The Fire Of Our Family Bonds
By Larry J. Rodarte © The Diaz Observer
It’s June 2022, and that means it’s a reunion month. I write this story to encourage all of you to share your stories of our Diaz familia with your youth and family members as we embark on our 7th Diaz Family Reunion.
I remember in 1988, when the baton was inadvertently passed to me to keep the family reunions going by cousins Steve Stricker and Ralphie Diaz, I had the task of telling our history and heritage to communicate our family bond. That meant talking to our elders, via phone calls, home visits, and even writing letters to capture who we really were. There weren’t even pagers—let alone text messages—in those days.
In 1988, there were many elders, the so-called second generation—the greatest generation, the children of Grandpa Senobio and Grandma Cecilia. Only my grandparents (Joe and Odelia Diaz), Tia Cruz and Tio Pablo Orozco, Uncle Steve Diaz, and Tia Carmen Stricker were deceased; and of course our beloved Cupertino Orozco. That means out of 20, 14 were still living and many were willing to tell me about the good old days.
I missed my grandpa Joe, Uncle Steve, and Tia Cruz. And although I didn’t meet Tia Carmen I missed her presence in my life, knowing the love I experienced with each of my Diaz aunts. I was proud every time I saw Tia Cruz at the annual novena at St. Joe’s because she was diligent in her love for Our Lady of Guadalupe. And Uncle Steve, his warmth and gentleness were always felt in his presence.
I heard about the good, the not so good, and the sometimes unbelievable, but it conjured images for me that sometimes came to life from the years of collecting family pictures.
How exciting it was to hear about Tia Carmen’s wedding in 1941, or to read Uncle Steve’s great memoirs of the family train ride from Houston to Michigan in 1927. How about hearing of Tia Rosie Ruiz’s family arrival to Galveston Island right after the devastation from Hurricane Carla in 1961, when Uncle Robert Ruiz moved them to Texas? I was told that Tia Lola Colmus was the first of her graduating class to walk with her hands in prayer formation into her commencement hall in 1947. And Uncle Fred Diaz always brought it home by talking about the clean waters of Saginaw and the water by the family farm.
There are many stories, and those stories are continually lived out, since we are what remain. I think of what Tia Della Chantaca or Tia Connie Diaz are thinking these days; especially in these crazy times we are living through. Both are in their 90s, and they’ve seen a lot over the years. Tia Della was recently reminiscing about how she, her nieces Anne and Angela, and her sisters Rosie and Lola played house out in the woods by the family farm. That was more than 80 years ago. And I loved to hear how Tia Connie recalled Grandma Cecilia making mole for her and Uncle Ralph on their wedding day in 1948. And we cherish Uncle Fred’s better half —Aunt Diane Diaz, she too can relay memories of our “cool” Tio.
It’s been 35 years since the family came together for the first official family reunion at Spaulding Township Hall in 1987. Thank you Mary “Chelo” Castañeda and Leonard Medel for starting these reunions. Times were definitely simpler then. Through the years, I would hear Tia Dora Medel talk about “my daddy” like a young schoolgirl; it brought joy to my heart. And the way Uncle Ralph Diaz called me “hijo” while telling his stories; I know many of you know that feeling whenever they called us by their terms of endearments. Tia Dora and Uncle Ralph’s reminiscing about the Wolf Road farm or Grandma’s cooking was always so heartwarming.
Uncle Tony Stricker had a way with words, and his love of world history was admirable. Uncle Jack Chantaca, too, was astute on world affairs, and he could talk with anyone. And Uncle Willie Medel’s tales of picking cherries in Traverse City with his brood always perked up “Larry Canary’s” ears. And then there was Tia Esther Diaz, with such grace; she knew how to tell a good story with great details.
I wasn’t alive when Grandpa Senobio and Grandma Cecilia roamed this earth, but their love and their legacy has been told by many of their descendants. And pertinent stories by Tia Natalia Bedella and Tia Catalina Velasquez, grandpa and grandma’s sisters respectively, took it way back to their beginnings in Mexico. Don’t forget, we descend from Mexico Lindo—it is our ancestral homeland. Remember Tia Natalia’s memory of the “Peach Trees and Cherry Trees,” on Rancho Getrudis in Piñícuaro, Guanajuato, or Tia Catalina’s tale of Grandma Cecilia hiding money in the fireplace bricks so the Chavista bandits couldn’t find it.
I’ve been so blessed and I guess I feel compelled to tell you all this because, well, I am a journalist. And that’s what we do. We write the stories, and I’ve shared through the years what they have told me.
And I’ll be brutality honest—after the racial reckoning in this country, the political polarization, the Jan. 6th attack on the US Capitol, and the recent massacre shootings, I haven’t felt like celebrating. Yet, in these times of turmoil, I look back at our Diaz grandparents and remember their fortitude for life, for a better life, in the land of the free. Political upheaval—a revolution—touched them firsthand with the hanging of Grandpa Senobio’s father, José Maria Diaz. And the truth of what happened to Grandma’s family in Huandacareo is incomprehensible.
Yes, their courage in those days is worth noting, and WE are their American dream. It was their decision in 1919 to seek asylum in the United States so we could have the opportunities and lives we all have had in this great nation.
The years are going fast now; we are all older and too many times we hear the adage “Life is too short,” but it’s blatantly true, so let’s live our best lives every day.
Baby Diaz and Tia Connie are still with us. Let us go forth with this reunion and shower all the love we have for them, for that generation, upon them. Let us shower the family love on each other, knowing we come from some pretty admirable people, knowing we’ve had some pretty tough years, and knowing we really do need each other. Their legacy is strong and it’s time to relight the fire of our family bonds. Godspeed for the 7th Diaz Family Reunion.
I remember in 1988, when the baton was inadvertently passed to me to keep the family reunions going by cousins Steve Stricker and Ralphie Diaz, I had the task of telling our history and heritage to communicate our family bond. That meant talking to our elders, via phone calls, home visits, and even writing letters to capture who we really were. There weren’t even pagers—let alone text messages—in those days.
In 1988, there were many elders, the so-called second generation—the greatest generation, the children of Grandpa Senobio and Grandma Cecilia. Only my grandparents (Joe and Odelia Diaz), Tia Cruz and Tio Pablo Orozco, Uncle Steve Diaz, and Tia Carmen Stricker were deceased; and of course our beloved Cupertino Orozco. That means out of 20, 14 were still living and many were willing to tell me about the good old days.
I missed my grandpa Joe, Uncle Steve, and Tia Cruz. And although I didn’t meet Tia Carmen I missed her presence in my life, knowing the love I experienced with each of my Diaz aunts. I was proud every time I saw Tia Cruz at the annual novena at St. Joe’s because she was diligent in her love for Our Lady of Guadalupe. And Uncle Steve, his warmth and gentleness were always felt in his presence.
I heard about the good, the not so good, and the sometimes unbelievable, but it conjured images for me that sometimes came to life from the years of collecting family pictures.
How exciting it was to hear about Tia Carmen’s wedding in 1941, or to read Uncle Steve’s great memoirs of the family train ride from Houston to Michigan in 1927. How about hearing of Tia Rosie Ruiz’s family arrival to Galveston Island right after the devastation from Hurricane Carla in 1961, when Uncle Robert Ruiz moved them to Texas? I was told that Tia Lola Colmus was the first of her graduating class to walk with her hands in prayer formation into her commencement hall in 1947. And Uncle Fred Diaz always brought it home by talking about the clean waters of Saginaw and the water by the family farm.
There are many stories, and those stories are continually lived out, since we are what remain. I think of what Tia Della Chantaca or Tia Connie Diaz are thinking these days; especially in these crazy times we are living through. Both are in their 90s, and they’ve seen a lot over the years. Tia Della was recently reminiscing about how she, her nieces Anne and Angela, and her sisters Rosie and Lola played house out in the woods by the family farm. That was more than 80 years ago. And I loved to hear how Tia Connie recalled Grandma Cecilia making mole for her and Uncle Ralph on their wedding day in 1948. And we cherish Uncle Fred’s better half —Aunt Diane Diaz, she too can relay memories of our “cool” Tio.
It’s been 35 years since the family came together for the first official family reunion at Spaulding Township Hall in 1987. Thank you Mary “Chelo” Castañeda and Leonard Medel for starting these reunions. Times were definitely simpler then. Through the years, I would hear Tia Dora Medel talk about “my daddy” like a young schoolgirl; it brought joy to my heart. And the way Uncle Ralph Diaz called me “hijo” while telling his stories; I know many of you know that feeling whenever they called us by their terms of endearments. Tia Dora and Uncle Ralph’s reminiscing about the Wolf Road farm or Grandma’s cooking was always so heartwarming.
Uncle Tony Stricker had a way with words, and his love of world history was admirable. Uncle Jack Chantaca, too, was astute on world affairs, and he could talk with anyone. And Uncle Willie Medel’s tales of picking cherries in Traverse City with his brood always perked up “Larry Canary’s” ears. And then there was Tia Esther Diaz, with such grace; she knew how to tell a good story with great details.
I wasn’t alive when Grandpa Senobio and Grandma Cecilia roamed this earth, but their love and their legacy has been told by many of their descendants. And pertinent stories by Tia Natalia Bedella and Tia Catalina Velasquez, grandpa and grandma’s sisters respectively, took it way back to their beginnings in Mexico. Don’t forget, we descend from Mexico Lindo—it is our ancestral homeland. Remember Tia Natalia’s memory of the “Peach Trees and Cherry Trees,” on Rancho Getrudis in Piñícuaro, Guanajuato, or Tia Catalina’s tale of Grandma Cecilia hiding money in the fireplace bricks so the Chavista bandits couldn’t find it.
I’ve been so blessed and I guess I feel compelled to tell you all this because, well, I am a journalist. And that’s what we do. We write the stories, and I’ve shared through the years what they have told me.
And I’ll be brutality honest—after the racial reckoning in this country, the political polarization, the Jan. 6th attack on the US Capitol, and the recent massacre shootings, I haven’t felt like celebrating. Yet, in these times of turmoil, I look back at our Diaz grandparents and remember their fortitude for life, for a better life, in the land of the free. Political upheaval—a revolution—touched them firsthand with the hanging of Grandpa Senobio’s father, José Maria Diaz. And the truth of what happened to Grandma’s family in Huandacareo is incomprehensible.
Yes, their courage in those days is worth noting, and WE are their American dream. It was their decision in 1919 to seek asylum in the United States so we could have the opportunities and lives we all have had in this great nation.
The years are going fast now; we are all older and too many times we hear the adage “Life is too short,” but it’s blatantly true, so let’s live our best lives every day.
Baby Diaz and Tia Connie are still with us. Let us go forth with this reunion and shower all the love we have for them, for that generation, upon them. Let us shower the family love on each other, knowing we come from some pretty admirable people, knowing we’ve had some pretty tough years, and knowing we really do need each other. Their legacy is strong and it’s time to relight the fire of our family bonds. Godspeed for the 7th Diaz Family Reunion.
