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A general view of Acme Mine buildings, and a view of a group of men in respirator equipment lined up in front of mine buildings.

Dolores Silva is a long-time resident of Lafayette, Colorado. She was born at home in Denver in 1929 with the assistance of a midwife. Her mother was from Taos, New Mexico; she was part American Indian, and when orphaned as a child was raised by the Taos Indians. She came to Denver and met Dolores' father, a professional baseball player. When they divorced, their other children were sent to an orphanage, but Dolores was a baby and stayed with her mother and stepfather. Her father and her husband worked as coal miners in the winters and did construction in the summers. She discusses safety issues in the mines. Joe Jaramillo, who was killed in the Monarch Mine explosion, was a relative. Dolores went to school in Denver and did well but did not graduate because she had to go to work. She and her husband, Manuel, have been married and lived in Lafayette for 68 years. Manuel mentions working for the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) around the time of the Depression. Dolores worked for Walmart and then NeoData. She describes good relations between Mexicans and Italians in Lafayette, her son's service in Vietnam, and the importance of the VFW post as a social center.