[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 7, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E304]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            COMMEMORATING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MR. CRUZ BACA

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                            HON. HILDA SOLIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2001

  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the proud 
contributions Mr. Cruz Baca and his decedents have made to the city of 
Baldwin Park. Mr. Baca was born in Mexico in 1874 and first arrived in 
Baldwin Park in 1906. In 1909 he returned to Mexico to retrieve his 
wife and children from the threat of revolution and bring them to 
Baldwin Park. In the spring of 1910 the Baca family finally settled 
near Francisquito Avenue in Baldwin Park following a long journey on 
foot through Texas and parts of Arizona.
  Mr. Baca was a prosperous farmer who harvested a variety of crops and 
raised cows to produce milk and cheese. Realizing a demand for the 
ingredients for tamales, Mr. Baca became the only supplier of those 
ingredients in the San Gabriel Valley. But Mr. Baca's legacy is not as 
a landowner or businessman, it is the humanity he demonstrated to his 
fellow man, neighbor, and community.
  Mr. Baca always lent a helping hand to those in need. During the 
Great Depression Mr. Baca provided food for the poor, he would park his 
wagon full of produce at Morgan Park to help feed the community. He 
also provided transportation to those in need with his horse and wagon, 
taking people as far as San Gabriel to attend services at the San 
Gabriel Mission. His efforts to improve the community are many, such as 
plowing and landscaping the land to develop Morgan Park for free and 
helping to plow his neighbors land when they were experiencing 
difficulties. Mr. Baca is also known for his selfless acts of heroism, 
single-handedly saving a family from a burning home and pulling his 
neighbors car out of the San Gabriel Valley River with his horse and 
wagon during a heavy rainstorm.
  Mr. Baca was a dedicated father, husband and citizen and his 
influence will be everlasting in the City of Baldwin Park. Mr. Baca's 
legacy continues also with the hundreds of decedents that continue to 
live, work, and raise families in the City of Baldwin Park.

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