Early Years
Born Carmen Contreras in 1919, she was the oldest of three siblings. She was born and raised in the town of Cayey, Puerto Rico, located in the central mountains of the island, where she attended elementary school.
Her mother, Lila Baudilia Lugo Torres, moved the family to New York City in search of a better way of life. In New York, Contreras attended Julia Richman High School and, upon graduation, worked for the National Youth Administration. After taking and passing a Civil Service test, Contreras worked for the War Department in Washington, D.C. as a payroll clerk.
Read more about this topic: Carmen Contreras-Bozak
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or years:
“On the Coast of Coromandel
Where the early pumpkins blow,
In the middle of the woods
Lived the Yonghy-Bonghy-Bo.
Two old chairs, and half a candle,—
One old jug without a handle,—
These were all his worldly goods:
In the middle of the woods,”
—Edward Lear (1812–1888)
“In most nineteenth-century cities, both large and small, more than 50 percent—and often up to 75 percent—of the residents in any given year were no longer there ten years later. People born in the twentieth century are much more likely to live near their birthplace than were people born in the nineteenth century.”
—Stephanie Coontz (20th century)