INTERNET NEWSLETTER OF THE ALUMNI OF LANAO CHUNG HUA SCHOOL
Vol. II - No. 23, September 21, 1998, Iligan City, Philippines

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Three big guns of LCHS alumni won top spots in the 23th Philippine Kiwanis District Golf Tournament in Bacolod City last Sept. 10.  The winners were Councilor Henry Dy, 1st runner-up; alumni president Arturo Samson, 3rd runner-up; and Christopher Chua Teck An, 4th runner-up.  On  Sept. 19, another batch of alumni golfers will see action in yet another tournament in Bacolod City sponsored by the Federation of Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bacolod chapter.  The Iligan contingent is composed of Carlos Dy (team captain), Joe Tan, Robin Kho, Philip Lee, Dr. Manding Escamilia, and  Peter Dy.

Looking for batch mates
Wed  09 Sep 1998 06:32:00

I graduated elementary in 1969-70 in this mighty school, Lanao Chinese High School.  I browsed the batch lists on LCHS home page but I couldn't seem to find any of my former classmates.  I was in the same class with Stephen Ang, Tita Go, Susan Ngo, Farley Sy, David Dy, Nilda Te, Felisa Khu, to mention a few. Is it possible to get a contact list of that specific batch? I will be visiting Iligan in December and I would like very much to get in touch with my former classmates in the elementary grade. Thank you for whatever help you will extend.

Lisa Lueong Canonigo, Anaheim, California, U.S.A.
lrlrcnngo@earthlink.net

(Editors Note: You can locate the list of your batch mates under Batch 1973 on our alumni home page. Our batch listing is arranged with the high school graduation year as reference point.)

My congratulations to all new officers of LCHS-AA on the occasion of their induction, especially to President Arturo "Toto" Samson for his big bang inaugural speech. Likewise, big cheers to our new EVP, Vy Beng Hong alias "Wah Wie"!

Peter C. Dy (Batch '66), Iligan, Philippines
apollo@iligan.com

I was impressed by your article "The Go Brothers: Where are they now?" in the "Tracers" Section (Spectrum, August 10, 1998 issue).  I am the mother of the Go brothers and I'm very thankful to the editorial staff for giving importance to our family. The sisters of Manuel Te visited me in Cagayan de Oro and gave me a copy of the Spectrum. You must have exerted efforts in tracing the whereabouts of my seven children. How nice of you to be so patient in doing so. Thank you very much again and may your Spectrum prosper. More power to the members of the LCHS Alumni!

Salud "Inday" Angbetic Go, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
Via Philpost

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

Brown-White-Blue - These are the mandatory identifying markers of LCHS citizens - brown pants/white shirt and white blouse/blue skirt. Starched, ironed and pleated were requisite textures of the uniform code; until after noon time when the dirt games and food-combat sprayed charcoal grey and cherry red spots to the strict 3-color scheme. This early afternoon variance implanted new dimension and diversity to the monotonous eyesores. For the higher gods (dean, principals, faculty ) freedom of outward expression ranged from breezy, rainbow-patterned fashion statements  to shockingly '60s outfits - flowery, bold pink and yellow costumes with hem length that immunized  knees against manly catcalls, and leg-hugging trousers that adequately showcased one's socks!

Dream Girls - The beauties (majorettes, intellectuals, fairies) who exuded genetic charm and charisma even in their utmost bad-hair days. They complemented the lush campus landscape of towering pines and patches of manicured greens. Their generic innocence, suave strokes and melting smiles could manufacture poets out of literary illiterates with breathing hearts. At least that was how I deciphered and unloaded into verses my thwarted yearnings and inner commotions. Being a closet romantic - a kid who secretly cultivated hushed obsession - I missed out in not realizing if my choiced princesses would joyfully snare my knighthood if tendered the imperial power to choose and collect. Though I oftentimes wounded the truth, my frozen tongue disorder was a major factor in my shaping into a compassionate maestro of trivial things, like extracting the firm-edged elegance of a sidelong glance. To all goddesses of my turned-off fantasy switches, I sense that you palpated and treasured the glad nerve of that one dewy moment in time when we fused our dreams, reveries that intermittently resurface during fleeting minutes of solitary nostalgic flights.

Twisted Hairs Syndrome - Perhaps the Banlon-Polyester Age fueled, as a fashion escort, the fad of having a head of curls. Can you refresh the morning-after in your life when straight hairs were acknowledged anomalies that could be reversed with twisting scalp massages of a gooey scrambled egg formula? Can you thaw yesterdays' plot where a  certain Tesing (kin of Typhoon Loring) professionally plowed through your scalp with his magic wan and your skull evolved into a turf of electrified strands? To magnify the in-thing, you pushed with gusto for the "peroxide glamour", a coolness long modelled by natives in a galaxy closest to the skies (descendants of the pioneering mechanical engineers of the rice terraces). You lacquered it with silky touches of Tancho pomade and you secured a ticket to Studio 65 - a club of sparkling wavy noodles, resistant to lightning strikes!

By Leonardo "Eddie" Tan, Batch '66

The debate on Asian migration to Australia still goes on. Those who are against point out that most ethnic Asians do not assimilate. Instead, they form their own ghettos, thus creating Chinatowns, Vietnamese villages, Japanese corners, Indian conclaves and even Filipino quarters. Some of the main stream Australian white view this trend as a threat to the Australian society; that we are becoming not only a multicultural society but a country of many nations with divided loyalties.

Just recently, while the World Cup was being played in France, a suburb close to Sydney proper nicknamed "Little Italy" was closed to all vehicular traffic as Italian Australians were on the streets celebrating a quarter-final victory halfway around the world by the team from their mother country. What if it was Australia playing against Italy? Whom shall they be cheering?

How does a ghetto begin? Let's take a typical Chinatown for instance. Most probably the first thing a Chinese would establish in the neighborhood of a white Australian city would be a restaurant. This Chinese eatery would be most welcomed as Australians are fond of Chinese cuisine. Most likely, the owner would also live in the building. Soon a store space adjacent to the restaurant may become vacant and the restaurateur will rent it for his brother or relatives or friend who will most likely open an Asian grocery store. Then the next vacant space becomes a Chinese butcher shop. With these convenient shops, new Chinese migrants are attracted to find accommodation nearby - renting an apartment or buying a house. This becomes a place where not only they could eat their food, but also buy their unique grocery needs plus Chinese newspapers and the special cut of meat. As the Chinese population in the area increases, we soon find a Chinese video shop, a Chinese bakery and cake shop, a Chinese herbal and medicine shop and maybe a hair saloon run by a Chinese. And there it is - another ghetto or little Chinatown with all the signage in the establishment prominently in Chinese with just a little English subtitle. This makes a segment of the mainstream white Australian very  uncomfortable. In their minds, it is just a strip of road today that is being invaded by Asians and tomorrow it will be the rest of the country!

But this is not true. Ghettos, like Chinatowns, are good only for a transitional period. After the Chinese migrant had settle down and become more successful in life, most likely he is going to move away from the local area to upgrade his and his family's life style. It takes time but it happens particularly with the second generations who no longer consider themselves as Chinese but already as Australian. They no longer read the Chinese newspapers. Don't appreciate Chinese movies. Don't prefer Chinese food but instead go for hamburgers. All these conveniences are nothing to them. They had no reason to stay in the ghetto.

By Henry L. Yu, M.D.,  Batch '69

Every once in a while during our solitude, either at the office, in the privacy of our bedroom or study room, or places that remind us of them, our memories are brought back to the times in our life when we were young, innocent and carefree. Part of those distant times are the people who remain unforgettable despite the passage of an era that we could really call our very own, when we were the young ones dominating an equally young world.

So, who are the people that formed part of those youthful memories that I want to see and be with once again? At random, here they are:

Jocelyn (Angkaw) Ang; Charles (Amboy) Ang; Rudy (Nonoy) Co; Henry James Go; Timmy Tan; Leodegaria Lagrosas; Edna Tan Choa; Richard (Hon Tok) Lim; Benito Tiu; Elizabeth (Yu Bin) Lim; Felicitas Ly; Guido Samson; Gloria (Ki Dian) Tecson; Shirley Co; Stephen (Pin-Pin) Sy; Teresita (Meh Meh) Siao; Sio Tin Vy; Sofia Vy; Lalita Uy; Lolita (Guat Ngo) Lua; Letecia Lua; Virginia (Bee Chin) Ngo; Pablito (Pin Tok) Ngo; Julius Racines; Charmaine Molo; Aida Chow; Igdono Caracho; Lily Lueong; Rodrigo Cayubit; Edmund Edusma; Laureto Capuyan; Venancio (Beo Sing) Alvarez; Mr. Felipe Oh; Mr. Luis Yap; Adelfa Tan; Rene Tio; Bonifacio Khu; etc.

These are just some of the people who formed part of my youth, etching some memories in the pages of my diary, they are whom I'm really dead serious to meet again if only to see them and renew our friendship and camaraderie of decades past. These are the people whom I have not seen for ages. I think the last time I saw them was when I was still a resident of Iligan, specifically my permanency in 1968.

The others like: Diony Chiu; Kee Siang Lee; Using Lee; Benny Kao Hok; Delia Dy; San Mondarte (Diong-Diong); Proserpina (Paping) Siangco-Mondarte; Suniel (Boy) Lim; Santiago (Ching Guan) Ong; Antonio Leo (Hon Tian) Te; Perfecta Uy; Marietta Kwan; Elsa Lagrosas; Teresita Racines; Dy Sio Te; Kelly Dy; Charita Sia-Po; Chiok Hian Dy-Wang; Beng Hong Vy; Rodolfo Yu; etc.

I have renewed my friendship with the above people when I chanced upon them after also decades of being away from each other in my trip to Iligan on June 24, 1997 while attending the wake of my best friend, the late Jimmy (Takiong) Ling. Others I have met again on separate occasions. It's a small world after all.

By Alex S. Rodriguez, M.D., Batch '65

Symptoms:  The classic symptoms of DM are polyuria (an obligatory, glucosuric, osmotic diuresis), polydipsia (due to polyuria), and particularly in IDDM, polyphagia with a paradoxic weight loss. In uncontrolled IDDM, life threatening ketoacidosis can develop. What this means is that a patient will be urinating a lot and frequently to get rid of high blood sugar followed by unquenching thirst because of hyperosmolar blood concentration from high blood sugar. Yet in spite of good appetite, the patient will still have weight loss because of the inability of the body to use glucose (sugar) in spite of its abundance in the blood stream due to insufficient insulin produced by the pancreas.

Complications:
1)  Susceptibility to infections including tuberculosis, pneumonia, pyelonephritis, and mucocutaneous candidiasis (moniliasis).
2)  Peripheral and autonomic neuropathy, manifesting as sensory loss, impotence, postural hypotension, constipation and diarrhea.
3)  Vascular disorders (chiefly from microangiopathy in IDDM and from arteriosclerosis in NIDDM), including:
a)  Retinopathy (the most common cause of blindness in the U.S.)
b)  Renal disease, notably glomerulosclerosis resulting to renal failure.
c)  Atherosclerosis, causing coronary artery disease (heart attack), stroke, and gangrene of the lower extremities as well as nephropathy (kidney disease).

A diabetic patient is better controlled when he is watching his weight rather than being obese.

Nestled on the campus grounds of the old LCHS was a tall slide made of iron and steel. It was where we clambered up a flight of stairs and slid down on the other end during class recess. The view from this lofty perch was overwhelming. It was like sitting on top of the world.  It was where my uncle Mike endlessly listened to songs of  "The Carpenters." The kind of  music that I eventually learned to love and enjoy.

Near the slide and a wooden seesaw by its side was the old science museum.  It was an ancient  and eerie edifice with all the anays and cobwebs wherever you went. Nobody was allowed to go inside ...  not until a bad boy student discovered a small entrance at the back.

I once peeped inside the room and saw a full human skeleton with a screw on top of its skull to keep him hanging (body or what?).  Anatomy class, I  thought. Preserved butterflies encased in a container with a glass as its cover for students to view. The Philippine eagle and squirrels alike - dead and stuffed with styrofoam and materials that would make the specimens look alive.

As I scanned the surroundings, I was shocked to see a  fetus in an empty mayonnaise bottle soaked in formalin. I carefully studied it as it was my first time to see one.  I was awed by its minute size, wondering if it died because of the mother's careless decision or if it was a consequence of inevitable circumstances. He would have been alive right now ... playing with his classmates.

From Kinder to Grade One, my classmates were still the same familiar faces.  Although the teacher definitely was a different story.  She was louder than the soft spoken kindergarten teacher I had.  She was quite strict.  She had a temper no one understood.  Every time the students talked or did not pay attention to her lecture, a bakya came flying their way. That was Mrs. Arnejo.  Still remember her?

On Jan. 27, 1897, our firm, Sy Indong Company, opened for business. Mr. Lao Tong was hired as general manager. Ours was a small business but the harsh conditions did not offer much room for optimism.   Raw nerve and sheer instinct for survival prompted us to strive and persevere, hoping much against hope that better economic prospects would loom in the distant horizon.  But contrary to our expectations, business remained a constant struggle between life and death as these were unstable and chaotic times.

Mutiny in the Military.  In the third quarter of the year, a mutiny took place at a military camp just outside Iligan that housed a jail for death convicts.  The soldiers revolted against their officers.  They overthrew and killed all the officers in the camp.  When news of the siege reached the military command in Iligan at midnight, a state of emergency was immediately declared.  All the military top brass and their families were evacuated to a camp surrounded by a wall.  It was a tense moment in Iligan.  Suspense filled the air.  Firearms were distributed and cannons were mounted in preparation to repel the impending assault of the rebel soldiers who were reportedly on their way to Iligan.  Fortunately when the rebels learned that Iligan was ready for them, they altered their plot to attack Iligan.  Instead they proceeded to the town of Initao where they went on a rampage and slaughtered numerous townsfolk including several Chinese residents.

The Big Flood of Iligan.  On the night of Nov. 13, 1897, Iligan fell prey to the wrath of nature. The entire Iligan was inundated by a devastating flood.  Residents, men and women, young and old, spilled out to the streets, looking for ways to escape the deluge.  Soon Hing Store, owned by my elder brother Koc Chuan, which was located on a low elevation, had water overflowing up to its third floor.  Pandemonium broke loose.  People were scampering around preparing ropes and packing up dried foodstuffs as they sought refuge on roof tops or waded perilously in the torrents of rising water.  Luckily after twelve hours, the deluge subsided and water gradually receded.

Like all other commercial establishments in Iligan, Sy Indong Company sustained heavy damages from the flood.  An inventory of all the stocks in the store, such as rice, salt, flour and sugar, showed substantial losses.
 

Editors' Note:  The author, Sy Hock Yian, was the grandfather of Charles and Nelson  Sy.  The foregoing article is an excerpt of his memoirs written in 1937, entitled "Looking Back at Sixty Six," published in the book of the Sy Clan Family Tree.