History Colorado

Six kids, including Bertha and Vera Valenzuela and Darlene Gallegos, pose in front of a car in Dog Patch

The Dog Patch that the residents describe changes over time in many ways. We can see the technology in their pictures and hear about how neighbors got along. Many of those interviewed remembered a time before the roads were paved. Lenny Sanchez remembered how drastic the change was after he returned home from military service.

For Lenny Sanchez, cars were especially important because they gave him a way to connect to his community. 

Listen to Lenny's oral history from 40:10 to 41:15. His words are written out below.

It’s like I said earlier, I used to work on cars here a lot, and it brought me close to a lot of people here. Older people, they needed help with their cars or something. They’d come to me, and we’d work things out. And they’d sit around, and they’d have coffee with me while I work on their car or a beer or whatever. And it was just a laid back time. And everybody was different, but everybody was fun here, the people I knew. And when I got sick, I had to give that up, and it was kind of hard. 

Then I remember one year for hunting season - I think it was ‘82, 1982 - everybody was laid off, and they didn’t have money. They come: “Can you check my truck before I go?” This and that. 

Changing Times

Many primary sources from Dog Patch show or tell about the activities people did for fun. In their pictures, kids play with kites and pinatas or make snowmen. Music and art helped connect the neighborhood through shared culture. Sports like basketball and cheer, and holidays like Halloween, Memorial BBQs, Christmas, and the 4th of July are often pictured. 
The St. Anne’s Festival was a community wide event that everyone played a part in. Some residents believe events like this will be how they are able to make their community stronger today. 

Fun in Dog Patch

What does the name Dog Patch have to do with life in the neighborhood? Longtime resident Thelma Moore explains that Dog Patch was the name of a movie and that the neighborhood got the nickname because people used to drop their dogs off there when they didn’t want them anymore. She told a story of how her mother insisted she call the neighborhood its official name, Eiler’s Heights. A 2006 Pueblo Chieftain article says it was named Dog Patch because of the lack of sewer and electricity services in the early days of the neighborhood.
No matter what the reason it’s named Dog Patch, many dogs are featured in pictures of the early neighborhood. If photographs were much more difficult to take, like they used to be, what would you take a picture of when you had the chance?

What's In a Name

Take a tour around the Dog Patch neighborhood to see some of its most important locations. If you made a map of your neighborhood, what would you include?

Around the Neighborhood

Sam Guerrero, Juanita Guerrero’s father, receiving a plaque from the Pueblo County District Attorney Jeff Chostner in honor of his life long service to the community (2009)

Activism in Dog Patch

Many residents remember the importance of religion in Dog Patch. Religious events like baptisms, weddings, communions, and funerals were reasons for the whole community to get together. Listen to the clip linked below from an oral history interview with sisters Elaine Madrid, Marsha Montoya, and Priscilla Hernandez. Then add in speech or thought bubbles to this picture of Elaine and Priscilla to imagine what they might have been thinking about as little girls preparing for Easter.

Religion in Dog Patch

Use this timeline to explore how Dog Patch has changed over time.

Dog Patch Over the Years

Sylvia Fransua’s family in their home in Dog Patch, with many other family photos hung on the wall behind them (2006)

Family in Dog Patch

Dog Patch is a neighborhood in the East Side of Pueblo, CO, founded in the 1950s. Its majority Hispanic and economically disadvantaged residents live there still, advocating for fair treatment and working to combat stereotypes about their community. In many ways, the themes discussed by Dog Patch residents reflect other majority-Hispanic communities across Colorado.

Nuestras Historias: Mexican American/Chicano/Latino Histories in Denver

Resource Kits

Object Library

Museums

Dog Patch- Exploring Change in a Colorado Hispanic Community

Changing Times

Background Knowledge