A supersized family reunion

BARSTOW — The family tree of the Baca-Montoya family has a few more branches than most.

Longtime residents Casimiro Baca and Maria Montoya moved to Barstow shortly after World War II from Magdelena , N.M. and raised their 19 children — 10 boys and nine girls — in Barstow. After graduating high school, many of the children took jobs locally, and raised their families in a cluster of 12 homes on Leona Street — so many that some residents refer to the area as “Baca flats.”

Four generations of Casimiro Baca’s family — more than 300 members — gathered in Barstow this weekend to reminisce about growing up in the city.

One of Casimiro Baca’s granddaughters, Mary Baca Bilsborough, said she didn’t mind growing up in such a large family.

“It was always neat that we were never alone,” she said. “I don’t know of too many families as large as ours in Barstow.”

Baca-Bilsborough had plenty of company growing up — she has 87 first cousins — and the family counts 357 living members. Many never left Barstow and continued the family tradition of working with the Santa Fe railroad or at the Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow. Others served in the military. Some became artists and teachers.

Baca-Bilsborough said that despite the large size of the family most members have managed to stay close through the years.

“I think it’s cultural. It’s about family unity, to have that connection,” she said.

She said that the family’s cultural heritage — her ancestors emigrated from Spain to America in the 1600s — emphasizes family closeness and commitment to the Catholic faith.

Baca-Bilsborough said most of the family has stayed faithful to the religion and one member, Father Juan Montoya, joined the clergy.

He gave mass at St. Joseph’s church on Saturday for the family.

Patricio Baca, one of Casimiro Baca’s 10 sons, grew up in Barstow but has since returned to New Mexico.

He said he remembers when the Mojave River occasionally flowed with “a trickle of water” and after heavy rains when major flooding left overturned farming implements buried in the sand.

He said the biggest change he’s seen in the city is fewer stores and fewer shoppers. He remembers when El Rancho motel teemed with travelers and when Route 66 visitors crowded shops on Main Street.

“It’s not as busy as it used to be; it seems a lot less prosperous now,” he said.

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(760) 256-4126 or jason_smith@link.freedom.com