Nikko Michael Kaw Hok, 12-year-old son of LCHS alumnus Benny Kaw Hok (Batch '69), won two gold medals and one silver for Iligan City in the 3rd Philippine National Games, held in Cebu City on Dec. 13-21, 1997. The young Kaw Hok beat top contenders from Manila and Cebu to capture Iligan's first gold in swimming in the 200-meter individual medley.  He went on later to bag another gold in the 50-meter butterfly, and a silver in the 100-meter back stroke.

A sixth grader at Iligan's La Salle Academy, Nikko started training five years ago at Iligan's Timoga swimming pools.

Latest Additions to Spectrum Subscription List

More LCHS alumni are entering the Internet and are now linked up to the Spectrum.  The latest additions to our steadily growing mailing list are: Ong Sy Phek Lee, Cebu City; Sherlita Racines, National Steel Corp., Iligan City; Dr. Vivina Chiu-Yrastorza, Cebu City; Atty. Kenton Sua, Manila; Dr. David Y. Dy (Batch '73), Manila; Brendon Vy Co, Cebu City; Lyndon Co (Batch '81), Victoria, Australia; Constantino "Jonas" Sy (Batch '68), Cebu City; and Dr. Marlon Co (Batch '73, Elementary) Cebu City.

Iligan Chinese Catholic Group Goes Caroling
By Teresita Racines (Batch '67)

The St. Michael's Fil-Chinese Catholic Community went caroling around Iligan last Dec. 16 to Dec. 18.  The group is raising funds to distribute Christmas gifts to the needy and ailing at the City Hospital as well as to the inmates at the city jail.  The group is also sponsoring the Misa de Gallo at the Redemptorist Church on Dec. 18; at the Inahan sa Kinabuhi Church on Dec. 22, and the St. Michael's Cathedral on Dec. 23.  They will also have a Christmas party on Dec. 20 at the Maria Cristina Hotel.  Some of the active alumni in the group are Rudy Co, Edwin Co, Vy Beng Hong, Henry Siao and Richard Sy.

Pearly Ong's 70th Birthday Bash

LCHS alumna, Pearly Ong Sy Phek Lee, marked her 70th birthday with a dinner party with her children and grandchildren and family friends on Dec. 17, 1997, in Cebu City.   Her brothers and sisters likewise came all the way from Iligan, Cagayan de Oro and Cotabato to grace the occasion, namely, Richard Sy, Evelyn Sy-Wee, Sy Beng Gui, and Leoncia Sy-Lim.  Among the Iliganon guests at the party were Conchita Te-Ong, Inday Ang-Teng, Bonifacia Co-Go, Nelson Sy, Rosie Siao-Sy, Sy Chu Tek, and Carmen Lim-Ang.

Alumni Bankers in Cebu

Several LCHS alumni have recently made significant advancements as career bankers in Cebu.  Betty Bernardo-Hover, Batch '69, is now assistant manager (in charge of loans and credit) of Metrobank, Mandaue Branch.  An active student leader in her school days, Betty is married to Romeo Hover, of Marine Colloids Phils., Inc.  Another alumna, Jane Sy-Limtin, Batch '70, is connected with the PCI Bank, Lu Ym Branch, as money market trader.  She is married to Ely Limtin, with whom she has 2 daughters.  Jose Sam Go, Batch '68, is now assistant manager of Solidbank, Fuente Branch.  He is married to Susan Uy, of Cebu.  They have three children.  Emelita Lee (Batch '68), a former co-editor of the Campus Keeper of LCHS, is connected with the Philippine Bank of Communications, Mango Avenue Branch, Cebu City, as loans processor and credit investigator.
 

Your LCHS web site brings back a bunch of memories.  I'm not a student of LCHS, but I've got a lot a friends who studied there:  Tan brothers (Doming, Wahoy, Amen); Dy brothers (Walter, William, Antik); the Samsons (Edmund; Vincio); the Leungs (Eddie, Mario, Miok); and Calix Tan's sons.  They're all friends of the Roosevelt boys. We played basketball together.

Rey Bacod, Alaska, U.S.A.
 

A kiddie’s subliminal venture for truth: Is Santa Caucasian or Asian?  Mr.Claus is not an either-or or a neither-nor.  The flabby and brittle grandpa is a standard in the trendy realm of cloning. In essence, he is a hybrid, a powerhouse packed to the brim with all the distinguished social graces of mankind.  When spotted in the Orient, he was a compassionate gift dispenser to mild-mannered youngsters (and policemen, tax auditors);  and polished off his daily caloric intakes with chopsticks and robust cups of tea.  Yet, the same St. Nick was videotaped in the American kingdom engaging in a hearty laugh with tantalized tots (and politicians, lobbyists); and observed a regimented schedule of coffee breaks and periodic interlude “to smell the roses”.

Son, forget about his genetic markers.  Just instill his legacy in your heart; the “force” will be with you.

By then, we have mastered the art of thawing frozen smiles.

Have a good one.
 

So the little boy attended their class Christmas party held in their Grade I classroom on Friday, Dec. 18, 1959.  It was his first.  He was so excited.  The program started at 4:00 p.m. with a group singing of "Merry Christmas Polka".  There were 32 of them in their colorful Christmas attire, each bringing a gift for the "chin-chin" gifts (actually exchanging gifts) which was the last part of the program after the snack of egg sandwich, empanada, candies, and Coke.  The foods were placed inside a brown paper bag ready for distribution.  Oh, what fun they had as they partook of the simple meal!  Truly, children have simple pleasures.

The Christmas vacation started right after the Christmas party.  During this break, the little boy would be so excited counting how many more days were left before Christmas eve, when he would hang a sock in a nearby window for Santa Claus to put his gifts, really believing in "Santa Claus is coming to town...so, you better watch out, you better not cry, better not pout, I'm telling you why..."

On Christmas morning, he would wake up very early to see what Santa Claus had put inside the sock that he hanged the previous night.  He was sure he had been a good boy because Santa gave him all the things he wanted so much--a choo choo train, a new pair of Ang Tibay shoes, story books about Pinocchio, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Thumbelina, and lots of imported goodies.  He would then go to mass along with his family at the St. Michael's Cathedral.  Upon returning home, he was so happy to receive another bundle of gifts from his ninongs and ninangs, uncles, aunties, and neighbors.  The dining table was filled with lots of foodstuffs, like morcon, ham, barbecue, fried chicken, etc.  There was also his favorite chicken salad which was his mother's forte.

The rest of the Christmas vacation was spent watching their grocery store, or going out with classmates and friends to see a movie at King Theater, or shopped around Doris Department Store or Crystal Educational Supply.  Iligan City being a small place, they would just walk around in slippers, laughing and frolicsome, unmindful of the world and the future.  After all, they were just innocent kids who never knew what was in store for them in the years that would follow.

On New Year's Eve, this little boy, together with his brothers and friends, would set up a tent in their backyard and went camping.  They would tell stories, eat, drink, listen to music, as if the world was theirs alone, and there was no end to all the fun and laughter.  At the stroke of 12:00 midnight, they would camper around the backyard to light the libentador with the use of a Lion Tiger mosquito killer as the igniting source.  He was told that the first sound of whatever animal at that moment would indicate what the new year would bring - either prosperity, crisis, or famine.  He was also told to jump several times in order to grow taller.  And he believed all these.  Young and innocent as he was, these were all imprinted in his mind year after year until he finished grade six in 1965, high school in 1969, college, and his M.D.

Forty five Christmases have passed since his first Christmas in 1952, and this little boy has now become the doctor that he has always wanted to be, a devoted husband and father to his two daughters.  Middle adulthood (translated: Midlife) has taken its toll on him.  But for always, the memories of the Christmases past will forever stay as fresh as when they happened like a song's refrain.  There is one definite thing that this little boy hasn't outgrown.  It is the feeling of exhilaration each time he hears Christmas songs.  For him, these always remind of his happy childhood which he spent in his birthplace, in a city called Iligan; in his alma mater, in a school called Lanao Chinese High School.
 

EDITORS' NOTE:  Leonardo "Loloy" Tan is on leave.  His column will resume in January 1998.

With little working capital, donation from a relative from Cagayan de Oro came along a big blessing - a very valuable GE refrigerator set!  Must be expensive and the best of its time. A heaven-sent cool relief from the drought! Soon the shanty store opened. And who were the valuable store customers? YOU! The LCHS students! The teeners and kids who worked, studied, ran and played a lot at the school playground, who got thirsty and hungry a lot. Thanks to you.

For a nickel (sinko), you bought 7 pieces of lemon candy; or 5 pieces of sambag; or 2 pieces of ice candy; or a pack of salted peanut, nuts imported from Siquijor; or a piece of maruya, the flour coated fried banana with dashes of sugar! Hmmmmm. For a dime (diyes), you followed those maruya with a bottle of Coke, (pronounced as "kuks" in those times) or Pepsi...(Ah, as hot a rivalry of movie idols as Susan Roces and Amalia Fuentes) or, you may have a glass of cold juice, straight from the ref. With maruya for a nickel, and softdrink for a dime, that little store had 'made' it and true to its name - "Sinko Diyes Store", you had a complete snack!

How about some logistics?  The cookies and candies came all the way from Cebu. Sometimes, my parents went to Cebu for compra, a very good reason for the children to come along and I had my first opportunity to see Cebu in one of those trips. Sometimes, my Pa would write his suki in Cebu, sent it through the 'porter' of a William Lines vessel plying Cebu-Iligan route, and on its return trip, we got the supplies. For the peanuts, there was a vessel plying Iligan-Siquijor route regularly, we got that supply too. The bananas were bought at the city market late mornings and my Ma bought by the thousand pieces, stocked and covered tight to ripen it at ideal time.

My Yaya Delai prepared the peanuts at nights, while we, the children would help her pack them in cone-shaped manila papers. At day time, aside from preparing the children for school and cooking our meals, she was the master cook of the maruyas.  My Ma was master of ice candies, who mixed the recipe and placed them at the freezer section of the ref at early evenings and she would remove them from its tray at three in the morning. In the wee hour of the morning she would place them at the chiller section of the ref.  Right then and there, a second shift of the ice candies was made in the same trays, so it would be ready for sale by afternoons. The famous flavors for ice candy were 'durian', selling a nickel a piece, and the 'avocado' at the regular price of two a nickel.

The refrigerator seemed to be the most important appliance. Aside from cooling softdrinks and  juices; ice candy making machine, it stored another goodie - another pride of the enterprise: 'Halo-halo', selling at a quarter a serving; nothing but boil-cooked fresh beans variety, fresh fruits, crashed ice, milk, and accent that with sugar.  Sugar! The most important ingredient for the kids.... (Continued next issue)

I would like to share with the Spectrum the following inspiring reflections of a resident in our center. She recently turned a century years old. She is still very much alert, oriented x3, and ambulatory:

"Consider the changes we have witnessed in this diabolical, crazy world: We were born before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, plastic, contact lenses, frisbees and the Pill.

We were born before radar, credit cards, split atoms, laser beams and ballpoint pens; before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip dry clothes and before man walked on the moon.

We know that delivering septuplets meant like a hen laying seven eggs.  And Cherokee meant chief indians, not something to ride on.

We got married first and then lived together.  In our time, closets are for clothes, not for "coming out of."  Bunnies were small rabbits and rabbits are not volkswagens.  Having a meaningful relationship meant getting along with our cousins. We thought fast food was what you ate during Lent, and outer space was the back of the Riviera Theater.  We never heard about compact disks, word processors, karaoke, guys wearing earrings, bagels, and yogurt.

For us time sharing means togetherness, not "live-ins", a "chip" meant a piece of wood, hardware meant hardware, and software wasn't even a word.

We hit the scene when gas cost a dime for a gallon, for a nickel you could ride a street car, make a phone call, buy a Pepsi or enough stamps to mail one letter and two post cards.  You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $600.

In our days, cigarette smoking was fashionable. Grass was mowed. Coke was a cold drink and pot was something you cooked. AIDS were helpers in the principal's office.

No wonder we are so confused and there is such a generation gap today.  But we survived!  What better reason to celebrate!"

(EDITORS' NOTE: Carlo Bodiongan is a nursing supervisor at the Kessler Care Center, New Jersey, U.S.A.)