Steve Aguirre was born and raised on Chihuahua Hill in 1934. He attended the Lincoln School where he learned how to speak English. Steve looks back fondly at his youth in Chihuahua Hill.
“I still call it La Cienega de San Vicente, because that’s the way I was brought up…We used to have to go swimming. I laugh because now to me it’s a lot of fun and jokes…It was right down in the arroyo…We used to have boxing matches at the St. Vincent’s Hall…We had some good boxers. I coached a lot of them. It was poor housing. Poor everything. That’s what it was. Thank God that we were able to go to school and educate ourselves and do better for the families. But we learned, to better other people, and to help as much as you can in this world.”
Working from a young age, Steve shined shoes or helped in garages and furniture stores. As a young man, he worked as a police officer in Silver City, eventually becoming a sergeant. Steve and another officer from Chihuahua Hill, Jose Barrios, made an agreement to help the neighborhood kids in whatever way they could. Together, they helped rather than punished the children who got into trouble around town.
“I used to go up to the Capilla. There was no building there. I would park up on top, and I’d open my windows. And at nighttime I would listen. I would hear dogs barking, and they would bark pretty heavy…and the good dogs would guide me to people that were around. And I would stop and talk to them…I would try to talk to them. Give them a warning. And also tell them next time I will take you to your parents and we’ll talk to them.”
After his time as an officer, Stever worked at the Kennecot smelter in Hurley. It was here that members of Local 890 first tried to convince him to run for sheriff. After a few years of turning them down, he finally ran. With their support, and the support of many throughout the county, Steve Aguirre became the first Mexican American Sheriff in Grant County in 1965. This came at a time when there had only ever been a few Hispanics had been admitted into elected positions.
“It was hard, to tell you the truth. I had to go to Las Cruces to the sheriff’s down there, which were good friends of mine. I would learn from the sheriff down in Las Cruces, and ask for their advice, and kind of guide me when I first started. ‘Till I got the hang of it. And then, apparently, I did what I did and it was good. I did like talking to people and trying to help them. I really did."
Steve Aguirre remained Grant County Sheriff for 12 years. Breaking a barrier for an elected position that has been mostly Mexican Americans ever since.
“I’m very proud. Very proud to do what I did…I thank you, all of you, for the support that you had always given me in my lifetime. I feel very, very, very proud.”