backbone-of-the-Borderlands
submitted by Raul Flores (a F.Aggie)
Damien
Rio Vasquez & his Godfather Erasmo "Doc Rio" Riojas
Return to HOME
Alfredo Cantu "Freddy" Gonzalez 1946 - 1968 R.I.P.
Alfredo Cantu "Freddy" Gonzalez (May 23, 1946 – February 4, 1968) was a United States Marine Corps sergeant who posthumously received the Medal of Honor for service in the Battle of Huế during the Vietnam War.
The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration that may be awarded to a member of the Texas Military Forces. This includes Texas Air National Guard, Texas Army National Guard, and Texas State Guard. This medal may only be awarded to federal military personnel, or state military personnel who serve in the Armed Forces of the State of Texas
Erasmo "Doc" Riojas is one of the main characters in the below book ! it is on Kindle !
Carl has done it again !
His latest NEW book is now available on Amazon.
Doc Rio is reading the proof copy it has captured his whole
attention
Roger and Pinky Nash have come up through the ranks with the OSS and CIA. Along the way Roger earned the Navy Cross fighting in the Philippines, as well as a Bronze Star fighting with Merrill’s Marauder’s in Burma.It’s now January, 1950 and Pinky assumes command of the Japanese CIA office, as well as the responsibility for gathering North Korean intelligence. Will their first battle be with the NKPA, or the Supreme Commander Allied Powers, General MacArthur? What happens when SCAP goes to war against the CIA instead of the North Koreans? MacArthur has infiltrated and corrupted the CIA office. Can Pinky turn it around? The CIA immediately begins producing indisputable evidence the North Korean’s are ready to wage war, but can they convince the powers in Washington D.C.? What happens when Pinky’s personal life begins to crumble around her? Has her anger with Roger caused her to seek his replacement?
In the early days of the war that was not supposed to happen, the North Koreans capture Major General Wm. Dean, commander of the 24th Infantry Division and hold him in a secluded prison. Several attempts at repatriation fail. In addition to intelligence gathering, the CIA plans a repatriation mission. Can Pinky’s CIA team of special agents do a better job than the Army? Will the small team of specialists thinking outside the box do a better job than the military might with traditional operating procedures?
You will be on the edge of your
seat as real people, not storybook fantasy characters take on the
impossible and the story builds to an exciting and unexpected
crescendo. Don’t miss this exciting second book in the Behind The
Lines series. If you are like me and want a real book to
hold and fondle while you read, then simply click this link and
as-if by magic you will be transported to the Amazon listing for
“Dean, the Captured General.”http://www.amazon.com/Indomitable-Patriot-Captured-General-Behind/dp/1516991567/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440898689&sr=1-2&keywords=the+indomitable+patriot+dean
If, on the other hand you are a technogeek and prefer the Kindle
edition, simply click this link and you will find yourself at the
Kindle listing for Dean. Further note... the price for the Kindle
edition is only $2.99, and you can download a Kindle reader for your
computer for free!
http://www.amazon.com/Indomitable-Patriot-Captured-General-Behind-ebook/dp/B014GA5Z18/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440974531&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Indomitable-Patriot-Captured+General-Behind+Enemy+Lines
Guys, this old Army dude thanks you for your continued support and I
hope you enjoy this latest book. I’ve got a ton of research ahead
of me, the next book will be advancing into the Vietnam era, late
‘53-early ‘54, with an exploratory trip to Dien Bien Phu to see
if we should support the French, or write them off. In Fertig Pinky
was behind the scenes at the OSS academy. She takes a leading role
in Dean, and hoo-boy, have I got some exciting scenes for her in the
next volume of Behind The Lines! The storyline will also be split
between Vietnam and the communists moving into Argentina, and some
of the characters introduced in Dean might just find themselves
fighting a totally covert, subversive battle in So. America.
As always, I’ll do my best to
keep the story historically accurate and keep you on the edge of
your seat as you read the story..... Carl (Having spent the majority
of my tour in the highlands at DakTo, guess where we’re ultimately
heading...).
People;
Yep ! I am immortalized ! Mr. Carl McLelland emailed me for
permission to be included in his book and i agreed. We have become good
buddies on the WWW.
THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT Fertig,
The Guerrilla General
One of our guys, although he had the
misfortune of going Army instead of Navy, has become a writer in
his old age. His first few books were about the paranormal... he likes
to chase ghosts in his spare time. But his latest
endeavor; Wow! He has started a new series of books he calls Behind
the Lines. His first book, recently completed and
published is titled “THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT: Fertig, the Guerrilla
General.” It’s a historically correct novel about Wendell Fertig
in the Philippines in World War II. Here’s what the book looks
like.
Cover Final :
May, 1942. General Wainwright has just surrendered the Philippines.
Wendell Fertig, a Corps of Engineers Lieutenant Colonel, refuses to
comply and flees into the mountains of Mindanao. Fertig is soon
joined by dozens of former Philippino Army scouts who encourage him to
form a guerrilla Army. Over the next few months Fertig is joined by
several other displaced American soldiers, one of whom builds a small,
makeshift transmitter and establishes contact with the Navy.
General MacArthur denounces Fertig, going on record claiming it’s
impossible for a guerrilla movement in the Philippines to succeed. The
O.S.S. decide to take a chance and covertly supplies Fertig by
submarine. Once he receives the tools to wage war, his achievements
become legendary. By the time MacArthur returns to the Philippines in
1944 he is met on the beach at Leyte by a force of over twenty
thousand of Fertig’s guerrilla Army.
This fictional accounting is based upon the actual military records
and reports of one man’s impossible achievements against
overwhelming odds; against an enemy who outnumbered him a hundred to
one. Wendell Fertig, a civil engineer and untrained amateur in the
ways of war, defied the predictions of the experts and brought the
Japanese Army to its knees. Enjoy this first installment in the new
Behind The Lines series of combat thrillers based upon historical
records.
.
The book is available from Amazon in either print or Kindle versions,
or by special order from almost any book retailer.
(He’s not Tom Clancy yet. They don’t stock his books but they can
order them). These links will take you to the Amazon listings. If you
look at the Kindle listing there is a Look Inside feature that lets
you read through the first chapter.
Print:
http://www.amazon.com/Indomitable-Patriot-Fertig-Guerrilla-General/dp/
1512025623/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1431972445&sr=8-1&keywords=the+indomitable+patriot
Kindle:
http://www.amazon.com/Indomitable-
Patriot-Fertig-Guerrilla-General-ebook/dp/B00XUSX4RU/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1432050603&sr=
1-1&keywords=the+indomitable+patriot
About the Author
Carl’s professional career began as an
Army and then FAA air traffic controller. He advanced from a small
radar van in the Central Highlands of Vietnam to the TRACON in one of
our nation’s busiest airports. He also became a commercial pilot and
flight instructor, retiring after thirty-nine years of flying. By 1986
he was experiencing severe burnout. He put himself through the police
academy, resigned from the FAA and became a deputy Sheriff in Reno,
Nevada. He retired after a distinguished career on the street. Not
only the cop on the beat, Carl became a renowned traffic accident
reconstructionist on his departments Major Accident Investigation
Team, as well as a highly acclaimed crime scene investigator.
Throughout his life Carl has been a student of the paranormal and
often experienced the effects of the supernatural in his personal
life. In 2012 he became involved in the saga of the haunted Allen
House in Monticello, Arkansas and its resident spirit, Ladell Allen
Bonner. The result of dozens upon dozens of paranormal interactions
with Ladell led Carl to write his first book about Ladell’s life and
death. Writing that first book sparked a latent avocation in his life:
writing. Carl has always been a connoisseur of military history, and
that interest began a new direction for his writing. This latest book
is the story of Wendell Fertig, and the beginning of a thrilling new
series, 'Behind The Lines.' While the stories are fictionalized, they
are all based upon factual military history. Join in with Carl and
enjoy his books as you gain an interesting new insight in what war is
all about.
The following is typical of the reviews
I’m receiving on the book:
Just finished your book and you get 4.0 marks from this old Navy Seal.
Really enjoyed and it adds to my hobby of WWII.
Spent 22 years of my 34 in and out of the PI. Have traveled every
island and was trained a marksman by RJ when we were
stationed at Team 2 during Vietnam. Still a very good friend I keep in
contact with. Going to recommend it to my friends,
at least the ones that can read.
THE INDOMITABLE PATRIOT Fertig, The Guerrilla General
Doc Riojas Comment: Once i started reading this book, i have find myself hard to putting it down! because of my very old age (84 yr old eyes and at the end of being able to correct my vision) I find that the way the paragraphs are other important text are spaced to be extremly easy to read.
Having retired from the Navy and traveled to that part of the orient reminds me of my days as a guerrilla combatant as part of the Navy SPecial Warfare serving as a Navy SEAL in the Jungles of Vietnam.
The author is equally as good a military writter as Tom Clancy. This story may possibly be material for a great movie similar to the the movie produced about the POW rescue in WWII by Filipino Guerilla fighters and the U.S. Army Rangers. "The Great Raid"
Do not wait to buy it tomorrow, order it today ! It was recommended to me by CDR R.D. Thomas (recommended for the Medal of Honor by the US Army, but our politically correct US Navy downgraded it to a Navy Cross. SHame on them !
Carl McClelland, USMC Pilot: the author
Shakira - Whenever, Wherever