Frank Partida
Age 84
Francisco Partida was born in Houston, Texas on June 20, 1928. His mother was born in Laredo Texas, and his father was born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. He came to Houston because of the 1910 revolution in Mexico. In Houston he worked at the port on a cotton compress. At later times he had a bar and a filling station. Frank's mother's parents also came to work at the port. Frank was the oldest child and had three younger sisters.

Frank spoke Spanish exclusively at home but when he went to school he had to speak English. He went to elementary school in the neighborhood and the first words he learned were "Can I go to the be excused". At that time 70% of the kids came to school barefoot. In order to fit in better, Frank used to hide his shoes at a house near the school and go to school barefoot himself. At that time the school was 100% Hispanic and was referred to as "school of lice". The segregation only changed in the 1940s after World War II.

He went to Thomas A. Edison junior high school, then to Allen Academy in Bryan, Texas for one year and then to Sam Houston high school in downtown Houston, where he graduated in 1949. During high school he met Olivia at a dance and they got married the year after he graduated. Olivia was born in Eagle Pass, Texas. They lived in the neighborhood where Frank was born. As a young adult, Frank participated in baseball, basketball, football and track.

Frank worked at La Rose cleaners, then a lumberyard and then for Gulf Brewing company, which was owned by Howard Hughes. He started as a mail and messenger boy and worked his way up to be a sales representative after five years. He then went to work for Pearl Brewing based in San Antonio and travelled around Texas for three years. There was too much travel so he switched to Lone Star beer for a couple of years. Wanting to get away from the beer business, eventually he went to work at the docks and then later became self-employed as a carpenter. He did this work for about 10 years. He also ran a bar, which was owned by his parents, and then rented it out.

Frank and Olivia had five children, three boys and two girls. One son died of leukemia at age 17. One son was a musician and played the trumpet, but now works out of Temple, Texas driving a charter bus. He is not married. Another son has become alcoholic, has never married and everyone in the family is worried about him. Both daughters are married and live in Houston. One is a housewife with two sons and does volunteer work at her church. The other is a registered nurse doing cancer research and has two daughters.

Olivia owned a beauty shop for a while, but unfortunately she died of a stroke in 1984 at age 55.

In 1936, when Frank was eight, his grandfather was named to a welcoming committee for president Roosevelt's visit to Houston. The president came to Houston to inspect WPA projects, including Canal and Navigation streets and the Port of Houston. His grandfather's career in politics influenced Frank to get involved. He had Frank work at the polls handing out cards and Frank later became a precinct judge. He was elected as a representative to Pres. Johnson's war on poverty program. After six years he became chairman of the board for two years. He also served as Vice Chairman of the Houston-Harris County Community Action Association. Over the years he got many awards including three times having the mayor proclaim Frank Partida day; he was also named Man of the Year. He has been a longtime member of the Old Timers Club which raises funds and gives out scholarships. Over the years he has been president and held other positions. Currently he serves as vice president.

In addition to the Old Timers Club, Frank also attends a senior center run by the YWCA called Harrisburg seniors. About 49 people attend and they have meals out, excursions and birthday celebrations. He has many friends there. He is serving as the chief advisor to a Houston Community College project to document the Magnolia Park community, which is now 100 years old. His grandfather was one of the community leaders since 1909. In the 1950s Frank was a member of the League of United Latin American citizens (LULAC), of which his grandfather was a charter member. Frank says that he has been a loyal Democrat all of his life and he does what he can to help Democratic candidates.

Frank is active and alert and still drives, and attributes his well-being to his good memory and his interest in helping people. He says that the most difficult experience in his life was dealing with the death of his son when he was 17 years old.