Dew on the Thorn seeks to recreate the life of Texas Mexicans as Anglo culture gradually encroached upon them. González, a former president of the Texas Folklore Society, provides us with a richly detailed portrait of the ranch life of the Olivares clan of South Texas, focusing on the cultural traditions of Texas Mexicans at a time when the divisions of class and race were pressing on the established way of life.
JOVITA GONZÁLEZ (1904-1983) was born in Roma, Texas to rancher parents. She briefly taught in a small border town in Texas, but left due to the strife of the Mexican Revolution. She received her BA from Our Lady of the Lake in 1927, and went on to receive her Master’s from the University of Texas in 1930. She taught Spanish and Texas History at W.B. Ray High school in Corpus Christi until her retirement in 1967. She died of natural causes in 1983.
