n De la Garza celebrates 92 birthday this month

By Peter Moralez

            It was 92 years ago in Cuero, Texas that Leonardo De la Garza was born in a small ranch house.  His parents were Fabiana and Bernado De la Garza.   Since 1917 De la Garza has seen many things, many of them good, and many of them not so good.  His earliest recollections are of life on the farm.  Once he was old enough to help his father in the field that’s where he worked picking and planting crops and taking care of the livestock. 

             “The days were hard at harvest time; each one of us had to pick 300 pounds of cotton a day to get paid.  I look back on those days and I guess the only good thing I can say is at least we were all together.” 

It was in 1935 at the age of 18 that he married Maria Tijerina.  They would be married for over 70 years.  His wife passed away January 13, 2007.  “I miss her so much.  When you spend your whole life with someone it’s hard to live life without them.”  In speaking with De la Garza you truly get a feel of how hard it is to get older and older.  You see your circle of family and friends get smaller. 

He worked the fields until 1938 then took a job in Edna working in the oilfield, where he was a truck driver.  He continued to work in the oilfield until 1941 at which time construction for Foster Field began.  He then became a delivery truck driver at the Foster Field work site.  He would pick-up truckloads of wood and deliver it to Foster Field.  “That job didn’t last very long, only about a year.  From there I would find a job that I would have for the rest of my working years,” said De la Garza.

In 1942 De la Garza was hired by Southern Pacific Rail Road (SPRR).  “At first I was hired on to repair tracks.  “I was part of a crew that would examine each inch of track to make sure that it was in working order.  If not, we would have to pull it up and replace it,” said De la Garza.

His work with SPRR, on many occasions, carried him far away from his home base in Victoria, where he and his wife and family had settled some time ago.  He would be gone for a week or two and then make it back.  He told a story about an incident that happened on one of those occasions when he had traveled to Louisiana.

 “I had been giving the nickname ‘Tater’ because anytime I got the chance I would by 50 or 100 pound sacks of sweet potatoes to take home with me.  Well that’s the only name many of my coworkers knew me as.  Well on this particular day, I was driving a truck for SPRR with one of my co-workers and we were way out in the country trying to locate the worksite so we could drop off the materials.  A sheriff pulled us over.  Both my work buddy and me got a little nervous, being in a different state and all.  He asked my co-worker what our names were.  Well he told the sheriff his name and then he gave my name as Tater.  Later we all had a good laugh about the incident.”

Leonardo and Maria had 6 children, Leonard Jr., Mamie, Johnny, Bennie and Rosemary.  De la Garza has been blessed with 12 grandchildren, 26 great grandchildren and 12 great great grandchildren.

“I am so thankful for all the blessings in my life.  Even though it’s very hard getting old.  Nonetheless, God knows what is best and I can’t question Him,” state De La Garza   

Romance on Valentine’s Day?

by Santos Raya 

            Whatever happened to romance is a question a lot of people asks nowadays. Now that Valentine’s Day is on the horizon, this question is really on some people’s minds.            True, on Valentine’s Day, a lot of people will tend to get romantic, but that is only once a year!  Come on; let’s check it out.

            First of all, let’s start with gentlemen who open doors for the ladies.  Any out there?  You might ask what has this got to do with romance?  Well, any gentleman who opens doors for ladies, well, he ‘s got to be a romantic fella with his lady!This young lady decided to find out how many men would open the door for her as a bet with some friends.  She went to many buildings and only one elderly gentleman opened the door for her!   As per her experience, she said some young men acted like they wanted the door opened for them!  Oh, well, they were carrying heavy loads.  But still.

            See what that means?  Romance has been on the decline for more years than we care to count.  Can we blame Women’s Lib for that or the stress of everyday living?  It’s very romantic to get flowers and candy from our sweetie on Valentine’s Day, right?  Of course!  But is that really romantic?  The unspoken message here is: send me flowers and candy or else die a slow torturous death, or words to that effect!

            The answer is that we are living in a constantly changing world.  A lot of good things have left us.  We can only hope that the real romance that was almost an everyday thing will make a huge comeback. Let’s hope that someday in the future these words will not be heard, “Romance on Valentine’s Day?  Why we have never heard of such a thing!”

            Dinner by candlelight with flowers and candy on the side, anyone?

StarTek passes one year of service in Victoria

   It was just over a year ago that StarTek opened its doors in Victoria.  According to Tammy Fornelius, Vice President of Human Resources, “StarTek represents major clients throughout the United States.  Customer service calls that are placed to our client are filtered to one of the many call centers we have located in the United States.  We work hand-in-hand with our clients to insure that the calls we handle are done exactly the way they want us to.”

            In Victoria the calls are handled for a major cell phone provider.  When you stop and consider businesses that flourish in today’s economy, affiliation with a company that markets cell phones, as well as maintains the contracts that provide that service, appears to be the right horse to back. 

            StarTek, originally call StarPak, was founded 22 years ago in Greeley, CO, as a small product packaging and fulfillment company.  Shortly thereafter, they opened their first call center.  That has expanded to over 20 call centers in America, as well as two new sites in the Philippines. 

            Currently, StarTek employs about 400 people at its Victoria location.  “If we continue to grow, as I feel we will, this site could grow to employ as many as 600 people.  We offer our employees a fair wage, as well as a safe, clean and comfortable environment to work in.  Once hired, employees go through an extensive training program.  This program will enable our employees to handle the wide range of calls that come into the call center,” said Joel Rodriguez, Facilities Manager, “One of our mottos is one call resolution.”

            Rodriguez went on to say, “I am very proud of our Victoria site.  StarTek has invested millions of dollars into revamping this site.”  StarTek is located in the former Albertson’s location on the corners of Red River and Laurent streets. A tour of the location shows a beautiful work environment that appears to be very employee friendly.  In addition to vast work areas, the site also contains a large area dedicated to employee relaxation including a large cafeteria, game rooms, and even an area where employees can get online and handle their business.

            In meeting the management team at Startek, it’s impossible not to note the diversity of its staff.  Fornelius indicated, “At StarTek, employees are promoted based on their personal success for StarTek.  Who ever is successful here will be promoted.  Success is the only factor we concern ourselves with.” 

            StarTek is always looking for employees.  You can fill out an application online at startek.com/careers.  Or you can go to the location and speak to someone in StarTek’s recruiting department.  “I really can’t think of a better place to work at,” said Rodriguez, “Victoria is an area that is expanding, and StarTek is expanding with it.  Four major cities are located in close proximity to Victoria, which gives us the benefit of small town life with all the amenities of large town living.  My roots run deep in Victoria.  With that in mind, I am very happy that StarTek has invested in Victoria.  It’s good for them and it’s good for Victoria.”