Ben Cruz Gamboa
9 Dec 1909
bornTempe, Arizona, USA
SchooltblData
BiographyHe was born in an adobe house north of the Hayden Flour Mill.Attended the Eighth Street School, the Tenth Street School, and Tempe High School, but he did not graduate from high school, as he had to go to work to help suport his parents. Worked as a hay baler at the Tom Hughes Ranch. Later worked under the WPA in the 1930s as a cement finisher. In 1934, he joined the CCC Camp at Papago Park and was sent to do clean up work at the Grand Canyon. In 1938, he and his brother, Mike, were transferred to Florence, Arizona, where they worked on building government housing. They always carried their mandolin and guitar with them wherever they went and earned extra money as musicians. The five Gamboa brothers formed a band that was quite popular in the 1930s and '40s. They played at weddings, fiestas, etc. In 1939, they were asked to play for the dedication of the Rough Riders monument in Prescott.
He also worked as a security guard at the Maricopa County Court House.
He was the first president of the Escalante Senior Center, and served as a volunteer bus driver.
Lived on First Street in 1910.
BIO-Gamboa
Gamboa family, genealogy notes
Federal census (Tempe), 1910
David Cruz Gamboa obit, AR, Nov 1992
Person TypeIndividual
