Cousin Gary Coronado[1] visited and interviewed
our aunt, Marian Coronado, on April 16, 1984 at her home in Calistoga,
California. She was always known as “Toots”
or “Aunt Toots” all our lives. I don’t
remember where the name came from. She
was the next to last child born to Mariano and Louisa Coronado – the 12th
of 13 children (the 9th of the children to live to adulthood). Toots was born 28 August 1905 in Vallejo,
California, and passed away 20 July 1998 in Calistoga.
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| Young Marian Coronado as a glamorous Senorita |
Gary wrote up the interview in question and answer
form and I published it in the May 1994 issue of the Coronado Newsletter[2]. This is a portion of that interview.
Q. How much do you know about our family history before you were born?
A.
Not a whole lot. I recall Mama telling
the story of how she met Papa. She was
working for a wealthy family, cleaning house. Mama met Papa in Yountville. She used to point out the location when we
drove by. The story goes that she took a
walk and met Papa near the Napa River Creek. As you know Papa lived near Yountville. That was the start of a long, happy, productive
relationship. They were a good team
together.
Q.
Where were you born? Describe your home
as you remember.
A.
All of us kids were born at home. We
were all born in the old antique bed. I believe it is still in Celia’s home. I am number nine!
We
lived in a two story home. Our living
quarters were above the Inn. The ground
floor was Papa’s place of business. There
was a bar, a dinner room and a dance hall. We also rented a few rooms. The boys slept in a bunk house away from the
Inn.
Q.
What's your earliest memory?
A.
My earliest memory is of Grandma Coronado cooking and preparing dinner for our
family. I remember her flapping tortillas
over a wooden stove. There was plenty of
eucalyptus wood to burn. Alongside of
the tortillas she would always have a big cast iron pot of simmering
chili beans. She would stack the hot
tortillas between flour sacks to keep them warm. The tortillas never lasted very long because
they were our favorite after school snack! There was always rich butter. Grandpa Coronado had one milking cow.
In
a large round wooden barrel with a crank, Mama would separate the cream from
the milk. The cream was made into
butter, the milk into cottage cheese. She
rolled the cottage cheese into little balls, and then poured cream over them. They were eaten with beans and tortillas. So good!
My
mother loved cooking outdoors and seldom used the kitchen in the house. She would set aside one day a week to bake
desserts. Our favorites were large
sheets of marble cake and ginger bread. She
would have to lock the desserts in cupboards so the children wouldn’t eat it
all before dinner.
Q.
What was Grandpa like when he was young? Describe your relationship with him?
A.
Papa had a stern, serious manner. He was
a good provider and father. He was also
an Innkeeper, rancher and a vaquero.
He
left Mama in charge of the girls. Mostly,
he was in charge of the boys. He would
wake us every morning. He would only
call us once: “Get up, Toots. Get up,
Celia.” We would respond by pounding on
the wood floor with our shoe. Sometimes,
we would roll over and go back to sleep. He didn’t care if we were late. And he would just call once.
His
pride and joy was his breeding horse, Prince. People would bring horses to Papa in order to
breed them with his prize stallion. This
was also a source of income for us.
He
was political. He liked to discuss
politics with his customers. He was a Democrat.
He wasn’t shy offering an opinion about
a political issue.
 |
| Papa Coronado, relaxing outside and getting ready for his siesta |
On
Sunday he would insist that we all go to Mass. He would always attend with us. We had our family pew near the front of the
church. It was in front of the Blessed
Virgin statue. Your father (Doc) would
drive the family to church. Imagine, a
twelve year old as a chauffeur. He wore
goggles and a long coat. We would head
off in the morning, arriving about an hour before mass. Papa was always early, never late. Any type of gathering required an early arrival.
This was a habit for him in his
business, and in his life.
Eating
was his number one pastime. He loved to
eat and then, siesta in the afternoon. Papa
always slept upright in his chair outdoors.
Q.
What
was Grandma like when she was young? Describe
your relationship with her.
A.
Mama was the sweetest, kindest lady. She
never raised her voice. She left that up
to Papa. Mama was in charge of the
girls. She was so kindly, we never
wanted to do anything to disappoint her. Our relationship with her was one of love.
She
would collect rainwater in crock-like vessels. She used the water to wash her face. She had a beautiful complexion. Mama also used the water to wash her hair.
Mama’s
hands were always busy crocheting and embroidering things for our church and
friends. Most of the applique and
embroidery work were done on flour sacks. She had an old Singer sewing machine, but she
rarely used it. We also had an Apex
washing machine. It was rarely used. She washed all of her clothes by hand on a
washboard in a tub. Then, instead of
hanging them on our round clothesline, she would spread them on top of bushes,
alfalfa and fences to dry.
Q.
Tell me a story about Grandma that will give us some insight into her
personality.
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| Mama Coronado with Polly |
A.
Well, there are many examples. I like to
think about Mama with her parrot. She
had an old, green parrot named Polly. He
perched on a eucalyptus tree near the summer kitchen. His cage was in the tree so he could go in and
out as he pleased. She would make toast,
dip it into coffee and give it to her bird. He would like it and would say, “Polly want a
cracker” for more. Polly liked Mama, but
didn’t like us kids. His wings were
clipped so he couldn’t fly. Polly was a
mimic. When Mama called us, he would
repeat what she said and then laugh. One
day he crawled down the tree and walked around the yard. He wandered across the fence to the railroad
tracks behind our house. A freight train
came by and Polly wasn’t able to get out of the way. He was killed. When night came Mama missed him. She went out to look for him and found some
feathers scattered around. Then, she
found him crushed by the track. Mama
felt very bad about losing her faithful companion. She mourned her friend for many weeks.
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