By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
Every sign tells a story, and for nearly 60 years, Antonio Partida has been helping tell Del Rio one sign at a time.
The City of Del Rio’s Streets & Drainage Department maintains more than 218 miles of city streets. If you’ve found a city street sign, parked in a municipal lot or visited one of Del Rio’s parks, you’ve probably seen Partida’s work without ever knowing his name.
Today, if a sign in Del Rio was made by the city instead of the Texas Department of Transportation, there’s a good chance Partida built it.
On Aug. 3, the City of Del Rio honored Partida for 60 years of service with the Streets & Drainage Department, a career that began under heartbreaking circumstances but grew into a lifetime of quiet dedication.
Partida graduated from Del Rio High School in May 1966. Just weeks later, his father was killed in a work-related accident while employed by the city.
A city official offered the 18-year-old graduate a job in any department he wanted and he chose the streets department.
“I really didn’t think about it,” Partida said when asked whether he ever felt he was carrying on his father’s legacy. “But that’s really what it ended up being.”
Partida began as a laborer before becoming a truck driver and later a heavy equipment operator. About 45 years ago, he moved into the city’s sign department, where he found the job he would spend the rest of his career doing.
He’s worked through three generations of sign-making. Every sign was once done by hand before silk-screening became the next major advancement. Today, the process is computer-based.
“When I started, it would take hours to make a sign,” Partida said. “The computer really made a change in how we made the signs, and I really liked it. The computer made it easy for me, and I really liked making the signs for the city.”
During a ceremony recognizing his six decades of service, Partida admitted being the center of attention isn’t something that comes naturally.
When a Human Resources Department representative asked Partida to come up and share his thoughts, true to his style, he kept it to about 42 seconds.
“I’d like to thank everybody who showed up,” he said. “It was a surprise for me. I’m not really used to being in the limelight. I usually stay behind the scenes. What really kept me going is I liked what I was doing.”
City staff tried to trick him by telling him there was a meeting at 3 p.m., but it was really going to be a surprise party. The trick was on them, however, because they forgot Partida always shows up early. He rolled in at 2:30 p.m., and they had to send him to an “interview” in a back office so they could finish setting up the surprise.
Gilbert Macias, superintendent of the city’s Streets & Drainage Department, said Partida has become someone coworkers can always count on.
“He knows everything, what to do,” Macias said. “I really don’t have to tell him what to do. He has his own routine.”
That routine starts before most people arrive.
“He’s here every day, probably 15 minutes early,” Macias said. “Every day. He beats me in the mornings.”
Macias said Partida has made nearly every city-produced sign residents see around town.
“Every city sign, he’s made them,” Macias said. “Even at the airport. We’ve made signs for the schools and parks, too.”
At 78 years old, Partida has been married to his wife, Oralia, for 56 years. Together they have one daughter and two grandchildren.
As coworkers celebrated his milestone with cake and refreshments, city officials also recognized the role Partida’s family has played over the years. It will be awhile before there is another 60-year anniversary, as the employee with the next most tenure with the city has almost 43 years of service.
“Without your support, he wouldn’t be here today,” one city official told Partida’s wife and children. “It really does take a village to support one person going to work.”
Partida said all of the employees who started alongside him have long since retired, and many of those who started after him have retired as well.
He doesn’t really see retirement as a big option.
“What would I do?” he said. “This is what keeps me going.”
For 60 years, he has shown up early, done his job and left his mark on Del Rio one sign at a time.
