Seven Decades of Progress

Seven Decades of Progress

Seven Decades of Progress
Alfredo Melendrez was born on May fifth, nineteen thirty-three to Nostora and Ponceleon Melendrez in Sweetwater, Texas. He grew up in Sweetwater along with his four brothers and one sister. He married in his late twenties to Lile Ramon. They together had three children who in turn produced six grandchildren. Alfredo Melendrez currently lives in Sweetwater, Texas where he spends much time at various restaurants and frequently picks up his grandchildren from school.
Alfredo Melendez’s first home was in a type of housing development. Many other Mexican families inhabited these houses that accommodated the bare minimum standard of living. No electricity, no running water, three rooms, and a barren lawn; this was suitable living seventy years ago.
There was no running water, and certainly no hot water. A water faucet resided out in the lawn where one would take large buckets, fill them up slowly, and carefully bring them back to the house; the water was used for drinking, cleaning, cooking, washing laundry, and bathing. However, if you wanted hot water for anything (i.e. taking a non-freezing cold bath), you would have had to take the buckets of water, pour them into a large metal basin that sits on top of bricks on top of wood, and start a fire with kerosene; after the water reached a very high temperature it could be added to a measure of cold water to dilute the heat to your preference. Water would have to be heated in this manner several times a day. Everyone bathed, showers were almost unheard of except for the very rich. Alfredo remembers two different types of soap from when he was young; “Jabon de Alor“, used for washing yourself, and “Jabon de Gold”, used for washing clothes. Today, achieving hot water is no more a task than twisting a handle, showers are accessible by all, and there are more soaps and scrubs than could ever be necessary.
As there was no indoor plumbing, Alfredo’s family had an outhouse. The way the outhouse...