With a growing family, the Gabaldons supported the efforts of the Catholic Servite Priests in the establishment of a parochial school in Belen. The school came to be, St. Mary's Parochial School, and all 11 of the Gabaldon children attended and graduated from the institution. The family built a home across the street from the school to provide the children with easier access.
Photo: Source: http://www.geocities.com/stmarysbelen/
The couple also acquired farmland in Belen where they grew alfalfa and vegetables. It was later developed into the Juan B. Gabaldon Addition off Mesa Road in Belen. Their son George, who founded the Gabaldon Construction Company, developed the subdivision.
Before their fifth son became a successful contractor and developer, Lugarda passed away in 1943, leaving Juan to raise 11 children ranging in age from 21 years old to five months. Their eldest son Gillie was away in the military, but that still left 10 children at home to care for.
Youngest daughter Loretta Sanchez, who was only 5 months old where her mother passed away, remembers the "aunties" helping her father. "They were close by and so were his mother and father," she said. "We all lived close together, kind of our own little clan."
In a day and age where a widower with double-digit offspring would have gone courting, Juan did not. "His sisters wouldn't let him get remarried," Milton said with a laugh. The story the siblings recall is that Juan's mother had had a bad experience with a stepmother and cautioned her son in introducing one to his own brood.
"But he had girlfriends and liked to go dancing," says Lala Gabaldon, daughter-in-law and son Gillie's widow.
Growing up, Loretta said, the children always knew Dad was working. "He was always at work, going to work, and the boys were usually with him," she said. "We also had a farm on Mesa, and he worked on Sandia Air Force Base for 40 years."
Corrine Sedillo, who was born three years before Loretta, said they never thought their father slept. "He worked for the railroad, for Becker Dalies as a night watchman," she said. "Always something. He would get up in the morning and go water, then go to work."
Milton recalled walking over to the farm every day to hoe the crops. When the harvest was brought in, the kids spread throughout the city selling vegetables door-to-door for 50 cents a container — "in those old Morel lard cans," Loretta said.
An event that was a good deal of work but also the most fun was heading out to the Mountainair festivals with a truckload of produce, Milton said.
"Going to Mountainair, we had to go up this huge steep hill," he said. "The engine would get red hot, and we weren't sure if we would make it. We always did."
Loretta said he inspired a strong work ethic in all the boys, and Corrine added "and the girls too."
All the children had to work together to make the household function, Corrine said. "On Saturdays, there were always a million things to do. We baked bread, polished the floors," she said. "We would take the laundry down to the laundromat. It took 12 machines, and then we would bring it home and hang it to dry. Then we would go to the grocery store. After that was the best meal of the week - bologna on white bread and a candy bar."
Of course there was the ironing and cooking to take care of. Milton and the rest recall meatloaf Sundays.
Sundays also meant church and suits for the boys, hats and gloves for the girls. "We always went to church dressed nice," Loretta said. "And you behaved. He would give you that look ..."
Lala remembered the tomatoes with a chuckle. "Every year, he planted a garden and there was always one thing he planted over and above," she laughed. One year it was tomatoes that they sold by the bushel to local markets. Another year was a bumper crop of cantaloupes that had to be harvested from under the house.
"Everyone always asks how did you do that, all of you in that one little house? But it wasn't like that," Loretta said. "The boys had a separate house where they slept. When I was 16, it was just me, Dad, Eugene and Milton. He and I became friends."
Loretta went on, saying that when you were around him, you were happy, you felt good. "We were very fortunate to have such a good role model," she said.
The love for his children trickled down to his grandchildren, the siblings say. After he couldn't drive a car anymore, Juan took to getting around on a bicycle. Unfortunately, he was hit by a bus and laid up for a while. "The grandkids took turns staying with him," Corrine said. "And he loved it, and so did they."
Loretta agreed. "He so loved the little ones. Just like he loved us."
Whether he is being remembered for his sparkling blue eyes or his love of dancing, the Gabaldon children will always remember their father's love and life lessons. "All of his children have gone on to be successful," Milton said. "He inspired us all."[rc]
Copyright © 2009 The News-Bulletin.
June 20, 2009
USA: A Father's Day story
.
BELEN, New Mexico / The Valencia County News-Bulletin.com / June 20, 2009
By Julia M. Dendinger News-Bulletin Staff Writer
jdendinger@news-bulletin.com
BELEN: A family of 11 recalls how their widowed dad gave them a great start
Some men are fathers. But some move beyond that and become dads. The late Juan B. Gabaldon became such a dad that his remaining children all refer to him as "my dad" in a possessive, loving way that seems to forget that he was a dad to 11 children.
And, for most of his life, he was Dad and Mom to those children. In 1921, Juan B. Gabaldon, the eldest of 11 children, married Lugarda Padilla. Father's Day seems like a good time to tell the story of a local man who was heroic in holding together a family in days when men weren't often the primary caregiver.
According to the book "Rio Abajo Heritage Valencia County," Gabaldon held one of the first contractor's licenses in Belen and built some of the early homes in the area, including his own on DeSoto Avenue, which still stands today.
With a growing family, the Gabaldons supported the efforts of the Catholic Servite Priests in the establishment of a parochial school in Belen. The school came to be, St. Mary's Parochial School, and all 11 of the Gabaldon children attended and graduated from the institution. The family built a home across the street from the school to provide the children with easier access.
Photo: Source: http://www.geocities.com/stmarysbelen/
The couple also acquired farmland in Belen where they grew alfalfa and vegetables. It was later developed into the Juan B. Gabaldon Addition off Mesa Road in Belen. Their son George, who founded the Gabaldon Construction Company, developed the subdivision.
Before their fifth son became a successful contractor and developer, Lugarda passed away in 1943, leaving Juan to raise 11 children ranging in age from 21 years old to five months. Their eldest son Gillie was away in the military, but that still left 10 children at home to care for.
Youngest daughter Loretta Sanchez, who was only 5 months old where her mother passed away, remembers the "aunties" helping her father. "They were close by and so were his mother and father," she said. "We all lived close together, kind of our own little clan."
In a day and age where a widower with double-digit offspring would have gone courting, Juan did not. "His sisters wouldn't let him get remarried," Milton said with a laugh. The story the siblings recall is that Juan's mother had had a bad experience with a stepmother and cautioned her son in introducing one to his own brood.
"But he had girlfriends and liked to go dancing," says Lala Gabaldon, daughter-in-law and son Gillie's widow.
Growing up, Loretta said, the children always knew Dad was working. "He was always at work, going to work, and the boys were usually with him," she said. "We also had a farm on Mesa, and he worked on Sandia Air Force Base for 40 years."
Corrine Sedillo, who was born three years before Loretta, said they never thought their father slept. "He worked for the railroad, for Becker Dalies as a night watchman," she said. "Always something. He would get up in the morning and go water, then go to work."
Milton recalled walking over to the farm every day to hoe the crops. When the harvest was brought in, the kids spread throughout the city selling vegetables door-to-door for 50 cents a container — "in those old Morel lard cans," Loretta said.
An event that was a good deal of work but also the most fun was heading out to the Mountainair festivals with a truckload of produce, Milton said.
"Going to Mountainair, we had to go up this huge steep hill," he said. "The engine would get red hot, and we weren't sure if we would make it. We always did."
Loretta said he inspired a strong work ethic in all the boys, and Corrine added "and the girls too."
All the children had to work together to make the household function, Corrine said. "On Saturdays, there were always a million things to do. We baked bread, polished the floors," she said. "We would take the laundry down to the laundromat. It took 12 machines, and then we would bring it home and hang it to dry. Then we would go to the grocery store. After that was the best meal of the week - bologna on white bread and a candy bar."
Of course there was the ironing and cooking to take care of. Milton and the rest recall meatloaf Sundays.
Sundays also meant church and suits for the boys, hats and gloves for the girls. "We always went to church dressed nice," Loretta said. "And you behaved. He would give you that look ..."
Lala remembered the tomatoes with a chuckle. "Every year, he planted a garden and there was always one thing he planted over and above," she laughed. One year it was tomatoes that they sold by the bushel to local markets. Another year was a bumper crop of cantaloupes that had to be harvested from under the house.
"Everyone always asks how did you do that, all of you in that one little house? But it wasn't like that," Loretta said. "The boys had a separate house where they slept. When I was 16, it was just me, Dad, Eugene and Milton. He and I became friends."
Loretta went on, saying that when you were around him, you were happy, you felt good. "We were very fortunate to have such a good role model," she said.
The love for his children trickled down to his grandchildren, the siblings say. After he couldn't drive a car anymore, Juan took to getting around on a bicycle. Unfortunately, he was hit by a bus and laid up for a while. "The grandkids took turns staying with him," Corrine said. "And he loved it, and so did they."
Loretta agreed. "He so loved the little ones. Just like he loved us."
Whether he is being remembered for his sparkling blue eyes or his love of dancing, the Gabaldon children will always remember their father's love and life lessons. "All of his children have gone on to be successful," Milton said. "He inspired us all."[rc]
Copyright © 2009 The News-Bulletin.
With a growing family, the Gabaldons supported the efforts of the Catholic Servite Priests in the establishment of a parochial school in Belen. The school came to be, St. Mary's Parochial School, and all 11 of the Gabaldon children attended and graduated from the institution. The family built a home across the street from the school to provide the children with easier access.
Photo: Source: http://www.geocities.com/stmarysbelen/
The couple also acquired farmland in Belen where they grew alfalfa and vegetables. It was later developed into the Juan B. Gabaldon Addition off Mesa Road in Belen. Their son George, who founded the Gabaldon Construction Company, developed the subdivision.
Before their fifth son became a successful contractor and developer, Lugarda passed away in 1943, leaving Juan to raise 11 children ranging in age from 21 years old to five months. Their eldest son Gillie was away in the military, but that still left 10 children at home to care for.
Youngest daughter Loretta Sanchez, who was only 5 months old where her mother passed away, remembers the "aunties" helping her father. "They were close by and so were his mother and father," she said. "We all lived close together, kind of our own little clan."
In a day and age where a widower with double-digit offspring would have gone courting, Juan did not. "His sisters wouldn't let him get remarried," Milton said with a laugh. The story the siblings recall is that Juan's mother had had a bad experience with a stepmother and cautioned her son in introducing one to his own brood.
"But he had girlfriends and liked to go dancing," says Lala Gabaldon, daughter-in-law and son Gillie's widow.
Growing up, Loretta said, the children always knew Dad was working. "He was always at work, going to work, and the boys were usually with him," she said. "We also had a farm on Mesa, and he worked on Sandia Air Force Base for 40 years."
Corrine Sedillo, who was born three years before Loretta, said they never thought their father slept. "He worked for the railroad, for Becker Dalies as a night watchman," she said. "Always something. He would get up in the morning and go water, then go to work."
Milton recalled walking over to the farm every day to hoe the crops. When the harvest was brought in, the kids spread throughout the city selling vegetables door-to-door for 50 cents a container — "in those old Morel lard cans," Loretta said.
An event that was a good deal of work but also the most fun was heading out to the Mountainair festivals with a truckload of produce, Milton said.
"Going to Mountainair, we had to go up this huge steep hill," he said. "The engine would get red hot, and we weren't sure if we would make it. We always did."
Loretta said he inspired a strong work ethic in all the boys, and Corrine added "and the girls too."
All the children had to work together to make the household function, Corrine said. "On Saturdays, there were always a million things to do. We baked bread, polished the floors," she said. "We would take the laundry down to the laundromat. It took 12 machines, and then we would bring it home and hang it to dry. Then we would go to the grocery store. After that was the best meal of the week - bologna on white bread and a candy bar."
Of course there was the ironing and cooking to take care of. Milton and the rest recall meatloaf Sundays.
Sundays also meant church and suits for the boys, hats and gloves for the girls. "We always went to church dressed nice," Loretta said. "And you behaved. He would give you that look ..."
Lala remembered the tomatoes with a chuckle. "Every year, he planted a garden and there was always one thing he planted over and above," she laughed. One year it was tomatoes that they sold by the bushel to local markets. Another year was a bumper crop of cantaloupes that had to be harvested from under the house.
"Everyone always asks how did you do that, all of you in that one little house? But it wasn't like that," Loretta said. "The boys had a separate house where they slept. When I was 16, it was just me, Dad, Eugene and Milton. He and I became friends."
Loretta went on, saying that when you were around him, you were happy, you felt good. "We were very fortunate to have such a good role model," she said.
The love for his children trickled down to his grandchildren, the siblings say. After he couldn't drive a car anymore, Juan took to getting around on a bicycle. Unfortunately, he was hit by a bus and laid up for a while. "The grandkids took turns staying with him," Corrine said. "And he loved it, and so did they."
Loretta agreed. "He so loved the little ones. Just like he loved us."
Whether he is being remembered for his sparkling blue eyes or his love of dancing, the Gabaldon children will always remember their father's love and life lessons. "All of his children have gone on to be successful," Milton said. "He inspired us all."[rc]
Copyright © 2009 The News-Bulletin.
