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INTERNET NEWSLETTER OF THE ALUMNI OF LANAO CHUNG HUA SCHOOL
Vol. II - No. 39, January 18, 1999, Iligan City, Philippines

LCHS SPECTRUM
Founded Aug. 1, 1968.
Published weekly since its
revival on April 15, 1997. 
Distributed free by e-mail 
to LCHS alumni, friends, 
andsupporters worldwide. 
Postal address:
LCHS Alumni Association 
Lanao Chung Hua School
Pala-o, Iligan City,
Philippines
For subscription,
Contact Johnny T. Chen
Tel. No. (063) 221-3883 
E-mail address:   
johnchen@iligan.com
Articles & comments may
be addressed to:
charlesy@durian.usc.edu.ph
 
HISTORICAL RARITIES
Vintage LCHS photos unearthed

The Spectrum recently unearthed a rare collection of vintage photos of the old LCHS sufficient enough to instill an aura of nostalgia and revive fond memories of the alma mater's jaded past. These relics provide close-up glimpses of LCHS campus superstars and cultural talents of the good old days. One of these latest discoveries shows the LCHS Glee Club in action in 1962, featured in this issue's "Flashback" section. Other equally interesting photos depict the LCHS dance troupes of 1949 and the 1960s. Another rarity is a photo of the Chinese Class of 1963 under John Liu, taken during class hour on the second floor of the old high school building. Selected copies of these relics are now available for viewing on our home page under the headings "Stars of LCHS" and "Vintage Photos '60s" on this web site: http://www.iligan.com/~lchs/alumni/

New Spectrum subscribers

At the close of the year, several alumni stationed in different locations have been added to the Spectrum's growing list of subscribers. They are Dr. Augusto "Chu Kok" Sy (Batch '62), California, U.S.A.; Ellen Co (Batch '58), U.S.A.; Giovanni Co (Batch '71), Cagayan de Oro; Hazel Dy-Henry (Batch '96), Manila; Honey Dy-Henry (Batch '98), U.S.A.; Robert Booc (Batch '84), Iligan; Robinson Siao, Manila; and Jasper Lim, Iligan.

STAFF
 Editors
Charles O. Sy
Henry L. Yu
Correspondents
Iligan:
Johnny Chen
Santiago Ong
Teresita Racines
Alfred Lai II
Cebu:
Igdono Caracho
Canada:
Peter Dy
Mike Lee
Australia:
Leonardo Tan
U.S.A.:
Ernesto Yu
Alex Rodriguez
Aurora Tansiokhian
 
New water dam to rise soon in Iligan

Iligan City will soon get its supply of water from Ditucalan.  A new impounding dam is being constructed at the Ditucalan Spring some 13 kms. from the city.  The multi-million peso project is expected to be completed soon, according to the Iligan City Waterworks System. The project, however, still requires 24-inch pipes to accommodate the volume of water coming in.  The existing 16- and 18-inch pipes are not enough for the over 20,000 gallons of water per minute coming out of the spring. The structure is being constructed by Gersan Construction.


New Members

More alumni have recently joined the LCHS Alumni Association. The latest additions are Edgar S. Lim, a CPA, Mindar Trading Corp., Cagayan de Oro City; Leonila Kuan Zorilla, Inday Store, Central Market, Iligan City; Precila Kwan Ano-os, bank teller, Bank of P.I., Iligan City; Grace Dy Marcelo, asst. manager, Allied Banking Corp., Makati, Metro Manila; Arthur Y. Dy, M.D., physician - ENT, Chung Hua Medical Center, Cebu City;; Jane D. Co Kiong, office manager, Malabon Long Life Trading Corp., Malabon, Metro Manila; and David Y. Dy, M.D., surgeon, St. Luke's Medical Center, Makati, Metro Manila.


How about a Spectrum reunion?
Tue, 11 Jan 1999 22:01:00

I never realized how much work is involved in putting up the weekly Spectrum until I had a chat with the top guns (top gone?) of the staff during Ernie Yu's recent visit. A weekly publication seems to be too frequent for an alumni newsletter. I can't imagine how the staff has been able to perform this feat for the past one year and a half. Why not change the frequency to a monthly newsletter instead of weekly? This should help ease the work load of the staff. That way, too, we can also expect more pages in each monthly issue. Another insight I picked up at the gathering with Ernie and the editors was the idea of staging a "Spectrum Night" at our grand alumni reunion. This sounds like a good idea for staff members who are stationed in different farflung places to get together.  With so many talents within the Spectrum staff, the "Spectrum Night" should be a hit.  In case the grand alumni homecoming does not materialize in year 2000, I think the idea of a Spectrum get-together (either in Iligan or Cebu) should be pursued.

Roderick L. Ngo (Batch '70), Cebu, Philippines
westside@mozcom.com

* * * * *
Witnessing for our Lord
Mon, 28 Dec 1998 22:45:35 -0800

In my nine years, I have met many struggles in life. Yet I'm thankful to God for giving me this life. I have three sisters and five brothers. On the last night of 1998, my brother Jackson called up to greet me over the phone. The gesture moved me as his sister and that through our life, there is a God, my friend, the Lord Jesus Christ. I have a husband who is very busy with our business. So busy that sometimes he forgets his wife and three children; he much prefers his friends because he is a businessman. But I know that he does what he does for our sake and he has our welfare in his mind when he does his work. My three children are the treasures of my life. The first-born is kind and friendly to people. My difficulty is my second child, but I love him still. And the sweetest is the youngest, since his childhood he has cared for me. And my close friends, like Ma'am Erlinda de Luna. She is tutoring me in my Bible Study. Praise God, Lord Jesus Christ for giving me a difficult but precious life.

Jeanne Nacague Te (Ong Chin Chin), Iligan, Philippines


Will there really be a grand alumni reunion?

With the year 2000 looming in the horizon, the idea of a year 2000 grand LCHS alumni homecoming & reunion has surfaced anew. Will there be such a grand reunion? Is such a prospect ever possible at all? Are our alumni really interested in a grand reunion? To test the waters once more, this forum has been revived for all alumni to contribute and ventilate their ideas about the grand homecoming proposal. The following are excerpts of the discussions published in the Spectrum last year:

Year 2000 grand reunion: Good idea
By David Y. Dy, M.D. (Batch '73), Spectrum, Feb. 2, 1998

A grand reunion for LCHS in the Year 2000 is a good idea, as expressed in the LCHS Spectrum. I haven't been to Iligan City for almost twenty years already, but I want to visit it again. My wife and children haven't been there yet, so they are naturally curious as to what my "hometown" looks like. I'd also like to meet my old classmates. Some of them, like Farley Sy and Felisa Khu, are in Iligan, but most are probably elsewhere. An updated directory listing will be useful in planning this event.

Time to plan for grand reunion
By Leonardo Tan (Batch '66), Spectrum, Feb. 16, 1998

Is there a definite plan already for the Grand Reunion in July 2000?  By this time, our LCHS alumni association should have a committee already handling this.  They have to consider alumni from far away places overseas who have to plan their visit to Iligan way ahead.  For example, I might plan to spend Christmas in Iligan in 1999.  Instead, because of the Grand Reunion I might as well move it to July 2000. Then comes July 2000, the event is cancelled!

Make it a three-day affair
By Peter L. Dy (Batch '66), Spectrum, March 2, 1998

For the proposed Grand Homecoming 2000 to be truly memorable and meaningful, I suggest that we make it a three-day reunion affair.  The first day will be for registration; second day for the grand reunion ball with formal attire, exclusively for grown-ups only; and the third day for the alumni family picnic and fellowship.

Dateline BuffaloErnesto Yu
By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D., Batch '65

Year-End's Best, Part 2

Best Sherlock Holmes: Peter Dy did so much investigative scratch-work for me for de nada. His honorary underground probes netted scores of case-closed in my lifetime. In our last face-to-face contact, Pe Tek was masterfully aiming to pour his odes to love on current mate-for-life Tita (thank God, he embarked on improving his race) in between shuffling pencils and drawing boards.

Best Man of All Seasons: No one can surpass Henry's Sentimental Journey on this category. He snagged the trophy way before the wrinkles of organizing a search committee were ironed out. His obsessive resuscitation of the charmed hours and exquisite moments in memory lane, his reconstruction in minute details of the ancient images of rhapsodic beauty, his incessant fanning of the unadulterated and stress-free sweetness of '60s air sting our spirits to invoke on a journey to an era of short pants and soaked diapers. Gosh, his litany of nostalgic prettification educates one in the art of extracting the simple joy of wading in the waves, the energizing thuds of basking in the glows of rainbows and sunsets, the splendor of murmuring sweet nothings into the wind ... till you are down on your very knees pleading for the absolutely mystifying state of grace of such sublime pilgrimage into the vibrant legacy of yesteryears.

Best Online Stinger: Edmonton's nearsighted marvel Mike Lee scored a harsh shock that jarred our minds to recoil in sheer amazement. He addressed me and Verna as "doctor and doctora." For Pete's sake, trim off those formalities, Mickey. Frame us as plain human and pals. After a lightning-quick corrective process, I recaptured my coveted Dodong nickname. And I ceased baptizing him as "Gong Ti."

Best Spectrum News Item: The advanced leak of my Cebu visit by editor extraordinaire Charles Sy. It bounced the data to intimate relatives who mapped the precise moon and stars to sacrifice their backyard pets for the lavish feast of the century. Likewise, it forewarned hordes of "pseudo-cousins" when to proclaim their red blood-kinship that amounts to a liberal pasalubong in one of our pregnant balikbayan boxes. Furthermore, the bulletin tipped off my wrinkly band of aspirin-popping fans when to bouy up their spirits and swap pleasantries with the dwarf sensation of their broken dreams of decades ago. In fact, the moment I touched down on the Mactan tarmac (where was the sniper?) everyone instantly recognized and expected me, especially the Immigration officer who waved an obvious dismay over processing an American passport holder of my stature (United States also breed white midgets, wiseass!).

Leonardo Tan
By Leonardo "Eddie" Tan, Batch '66

North America in 30 Days - A Paradise Island

We woke up even earlier in our second day in Vancouver. Our Vancouver Island tour would commence at 7:30 a.m. We had a different driver today. The medium size bus was full this time. Again we were all Chinese in the group and the driver had to speak in 3 languages as well. Because of the ferry crossing, precise time was a very critical factor. The driver made a lengthy explanation about this and requested us to set our watches and it was 8:08. First in Cantonese, then in Mandarin and by the time he translated it in halting English it was already 8:12. Yet he was still literally translating his original time of 8:08! He was already almost 5 minutes late. Synchronize?

It was a public holiday in Canada and the USA, being their Labor Day and there was less traffic in the streets. We were running late because of too many pick ups and our driver was driving like mad toward the ferry terminal. Imagine being late by a few minutes and the next ferry would be 2 hours later. It was a good thing that we were able to take the 9:30 a.m. ferry named "Spirit of Vancouver Island." A huge vessel with 6 decks which could accommodate around 450 vehicles and about 2,200 passengers. The ferry crossing would take 90 minutes. The ferry system here employs perhaps more traffic personnel than a small city like Iligan. The main attraction here was The Butchart Garden which was our first stop. We came in the right season of the year when all the flowers were really blooming. A paradise in splendor! The 75 minutes stop allotment was simply not enough to admire this wonderful place. After lunch in a Chinese restaurant, we toured the town of Victoria, which is the capital of British Columbia. It is very European. I enjoyed the wonderful sight around the quay area. The horse carriages, the Parliament Building, a 5 star hotel which was more like a castle, the boats on the sea, the colorful gardens just made a perfect chemistry for a breathtaking view. Our last stop was the "Mile 0" just up the road where all the road networks of Canada originate. We took the 5 p.m. ferry for our return trip. This time it was named "Spirit of Victoria" with a bigger dining room. The driver again asked for $5 tip from each one of us. No longer aghast as before, instead I was now thinking of changing my job.

The following day, Sept. 8, and we had to fly back to Los Angeles. I was quite apprehensive that our Air Canada tickets might encounter some more problems with Canadian Airlines so we were more than 2 hours early than our flight for check-in. My worries proved me wrong. It was a smooth process even with the Immigration and Customs formalities which were already done by the US authorities at the Vancouver International Airport. We took off at around 1 p.m. after about 40 minutes delay. After a little less than 3 hours we landed at LA International. It was again a little warmer. And cousin Andrew was there to welcome us. The last time I saw Andrew was when he was just a young boy of 7 who acted as our coin bearer in our wedding! At last we were back to our first stop 4 weeks prior. We had come full circle of our North American tour.

Sentimental JourneyHenry Yu
By Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69

The Sinulog Season

It's 1999 - the last of the 20th century, just before we welcome another year of the next millennium. For those of us born 1980, Sinulog '99 is a nineteener's commemoration of life. We thank the Lord for giving us the chance to be a witness to all the events that took place the past century.

Here in Cebu, our festive celebrations seem endless.  We start the Yuletide Season as early as September when we start hearing Christmas songs and carols being played by some radio stations. After Halloween, department stores would start displaying arrays of Christmas ornaments, greeting cards, etc.  Three months of excitement and thrills with us awaiting the final touchdown - the Christmas Day on the 25th of December, after which we await the coming of the new year, with thanksgiving in our hearts for all the blessings we have received the past year, and planning anew for the incoming year.  As far as Cebu is concerned, the 3rd Sunday of January is one big event which we celebrate in honor of our beloved Patron, Señor Santo Niño, in a festivity called Sinulog.

When was the first Sinulog held? What prompted organizers to come up with this celebration? What is the significance of Sinulog in our lives? How was it celebrated in the 80s? Where were we at that time? These are just some of the things we ask ourselves each time the Sinulog Season is here.

I remember it was in 1980 when the first Sinulog took place in the "Queen City of the South." I was then a resident physician, relatively fresh from finishing my medical course. Definitely, the celebration then was more naive compared to the succeeding ones, improving and getting better each year with some modifications in terms of the mardi gras, routes of the parade, the traffic and congestion, the litterings, fun and frolic.  There were laughters and fun in the streets as people put marks on the faces of strangers with black charcoal or red lipstick. Some got irritated, while others enjoyed the experience to the max being part of the celebration. There were also people joining the fun, drunk and haggard due to excessive heat and exhaustion. The floats and higantes were just as magnificent to the sight as the dances executed by the contestants/participants in their colorful costumes, all to the tune of "Pit Senyor kang Nanay kini, Pit Senyor kang Tatay kini..."

The long procession took place on a Saturday before the feast day, with the mardi gras starting early Sunday morning with the contenders assembling themselves at Fort San Pedro passing through Juan Luna St. (now Osmeña Blvd.) onwards to Jones Avenue (now also called Osmeña Blvd.), then to Fuente Osmeña, Mango Avenue (now General Maxilom Avenue), and culminating at the reclamation area. A whole day of fun, excessive sweating, thirst, physical exhaustion, and being suntanned were all experienced by those of us who participated in the funfare.  But one thing's sure: We all enjoyed the celebration.  And we looked forward to another Sinulog event year after year after year.

How time really flies!  Nineteen years after the very first Sinulog celebration has made us all grown up physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.  Yesterday's teenagers have become today's professionals, the yuppies of the 80s are now daddys and mommys, and yesterday's nanays and tatays have become today's lolas and lolos.  Life is indeed a cycle.  Year in and year out, we celebrate Sinulog more or less in the same manner as we used to in the 80s. With each passing year, we are one year older.  Our ages move, so with our physical conditions, economic status, and relationships with people, but forever we will remain a child in the eyes of Señor Santo Niño. We are all God's children trying to live as adults in this borrowed life that He has leased to us without amortization. Forever we will look forward to every 3rd Sunday of January of each year as Sinulog Season no matter how old we have become, no matter how many strands of thick black hair have turned into thin white ones, with wrinkles here and there, laugh lines, hyperpigmentations and all that, no matter how far we have reached the stages of life and living.

To our dear Santo Niño: We will always adore you. We love you. How much? Is there a word more than forever?  Happy Sinulog to one and all.  Pit Senyor!

(Editors' Note: To view the festivities of the Cebu Sinulog Festival, log on to this web site: http://www.esprint.com/~sinulog/default.htm)

STARS OF LCHS
The LCHS GLEE CLUB

The LCHS Glee Club in a command performance at the LCHS commencement exercises in 1962.
The choral group, composed of selected high school students, was organized and
conducted by Ramonita "Bebe" Siao. More photos of the stars of LCHS on our LCHS web site,
under "Stars of LCHS" and "Vintage Photos '60s"  (Photo courtesy of Lydia Sy-Chona)




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