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Friends were now of a different color than those in Paso. The California minority was the El Paso majority. Mexican (sorry, Latino) culture ruled in an American sort of way. The army's Fort Bliss and airforce's Fort Biggs injected the city with patriotism and a bit of wild life. Family tradition, loyalty and honor were fundamental values for most. Kids listened to their parents, whether or not they obeyed them. UTEP, then Texas Western College, offered a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including a uniformed artillery crew (which my friends talked me into joining). We dressed in oat colored Levi jeans and jackets, wore cream colored western hats, boots and gloves. When the football team made a touchdown, we would shoot this vintage gun. Boy, oh boy, what a thrill for us wanna-be's. We're in Amarillo (picture) waiting for the big game (we were skunked).
I think this was the year our basketball team won the NCAA National Championship. Ten foot posters of team members were hung around the dance floor to celebrate their success. Pretty dumb, but it kept us out of trouble. This picture is of the Halloween Dance's winning costume. That's me giving a 'prize' to the winner. Why she looked just like Theresa D. is still a mystery.
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Oak Park
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El
Paso, Texas, isn't exactly the place you'd choose for career training. Sand, sand and more
sand is great for the beach, but not for college life. But perceptions changed when
wonderful people were put into the equation, and school turned out to be an eye opening
whirlwind of traditional learning, new ideas and further erosion of old values.
The Student Activities Board survived on the volunteer
efforts of kids who had been active in high school clubs, mostly. I still don't remember
how the Dance Committee chair was filled, but I ended up sitting in it. With a team of
energy filled wanna-do's, we tackled a year's worth of decoration, scheduling bands, and
clean up and had plenty of fun doing it.