Three years earlier in the summer of 1944 Sylvia and her brothers Jerome and Gonzalo Jr and their parents had moved from the crowded city of Santa Ana California to a farm in nearby Westminster Her father Gonzalo Mendez had labored for years as a field worker picking grapes and oranges Now he was leasing a farm He was going to be the boss On their new farm they were going to grow asparagus chilies and
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ID As the summer came to an end and the first day of school neared Aunt Soledad drove Sylvia and her brothers and their cousins Alice and Virginia to the local public school on 17th Street so they could enroll Sylvia was going to enter third grade Gonzalo was going to enter second and Jerome first What a handsome building thought Sylvia as they pulled into the parking lot Tall trees lined the street in front of the school There was a playground with monkey bars and a red swing When they walked into the school they noticed that the hallways were spacious and
