1970
Els lives to see a new decade. Here she is in Durango with the family; on our way to Mesa Verde. Somehow Els kept the five Padilla kids, all bona fide Curious Georges, entertained and mostly well-behaved. She would wash our clothes in a five gallon bucket with water and detergent while we drove. The motion of the road would agitate the clothes clean. By the time we got somewhere, they just needed to be rinsed and dried over night. Then on to our next adventure.
Durango 1970
I distinctly remember how fun this particular trip was. All sarcasm and jokes welcome. In one picture from this particular trip, the whole family is crackin up. We traveled well together because we were always headed somewhere fun. We Padillas had active imaginations. We made things fun.
Here are “the girls” at some function; all dressed up. Handsome bunch. A huge bonus was their sense of humor. The pranks and wit went on non-stop… those were some good times.
1971
Nothing to see here …
1972
Elsie always had a hand in her children’s education. Here she serves as a committee member at Presentation school. Els was on some sort of committee, or panel, or some type of governing body. She excelled at these activities and literally had a wall of awards in our home. Eventually every Padilla would add something to that wall. It was her way of saying “good job.” Average was something Els didn’t buy into. She knew better; she had watched us since birth. She knew she had her hands full. Five Padillas… Growing up was never boring. Far from!
Oland Mills 1972
1973
I was surprised to find that I was lacking pictures from 1973. Els’s divorce from Ernest F. was final that year and she turned into a whirlwind of activity. She was finally free to go see what this planet had to offer. It was a trait she would instill into her kids. The Padillas were about to be unleashed unto the world. All five Padilla kids would leave some sort of mark on the fields they went into. I believe those journeys were begotten after our dad moved out. We all immediately grew our hair our. We could now dress pretty much as we wished, as long as we didn’t get into big trouble and did well in school.
1974
1974 saw the Padilla family breakout. We coordinated a trip to Disneyland with my aunt Stella and the Lujan family. Elsie had wanted to travel for as long as she was married to Ernest F., but he only wanted to keep going back to his Nirvana: the Conejos River near where they had both grown up. But Elsie hated camping; it reminded her of growing up poor in Ortiz, Colorado. About a half mile away from the northern New Mexico border. The result of Els’ new-found freedom was to travel from one side of the country to the other.
1975
When we traveled to New Orleans, we kids wanted to stay at the motel and swim. Then at night Els would take us down to Bourbon Street. But rather than stay in the motel all day, Els ventured off on her own. She took a day trip to visit some of the plantations near Naw’Lins.
Here Els poses on Ernie’s graduation night. Ern graduated from Denver West High School that night. He was bound for CU Boulder in the fall. He would become an engineering major.
Mayor Mc Nichols presenting an award to Elsie and her crew. This would become a habit as Els made her mark on the Denver Housing Authority.
1976
Here Els confers with some of the Westwood residents she recruited to do her bidding. It worked, these kids respected Elsie and quickly came around to assist her on her endeavors.
Here are four generations in one picture.
[1] Grandma Trujillo
[2] Elsie
[3] Ern
[4] Danielle
This picture was taken while Ern was on leave from the paratroopers.
This is a picture of Elsie at the Quitman House. The divider in the background survived throughout the years. In fact, Elsie still has it in her living room to this day. It’s changed colors a few times, but it’s an old classic.
1977
Here Elsie poses in the space between the carport and the Whitie’s garage. It was probably a holiday. Mom is dressed up and someone has a camera.
Elsie at the Westwood Housing Projects. These are some of her residents.
1978
Elsie posing with Pete and AP. This was the Quitman house front lawn. That front area served as the backdrop for plenty of Padilla family pictures.
Elsie beat Trump by years. So much winning, she got tired of winning. Just kidding. Here is the ceremony and a pose for the Housing newsletter.
Els gets an award from the Denver Mayor.
Elsie M. Padilla was given an award by Mayor McNichols. Seems the Westwood Housing Projects were “most improved” in the city. During our many trips “up the Hill” she would tell this story about how she pulled off winning this award. It was pure genius. Read how Els pulled this one off …
1979
Elsie in Panama City, Panama. Her bug for travel would take her to all 50 US states, and soon thereafter, she would be competing with Andy to see how many continents each of them could visit.
Halloween 1979
Mom’s side of the family thoroughly enjoyed Halloween. This is reflected in the pictures of mom’s relatives. These Trujillo get-togethers were interesting and very fun. Little could any of us see it coming, but these fun family get-togethers were about to to end soon.
Elsie and Fred Machado 1979
Els began dating Fred in the Fall of 79. Els was smitten with Fred. It’s just Fred had no clue what he was getting into by wanting to be the “head” of the Padillas. This power-struggle would have lasting implications.
All the Trujillo sisters at Michael Salazar’s wedding.
This is one of the rare pictures of all the girls together with Grandma Trujillo. When this clan got together, oh it was fun. Clown college was in session, and the Trujillo sisters were the featured attraction: a joke fest was sure to ensue. It was always fun to see a new boyfriend or girlfriend was they were first introduced.
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