Vol. 12, No. 2, May 5, 2008

Still a little less than three weeks away, registrations for the 3rd LCHS Alumni Grand Homecoming on May 23-24, 2008 have reached 150, as of May 3.  A good early turnout by comparison to the previous GAHs.

The figure is expected to escalate as the affair gets even closer.  Organizers expect total registrations to surpass the number of registrations in the 2nd GAH in 2005 which registered just a little over 200. The first GAH in 2000 had about 350 registrants. GAH Steering Committee Chair Johnny Chen says they expect more registrations in the days ahead coming from younger alumni who have been offered special group rate if they register by batch. As in previous GAHs, many more alumni are also expected to sign up on the day of the GAH itself.

The GAH Steering Committee had a meeting last May 2 where the works and progress of the different working committees were assessed.  Some problems were ironed out while details of various activities were discussed and finalized.  Practices for the evening presentations are now on-going.  The collared t-shirts for the early registrants have been ordered and are expected to be delivered on May 15. The Secretariat plans to distribute these collared t-shirts ahead of time so that they can be worn by the alumni on the Fiesta Night on May 23.

Meanwhile, Johnny Chen is appealing to all alumni to register now for the GAH and to encourage their batch mates to do likewise.  He also enjoins alumni to support the affair by placing ads in the souvenir program.  Ads in the souvenir programs are a major source of revenues that are much needed to underwrite various activities, including meals and amenities.  The GAH Chair also sounded the call for alumni to submit recent photos of their batches as soon as possible.  These group pictures will be published in the Batch Call of the souvenir program.  These photos may be submitted in hard copies to the Secretariat at MJ Auto ACC Enterprises, Juan Luna St., Iligan City, tel. ++(63)223-1949; or in jpg format by email to Johnny Chen at: akula88ynnhoj@yahoo.com. (Accompanying photo taken at the registration counter of the 2nd GAH in 2005.)

Encarnacion Lim, 59

Encarnacion Talasan Lim passed away on May 2, 2008 in Iligan City.  She was 59 years old. She was the wife of Jose Lim (Batch '69) of Iligan Apollo Electrical Supply.  Encarnacion and Jose Lim have three children.  One is a doctor and another one is a certified public accountant.  The remains of Encarnacion Lim lie in state at the Iligan Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes. We request our pious readers to pray for the eternal repose of her soul.

Congratulations
From Henry L. Yu, M.D. (Batch '69), Cebu, Philippines; email: henrio522003@yahoo.com
Sat, 19 Apr 2008 20:10:08 +0100 (BST)

Warm felicitations and sincere congratulations to my tukayo Henry C. Dy (LCHS Class 1964), Vice Mayor of Iligan City, who was elected National Vice President of the Vice Mayors' League of the Philippines (VMLP). To be elected to this position on a national level is really something. Being chosen as the Vice President from among a group composed of 1,100 vice mayors from all over the Philippines is such an honor. I am really very proud of you, my dear Tux. Keep up the good works, Bro. Godbless.
 

Rewind: Batch '76 in GAH 2000

See you at the 3rd LCHS Grand Alumni Homecoming, May 23-24, 2008, LCHS Gym, Iligan City

Charles O. Sy, Batch '67

Built in 1953, the Home Economics building was a one-storey structure facing the kindergarten building on the northern side of the Roosevelt campus.  It was actually a multi-purpose building that housed the faculty mess hall and three rooms that served as resting quarters for teachers and pantry for canned goods and assorted utilities.

In our elementary years, we had subjects in Art & Craft, Home Economics and Industry, for which the HE building served as its workshop.  There we learned to work up a good number of crafts, such as making wax figurines of rabbits, mice, apples, and other fancy objects.  We were taught basic carpentry like making miniature houses. We also learned to construct scale models using match sticks, toothpicks and glue.

For the girls, they had lessons in basic cooking, baking, knitting and other handicraft. I remember often sneaking up to the Home Economics building with a few other boys whenever the girls had lessons in baking or cooking. The girls sometimes allowed us to grab a bite of their food.  When they were in a good mood, they would allow us to try our own cooking. Which, needless to say, turned out to be bad idea. It was then that we learned our first lesson on self-reliance and courage.  We learned about self-reliance by cooking our own food.  And courage by eating what we cooked.

The HE building also served as mess hall for stay-in faculty members. On some occasions we would hang around the building while the teachers had their lunch.  We never got to have a free treat of their food but we were content to have eavesdropped on their conversation.  Some of the teachers loved to laze around in the building after their meal. Others whiled away the time by taking a nap in one of the rooms.  Our Chinese teacher, Agustin Wu, often spent his after-lunch hour here reading novels.  I can't forget one of the books he read. It was Leo Tolstoy's "War and Peace."  I was amazed that a teacher in Chinese literature would be reading English literature during his free hour.

The meals of the stay-in faculty were prepared by a hired cook in the dirty kitchen just a stone's throw away from the HE building.  The cook was a cranky old maid whom we called "Teenage Señorita" after the title of the hit song by Teddy Randazzo in the early 60s. We often sneaked into the dirty kitchen for drinking water after a game of basketball but were promptly chased away by Teenage Señorita.  The dirty kitchen after all was her bailiwick. It was off limit for boys like us who often teased her by calling her Teenage Señorita.  The truth was we never knew her name.

Those were among the lessons we learned at the Home Economics building of the old LCHS a long time ago. For some alumni, those lessons have not gone to waste.  Today, Johnson Dy, a successful doctor, maintains a well-equipped carpentry workshop in his residence in Chicago. There he spends much of his free time doing carpentry work as a hobby.   He is one of the few amongst us who keeps our old lessons afresh after all these years.

Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69

Once upon a time, we were the kids of the Rolling '50s and the Fabulous '60s. We were young, innocent, and carefree, who looked forward to the start of each brand new day with nothing in mind but to be with our friends and neighbors - playing games, enjoying the funfare, the rain and the sun. Today, we take a sentimental journey to Nostalgia-land into our glorious past. So, join me as we reminisce the things we did in the summers of our youth, those times when we would be ...

o Catching dragonflies and grasshoppers.
o Playing indoor games like sungka, dama, domino, chess, Chinese checker, jackstone, scrabble, etc.
o Playing outdoor games like patintero, bato-lata, siatong, karang, takingking, jolen, lastiko, skipping rope, high jump, skating, etc.
o Eating popcorn, cotton candy, tira-tira, ice drop, twin popsicle, dirty ice cream, halo-halo, mais con yelo, ice flower, etc.
o Bicycling, camping, mountain climbing, fishing, swimming, sunbathing.
o Listening to radio dramas over DXIC or the stories of our folks.
o Reading Junior Illustrated Classics, Wakasan komiks, Graphic, Bisaya, Kislap, Liwayway, Alimyon, Lanao Mail, etc.
o Attending Jam Sessions.
o Strumming the guitar.
o Feeding the fishes in the aquarium or the fish pond.
o Watching the sunrise and the sunset at the pantalan.
o Joining Flores de Mayo.
o Playing balay-balay, luto-luto, etc.
o Buying 45 rpm records and playing it in our RCA Hi-Fi stereo.
o Dropping coins into the jukebox and listening to our favorite songs.
o Watching amateur singing contest at the city plaza.
o Buying the latest issues of Song Cavalcade, Pioneer Songhits, etc.
o Playing badminton, pingpong, or bowling.
o Watering the plants.
o Learning to cook.
o Requesting songs and listening to dedication programs over DXIC, DXRI or DXMI.
o Writing penpal letters.
o Attending fiesta celebrations.
o Watching black and white double program movies.
o Playing in the rain.
o Eating siniguelas, marang, durian, tambis, makopa, melon, pineapple, and other fruits of the season.
o Watching the parade on Labor's Day.
o Riding the tartanilla or the minica.
o Going to the market.
o Picture taking at the studio.
o Watching rainbows and the falling star.

Igdono U. Caracho, Batch '66

Catnap in the Park