Holder, Ted 2011-02-14

From SWC Oral History Collection
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Ted Holder discusses how he got involved with the Tarahumara Indians in Mexico, his experiences within the Tarahumara community, and working with Father Verplancken.


General Interview Information

Interviewee Name: Ted Holder

Additional Parties Recorded:

Date: February 14, 2011

Location: Lubbock, Texas

Interviewer: David Marshall

Length: 01:44:58


Abstract

Introduction; Family history; Education background; Moving to Levelland, Texas; First investigator for the District Attorney’s office; 33 years of law enforcement; Job experiences; Community service and law enforcement; Getting involved with charitable work; Going to Redford, Texas; Meeting Mrs. Madrid, a retired school teacher; Viewing a picture of a Tarahumara Indian; Sending items to Mexico; Creating a clothing drive with the Rotary Club; Making a trip to donate clothes to the Tarahumara; Traveling through Mexico; Going to Creel, Mexico; In the mountains; Roads into Creel, Mexico; Looking for Father Luis Verplancken; Father Verplancken builds a hospital in Creel, Mexico; Delivering the blue jeans and donated clothing; Visiting the hospital; Raising money to build another building; First contact with Father Verplanken; Traveling back home; Getting a phone call from a doctor in Madera, Mexico; Gathering medical supplies for a clinic in El Cable, Mexico; Meeting the new Rotary Club members in Madera, Mexico; Collecting medical supplies from fellow Rotary Club members; Wal-Mart donates a truck to deliver supplies; Heading to Presidio, Texas; Getting supplies from Presidio, Texas to Mexico; Donating more supplies every year; Visiting the new clinic; On a vaccination trip; No visible roads; New clinic is solar-powered; Getting supplies to El Cable, Mexico; Staffing the clinic; Trends with Mexican government finishing projects; Building a dam; Creating a water source; Rotary projects becoming government projects; Meeting Eluisa Moya; Doing more projects with Father Verplancken; Help drilling wells in Creel, Mexico; History on early Spanish inhabitants; Father Verplancken’s projects; Father Verplancken’s methods for drilling wells; Father Verplancken’s ways of finding water underground; Father Verplancken learns how to build wells; Builds wells all over the Sierras; Father Verplancken wanted to take care of the people; Purchasing corn; Restoring old church paintings; Father Verplancken builds a museum; Father Verplancken’s participation in Indian ceremonies; Working with different priests in the area; Father Verplancken’s photography; Memories of working with Father Verplancken; Flying into different areas; Friend Padre Pancho’s death; Projects with Padre Pancho; Building a ceremonial center; Community work trade-off; Developing a new project; Gathering farm hand tools; Helping oneself and the community; Location of roofing project; Traveling to Choguita, Mexico; Buying blankets and other supplies; Deciding to build a greenhouse; Getting lost; Greetings from a nun; Passing the community; Greenhouse finished and gardens planted; Different vegetables planted; Watching the interactions between the different communities; Dehydrated food; NAFTA leads to restrictions on donated goods; Training in health care; Father Verplancken’s collection of photographs; Wanting the Verplancken’s photo collection at Texas Tech University; Dr. William Curry Holden’s trip to Mexico; Padre Verplancken in hospital for cancer; Getting help with finances for trips; Final visit with Padre Verplancken; Recollection of Verplancken’s photo collection; Photographs go to the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University; Getting permission to take the photos; Carrying on Verplancken’s work; Reflecting on Verplancken’s work with the Tarahumara; The Tarahumara way of life.


Access Information

Original Recording Format:

Recording Format Notes:

Transcript: No transcript available



Thank you for your interest in this oral history interview. Our oral history collection is available to patrons in the Southwest Collection's Reading Room, located on the campus of Texas Tech University. For reading room hours, visit our website. Please contact Reference Staff at least one week prior to your visit to ensure the oral history you are interested in will be available. Due to copyright issues, duplications of our oral histories can only be made for family members. If an oral history transcript has been made available online, the link will be provided on this page. More information on accessing our oral histories is located here. Preferred citation style can be found here.