Her father taught her many lessons about life
These items in the Baytown Historical Museum help tell the story of Raquel Gonzalez’s father.
“I grew up hearing my dad tell stories about his horseback riding and gunslinging. As a young kid, I always thought they were just tall tales. But they weren’t.
“He was an orphan. By the time he was 9 years old, he was involved in the Mexican Revolution. He first rode with Emiliano Zapata, then with Pancho Villa. When he was about 14, he headed to Texas on horseback.
“It’s weird to think about that. At 14, what was I doing? I was still trying to navigate the whole high school thing. My dad was actually in life-or-death situations, making his way to Texas, working on the railroad. That’s a world of difference. A world of toughness.
“I was the last of 11 children. My dad was 67 when I was born. When I was little, he expected us to be pretty tough. There wasn’t any time for crying.
“I remember when I was 5 or 6 years old, I went into the barnyard and a rooster came after me and spurred me. I was screaming. My brother and father came. My brother rang the rooster’s neck and killed it. My dad picked me up by my overalls and was like, ‘Are you OK?’ And I said, ‘Yeah.’ I’m trying to hold back my tears. And he said, ‘All right. What are you going to do, sit here and cry about it or move on?’ I said, ‘Pick myself up and dust myself off.’ And he said, ‘That’s right. That’s my girl.’
“That kind of painted the way you look at things. You learn at an early age that life is always going to throw stuff at you. But you need to deal with it and move on. That was probably the best lesson my dad ever taught me. It’s something that has helped me throughout my life.”
— Raquel Gonzalez
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