TBT - The Pancho Villa Story

This is a story from my Oma's family that has always awed me.

Here, Oma shares it in her own words.

Oma's mother (seated) with Aunt Angela

My Aunt Angela (Tia) related this true story of her early marriage to Antonio in the silver ore mining in the mountains in Mexico.  They lived on a huge hacienda, where families lived under care for everything.  The men worked in the mines and the ladies took care of the children.

At this time there was a revolution among the people of Mexico.  They were rebelling against the President and his army.  Among the poor working class there came across a fearless leader named Pancho Villa.  He raised a big army but had no money to maintain such a big army, so he would raid the small villages and take food and goods to supply his banditos.

My aunt was the overseer of the hacienda and around her stomach wore a belt with many keys.  These keys were used to open supply rooms of food, clothing, guns, picks and shovels and ammunition, all of which Villa needed.  When he raided them (?) they would be very frightened and would seek refuge and help at Tia's hacienda.

Tia would know when he was coming to get supplies.  Days before his coming she would take some of the supplies, she'd hide them away so when Pancho Villa came there was some left that he could take to help him with his army.  In this way the hacienda was not destroyed.

Through this wisdom she saved many lives and families during those most difficult times.

Years later Pancho Villa (the bandit) became President of Mexico.