If his dad hadn't had a stroke that left Ray Aranda in charge of his family's business at 18, Aranda might have traveled the world in the military, or played college football, or done something else altogether.

If the post-World War II building boom in Santa Fe hadn't created a need for plumbing supplies, Eulogio Aranda may never have started Aranda's Plumbing 10 years after Ray, his son, was born.

And if Ray's wife, Raquel, hadn't died in an accident six years ago, Aranda might not be living literally feet from the plumbing store where he still works, just down Cortez Street from where he grew up.

But Ray Aranda doesn't think about the ifs. Despite the random twists in life, the 74-year-old patriarch of Santa Fe's oldest plumbing business is happy. And grateful.

"My life has been beautiful," he said in a December interview at his family's plumbing store. "I've been blessed."

Ahead of the celebration this year of New Mexico's first 100 years as a state, The New Mexican asked several residents to reflect on their tiny slice of state history. In Aranda's case, it's the story of a man who grew up in the 1940s and '50s, watching his grandpa drive taxis around Santa Fe. It's the story of a man who wanted the red jacket Jimmy Dean wore in Rebel Without a Cause — and got it.

And it's a story of a man who took what life dealt him and made it into something manageable, something that blossomed.

Ten-cent movies and 17-cent gas

Ray Aranda was born in an apartment on Manhattan Street in 1937 to Eulogio and Antonia, who also had a daughter.

World War II was just ending as he was starting his early school years. His first job back then was to sell small flags meant to help with the war effort, for 10 cents apiece.

Tops on his list were riding his bike down to what then was the city dump, and later, hanging out at the Ly'n Bragg hamburger place and truck stop on Cerrillos Road south of town.

Before he was old enough to drive or get too far from home on his own, Ray Aranda spent time playing in the open fields off Cortez Street. Big rabbits still roamed, and sagebrush loomed large.

On good days, he'd get 50 cents from his dad for a movie at the Lensic Theater or El Paseo Theatre, and have money left over for popcorn and a Coke.

On other days, Aranda and his friends tried to break into the golf caddy business at the country club, only to find out it was controlled by young men from Agua Fría village, who didn't want their help.

Later, Aranda spent his time thinking about his first car, a used 1930 Model A.

Aranda had typical teenage thoughts. Running a family business wasn't among them.

But when his dad had a stroke in 1955, that changed.

At 18, Ray, a senior who would graduate from St. Michael's High School a year later, was put in charge of a growing family business.

"I had an obligation," Aranda recalled. "And things were busy."

His father, who began the business in his garage and slowly expanded it by buying property along Cortez Street, would enter rehab and live until 1990.

Handshake deals

During that time, Ray ran the business, learning at some points simply by his mistakes.

"I'd go buy property with just a handshake. ... When I was young and making good money, I got burned a lot," he said, but not in a bitter-about-it way.

Aranda also got turned down for insurance and for loans, until he was 21.

But he pressed on, as the Korean War was coming.

Some of his older friends went away to the war, but as a teenager, Aranda "didn't pay too much attention."

He didn't have time; instead, he was focusing on invoices and customers.

In 1957, he got his first new car, a pink and black Oldsmobile. Gas, as he remembered, was 17 cents a gallon. It climbed to about 22 cents.

By age 20, he was married to Raquel, whom he had met at a basketball game. At first, they lived in a house that now makes up part of the plumbing store, and then they moved to bigger digs.

She helped with the business as much as anyone, and then she was busy with the boys — Nicholas, Chuck and Pat — who were born in the late 1950s and early '60s. The couple were married 48 years before she died.

The boys grew up as the Vietnam War was heating up.

That was an interesting time in Santa Fe, Aranda said. "The hippies," as he called them, surfaced and decided to stay, bringing a new flavor to Santa Fe.

"That was a trend, and it lasted quite a bit."

Then came the civil rights movement, something that took Aranda by surprise.

"In Santa Fe, we hardly had any African Americans," he said. "We didn't know of discrimination. We started to see about it on TV. You see all these things and think, 'This isn't happening in America.' "

As his sons grew up and went to school, Aranda took stock of his life, and of how fortunate he was to be able to pay for an education for his boys.

Back to roots

Raquel died after a parking-lot car accident in 2005. After that, faced with the prospect of living in an empty house out in Eldorado, Ray moved back to town, back to the street his roots grow on.

From just behind the plumbing store, Ray keeps a close eye on the business, and perhaps the business is keeping a closer eye on him, with family members all around.

"It's nice to be so close. I still do whatever it takes, but I can take a break anytime," he said with a smile.

Business is swift, despite the competition from retailers like Home Depot.

Aranda isn't worried about the big boxes.

"We've sort of made a niche to help the do-it-yourself guys. We can share our expertise, and they can fix their own stuff," he said. "They appreciate that they can get professional help but still save a lot of money."

With loyal customers and lifetime friends at the shop, the job is fun for Ray. And no matter what Aranda imagined for his life, this is home. This is his life.

Aranda predicts the business will continue to be the oldest of its kind in Santa Fe.

"We might be around a long time in the future," he said.

As for the next chapter in his story, Aranda said he's in what he calls the third quarter of life, a joke he started with old friends.

"We're just about at the end of the third quarter, and the fourth quarter is coming up, and who knows? I hope it's a good one. The first three have been pretty good, so this one should be, too."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog at www.greenchilechatter.com.