Julia Martinez and Paloma Villalobos

[00:00] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Hello. My name is Paloma Villalobos. I am 34 years old. Today is March 19, 2023. I'm in Taos, New Mexico, and my partner, interviewing, is Julia Martinez, and she is my grandmother and good friend.

[00:23] JULIA MARTINEZ: My name is Julia Olgin Martinez. I'm 82 years old. Today's March 19, 2023. Location, Taos, New Mexico. And Paloma is my interview partner. Our relationship, she's. I guess you would call my granddaughter, so she calls me grandma.

[00:58] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: All right. Julia which is also your nickname. Where were you born?

[01:04] JULIA MARTINEZ: Snowflake, Arizona.

[01:05] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: All right. And when did you move to Taos, New Mexico? When did you move to Taos?

[01:12] JULIA MARTINEZ: Who knows?

[01:14] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: How old were you?

[01:16] JULIA MARTINEZ: I don't know. I must been other places before as I was growing up, but I've been in Taos most of my time, although I've been. I've lived in Utah and Colorado.

[01:32] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay. And what did your family do growing up?

[01:37] JULIA MARTINEZ: What did my family do? My dad was a lumberman. He worked lumber camps, and my mom was right along with him, and so were the rest of us.

[01:58] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: How many siblings do you have?

[02:01] JULIA MARTINEZ: How many siblings? I had. I was number seven, and we had ten. And now I'm my sister, and Sally and I are the only ones listening. Life of ten.

[02:18] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: And what did you do at the lumber camps when you were little?

[02:23] JULIA MARTINEZ: Well, my dad worked the lumber, and my mom worked a little kitchen for the workers, and I played.

[02:34] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What kind of games would you play in the lumber camps?

[02:37] JULIA MARTINEZ: I don't know if you would call them games, but we chased each other around and make each other trip and that kind of stuff. And growing up in the mountains was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life because I was away from the hubbub of the city, and I loved the mountains. We rode the. The horse that was used to pull the logs and stuff. We got to ride on them, and they were huge. So you open your legs real wide, and if you wear a skirt, which I never did, but my sister did, she'd cover the tail end of the horse with her skirt, and we went teaching. I learned how. There was three of us that hung out together. That was my sister Grace, my brother Sonny, and myself. And he taught me. My brother taught me how to use a slingshot, and I could stretch it out far enough that I could heat a grouse. Is that what you call those little hens? And we'd take them home, and my mom would bake them for us. And we went fishing a lot. And so I loved the mountains. I grew up in the mountains. And whenever summer, we had to go to school, of course. And whenever summer came, we packed everything in the truck. We had a lamb, chickens, rabbits, and even a pig. And we'd put them in the truck with us, and we'd go up to the mountains for the summer. And that's what you would eat, and that's. Yeah.

[05:02] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah. What were some of your chores and duties in the camp?

[05:10] JULIA MARTINEZ: I had to help my mother with the kitchen stuff, like scrubbing the floor, so it would be nice, but I don't see why she needed to be so nice. It was just an old cabin made out of slabs, and I'm going to get emotional. It was fun to be there. And we'd take care of the animals we took with us. And sometimes the lamb would run away, and my Sister Grace was, how do you say, in charge of the lamb? And the lamb would run away. My sister Grace would hide under the porch because she was afraid that the lamb would get eaten by an animal and she'd be in trouble.

[06:21] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[06:23] JULIA MARTINEZ: And my brother Sonny once killed a turkey. We shouldn't have been doing that stuff, but I guess we got away with it and it was okay. And then from the mountains, like I said, if I could live up in the mountains now, I would.

[06:50] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[06:52] JULIA MARTINEZ: Because we were kind of wild.

[06:59] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: I don't think you've changed much. You're still a little wild.

[07:02] JULIA MARTINEZ: Because we were kind of wild, running all over the place, playing, and we. My mom would have the. I guess you would call it a commissary, and she'd make breakfast and stuff like that. And there was another person that would cook also for another cabin for somebody else. And we'd get walking sticks, and we'd go up to the other cabin and say we were going on a hike for adventure, and the guy would give us bacon and biscuits and stuff to take with us because we were going on a hike, but so we always got good food. We go on a hike every other day.

[08:13] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: So you joined the Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints. How old were you?

[08:18] JULIA MARTINEZ: When I joined the church?

[08:20] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yes.

[08:20] JULIA MARTINEZ: 18.

[08:21] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: You were 18?

[08:22] JULIA MARTINEZ: I was 18 years old, and I was in Utah at that time.

[08:26] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What part of Utah?

[08:30] JULIA MARTINEZ: Heber City, midway.

[08:32] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay. And did any of your siblings and other family members join the church?

[08:38] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yes, when I joined my, there was nine of us that were baptized from the church.

[08:53] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: And in the church they serve missions. Did you serve a mission?

[08:57] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yes, ma'am, I did.

[08:59] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Where did you serve your mission, Julia?

[09:01] JULIA MARTINEZ: In South America. I went to Peru and Bolivia.

[09:06] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Awesome. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

[09:09] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yes. It was. It was scary at first because I've never been that far away from my home before that far away from the mountains. And so it was kind of scary, but I got over it. I met President David O. McKay of the church, and he made me. He blessed me. And so I wasn't afraid anymore. I just knew that I had to work hard, work really hard because I was given a second chance. The first time I was called to go on a mission, I couldn't go because I hadn't behaved the way I should. And so I waited and started behaving again, save money and everything. Then I went. That's when I was called to. The first time I was called was to go to west southwestern music mission. And I didn't like that. I wanted to go further, and I did. And I was. I think I did a pretty good job.

[10:42] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Good. What was your favorite part of being in Peru?

[10:47] JULIA MARTINEZ: Meeting the people and the struggles we had to go through because we were in Peru. We had to go to Bolivia to renew our visas. Our visas. And they don't have a little bus like they do here. To take us all over. We had to cross by a little boat across Lake Titicaca.

[11:22] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay.

[11:24] JULIA MARTINEZ: To get to. And then it would take a whole night to go from Peru to Bolivia or from Bolivia to Peru. It would take a whole night. And it was kind of fun because I would see those floating around in Lake Titicaca, those reed boats that they made. And I wanted to ride on that one. And I got to. But they also had the. And there floating islands and people living in there. And I could. We would visit and go teach and they would let us in. And I felt funny because the swaying. Yes, but it was really interesting. And in Bolivia, when I was in Bolivia, they. They were always having some kind of riot and they wouldn't let us out because they were afraid something would happen to us. But I had a. There was a guy from an elder from Arizona, and he was, well, the same color as me. And we would sneak out to go get our mail because they won't let anybody else. So we'd go because they didn't bother us because we look like them.

[13:22] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Awesome. So when did you return from your mission? How long were you on your mission?

[13:28] JULIA MARTINEZ: Two years.

[13:29] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay. And what did you do when you came home?

[13:34] JULIA MARTINEZ: Lots of stuff.

[13:37] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Like what?

[13:38] JULIA MARTINEZ: Well, let me see. I took care of a lot of kids because I didn't have a job at that time, so I did a lot of babysitting, and some of those kids now call me grandma. And I went to school. I went to Highlands in Las Vegas. Las Vegas. And then I attended the summer programs at UNM, and I studied early childhood. I've always loved little kids.

[14:26] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[14:27] JULIA MARTINEZ: And so my goal was to help in the early childhood, and my goal really was to work with special needs.

[14:42] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Did you learn a lot from special needs children?

[14:45] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yes, I did.

[14:46] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah. What did you learn?

[14:49] JULIA MARTINEZ: That they're special and that they can do a lot of stuff that people think they can. And I learned to work with them. And I see some kids in town now and miss. Miss Julia, you helped me in the parents, so it was very rewarding for me to work with those type of children, especially the behavior disorders, because it reminded me of me.

[15:31] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Julia, did you ever get married?

[15:34] JULIA MARTINEZ: A good marriage?

[15:35] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Did you ever get married?

[15:37] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yeah. Oh, yes, I did.

[15:39] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Tell me about your husband.

[15:41] JULIA MARTINEZ: Do I have to tell everything?

[15:43] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yes.

[15:46] JULIA MARTINEZ: Well, while I was on my mission, I had a dream.

[15:52] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[15:55] JULIA MARTINEZ: Because, see, when I. Most missionaries go on a mission at a younger age, and I went when I was 27, and I thought, I'll never get married or stuff like that. But I had a dream, and I dreamt about who I was supposed to marry. It was. I was riding on a bus, and the bus driver was that person that was supposed to be my husband. And when I got out of the mission that I went home and I started working with the schools. Guess what. Guess what happened.

[16:42] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What happened?

[16:45] JULIA MARTINEZ: I met my husband.

[16:47] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Was he a bus driver?

[16:48] JULIA MARTINEZ: He was a bus driver, and I was. I had to ride the bus with a kindergarten kid, and he was a driver. And I knew then that was the man I saw in my dreams. The only trouble is that I was older than him.

[17:19] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: By how much?

[17:21] JULIA MARTINEZ: You want to know everything.

[17:23] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: I do.

[17:24] JULIA MARTINEZ: I was older than him by ten years.

[17:28] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Wow.

[17:29] JULIA MARTINEZ: But I did not know that until. Because he told me. He was 25 and I was 30. And I thought, well, that's not too bad. Five years. And then when we went to get our marriage license, he had to fill the paper, and he was 21 and almost. I said, I can't marry you. That's like stealing, robbing.

[18:06] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yes.

[18:07] JULIA MARTINEZ: And I said, I can't marry you, and says, no, we're gonna get married.

[18:13] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What was his name?

[18:15] JULIA MARTINEZ: Felix Martinez.

[18:18] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Right. Did you have any children with Felix?

[18:21] JULIA MARTINEZ: I had two boys, Anthony and Ellen.

[18:25] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: All right. How was it raising them?

[18:29] JULIA MARTINEZ: It was fun. It was hard. But because I worked and, you know, in Taos, you have to have two people working to make it. And so I worked with the schools the whole time, and Felix worked with the ski Valley as a lift operator. And we make ends meet. Not too much spare money here and there, but we were comfortable. And then, I guess because the age difference, there was a little problem there, and he met somebody else. But you know what?

[19:22] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What?

[19:23] JULIA MARTINEZ: He knew that he had to come back to me. And he was gone maybe six months, no longer than that. But he was gone as not being home. But I'd come home from school and I'd find the car payment, a truck payment and everything sitting on top of my table. So it was like he was gone from home. But he wasn't gone from home.

[19:58] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: He still took care of you.

[19:59] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yes. And then he came back, asked for forgiveness, and we went back to the temple and renewed our convent. And from there on it went good. But he was sick. He got sick. Polycythemia or something like that. And his blood was too thick. And he would. We would take him. I would go with him to get a phlebotomy. Is that what you call it?

[20:36] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: I think so.

[20:37] JULIA MARTINEZ: And they would drain a pint of blood. And then I had to help him get home. And when he retired, he stayed home, and I went to work. And when he got so sick that he couldn't do anything anymore, he was bedridden. And my son Alan and I were the ones that took care of him. We had to do everything for him. And then when he was. Doris, the whole nurse, was there, and she told me if I would like to stay home because he did not go work, because it looked like he might be ready to pass. And I said, no, I'm going to go work. And I went to Felix and I kissed him, and I said, I love you. And he said, I love you, too. And then I turned around and say, oh, and by the way, when you get to heaven, say hello to Ellis Presley for me.

[22:11] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Do you like Elvis Presley? Do you like Elvis Presley?

[22:15] JULIA MARTINEZ: I love Elvis Presley.

[22:17] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What's your favorite song by Elvis Presley?

[22:20] JULIA MARTINEZ: Heartbreak hotel.

[22:21] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: All right. And how many grandchildren do you have?

[22:29] JULIA MARTINEZ: Let me see. Five.

[22:32] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Five grandchildren.

[22:34] JULIA MARTINEZ: Well, you have three. Three from Ellen and one from two from Tony, so. Yeah, that's fine. And their names are. Do you want their name?

[22:48] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[22:49] JULIA MARTINEZ: Ellen's. Anthony had Bella, and Feliz Felice was adopted, and she's of color, and Bella, she's my. They're both my great loves. And on Ellen's side, he married his wife, had two kids already, and so he adopted those two and had one of his own. Her name is Destiny, but I call her boo.

[23:35] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: How old is boo?

[23:37] JULIA MARTINEZ: She'll be twelve.

[23:39] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Oh, my.

[23:42] JULIA MARTINEZ: Now in April.

[23:44] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: And what are her siblings names? What are her siblings names?

[23:48] JULIA MARTINEZ: Oh, Miranda and Jonah.

[23:53] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay.

[23:54] JULIA MARTINEZ: And Alan's wife's name is Leah.

[23:57] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay. And what have you learned most in life? What's been the biggest takeaway from your life?

[24:07] JULIA MARTINEZ: From my life? I don't know. I just have to accept everything that comes my way and know that heavenly father is there.

[24:21] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[24:23] JULIA MARTINEZ: And I have Parkinson's. And I know that I can't be cured. But if I am a good person, I can fight Mister Carson, Mister Parkinson's for as long as I can. And when I can't anymore, then that'll be, I guess, goodbye.

[24:52] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Not anytime soon though, right?

[24:53] JULIA MARTINEZ: No, I don't think so.

[24:55] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay.

[24:56] JULIA MARTINEZ: I'm trying not to anyway.

[24:58] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[24:58] JULIA MARTINEZ: But things change.

[25:00] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: I do.

[25:02] JULIA MARTINEZ: But I'm having a hard time right now.

[25:07] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: It's okay.

[25:08] JULIA MARTINEZ: But. Yes, I had a full life.

[25:14] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yes.

[25:15] JULIA MARTINEZ: Exciting. Sadeena.

[25:18] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Challenging.

[25:20] JULIA MARTINEZ: And I don't know if I should say this, but my son Anthony committed suicide.

[25:28] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[25:29] JULIA MARTINEZ: And he was already. He was 47 years old. What caused his breakdown? I don't know. I hope to someday know. All I know is that he was a good guy. He was a Townsville fireman and he worked in the detention center. And he was a good person. He was kind. That's why I do not understand what happened to him because of that. And there was nothing I can do about it except accept what happened with strength. And knowing that my heavenly father and all the people that had died before me were there to meet Anthony. He got to meet his new grandma, my mother. She had passed away. And I believe that. I believe the atonement of Jesus Christ and I believe the resurrection. And I know that someday I will be able to see my mom, my dad, all my family. I don't know if I want to, maybe, but. And I know that my Tony, his name was Anthony Luciano, but I called him Tony. Yeah, sometimes Tony Baloney.

[27:37] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Tony took good care of you. Tony took good care of you.

[27:43] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yes. Yes, he did take good care of me. And now I have my son Alan, which he's become my primary caregiver helper. He staying with his milk with Leah. And he's staying at my house and back and forth to see his family. And they come over on Fridays and spend the night with us and everything. And then Alan goes on Saturdays to be with them. And I stayed by myself.

[28:21] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: I'm gonna have to come visit you on Saturdays.

[28:24] JULIA MARTINEZ: Well, I don't know if I want any visitors because, you know why?

[28:28] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Why?

[28:29] JULIA MARTINEZ: Because I can do what I want.

[28:30] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yes.

[28:34] JULIA MARTINEZ: And. But sometimes I feel like, leave me alone. Go away for a while.

[28:41] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[28:43] JULIA MARTINEZ: But then when it does go away, I don't want him to go away.

[28:50] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What are some things you enjoy doing now in your retirement? What are some things you enjoy doing now in your retirement?

[28:58] JULIA MARTINEZ: In my retirement?

[28:59] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[29:00] JULIA MARTINEZ: Oh, I don't know. I do a lot of things.

[29:03] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: What kind of things?

[29:07] JULIA MARTINEZ: I like to bake.

[29:12] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah?

[29:13] JULIA MARTINEZ: I bake banana bread for my destiny once a week.

[29:21] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Does destiny help you?

[29:23] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yes. She already knows how to make it by herself.

[29:27] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Awesome.

[29:28] JULIA MARTINEZ: And we make cookies and we. At church, I was teaching primary and just doing what I could in church, teaching primary. I also taught Sunday school. And primary was not too long ago, just like, what, maybe four or five years ago or even less. And half of the kids in church that I do primary with. Grandma.

[30:07] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: You're the Taos ward grandma, huh?

[30:09] JULIA MARTINEZ: And then even the elders. I would feed the elders once a week. The missionaries for the church?

[30:20] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yes. Keep going. Keep going.

[30:26] JULIA MARTINEZ: I fix their lunch and they come home. They eat with us. If they can eat with us, they take their lunch home. And then I couldn't do it anymore because I'm wobbly. But my son Alan said, mom, I'll do it. So he's cooking for the elders besides cooking for me. So I tell him, cook this, don't cook.

[30:59] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Then what else do you enjoy doing?

[31:04] JULIA MARTINEZ: I enjoy just visiting with everybody. I like to watch tv.

[31:13] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Do you like football?

[31:14] JULIA MARTINEZ: I love football and wrestling.

[31:17] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah. What's your favorite football team?

[31:21] JULIA MARTINEZ: Broncos. I haven't done very good lately, but there's still my team.

[31:27] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Yeah.

[31:28] JULIA MARTINEZ: I'm not a fair weather fan.

[31:32] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: That's good. What do you like in wrestling?

[31:37] JULIA MARTINEZ: Everything. I like to. I like. I like to see the ladies wrestling.

[31:44] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: You like to watch the lady wrestlers, huh?

[31:46] JULIA MARTINEZ: Yeah. And the guys, too, because they're strong. And the ladies, because they pull the hair in the alley. Let me see. I like to watch the game shows. I like to watch America says, where they ask a question and they have to answer what America would say. It's kind of fun.

[32:18] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay. Is there anything else you'd like to share with me today?

[32:26] JULIA MARTINEZ: I guess what I would like to share with you today is the fact that I'm here, I'm alive. Struggle. But I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. I like to. I have my little friends, my neighbors, they're three little babies like this. And they come with their mother, and they come and see me. And they always bring me something. Or they draw a picture for me. And I have all kinds of little drawings on my refrigerator. Because every time they come, they bring me something, and I have fun with them. Their mother and their dad are very close neighbors. And I have no fear because they're right next. You know, where they live? Right next door. And all I have to do is Yell and house if I need them. And they'll come, the little ones. They say if they take a long time to come to my house, they'll tell their mom and their dad, we want to go see Julia. And so it's. I enjoy my home. Not a classy home. I have an old adobe house that was born before me. That house was built in 40, 119, 41. And so at least I have somebody older than me. And when we bought that house, it was run down. It didn't have bathroom. It didn't have all those things. It had holes in the wall. But we only paid $15,000 for that. And the big space, I don't know how much. It's about half an acre or so. And $15,000 was a lot. Not a lot of money. But we had to add to that. Because we had to go to farmers home, something like that. Where we had to get a bathroom and, well, didn't have any water. But my husband and I put a lot of work to refix the holes in the wall with patch here. But, you know, my home now, it's, like I said, not a classy home.

[35:47] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: It's cozy, though.

[35:48] JULIA MARTINEZ: But it's a nice, warm place. And it's paid for, and I don't have to worry about paying a house payment. Good. Excuse me.

[36:02] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Thank you. Thank you so much for doing this with me, Julia.

[36:08] JULIA MARTINEZ: Whoa.

[36:11] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: I really appreciate you coming and doing this with me.

[36:14] JULIA MARTINEZ: And I love you very much. Well, I love you, too.

[36:17] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: And we're gonna wrap up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[36:21] JULIA MARTINEZ: And if you weren't around taking me to my appointments and stuff like that, I would go to the doctor.

[36:32] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Well, I'm so glad I can do that for you, Julia.

[36:34] JULIA MARTINEZ: But now I don't need to.

[36:37] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Okay. I'm still gonna come visit you, though. I love you.

[36:42] JULIA MARTINEZ: But what I say is, now my son takes care of all that. Which made it easier for you, too, and for me. Although she dyes my hair purple.

[37:00] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: All right, we're going to finish up.

[37:02] JULIA MARTINEZ: Okay.

[37:02] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: Thank you so much.

[37:04] JULIA MARTINEZ: Okay.

[37:04] PALOMA VILLALOBOS: All right.

[37:08] JULIA MARTINEZ: Let me see. What do I say for you? She's finishing up.