What Happened to Loloy Tan's Column?
Fri, 22 Feb 1998 19:35:00 +0800

What happened to Loloy Tan?  It has been some time since we last read his column, "Briefs from Down Under" in your Spectrum.  We missed his column very much.  It was a great pleasure to read his great insights about life in LCHS and his experiences in Sydney, Australia.  I have never been to LCHS but it was always a joy reading his amusing experiences in the alma mater of my mother, Jane Sy-Limtin (Batch '70).  Hope the column will resume soon.

Elvie Sy Limtin, student, Philippine Christian Gospel School
Cebu, Philippines
 

Dateline Buffalo

By Ernesto L. Yu, M.D., Batch 1965 Ernstyu49@aol.com

Bit by bit, word by word, my younger sibling's (Henry) "Glossary of Memories" illuminated the robust status of his cerebral hemisphere for exquisite moments and whimsical images of the remote past, with pinpoint vividness and laser-like precision, down to the very decimal points of timetables and street numbers.  It is glaringly obvious that his astounding intracranial computer is not genetically wired as I, in my greying and outmoded satellite, regularly whip bloody murder when searching for my bifocal, that hugs comfortably on my forehead!  His weekly installments of definitions convulsed and shuffled my stacks of juvenile adventures, bravados and disorders.  Here are two proper nouns from his stockpile that I can handily rephrase with colorful narratives and gingerly sprinkle with subtle touches of my personal vision of adolescence-paradise.

St. Michael: an all-girls educational institution which was the Alaber Brothers' (ALex Rodriguez, Alberto Bernardo, ERnie Yu) landmark for, no pun intended, sweetheart deals, to mingle and trade thoughts.  Alex, the prime mover of the chillies who indoctrinated the fiery punch and sense of coolness, snagged a bevy of sprightly pretty heartthrobs by his (based on his watered-down theories)  soap-opera machismo and imposing presence that have a charismatic tinge of Fernando Poe (not Ponga!) Jr. and innate passionate murmurs that waltzed the sorriest, icily stiff of ladybugs.  On the flip side, "Kilyong" scored a throng of fanatic admirers who were enamored by his (again, as gathered from his right of free speech) bushy James Dean-like mop of hairs and big, brown eyes that were skilled in deciphering the abstruse poetry blanketed under muted glimpses.  And the lowly me, who was preternaturally unaggressive, almost socially autistic and a self-proclaimed wallflower, netted just one beauty; a golden chick though, according to my surrogate comrades who relegated the petite lass to my camp because she was an annoying date and a breathing model in Physics: blubbered sweet nothings and crackled snacks at a propulsive speed where pressure was two times inversely proportional to resistance ... a lightning fast, positive velocity of oral intake and output!

Lettermen: the big-name '60s trio whose cacophony of harmonized vocal ranges dabbed a pound of sophistication and achy twinges to old-fashioned romantic favorites ("When I Fall In Love", "Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing") and who were potent messengers of plaintive melodic lines that churned receptive hearts to flutter.  Their musical bursts lavished fulfilling wonders to my mode of nipping female sensibilities, especially when I always froze in distressing anxiety and into an acute monosyllabic stutterer in the company of a stunning mate.  Thus the breezy nickname "lady killer": the girl would be evolving into cadaveric pallor while I would still be regrouping my inner power to spit out the verbal intro.  At any rate, I scooped up my reject-steady with a single spin of "I Only Have Eyes For You"; until she popped the question in calm uncertainty, "Which eye?".  I countered with a sweaty reply as it was strikingly conspicuous that my left optic nerve has wandered along other shapely meat.  Being tagged as a sick degenerate, I flushed her out of my VERY short list, with bracing aftertaste.  Sour graping aside, she was no statistical marvel anyway. Except for being a Physicist.

With Tony Butala warbling enthrallingly the ear-caressing "Try To Remember", thumb through your moldy pages of hazy pubescent era.  Artfully blend a smartly intoxicating cocktail of idyllic landscape and meditation; and rediscover the majestic grandeur and bedazzling cinematic banquet of fascinating souls (oddballs, saints, Lucifers) and dear hearts (sensuous sirens, leggy amazons, loonies) whom you bumped and tugged along on your progressive journey to the end of the rope.  Spare me some faith, this should be an invigorating challenge and a healthy kick to forcibly jog your out-of-shape nervous system.  Trust me, I'm a professional programmer of recollection techniques and behavioral science.

Gosh!  Before my temper roasts my Zen master's patience, help me locate my stethoscope.  What neck?
 

Sentimental Journey

By Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch 1969

Make Grand Reunion a Three-day Affair
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.

Peter Dy (Batch '66), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
pdy@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca

Why July 2000?
The proposed Grand Reunion is a very great idea.  But who are really excited about the project? It seems that only a few batches are eager about getting together.  Anyway, that is my impression.  I could be very wrong.  I hope the interest is across the board.

Why July of all the months in year 2000?  Is this to accomodate our fellow alumni from North America?  What is the advantage of this month?  Perhaps it is good that school is on and the students and teachers of LCHS could be tapped for some activities. I have no objection about the date if the majority so decides.  A few alumni I know usually had their vacation back to Iligan during these months; some others have their family reunions also around this time. My opinion won't count much as we are only so few here in Australia.  Personally, this is not a good timing for me.  July 2000 is just 6 weeks from the Sydney Olympics.  I will be very busy during these days.  I just can't imagine the activities here around that time.  Nevertheless, it will be my dream to attend the Grand Reunion.

Leonardo "Loloy" Tan (Batch '66), Sydney, Australia
edtan@bigpond.com
 

The Chinese who live overseas are the ones who really feel the importance of Chinese education. Without such education, there would hardly be overseas Chinese or hua chiao, so to speak.  Hence, it was only natural that the hua chiao destined overseas would aspire for their children to be taught the culture of their motherland, to be reared as true-blooded Chinese.

The Pioneers.  Thus, in the year 1938, the hua chiao of Iligan City concentrated their efforts towards the establishment of  Chinese education in the community.  At that time the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, under the leadership of Sy Seng Chiok (father of Nelson and Charles Sy, et al) and Chamber secretary Dy Tiao Lim (father of Ruben and Janet Lee, et al), spearheaded the move.  They labored without let-up.  And with the cooperation of all the Chinese residents in Iligan and the adjacent municipalities, Lanao Chinese Elementary School was born.

When Lanao Chinese Elementary School was established, it shared the same building with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce (on the spot where the Lanao Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce building stands today).  Fifty years ago, the number of Chinese living here was very few.  The student population was only a little more than ten.  The school was housed in a two-story edifice.  The furnishings and facilities were very modest.  Most of the Chinese in Iligan hailed from Quemoy, China.  So they hired Kho Peck Yong (father of Kho Siok Oy and Luis "Chik Ti" Kho, et al), a Quemoy scholar from the renowned Chip Bee University in China, as the principal, and his wife Uy Pey Herng as his assistant for academic affairs.  Together with a few teachers, they pursued their job with passion and lots of sacrifices.  At that time, only elementary education was offered.  The school applied the dual system of  Chinese and English education.

The Educational  System.  The English system followed the curriculum prescribed by the Philippines Department of Education. The Chinese department observed the same curriculum used in China's educational system.  This practical approach proved to be quite effective.  Unfortunately, a few years later, the Pacific war erupted (December 1941) and the Philippines fell under Japanese occupation.  For four years all the residents evacuated and lived in hideouts.  The school had to cease operation.   After the liberation, everybody thought about the importance of Chinese education and agreed that the reopening of the school should not be delayed.  In 1947, then president of the Lanao Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Sy Eng Guan (father of Martin and Manuel Gaite, et al), moved for the reopening of the school.  Everybody gave their all-out support.

The Post-War Era.  In June of 1948, the school started accepting enrollment anew.  The position of school principal was still held by Kho Peck Yong.  The school still offered only elementary education and the same combination of English and Chinese systems was pursued.  After four years, Mr. Kho resigned for health reason.  The school hired a certain Yap Soon Poon, a graduate of Shanghai's St. John University as the new principal.  Subsequently after him, there was Ang Siay Thim, followed by Tan Lian Hon, who served as principals.  At that time, Mr. Tan used his position as government official of the Republic of China to stay on in the country.  He was hired as administrative principal, with King San Dy Pico as honorary principal.  Later on, Ang Bon Chiong (father of Johnny and Rudy Co, et al), took over his place.  When Mr. Ang transferred to Dansalan (now Marawi), Go Wan Sing (father of James So) assumed the position.  (Continued next issue)

(EDITORS' NOTE: The above article was originally written by Fe Dy Quimbo for publication in a souvenir program proposed for the 50th anniversary of LCHS in 1987.  The article never saw print as the souvenir program, for one reason or another, did not materialize.    The author is the vice president for internal affairs of the LCHS Alumni Association.)