[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 128 (Tuesday, September 8, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1223]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING JUAN BAUTISTA MORA

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM

                             of new mexico

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 8, 2015

  Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I rise today 
to honor Mr. Juan Bautista Mora who turned 98 years old on May 3, 2015.
  Mr. Mora was born in Chilili, New Mexico in 1917 as the youngest 
member of the family that included nine children. His father was a 
logger assistant who traveled to the southern part of the territory and 
his mother was a homemaker who also took care of many chores on the 
family farm.
  Juan was placed on a horse at age 6 and taught how to do some of the 
farming and ranching. In 1922, he became very ill and was cared for by 
one of his sisters until he recovered. Juan received most of his 
education from a home school teacher, since he had many 
responsibilities on the farm.
  At age 17, he became a U.S. Census Taker in the Sandia Mountains and 
would travel from farm to farm, gathering the necessary information.
  At age 18, he decided to take the test to enter the Civilian 
Conservation Corps (CCC). At the time, he weighed less than 105 pounds 
and there was a weight requirement. Juan and his friends went to town 
and ate as many bananas as they could before being weighed for a second 
time. He made it into the Corps.
  He was assigned to Camp #8 in LaVentana, New Mexico where he was 
assigned the work of building cabins and roads. He earned $1.00 per day 
and would keep $5.00 each month and send $25.00 home to his family. The 
Corps was part of the New Deal by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and 
provided unskilled labor jobs related to the conservation and 
development of natural resources in rural lands owned by federal, local 
and state governments. Juan spent 18 months in the Corps.
  In 1945, he married Petra Aragon, a teacher with a degree from 
Highland University. Juan worked for the Charles Ilfield Grocery store 
as a driver and he and his wife had five daughters before 1957. Petra 
went back to teaching at the San Ignacio Parochial School but became 
very ill and passed away in 1960.
  From that point forward, Juan raised their five daughters on his own. 
He was employed by the City of Albuquerque from 1959 to 1978, first as 
a laborer, then a welder and eventually a supervisor, responsible for 
training new employees.
  In 2007, Juan attended a reunion of the CCC boys and was able to 
reconnect with many of his friends and share memories from that time in 
his life.
  He is still very involved with his daughters, M. Virginia Mora de 
Lazo, Margie Mora Brown, Deanna B. Mora, Lillian D. Stephens and Ruby 
Mora and their families. He has two grandchildren, Linda Lzao Sheroma 
and Andres F. Lazo. I would like to extend my thanks to Mr. Mora for 
his service as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 
Great Depression and for his service to the community as a City of 
Albuquerque employee.

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