The first Little Cowpuncher was created at Redington School in November, 1932, written and illustrated by the entire student body of seven boys and four girls. The name of the paper was the idea of one of the students, Gareth Bingham.

Tilly and Ray Valdez, October 2002

Reynaldo Valdez, in the second grade, and his sister Otilia (Tilly), six years old and in the first grade, attended Redington School along with their brothers and sisters. In the March 15, 1933 issue, Eulalia Bourne wrote these words about Tilly. "Tilly (christened Otilia) is dignified and reserved. Armistice Day she got up at four o'clock, endured the long cold early drive to town, marched in the parade, visited the San Xavier Mission in the noon, and arrived home at eleven at night--without a single complaint or reproof. She has brown wavy hair. Her eyes sparkle with under-standing."

Read their Little Cowpuncher contributions and view Ray's illustrations. Ray (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9); Tilly (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

Ray and Tilly Valdez were interviewed at their home in Tucson, October 9, 2002.

Ray and Tilly describe family experiences on the ranch [04:44 RealPlayer QuickTime] memories of Eulalia Bourne, sibblings at the school, and the Little Cowpuncher newsletter [04:55 RealPlayer]; talk about school trips, including their first trip to Mt. Lemmon [04:02 RealPlayer QuickTime]; Christmas festivities, fiestas and dances, and how Mrs. Bourne taught them to square dancing [03:54 RealPlayer QuickTime];