• Photo: Miguel and Carmen Wed2.tif

 Miguel Vidal Jr., one of Miguel Vidal’s four sons, was born in Sonora, Mexico, and came to Chandler at the age of twelve, with his parents and siblings in 1920. His wife, Carmen, was born in 1915. She came from Chihuahua, Mexico, with her parents, Sylvestre and Juanita Almanderiz in February of 1917, arriving in Columbus, New Mexico. Miguel Jr. and Carmen met in Chandler and got married on July 18, 1937. In Chandler, Miguel Jr. worked on farms, helping with the irrigation. Carmen worked part-time in the fields, and later worked at The Peacock Chinese restaurant. They had nine children: Anita (Rosales), Avel, Rachel (Cedillo), Miguel, Roberto, Evah, Jenny (Salzman), Esther and Elizabeth (Tejeda).

• Photo: Rachel, Anita, Avil 1942.tif

• Photo: Robert and Evah 1956.tif

In the 1940s, the family lived on Saragosa Street. The children attended Winn School, and they lived in the home used by the janitor, their grandfather Miguel, Sr. The kitchen had a dirt floor, icebox and wood stove. Elizabeth remembers being able to play on the merry-go-round and swings at Winn’s playground. Later, Miguel Jr. purchased a corner lot on Washington and Elgin streets. He bought an old barrack that housed Japanese internees at the Gila River internment camp during World War II. The building was large, and divided into three rooms, but it cost more to move than to purchase. Anita recalls the home:

“We had an outhouse there because they didn’t have a sewer line. Then, he (Miguel Jr.) moved it (the bathroom) inside and divided the first two rooms. Mom had a sewing machine there and real long kitchen and the area left over was a bedroom. The dining room was before the kitchen, and then, he (Miguel Jr.) added two bedrooms.”

The Vidal children began working at a young age. Anita ran errands for the owner of Ortega’s restaurant on Chicago Street. Rachel worked at Ortega’s as a waitress. They didn’t make much, but Miguel Jr. and Carmen let them keep it to buy their own clothes. While in high school, Miguel Jr. took three of the children to work in the fields in California during the summer. Miguel Jr. and his family continued to be active in the Free Methodist Church. Rachel was the secretary of the congregation and secretary and treasurer of the church’s youth group.

Eventually, the barrack home on Washington Street was torn down and replaced with a smaller, two-bedroom home. The family still owns the lot. Carmen Vidal passed away there in 2002.

• Photo: Vidal Family.tif

Esther Vidal’s son, Phillip Westbrooks, was born in February of 1961. He grew up in the Vidal family home on Washington Street. After graduating from Chandler High School, he attended Arizona State University. There, he received his bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a master’s degree in Public Administration. Phillip later earned his Doctorate in Higher Education at Nova Southeastern University. He served as a Councilmember from June 1998 to June 2004, and as Vice Mayor from 2004 to 2006. Reflecting on Southside, he remembers, “My memory of the neighborhood of Washington (Street) and Elgin (Street), or Southside as we referred to it back then, was an area that truly resonates the meaning of it takes a village to raise a child. Growing up in the neighborhood as children, we understood that adults were respected and were able to discipline children if needed. The families in the neighborhood would look out for the safety and well-being of others. We knew all the families in the neighborhood and would go to school and play together as children and youth. The families took pride in helping each other and raising the children to be respectful and courteous. There was a strong sense of neighborhood pride and togetherness; families would help each other with sharing resources such as food, clothes, and other necessities.”

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• Photo: Westbrooks.jpg

The Vidals prepared a variety of food, using a gas stove, once they moved to Washington Street. They used a molcajete (mortar and pestle) to grind chiles, and Anita still has one for garlic, tomatoes and peppers. The first thing the Vidal girls learned to make were tortillas. Miguel Jr. did the grocery shopping at Wright’s and Bashas’, supplementing their meals with fruits and vegetables from his garden (apricots, green onions, corn, chiles, tomatoes garlic and zucchini) or the fields. Both Miguel Jr. and Carmen cooked; the following recipes come from them.