Miguel A. Torres
Parker - La Paz County
Inducted in 2009
To quote his daughter Alicia, Miguel A. Torres has lived the American Dream. He came to the United States from Mexico in 1963 when he was about 12 or 13 years old. Through the ensuing years, he worked hard in his chosen field of agriculture, became a U.S. citizen, started his own business, and made a difference in his community.
Miguel's love affair with the land began as a little boy in Mexico. "By the time I was eight or nine, I was helping my grandmother out in the mountains," he remembers. "She had some cattle. She and her nephew did the milking. I didn't help with that. We were out there in the middle of nowhere. No power, no nothing. I would go out there for weeks. When she finally made enough cheese and other things from the milk, I would go down on a donkey to sell those to town." By the time Miguel came to the United States, he was already plowing behind a team of mules. "They made men and women out of you way before your time," he said. "But I wouldn't change it for the world. I have the fondest memories of my youth, of everything I did with my grandmother."
Moving the entire family from Mexico to the U.S. took time. Miguel's father came first. His employer gave him the necessary support and paperwork to immigrate in 1960. In 1963, he brought his wife and Miguel's sister to the United States. The four boys stayed behind with their grandparents until their father could reunite the family in 1965. The rest of his siblings were born in this country.
The Torres family settled in the Parker area. "I went into the fifth grade. That's the grade I was in at home," he said. "I didn't know one word of English. By the end of the school year, I had communicated with everybody." Miguel disapproves of how non-English speakers are taught in the schools nowadays. "They have all these ESL teachers. They are making it too easy for the kids not to learn. They cater too much to them instead of putting them in a situation where they must know." Miguel could attend school through the eighth grade, but conditions at home made it necessary for him to drop out in the ninth grade to help support his family. That didn't stop him from working hard and obtaining his U.S. citizenship.
He worked for Bruce Church, a large farming corporation, for a time, but he left to work at a gas station. A couple of months later, when he was offered a job for 35 cents an hour more, he went to work for one of the men who had contracted cotton pickers for Bruce Church. He had seen Miguel earlier and knew that he was a hard worker. The days were long. Miguel worked 16 hours a day, six days a week. It was cold and hard work, but he said, "You learn a lot from those experiences. It makes you who you are." He worked for the company for one cotton-picking season and then went to work at Fresh Pick, where his father was employed. At first, he worked on irrigation and did odd jobs, but his burning desire was to drive the tractors. His timing was just right. He started work just when they were beginning to harvest wheat. They needed all the equipment for the operation, so Miguel was put on a tractor and sent into the fields. From there, he moved up to become an assistant to the foreman, then foreman, and finally, he was promoted to manager. This journey was not without its challenges, but Miguel's determination and hard work saw him through.
Miguel met Maria Guadalupe (Lupe) in 1973. The couple married in 1974. In 1989, Miguel decided to quit his job and strike himself alone. "It wasn't an easy decision to reach," he recalls. "I had five kids. Where I was, they supplied me with a home, paid the utilities, and gave me a car to drive." He knew he had made the right decision, but things weren't always easy. There were terrible years, but he also had good years. He received a little over $35,000 in a pension fund when Blythe Farms went out of business and the pension plan from the company he had worked for, but at least half of that went to buy a tractor and one disc. A local banker trusted Miguel and loaned him the money he needed to get started. Initially, he just had around 67 acres, but he added to his holdings year by year. Today, he has 1450 acres of land and manages another 1500 acres of custom farming. He has another 1500 acres of custom work on the side, harvesting hay.
Over the years, he has grown cotton, alfalfa, and sudan grass, and recently, he has gotten into the cattle business in a small way. He has Limousins and Black Angus and says going out and looking at them is relaxing. Miguel's success in the agricultural field, from growing various crops to venturing into cattle farming, is a testament to his expertise and dedication to his work.
A man who gives back to his community, Miguel has volunteered with the La Paz County Farm Bureau for years and served as its president for five years. The Bureau supports the local FFA chapter, helps with the County Fair, and provides an annual Christmas dinner for people experiencing homelessness. Miguel's dedication to his community is a testament to his character and a source of inspiration for others.
Miguel also served on the board of the La Paz County Fair and held the position of president for two years. While building the new fairgrounds, Miguel volunteered his time, effort, and equipment to help make the dream a reality.
Miguel and Lupe have five children, three girls and two boys, and many grandchildren. He is semi-retired, but his legacy continues as one of his sons takes over the management of the farming operation.
Affiliations
La Paz County Farm Bureau- Board Member and President for 5 years
La Paz County Fair Association - Board Member, President, two terms, Fair Manager since 2005
