SAN DIEGO — Old Town San Diego wasn't always a popular tourist spot, in fact, many of the shops there used to be homes where San Diegans lived.
In this Zevely Zone, I met a longtime San Diego resident and profiled a new book written about his life. Tourists in Old Town come and go, but this story is about a San Diegan who grew up on those very streets and never left.
"That is me when I was little," said 93-year-old Manuel Diaz. He was an altar boy at the Church of the Immaculate Conception.
When Manuel was 14 years old, he started working on a farm in Mission Valley picking green beans.
"That's dad in the middle holding the bean basket," said Teresa Burrows who spent ten years researching her father's life. "This is a book I wrote about my dad. It's called Through My Father's Eyes: Growing Up Mexican in Old Town San Diego," said Teresa.
Through the Depression and World War II, the Diaz family had to farm and fend for themselves.
"They grew their own veggies and had their own cows and pigs and chickens," said Teresa. They also worked at a nearby meat packing plant. In 1909, Manuel's father walked from Mexico to Los Angeles by following the tracks to start a new life.
"If he had not come, we would have been down there and had no future," said Manuel who did find a future with his high school sweetheart Audrey, even though her father said she was off limits.
"Oh, he didn't like it. He told Manuel, she is too young to date and leave her alone and then he told me I will find you a boyfriend," said Audrey. Manel's reaction? "It didn't matter to me, ha, ha," he said. "We still snuck around," said Audrey.
They got married at the same church where Manuel was an altar boy. "I think any family's history is important to know where your roots are," said Teresa. Which is why she wrote the book about her father that she hopes will stand the test of time. "Oh here we are right here mom," said Teresa while locating their family bricks with their names in the church courtyard.
"The date they were married was September 2, 1950," said Teresa. Manuel worked for most of his life as a tile installer and always checks the grout around those precious bricks.
"This is a little rough, ha, ha, ha," laughed Manuel. But they are there nonetheless to tell the world about Manuel Diaz long after he's gone. "I am thankful for it because I am a part of Old Town," said Manuel. "Nothing stays the same."
Manuel Diaz was born in the San Diego County Hospital in 1930 and grew up with his parents and ten siblings on Weeks Avenue. Manuel graduated from San Diego High School in 1949.
Teresa is selling her book Through My Father's Eyes: Growing Up Mexican in Old Town San Diego for $45 plus shipping. To order a copy send her an email at finnishmex1@cox.net.