Santos S. Garza

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Santos S. Garza, a man Del Rio remembers as Don Santos, the Father of San Felipe Schools. Now let me tell you how that title got earned.

Santos S. Garza was born on November 2, 1881, somewhere along the border, the marker giving you two choices: Piedras Negras or Eagle Pass. The exact birthplace may be up for debate, but what he built from there is not.

He came to Del Rio in 1898, and he did not come empty-handed for long. The man built an empire out of sheer determination, owning a theater, a general store, a dairy, a pharmacy, a ranch, and a bar. That is not a résumé, that is a whole town's worth of enterprise under one man's name.

On January 3, 1901, he married Jesusita Menchaca Galindo, and together they raised five children and adopted a sixth. Don Santos was planting roots in every direction. But here is where the story shifts from impressive to important.

In 1928, Del Rio Independent School District moved to annex the San Felipe area. Now, annexation might sound like paperwork, but what it really meant was control, and control of schools means control of a community's future. Garza stood against it.

He prevailed. The annexation was prevented, and the San Felipe area kept greater authority over its own schools. That was 1928.

Then came the next chapter. Garza led the movement toward something lasting, and on August 21, 1929, the San Felipe Independent School District was created. A community, its own district, its own future.

Santos S. Garza died on July 25, 1936, but the schools he fought to protect kept right on going. That is why they called him the Father of San Felipe Schools, and that title, unlike a birth certificate, is not up for debate.

What the marker says

SANTOS S. GARZA, ALSO KNOWN AS “DON SANTOS” OR “FATHER OF SAN FELIPE SCHOOLS,” WAS BORN NOV. 2, 1881 IN EITHER PIEDRAS NEGRAS OR EAGLE PASS. HE CAME TO DEL RIO IN 1898 WHERE HE OWNED NUMEROUS BUSINESSES INCLUDING A THEATER, GENERAL STORE, DAIRY, PHARMACY, RANCH AND BAR. HE MARRIED JESUSITA MENCHACA GALINDO ON JAN. 3, 1901, AND THEY HAD FIVE CHILDREN AND ADOPTED A SIXTH. GARZA WAS A CIVIC LEADER WHO IS BEST REMEMBERED FOR PREVENTING THE ANNEXATION OF THE SAN FELIPE AREA BY DEL RIO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT IN 1928, ALLOWING HIS COMMUNITY GREATER CONTROL OF ITS SCHOOLS, AND FOR HIS LEADERSHIP IN THE MOVEMENT TOWARDS CREATING THE SAN FELIPE I.S.D. ON AUG. 21, 1929. GARZA DIED JUL. 25, 1936.