My Father's Early Days in Chicago: 1948

Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 - 2009)

My handsome father, Gilbert Cayetano Huesca,
Chicago, Illinois, about 1948.

Nearly a year after his first visit to Chicago in 1947, the record of Border Crossings:  From Mexico to U.S., 1895 - 1957, of Gilbert Cayetano Huesca's second trip to the U.S., lists him as "Cayetano Huesca y Perrotin.*"  It describes him as 33 years old and measuring five foot six inches, with black hair and brown eyes.   

The record goes on to note that he intends to join "his second cousin, Luis Algarin, 702 W. 61 Place, Chicago, Ill.," and shows he crossed the border on July 14, 1948, with $50 dollars in his possession.   

Although the bond between my father (and our family) and the Algarins and their children remained strong over several decades, I do not recall hearing him mention that they were our cousins.  Were they blood relations?  

A brief foray into the Algarin genealogy does not reveal at first glance a direct connection with the Huesca family, although they might have been connected via the Charles Huesca branch, either as relatives, or friends who felt close enough to think of each other as family.    

The border crossing record continues: ". . . he states that he is now coming to the U.S. as much to study and be with his relatives as to work, and that he can readily find work as a designer.  It appears that he is not excludable as an alien contract laborer."  He returned to  his job at the Metalcraft company as a designer.  He may have been a designer of printed circuit boards, which at the time were designed manually.  He had an eye for detail and precision, traits that were essential for such a job.

The Algarins offered my father a place to stay, which he accepted on the condition that they let him pay for his room and board.  He began taking night courses in English and forced himself to eat out frequently so he would have to practice speaking his new language and would not have to impose too much on his gracious friends.  

He often stopped for dinner at a nearby diner on his way home from work.  Still new at reading English, he had learned how to order an apple pie and a cup of coffee, and this became his usual meal for lack of knowing what else was on the menu!  This went on for several months until the kind waitress at the counter figured out the problem.  My father said that the day she brought him a steak for the first time, he left her a big tip.

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*  Note:  I refer here to my father by his given name: Gilbert Huesca, though at this time he was known as Cayetano Huesca.  To learn the story behind his name, click here.

Copyright ©  2012  Linda Huesca Tully

Did you know Gilbert Huesca, his cousin, Charles, or the Algarin family, or are you a member of one of these families?  If so, share your memories and comments below.

Those Places Thursday: North to Chicago

Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 - 2009)

My father, Gilbert Huesca, on one of his business trips,
climbing up a Pemex Mexican Petroleum oil tank,
Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, Mexico

In 1947, Gilbert Huesca was a 32- year-old commercial artist from Mexico City who was eager to see the world and meet new people. 

Before venturing into graphic arts, he had traveled throughout 29 of the 31 Mexican states as a salesman, first for the Huesca family's hotels and casino and later for the family's embroidery business, Sábanas y Manteles Huesca (Huesca Linens and Tablecloths).  

Known at this time as "Cayetano*" to family and friends, he had learned a lot from his entrepreneur father, Jose Alberto Gil Cayetano Huesca, and from his own experiences of working in the family businesses. He felt he was ready to make his own mark on the world when his cousin, Charles Huesca, who was a few years older, invited him to visit his relatives in Chicago.

Encouraged by his family to accept Charles' invitation, Gilbert kissed his widowed mother, Catalina (Perrotin) Huesca and his brothers and sisters goodbye and set out on the long journey north to Chicago.

Charles, his parents, and his sister had moved from eastern Mexico to Chicago in the early 1900s and already had lived there for most of their lives, but they visited their home country often and kept in close contact with their many relatives south of the border, so the reunion between the cousins was an emotional one. 

My grandmother, Catalina Huesca, surrounded by five of
her six sons.  Left to right:  Edilberto, Eduardo, Gilbert,
Mario and Enrique Huesca.  Circa 1946, at my grandmother's
home at 145 Carpio Street, Mexico City

Charles and his family made their cousin feel at home and introduced him to a number of friends, including Louis and Theresa (Mireles) Algarin, who in time would come to consider my father as part of their own family.  He became a frequent guest in their home.

Gilbert fell in love with Chicago - its vibrant sense of progress, its scenic lakefront, and its friendly people. He felt comfortable there and began to consider petitioning for residency, with a view to calling the city his new home.   As his visa allowed him to stay and work in the U.S. for up to 1o months, he decided to stay, and Charles found him a position as a designer for the Metalcraft Corporation on New Orleans Street.  

My father, Gilbert Cayetano Huesca, had this

portrait taken with his mother,  Catalina

 (Perrotin) Huesca, just before he left Mexico 

City  for the United  States in 1948.  He was 

the fourth of her 11 children. 

Just before his visa expired in April 1948, Gilbert returned to Mexico City.  He had several conversations with his mother, whom he respected deeply, about his stay in Chicago and his desire to move there permanently.  Catalina saw the look in his eyes and knew she could not say no to her son.  She reluctantly gave him her blessing and promised to pray for him daily.

Gilbert was elated and began preparing for his return to the States. Shortly before leaving Mexico City, he took Catalina to the Tinoco Photography Studio for a mother and son portrait. Both he and Catalina would treasure their copies for the rest of their lives.  

His new visa arrived fairly quickly, and Gilbert returned to the United States on July 14, 1948, barely two months after he had left Chicago.  

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*  Note:  I refer here to my father by his given name and the name by which I knew him: Gilbert Huesca, though at this time he was known as Cayetano Huesca.  To learn the story behind his name, click here.

Copyright ©  2012  Linda Huesca Tully

Did you know Gilbert Huesca or his family, the Algarins?  Are you a member of the Huesca, Perrotin, or Algarin families?  If so, share your stories and comments below.

Wisdom Wednesday: Good Things Come to Those who Wait

Joan Joyce Schiavon (1928 - 1987)
Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 - 2009)

                                    

My mother,
Joan Joyce Schiavon, about 1947

1947 was a time of joy and excitement for the Schiavon family of Chicago, Illinois, as they anticipated the wedding that would join Ralph Thomas "Tom" Schiavon and Angelina "Angie" Ciliberto.  

My mother, Joan Schiavon, having just graduated from Aquinas Dominican High School the year before, was proud to be a member of the wedding party for her brother and surely wondered when her own turn at the altar would come. 

My father,
Gilbert Cayetano Huesca, about 1947

Little did she or her family know that during that same year, the young man who would years later sweep her off her feet and become her own Prince Charming - and my father - was being admitted to the United States at Laredo, Texas, and was on his way to Chicago.

They would not meet for another eight years.

Copyright ©  2012  Linda Huesca Tully

Did you know Joan (Schiavon) and Gilbert Huesca, or are you a member of the Schiavon/Schiavone