Linda Huesca Tully

The Astor Fire, Part 2: Explosions

Joan (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Enrique Huesca (1909 – 2003) Mercedes (Formento) Huesca (1924 – 2004) Eduardo Huesca (1947 – 2023) Introduction: In the spring of 1978, my father, Gilbert Huesca, sent my mother, Joan Huesca, then 49, on a flight to Mexico City to visit his family while he stayed behind in California to tend … Continue reading

The Astor Fire, Part 1: The Gift of Life

Joan (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Gilbert Huesca (1915 – 2009) Enrique Huesca (1909 – 2003) Mercedes (Formento) Huesca (1924 – 2004) Eduardo Huesca (1947 – 2023) I, a North American, have always loved Mexico for her beauty, art, culture, and the friendliness of her people. I have loved Mexico, too, for she was the birthplace of my Husband, … Continue reading

Finding A Home, Building a Legacy

Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 – 2009) Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) Once my parents, Gilbert and Joan Huesca, realized that South San Francisco was not the warm and sunny place where they had dreamed of living, they began scouring the Bay Area for a place we could call home. Flickr Images, Courtesy Jitze … Continue reading

Traveling Tuesday: California Here We Come

California Poppy, Flickr Photos, courtesy Brian Having packed our 1962 Ford Falcon station wagon to the hilt for the long drive to California, my father, Gilbert Cayetano Huesca, stopped one last time at my grandmother’s home so our family could give her one last goodbye kiss. She was 68 years old by then and had … Continue reading

Daily Life in 1960s Mexico City

Flickr images, Courtesy Michael McCullough The three years my family spent in Mexico City before moving to California in the mid-1960s gave my sisters and me the opportunity to get to know our paternal relatives and learn my father’s native language and culture. I have often thought that if every young person had the … Continue reading

Sentimental Sunday: Family Treasures

When we moved from Mexico City to California in the spring of 1967, what I dreaded most was being far from our extended Huesca family. Cause for Celebration: Our family got together for holidays but also birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions, such as this one, taken between 1956 – 57. My mother wrote the names on … Continue reading

Follow Friday: Master Weaver

Yours truly comparing notes with Jacqi Stevens When you write about family history, it’s nice to read the work of others. It refreshes your perspective, gives you insights you might not have had, and exposes you to different writing styles. It’s even more fun when you can meet the writers behind the works. This past … Continue reading

Wisdom Wednesday: Crossroads

Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 – 2009) Joan Joyce (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) My parents, having decided that our family should leave the high altitude of Mexico City for the sake of my little sister’s health, now had a decision to make: Where should we go? Flickr Creative Commons, Photo by Laenulfean We had been living … Continue reading

Motivation Monday: Whatever You Do in this Life Will Come Back to You

Gilbert Cayetano Huesca (1915 – 2009) Joan (Schiavon) Huesca (1928 – 1987) José Gil Alberto Cayetano Huesca (1888 – 1937) Photo by Alex Proimos, courtesy Flickr Creative Commons “Who is that man?” The short, stout, hunched over pediatrician my parents had found in the Mexico City phone book and called in desperation to … Continue reading

Wishful Wednesday: Did She Find Happiness?

November 22, 1965 Dear Joan, Received your letter and glad to hear from you and that you are all well. I am feeling pretty good myself at present. A week ago Gene Vallee* and I took Joe Hanlon** to South Bend to see a football game and that evening we all had … Continue reading