More about Johnny

We were introduced to Johnny Aguirre, and then learned a little about his entrepreneuring ways. Now we get the rest of the story.

Service Station - 1955
photo courtesy of flickr

Firestone Service Station The filling station attendant started to service a car when he heard the cash register clang and he saw a small boy run out of the office and north on Routt Avenue. He yelled for another employee to finish his job, and he took off after the boy.

Johnny ran to the corner and then through the schoolyard and over the fence, down the alley between Routt and Spruce. Part way down the alley he climbed up on another fence and looked to see the man chasing him.

As the man got close, Johnny jumped down into the yard. The man jumped over the fence only to come face to face with a great big dog! So he quickly climbed back up on the fence and looked across the yard. There was Johnny sitting on top of the fence on the other side of the yard, with a big smile on his face! Johnny dropped down on the other side and disappeared.

Zenith Royal 500B Radio - 1956
photo courtesy of flickr

Johnny found a Radio One day Johnny had a real nice little radio at school. I asked him where he got it and he said he found it in the alley between Northern Avenue and Jones Avenue, near the bridge over the railroad tracks.

Out of curiosity I asked him to show me where he found it. In the alley the stores in Bessemer run right back to the alley with unfinished brick walls on the alley. He took me part way down the alley and reached up about 3 to 4 feet high and removed a brick. There was a space behind the brick and that is where he “found” the radio.

I thought it was a nice place to hide things, especially “loot” which could not be taken home!

Pullman in Pueblo Colorado - 1955
photo courtesy of flickr

Jungle Hideout
On many occasions Johnny would not go home at night. The next morning his sister (who was 12 years older than he) would call the school to see if he was at school. Sometimes he would come to school after being out in “the jungle” all night. He was always dirty and smelled like the campfire he would have had going. Sometimes he would get food from home or steal some, and so he wasn’t always hungry.

After this happened a few times, his sister would call me in the evening and I would go look for him; usually I would not find him. I would always go to his “jungle hideout” first. This was a wooded area over by where the railroad tracks go to the steel mill. It was all cleared out when they extended I-25 highway through the area. It was a hobo jungle and I am sure that he conned many of them into feeding him at times. He probably took them things that he had pilfered from the nearby stores. If that were to happen today, I would fear for his life!