This Story of our Family begins with the events leading to the eventual coming together of our parents. 

There were two best friends. One named Angela Rodriguez the other Gomecinda  Eberhart.  One had an adopted daughter named Margaret and a daughter named Rosie (?) . Angela had several son's and a daughter named Josephine.  It seems that when Gomecinda pasted awayas a result of cancer, her Adopted Father ordered her from the home. She went to live with her Mother's best friend Angela.  One of Angela's sons was away in California working at odd jobs, which included being an extra in old western movies, washing dishes and who knows what else.  He went by several names including Wallace and Vivian' (pronounced Vev Vaughn ). He was the eldest and named after his Father Viviano.  

It came to pass Vivian' came home. He started dating our Mother.   Our Grandmother Angela, (so I am told) disapproved . They managed to go out though subterfuge.  When they left the house to go out,  one would exit right the other left and meet around the block.  

Our Family Grows

 There is general confusion when this started and there is little record of this time.  Somewhere in here, our Father joined the Texas National guard.   I know, I (Viviano C. Rodriguez ) was born in San Antonio on April 17, 1940 at my Grandmother's house on 2507 W. Perez St. Our Grandmother Angela was a mid-wife and so it was she brought me into the world.   

(My Father and Mother and me arrive in  Brownsville)

The Family moved to Brownsville Texas. Those born at Brownsville include Marvin and Beatrice.  I have several remembrances of our stay in Brownville.  I remember, when my Brother Marvin and I ran away from home.  I was about 3 and he about 2 1/2.  We went to find our parents who had gone shopping or something. I remember walking under an arch and into town.   I remember a building with wide steps. I remember a busy street.  Some friend of our parents found us and took us home.  I also remember the day I tried hard to get Marvin to run away from home. We were at a store shopping with our mother. I told Marvin, Mother wanted him to go outside and wait down the block. He left.  When Mother asked me where Marvin was, I told her I did not know.  She ran around looking in side and then outside the store.  Marvin was down the block. I got in trouble again. I remember being dressed as a soldier  and then also in a 'charro' outfit. Once I was taken to a bull fight in Matamoras, Mexico.   I remember the seat cushions being thrown into the air and people yelling ,Ole'!  

The Family was in Brownsville until our Father went to Ft. Riley, Kansas in preparation to going overseas and participating in what became known later as the CBI theater  CBI stood for China, Burma India.    We then move to San Antonio, where we (mother and children) lived in a trailer next door and on the property of our Uncle Joel. It was here that Lawrence was born. I remember my grandmother telling me that Lawrence was brought by the doctor in his black bag.   Soon thereafter our Father returned from the War and we stated to eat all the chickens. Our Mother had her 'Victory farm ' in the form of a chicken ranch. She had several hundred chickens. Each day a chicken lost its head, jumped around and was de-feathered in boiling water.  

We moved from Uncle Joel's to a home that belonged to a friend of our Fathers by the name of Bernal. I believe this was on Flanders Road in South San. Anyway, here I learned about sugar cane,  scorpions and soap. Bernal raised a small crop of sugar cane and we ate the stalks.  One day Mother stabbed herself in the hand with a crochet needle she found and was cleaning. When she unrolled some  cotton (to fix her wound)   a scorpion and a host of little ones came pouring out of the cotton.  Mother promptly rolled the cotton backup and put it into the wood burning stove.  Bernal made soap.  They would boil lard in a large black cauldron over a wood fed fire and then add a can of lye and boil some more.  over a period of time a yellowish mass would form and this was allowed to cool. This was soap. It was cut up into squares.  It was very strong soap. 

We (all the kids)  came down with Polio.  We were placed in the isolation ward at Brooke Medical Center at Ft. Sam Houston . We came out relative unscathed (at that time) except for Beatrice who suffered from uneven growth of her leg and foot. Beatrice would have many operations to repair (as best they could) her uneven growth problems. 

We lived for a short while not too far from our Grandmother Angela's house and I started the First Grade.  I had my first Easter and Christmas at school. I got to be Santa Claus because I had black boots and I got in my first real trouble over an Easter Basket. There is a  tradition of smashing eggs on a person's head is believed to bring good luck.   A confetti egg (or the Spanish name, Cascaron) is a chicken egg that has been properly cracked, emptied and thoroughly washed.  Then the eggshell is filled with confetti and painted. When completed  and appropriate, the eggs are smashed on each others head. 

A contest was held by our grade1b teacher. The person who brought in the most eggs for making a 'cascaron' would win an Easter Basket. I worked hard in the neighborhood and collected the most eggs , up until the last day.  Then, the mother of a little girl brought in boxes on boxes of egg shells. She brought in more than I had. Her Mother worked at a restaurant and had access to eggs. I however, had collected mine, alone and by myself.  I saw a great injustice and it was being perpetrated on me. When the teacher went to give the basket to the little girl, I rushed forward, grabbed the basket and ran out the room. The teacher in hot pursuit. I ran and she chased. Before I was captured, I destroyed the basket. It was mine and no one was going to get it if I could not have what I had earned. I was punished by the teacher with several hard raps on the hands, arms and legs and sent to the cloak room. She also told my Mother.  I was punished again by Mother with a paddle and this was repeated by our Father with a belt.  To this day, I still feel the basket is mine and have no regrets over the punishment.  

  We moved to Ft. Sam Houston. And then for a short period of time moved to Fort Crockett.  We did not stay there long and then we came back to Ft. Sam Huston. During this time our Father had an opportunity to go to Spain as part of Embassy staff.  He had to decline as there was limited medical facilities to help Beatrice.    It was the year 1948 when I learned the Family  would be going to Japan. This did not go well with me as I had spent my entire live (eight years) in some type of war like condition. I new the Japanese were out to kill us all and I had no interest in going to Japan, have me and my Mother killed. We were going. I had no real say in the matter . Our Father went ahead and we were to follow as soon as housing Etc. was made available for us.  When we returned, we disembarked in Seattle Washington and headed for Chicago by Train.  We had two train derailments on the way. One in Yellowstone Park and the other in some desolate snow covered plain the next day.  We did not stay in Chicago but for a couple of nights at the YMCA and then we were transferred back to San Antonio. We moved in with our Grandmother Angela. I went to the Sixth grade at Ira Ogden elementary school. I also started my first real job, got my Social Security card, and had money in my pocket.  I worked at the Herman Son's private club.  I learned later this was a club that our Mother's step dad (Eberhart) belonged.  I worked from 6:30PM until 12:00 each night, six nights a week. While I was 12 years in age, I was tall for this age and could get away with working.  I We moved for a short time to a house on Martin St. and then moved to a larger house on Elsmere Place.  It was here that Sandra was born. There were now five children in our Family.   Shortly after she was born our Father left for Germany. About a year later, we traveled to Europe and were reunited as a family. We spent about two years in Germany and returned as part of a rotation cycle (gyro'd) back to the States and were assigned to live at Fort Riley, Kansas.  It was at this time we were introduced to parts of our Mother's family as they lived in New York State.  We disembarked at the Brooklyn Navel yards. Our car was really too small to haul us all. When we got to Syracuse, our Father bought a 1940 Lincoln Zephyr.  This car allowed us all to fit and we were able to get to Ft. Riley without incident. We traveled the Lincoln highway passing though Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Etc on US Route 40.  

  Depending on the age each attended Elementary, middle or high school in Junction City.  Each one of us graduated and most attended some University at Kansas State.  We left home, married, some came back.

Eventual Mother and Father moved to San Antonio, Texas where they bought a house.