When Connie Gallegos was a young girl, she had a recurring dream that she was climbing a mountain on her hands and knees, but she could never reach the top of the mountain.
Gallegos has lived a long life, and celebrated her 89th birthday this year. Recently, the retired educator shared her journey and what it took to get to the top of her mountain.
She was known as Connie Romero growing up on Canosa Ct. in West Denver. Her parents, Felipa and Pablo had many mouths to feed. It's hard to believe in today's world that Connie was one of fourteen children and they all lived in a four room house with an outhouse.
She remembers that all the girls slept sideways on one bed and all the boys slept on the floor. This was the 1920s, and jobs were hard to come by, but Pablo Romero used the resources he had to support his large family.
Connie reflected on her father’s survival skills, and shared his thoughts on traditional roles for each gender. “My dad didn't think girls needed an education when I was growing up, because girls would get married and have children,” said Connie.
Every year, from April to October, Papa Pablo would take the girls out of junior high school to help him pick beets and cucumbers and pack tomatoes.
Connie remembers that she and her sisters would rise at 5 o'clock in the morning and go to the farms with their father. “We girls would have to leave school in April and work all summer and we wouldn't be able to start school until the harvest was over,” she explained.
When Connie was in the sixth grade, she cleaned house for a Jewish woman every Friday morning before school started.
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