Ancestor Interview by Noah Hammond (year 2000)
Q: What is your name
A: Reyes Ortega Fernandez
Q: Where do you live?
A: Moorestown, NJ
Q: When were you Born?
A: January 6, 1919. I am 81.
Q: How was school for you?
A: School was great, I loved it. There was lots of math, reading and writing. The school was a building with four rooms and we had classes in one room.
Q: Did you have any pets?
A: I had 1 dog and 2 cats. The dog was a pointer and was a good hunter. The cats were good mice hunters, and both cats lived outside.
Q: Did they have names?
A: The dog's name was Ambassador.
Q: What did you and your friends do for fun?
A: Mostly we played baseball, and swam in irrigation canals and rivers.
Q: Did you play any sports?
A: Football in high school, and I always played baseball.
Q: How did you celebrate holidays?
A: We did not celebrate much, holidays were plain & simple. I was happy to get out of school, and played lots of games. My favorite holiday was Christmas.
Q: How did you celebrate Christmas?
A: We had a big family meal, candy, fruits, and one present that all the kids could share.
Q: Did you ever fignt in a war?
A: Yes, World War II. I was 2 years in Europe and 2 in the states, training. The food was decent, but I did not like the army life.
Q: Describe your wedding?
A: It was a simple wedding, no celebrations, and just the wedding ceremony.
Q: Where and when did you get married?
A: September 15, 1950 in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Q: How did you meet your wife?
A: I met her at a dance hall in Philadelphia. The dance hall was called Wagner's.
Q: Who was your role model as a kid?
A: Joe DiMaggio, a great Yankee player in baseball.
Q: Did you have a best friend?
A: Frank and Mike. They both were not very tall, and played baseball alot.
Q: What was it that you liked about Frank & Mike?
A: We were really good pals. I like their families, and we played ball together. We also went to school together, and we always looked out for each other.
Q: Did you and your friends ever get in trouble?
A: No, not really.
Q: When was your first date?
A: My senior prom with a girl named Josephine.
Q: What was your first car?
A: A 1940 Buick (black) with strait 8 cylinder.
Q: When did you get it, and how long did you have it?
A: In 1951. I had it for about 2 years.
Q: What are your favorite hobbies?
A: Wood working mostly, making small pieces of furniture, and playing slot machines.
Q: What do you think was the greatest invention when you were growing up?
A: I think the TV and electronic microwave.
Q: Did you have any prized possessions?
A: Yes, my cap - a hat that was gray.
Q: Would you like to be a child my age? (12)
A: No, because then I wouldn't be who I am, and things would really change; so why bother?
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I grew up on a farm in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I had lots of work and chores to do. I did a lot of horseback riding, swimming, and played sports.
Q: What specific chores did you have? Which did you like or not like?
A: I had to water the horses and cows and feed all the animals on the farm. I chopped wood too. I liked them all, I guess.
Q: What were the names of your parents? What were they like?
A: My father's name was Jesus. He was not very tall, and a very hard working man. My mother's name was Josepha, and her nickname was Pepa. She was a tall woman, and she stayed home raising all her children.
Q: What's the one thing you remember most about your father and mother?
A: My father always worked and found things to do 7 days a week. I don't know why he never took time off? My mother was a really good cook. Everything she cooked tasted great. She was the one in the family.
Q: Tell about your brothers and sisters.
A: I had 7 brothers and 6 sisters. All were younger than I was, and most of them quit school and went to work instead. All of them have made out O.K.
Q: Did you have a favorite brother or sister? Why?
A: My two older sisters always treated me nice.
Q: What were their names?
A: Amelia and Lupe.
Q: Tell about your grandparents.
A: My grandfather, my father's father, died a young man, and I never met him. My other grandfather was a farmer and had a vineyard. Grandmother Lupe, was real nice to me. My other grandmother, Pancha, and her family were all farmers.
Q: How was grandmother Lupe nice to you?
A: She gave me treats everyday after school, and she was always nice to me and my brothers and sisters. She never said a harsh word to us.
Q: What do you remember about Pancha?
A: She was blind and we always helped her to get here and there. She was good to us too.
Q: Tell about your children. How did having children change your life?
A: I had two daughters. Having them taught me to care about other people more.
Q: Tell about your grandchildren.
A: I love my grandchildren. I have two grandsons and one granddaughter.
Q: What was your profession?
A: A machinist. I did precision cutting and instrument reading.
Q: What company did you work for?
A: I worked for Ford, Reconditioned Motors and Parts.
Q: What was the most frightening thing that happened to you?
A: I got hit in the stomach with a line drive baseball. I thought I was going to die from the blow.
Q: What was the most joyous thing that happened to you?
A: My first auto trip out west.
Q: What would you do it you hit the lottery?
A: I would share it with my family. I would buy a new car, and put the rest away for a rainy day.