Discovering the Rio Grande Valley Reports from the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools Program
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Discovering the Rio Grande Valley Reports from the Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools Program The University of Texas - Pan American Report # 1 The Norquest Family: A Porción of Edinburg Report # 2 (coming soon, 2013) The Cantú Family: A Porción of Edinburg Additional copies may be purchased at: www.amazon.com For more information on the CHAPS Program, visit us at www.utpa.edu/chaps. d The Norquest Family:d A Porción of Edinburg A Report Prepared for The Norquest Family And for the UTPA and CHAPS Program Class Titled Discovering the Rio Grande Valley: The Natural and Cultural History of South Texas By Sandra Hernandez-Salinas, Lupe A. Flores, Daniel Nicholson, Maria Vallejo, Rolando Silva, Mary Noell, Geoffrey Waters, Amanda De La Fuente, Geoffrey Schwartz, Oscar Ysasi, Pedro Rodriguez, Michelle Martinez, Eduardo Robles, Robin Galloso, Miguel Gutierrez With Maria Barrera, Sarah Garza, David Garcia, Vanessa Saenz, Randy Castaneda, Deangelo Carmargo, Robert Carroll, Jose Casas, Cassandra Davila, Josie De La Tejera, Juan Gonzalez, Michal Hartman, Steven Kennedy, Myram Lopez, Lupita Olivarez, Aron Peña, Liza Soria, Samuel Victorino Principal Investigators from the CHAPS Program: Margaret Dorsey, Juan Gonzalez, Sonia Hernandez, Bobbie Lovett, Kenneth Summy, and Russell K. Skowronek 2012 Final Version Cite as: Hernandez-Salinas, Sandra, Lupe A. Flores, Daniel Nicholson, Maria Vallejo, Rolando Silva, Mary Noell, Geoffrey Waters, Amanda De La Fuente, Geoffrey Shwartz, Oscar Ysasi, Pedro Rodriguez, Michelle Marti- nez, Eduardo Robles, Robin Galloso, Miguel Gutierrez 2012 The Norquest Family: A Porción of Edinburg. A Report Prepared for the Norquest Family and for The University of Texas-Pan American, Community Historical Archaeology Project with Schools Pro gram. University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, Texas. CONTENTS Acknowledgments..............................................................................................................i-ii Preface...............................................................................................................................iii-iv Abstract..............................................................................................................................v-vi Ch 1. Setting The Stage......................................................................................................1 Ch 2. The Norquest Farm...................................................................................................5 Ch 3. Natural History of Hidalgo County and the Norquest Property..................................11 Ch 4. The Social Environment of the Norquest Property, Prehistory -1900........................21 Ch 5. The LRGV in the 20th Century..................................................................................31 Ch 6. A New Family in a New Community, or Chapin-Edinburg and the Norquests ..........37 Ch 7. Education in Edinburg...............................................................................................51 Ch 8. The Norquest Family ................................................................................................57 Ch 9. The Farmhands + The Norquests.............................................................................67 Ch 10. Conclusion and Research Insights.........................................................................81 References.........................................................................................................................83 Appendix List Appendix A.........................................................................................................................a-1 Appendix B.........................................................................................................................b-1 Appendix C.........................................................................................................................c-1 Appendix D.........................................................................................................................d-1 Appendix F..........................................................................................................................e-1 Appendix F..........................................................................................................................f-1 Appendix G.........................................................................................................................g-1 d Listd of Figures Figure 1. Original wallpaper removed from the Sears, Roebuck and Company home, built in 1913. ... 6 Figure 2. The Norquest “Big House” ca. 2011-2012. ............................................................................. 7 Figure 3. First Lutheran Church Ladies Group, Nordmeyers, and Norquest family posing in front of the Big House before it was painted. Ca. 1942. ........................................................................ 7 Figure 4. “Big House” renovations. ........................................................................................................ 8 Figure 5. Commode: used as a wash basin, and secretary. Family heirlooms from Kansas and Nebraska. .............................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 6. Norquest Headquarters Map .................................................................................................... 9 Figure 7. Chart of Geologic Epochs ...................................................................................................... 12 Figure 8. Portion of a geologic map displaying a majority of Hidalgo County. .................................. 13 Figure 9. Aerial view. Google Earth indicating the location of borehole CHAPS Locations I & II ..... 15 Figure 10. Chart of CHAPS Boreholes 1& II ...................................................................................... 15 Figure 11. Kelly Norquest displays cochineal, an insect that lives on cactus. When squeezed, the cochineal emits a red liquid used since the pre-Colonial period. ........................ 17 Figure 12. Lydia’s Rosebush shown in upper picture; Turks cap in lower picture. ............................. 17 Figure 13. Norquest home covered in the snow of 2004. ...................................................................... 18 Figure 14. Chart of American Indian Eras in South Texas .................................................................... 21 Figure 15. Projectile Point Types: South Texas and Northern Mexico ................................................. 22 Figure 16. Projectile points collected by the Norquests on their property. The oldest of which is 9 and the earliest 1. ........................................................................................... 23 Figure 17.Whelk and pestle found on Norquest Property. ................................................................... 23 Figure 18. Map discerning porciones granted by the Spanish Crown. .................................................. 26 Figure 19.Teofilo Peña Reyna, Odie’s grandfather. ............................................................................... 28 Figure 20. Teofilo Peña Peña, Odie’s father. ........................................................................................ 29 Figure 21. Peña Family. Odie’s grandfather Teofilo Pena Reyna, standing. Her Grandmother, two aunts, two uncles and a young man they raised, all seated. ............................. 29 Figure 22. Chapin Railroad. ................................................................................................................. 33 Figure 23. Map promoting the Magic Valley. ........................................................................................ 34 Figure 24. Luggage used by Norquests during their emigration from Sweden. .................................. 35 Figure 25. Syringes used for care of the Norquest cattle. ..................................................................... 38 Figure 26. Stock tank used for watering cattle on Norquest property. .................................................. 38 Figure 27. Workers in irrigation ditch using horse drawn slips............................................................. 39 Figure 28. Peter Magnus’s Patent. ......................................................................................................... 40 Figure 29. Horse cultivator handles. ..................................................................................................... 40 Figure 30. Horse plow harness and wood working tools. ..................................................................... 40 Figure 31. Citrus Theatre ca. 2012. ...................................................................................................... 42 Figure 32. Juxtaposition of Sugar road and University Drive (107) in 1926 and 2012 ........................ 43 Figure 33. CeCelia Nordmeyer in foreground with rainwater tank in background. ............................. 45 Figure 34. Fire hydrant on Norquest property dating to 1978. .............................................................. 45 Figure 35- Outhouse formerly used by Norquest family before indoor plumbing. .............................. 45 Figure 36. Rikki Norquest fixing his bass viol with recycled material. ................................................ 46 Figure 37. Forge used by Norquest family, made of a tire rim and other recycled material. ................ 47 Figure