000074 Visit since
There
was only one Fordcito (little Ford) automobile transiting the roughly stoned streets
of Vallarta. The owner of the car was Mr. Alejandro Hidell,
a North American citizen. My husband told me his story. He owned the first car
in Vallarta. I now feel I should deliver his short life story to be recorded in
this book. It was 1909 approximately, when Mr. Raix, an
American from Fresno, California, moved to the Port. He bought all the land bordering
the Pitillal River on Puerto Vallarta's side. This was a big extension of land
that he made very productive. He brought back prime watermelon and strawberry
seeds from the United States, turning them into beautiful produce. He also grew
corn and beans. Mr. Raix was the original owner of the
house where the main Post Office is at present, across from the Malecón
(Seafront). He was also the owner of some other properties around town. Mr. Raix
and Mr. Hidell developed a close friendship interrupted only by the sudden death
of Mr. Raix from a heart attack in 1918. Mr. Hidell contacted Mr. Raix's family
in the United States immediately to notify them of the death of his dear friend,
and to notify them of the considerable extension of land Mr. Raix had left them
on his will. To his surprise, no one in the family was interested in the land.
Mr. Raix's family signed the land to Mr. Hidell, and he continued working it as
hard as Mr. Raix would have done it himself. He was rewarded with productive business. Prior
to Mr. Raix's death, Hidell bought a Fordcito (Ford), car from some Italian men
who came to San Sebastian mineral area. The Italians opened a dirt road from San
Sebastian Mineral to Puerto Vallarta especially for the car. After Hidell inherited
the land, he needed a bigger car to transport the crops. He transformed the Fordcito
into a vehicle resembling a pick-up truck. On occasions
Mr. Hidell would offer to drive my husband on house calls to nearby towns. My
husband told me that when people saw the car traveling either afraid of being
run over by the car of afraid to see it. In 1923, Mr. Hidell took the family he
had started in Vallarta back to his country. He sold all the land to Señores
Alfonso Bernal Montaño and Adolfo Godínez for only $40,000,000 Mexican
pesos. Catalina
Montes de Oca Aguilar
Read Doña
Catalina Montes de Oca Aguilar Autobiography
Archives
by date Note: The segments from
the book "Puerto Vallarta en mis Recuerdos" -both versions- are published
in PVMirror.com with the express authorization of Sra. Yolanda Contreras de Garduño,
co-author of the work and owner of the copyrights thereto. Any reproduction thereof,
partial or total, in any medium is prohibited. Note:
Distinguished reader, if you know of any story, anecdote, biography or event,
or if you have any photographs that you feel should be presented to the world
through this section, or if you know someone we should interview to get more information
on the history of Vallarta, please feel free to contact us at: editor@pvmirror.com To
purchase the book
| in USA
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My Memories
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in Puerto
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