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For many families gathered this year for Thanksgiving, there will be a missing part of the family.  The battles that our military men and women are a part of in the Middle East will be partly to blame. The casualties continue to mount. Deaths because of sickness and accidents also take their toll on those they left behind.

My sister-in-law Maria Cruz Mora has always been a great cook.  She could cook incredibly good Mexican food and in 1967 she was now cooking great American food.  I had the good fortune to be able to visit the Mora’s household for Thanksgiving with my young family and later stop by my parent’s home at 234 North 7^th Street to resume the holiday with sisters and brothers.

Some research showed that in 1967 the weather had a high of 45 degrees the day before and was to be the same on Thanksgiving with a chance of rain or snow in the evening. The newspaper showed the headline “GI’S SWARM BLOODY HILL – U.S.  Reinforcements Move onto No. 875 Near Dak To as Paratroopers, Artillery and Planes Assault Bunkered Ridge Line Still Held by North Vietnamese.”

The newspaper had advertisements for Sav-On (at 5400 Kansas Avenue), W.T. Grant on Minnesota Avenue and Jack Borings at 18^th and Central Avenue. Gateway Sporting Goods had a sale on Wilson official size footballs for 3.88 and Sears advertised 8-transistor portable radios for 8.88.

Some of the top songs being played were The Letter, Light My Fire, Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Ode to Billie Joe, Happy Together etc.  In the sports section, the Kansas City Chiefs were to play the Raiders in Kansas City – but the game was not to be televised.

I recall that Thanksgiving in 1967.  First in the Mora household, there was always music from the long play records in the living room.  My sister-in-law loved musica romantica and her husband Ramon preferred Norteño.  I do not recall any alcoholic beverages being served but there was plenty of coffee, chocolate and soft drinks.

The Mora family lived on Miami Avenue for a few years then moved to a larger house on Shawnee Avenue – on the East side of 7^th Street in Armourdale.  St Thomas Church was 3 blocks away – on the West side of 7^th Street.  A big part of the Mora children’s lives was St Thomas Church, St, Thomas School, Shawnee Park and Paul’s Drive-in which was then located at Kansas Avenue and Packard Street.

Thanksgiving that year was festive.  Most of the children were now teen-agers and attending Bishop Ward High School.  The youngest of the boys, Arthur was very energetic and popular in the Armourdale neighborhood. Several of his friends stopped by to visit during that afternoon. Shawnee, Packard, St. Paul, Osage Streets and Kansas Avenue was their territory.  The oldest of the sons, Raymond Jr. spent much of the afternoon upstairs practicing with his guitar. The family loved living in Armourdale.

Raymond Jr. was always very polite and respectful. He was part of a band when he was home and had been at a school in Iowa studying electronics.  Life was changing quickly for him. He would soon be engaged. 

On that Thanksgiving Day, personally I was at peace.  For a few weeks then, I had been working only in the day hours. This is what I had wanted to do for years. In the spring of 1963 when visiting my long-time friend Ken Zimmerman I made it known to his mom that I was not pleased with my present job.  It offered no challenge and I worked in the evenings. Helen Zimmerman was a special lady who from the first day I was introduced to her treated me as one of the family.  At that moment I just wanted someone to listen to me.  To my surprise she commented “Why don’t you try the computer field?”  In 1963 Computers were fairly new and unheard of to me.  I did look into computer programming the next morning. Very soon after I started computer programming classes from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. – then worked at the Post Office from 2:30 p.m. until 11:15 p.m.

Later that year I was able to transfer from the Post Office to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  I would work 4 years of rotating shifts – gaining more experience in the computer field.  Finally, I found myself working 8 hour days in a field that I really liked.  I always thought of what a major effect on my life the advice from Mrs. Zimmerman had been.  I would go on to be a computer programmer and then computer specialist later in my life.  Thankfully I was able to tell Mrs. Zimmerman personally how much I appreciated her before she passed away a few years ago.  I also thanked her for making my professional employment possible.  I reminded her that if she had not given me the advice about computers in 1963, my life would have been completely different.

 There was much joy and laughter at the Mora house on Thanksgiving Day 1967. Ramon Mora was born in the U.S. but spent much of his youth in Monterrey Mexico.  He was an excellent barber and did his barbering at his house – when he was not at his job at the General Motor’s plant in Leed’s. He could entertain for hours when speaking of his life’s experiences.  I remember that it was a fun day.

A few months later Raymond Mora Jr. would join the U.S. Marines.  He was in school but did not wish to leave his fate to the military draft.  In June of the next year he would be a casualty of the Vietnam War.  The casualty’s of War leave their families in trauma and turmoil.  The family’s lives are drastically changed forever.

The Porras family also lived in Armourdale – at 930 S. Coy Street.  When I was in the neighborhood I would drive by and wave to any of the family who might be outside.  Jose was mi padrińo. His son Johnny was a very pleasant 18-year-old, who also was my second cousin.  Johnny would also join the U.S. Marines within the year.  Shockingly he would also be a Vietnam War casualty in September of 1968.

Caminos wishes all the Kansan readers a very pleasant Thanksgiving Day.  We pray that those who will not be with us this year will be remembered in thought and spirit. 

Rudy Padilla is a columnist for the Kansan and can be contacted at opkansas@swbell.net