Chapter One
23 Years of Service to the Oregon Community
Issue No. 33
September 2011
Planning for the next
FANHS Symposium
The Chapter held a special meeting on
August 28 at the home of the Olandrias
to finalize plans for the annual Symposium to be held on October 23 at the FilAm Center. Seated L to R: Cording
Borja-Mamaril, Mila Castro, Ciony Arroyo, Rizza Knight and Ruth Olandria.
Standing L to R: Lourdes Cereno
Markley, Willie Olandria, Ronnie Lim,
Ferdie Sacdalan, Adela Sacdalan and
Remy Piccinini. Not in photo: Simeon
Mamaril (who took the picture), symposium chair Jess Osilla, and guest Ricardo
Gaerlan.
Full story is on pages 4-6.
By Lourdes Cereno Markley
Among the Filipino American Oregonians, we have a very
talented and highly educated senior citizen, living in Portland—
Dr. Concordia R. Borja (Mrs. Simeon Mamaril), author of the
book “Filipino Americans: Pioneers to the Present” with Tyrone
Lim as co-author. She has been a very active member of the
Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), Oregon Chapter and its public relations officer since 1990. In 2008,
she was chosen as one of the trustees of FANHS by the general
membership. She obtained a Master’s degree, major in Analytical Chemistry in August 1959 from Purdue University and a
Ph.D. major in Bio-chemistry, minor in Organic Chemistry and
Human Physiology in June 1963 from George Washington University.
Dr. Borja was born in San Fernando, La Union, Philippines
on August 11, 1927. She said, “My mother was pregnant with
me when my father left for the United States in December 1926,
but returned to the Philippines in late 1930 due to failing health.”
She grew up and stayed in her birthplace until April 1953, except
during the years when she was studying at the University of the
Philippines, 1946-1950. As a child, she always wanted to come
to the United States due to the influence of her father. As a student she had always wanted to pursue graduate studies. When
asked about the person(s) who influenced her life, she mentioned
her father, Mariano Borja and a former high school Physics
teacher, Cleofe Bacungan.
She was a Chemistry instructor at Father Burgos College, San
Fernando, La Union from June 1951 to April 1953. Likewise, in
October 1953, she became a Chemistry instructor at the College
of Agriculture, University of the Philippines (UP) in Los Banos,
Laguna, until August 1958 when she left for the United States.
In 1958, she was awarded a Rockefeller scholarship towards a
technical program in Analytical Chemistry for one year and one
summer. She credited the opportunity to pursue graduate work
to Dr. Julian Banzon, chairman of the Department of Chemistry,
College of Agriculture, UP, who recommended her to the Committee who selected scholars of the Rockefeller Foundation. Dr.
Banzon advised her that if she wanted to finish a Master’s degree, she had to finish it in two semesters and one summer, the
duration of the scholarship. Hence, she took a full load of 21
units per semester and finished her thesis, “A Spectrophotometric Study in Vitamin A with Heteropoly Acids” in the summer of
1959. She showed her determination by finishing an M.S.
within the allotted time of scholarship.
At George Washington University (GWU), she was a research assistant for about four years (September 1959 to July
1963) and teaching assistant for three years (June 1960 to June
1963), while studying towards a Ph.D., which she finished in
June 1963. She was employed as a research associate of Dr.
Merlin Bergdoll at the Food Research Institute (FRI), University
of Chicago from July 1963 to July 1966. When the FRI transferred to the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Dr. Bergdoll
invited her to join the staff and she accepted the offer. She was
with the University of Wisconsin from August 1966 to September 1971. She continued her research in staphylococcal enterotoxins at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul from October
1971 to July 1972.
Continued on page 3
Page 2
CHAPTER ONE T September 2011
Oregon Chapter
News In Brief
The residence of our members, Lita and Ernie Quilban of
Vancouver, WA, was the venue of our last regular meeting on July 8. Breakfast was served before the meeting
started. The hospitality and generosity of the Quilbans are
greatly appreciated by our Chapter members.
On July 16, Ernie presented a Classical Guitar concert
at Montavilla United Methodist Church as a fundraising
for the church. His brother Domingo (banduria player)
also performed with Ernesto some Philippine melodies.
The wedding of Allan, the son of our generous members
Mina and Akbar Tahayeri, was on July 23 at their palatial house
in Sherwood. First there was a Persian wedding (Akbar was
originally from Iran) followed by a shortened Catholic wedding
of short prayers by Father Rufo, and an exchange of rings. Reception was at the wide yard with the Ronnie Exconde Band
providing musical entertainment.
Members Mila Castro, Cely Ward and Florence Gonzales participated in the first annual World Cuisine Festival at Immaculate Heart Parish on July 30. Tasty dishes representing many
countries were: Ethiopia, Germany, Ghana, Iran, Ireland, Kenya,
Italy, Mexico, Philippines, Sierra Leone,US (Hawaii, African
American, etc.), Vietnam.
The Lims (Jaime and Dory), generous members of our Chapter,
offered their beautiful 9-room beach house in Lincoln City as a
venue for the last meeting of the Council of Filipino American
Associations on August 6. Chapter president Ruth Olandria presented a basket full of bathroom necessities as our donation for
the raffle during the 15th conference of the Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce held in Portland.
On August 6, the Ingan Leyte Project (ILP) Little Children of
the World held its fundraising event outdoors—lunch in Hopkins Demonstration Forest south of Oregon City—led by former
Chapter member Marci Hope. Featured speakers were Tim Delano of Oregon State University Forestry Outreach Education,
and ILP executive director Marci Hope.
A family-like informal gathering was sponsored by Chapter
members Fred and Elizabeth Asa on August 7 at their sprawling
estate in Gresham.
Cording Borja-Mamaril celebrated her 84th birthday on August
11 alone with her hubby Simeon with a late lunch at the Buffet
Palace in Beaverton. No one was invited this year to save some
money for her coming trip to St. Louis, MO in October to attend
the FANHS trustees meeting for 2011.
Cebuano Speaking Organization held its annual picnic in
Rooster Rock on August 13, led by its founder Willie Olandria
(former Oregon Chapter president, 1991-1993). There was
plenty of food brought by the members that Lucy Gallarde even
sent home Simeon Mamaril (guest) with some fried chicken.
EXHIBIT PANELS REPAIR. The group that repaired the
aging FANHS photo exhibit panels, L to R: Bill Knight, Rizza
Knight, Mila Castro, Willie Olandria, Lourdes Markley, Del
Castro, Ruth Olandria, Cording Borja-Mamaril. Courtesy:
Simeon Mamaril who took the photo and also helped in the repair work.
The Federation of Philippine American Chambers of Commerce
(FPACC) held its conference on August 18-20 at the Portland
Hilton. The theme of the 15th anniversary celebration was
“Bridging the River of Change: Succeeding Economically in the
21st Century.” Our own chapter member Jaime Lim, president
of FPACC, welcomed the attendees. By the way, our Chapter
treasurer Simeon Mamaril is also the secretary of FPACC. On
banquet night, the first president of the Philippine American
Chamber of Commerce of Oregon, Angie Collas-Dean, was one
of the speakers, aside from the keynote speakers, Portland
mayor Sam Adams, and Craig Allen, deputy assistant secretary
for Asia, US Department of Commerce. Overall as judged by
the attendees’ input, the event was a resounding success.
Aguman Capampangan had its annual picnic on August 21 at
Cascade Locks led by our Chapter member Mina Tahayeri. As
usual the members brought a lot of food. Simeon Mamaril presented a panel with photos taken during the associations’ medical mission to the Philippines in March.
FANHS OREGON CHAPTER
MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION & RENEWAL
Rates:
Individual Annual:
Individual 10-Year:
Individual Lifetime:
Family Annual:
Family 10-Year:
Family Lifetime:
Student/Senior Annual:
$30
$150
$300
$35
$200
$350
$10
To join and/or renew your membership, please send your name, address & email address to fanhs-oregon@yahoogroups.com, or to Ruth
Olandria, president: willyruth@msn.com. Please indicate the fields of
interest/expertise that you would share to volunteer for the Chapter.
Tax-deductible donations accepted by the Chapter. All checks and
payments may be made out to FANHS Oregon Chapter and mailed to
6020 SW Corbett., Portland, 97239. Thank you for your support of
FANHS Oregon Chapter.
Page 3
CHAPTER ONE T September 2011
A Talented Senior
Citizen Pinay
Continued from page 1
She was forced to leave Minnesota (it
was too cold for her) when Serva Feinbiochemica of Heidelberg, Germany
offered her a research job from August
1972 to December 1987. When she developed allergies towards some chemicals, the German owner of the company,
Dr. Nikolaus Grubhofer, transferred her
from the research laboratory to the marketing department where she assisted in
writing scientific advertising articles
from January 1982 to December 1987.
Dr. Borja returned to the United
States in Portland, Oregon, at the end of
1987 and later got married to her longtime admirer, Simeon D. Mamaril, who
at that time had become a widower.
When asked to reveal her secret to
success. Dr. Mamaril said, “One has to
have determination, patience, and hard
work. Once you have a goal, you have
to reach the goal, by doing everything to
achieve the goal. For example, to finish
the requirements for a Master’s degree
within the allotted time given by the
Rockefeller Foundation, I studied diligently and with strong determination, I
finished my degree in two semesters and
one summer.”
Dr. Borja’s retirement years are spent
in gardening both ornamental and vegetable plants and reading, as well as writing articles for Chapter One—the newsletter of FANHS Oregon Chapter. She
continues to subscribe to scientific and
educational magazines to satisfy her
passion in reading for knowledge.
Late-breaking News
Last night (Sept. 18) at the Fil Am Center of Portland, Oregon, Mrs. Ruth L.
Olandria, was voted and selected the
new Fil Am Senior Mrs. Philippines
2011. Yeah! Congratulations,
Ruth. The escort was her husband, Wilfredo Olandria, Sr. The emcee and coordinator for senior activities (every 3rd Sunday of the
month) was Mila Castro. (Lourdes
Markley reporting.)
TEAM ASIA PACIFIC. Front row: Monica Martinez, Mariana Reyes, Ma. Regina
Uytiepo. Second row: Cindy Kerr Ferrer, Danielle Mendoza, Alisha Vergara, Jaime
Luz San Juan, Kevyn Anne Lacson, Dharlene Dolleton. Back row: Lucia Lorenzo,
Coach Joy Lanting, Coach Hernando Posadas, Coach Esteban Lacson, Angela Caringal.
Philippine team finishes 4th
in Little League World Series
The 2011 Little League Softball World
Seriies was held at the Alpenrose Dairy
Field in Portland on August 11-17.
The Asia Pacific region was represented by the Philippine Little League
champion Muntinlupa.
Asia Pacific beat Lombardia of Milano,
Italy, Willow Creek of Beaverton, Oregon, and New City Little League of New
City, New York to advance to the semifinals.
The Muntinlupa girls, much too small
for their 11-13 age bracket, were no match
to the taller, better and faster running girls
of Sterling Central of Sterling, Illinois,
resulting in a score of 16-1.
The Filipina girls tried their very best
to play for 3rd place when they played
against the Southeast team of Wilkes
County, North Carolina, but again they
could not cope with the taller girls’ agile
performances, and so garnered only 4th
place.
But that was not bad at all, considering
the fact that there were 10 teams in all for
the World Series.
Sterling Central won as champion this
year, beating the famous team of Waco,
Texas that had won 11 straight years since
1992.
Aguman Capampangan and the Filipino American Association of Portland
and Vicinity hosted the Muntinlupa players and coaches with food and drinks.
Next FANHS Oregon Chapter regular members’ meeting:
October 8, 2011
10:00 am
Montavilla United Methodist Church—Library
232 SE 81th Ave., Portland, OR
Page 4
CHAPTER ONE T September 2011
President's Message
Ruth Laurente Olandria
FANHS Oregon Chapter
It is almost a year since I took over
as President of the FANHS-Oregon
Chapter and I experienced good support of the membership. We have
accomplished together to educate the
Filipino community about FANHS
through the distribution of our newsletters, educational trip and symposium.
Members of FANHS-Oregon Chapter visited the National Archive
in Seattle in April 2011. Members of the Cebuano Speaking Organization (CSO) joined the trip and they were amazed of the large
volume of documents of many Filipinos in the United States.
We will have our annual symposium this coming October 2011, in
commemoration of the Filipino American history month. This
symposium is chaired by Jess Osilla and assisted by Ligaya Humbert. The symposium will be about the "Challenges of Multicultural Marriages". Five speakers have been selected by the committee. Please invite more people to attend this interesting and
informative symposium.
A copy of the speech of each speaker will be forwarded to the National Archive in Seattle, Washington.
Several chapter members helped in restoring the exhibit panels
currently housed at the residence of Lourdes Markley. These exhibit panels are now ready for display when needed.
To all members of FANHS-Oregon Chapter, I just want to say
thank you for all your dedication to serve our organization. I am
stepping down as the Chapter President as I finish the term vacated
by the previous president. I am now working on a project on my
mission trip to Santander, Cebu, Philippines.
There are many capable leaders in our FANHS-Oregon Chapter, I
know that the nomination committee will find a new President.
Please continue to do your cooperative spirit and support in meeting our mission statement. I would like to thank the CFAA President Ephraim Roxas and Concordia Mamaril for stepping
in during the time when I needed the support. I would specially
thank all those who supported our fundraising, educational trip
project, those who helped in the restoration of the exhibit panels,
symposium committee, Newsletter staff and all those who attended
our meetings to support our goals.
I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to the Chapter Officers, namely Ligaya Humbert, Vice-President; Consuelo Rivera,
Secretary; Simeon Mamaril, Treasurer, Robert Bayot, Assistant
Treasurer and Concordia Mamaril, FANHS National Trustee.
Thank you so much for the wonderful experience of serving
FANHS-Oregon Chapter.
Jess Osilla (in photo taken in the 1950s during his Navy career days) is chair of this year’s Symposium.
Symposium 2011 is all about
The Challenges
of Multicultural
Marriages
Page 5
CHAPTER ONE T September 2011
The Symposium Panelists
Cindy Fernandez Reidy
Parents:
Wilfredo Ollero Fernandez & Aleli Jocson
Fernandez. Wilfredo
graduated from University
of Washington (Business
Administration: Accounting). Retired U.S. Navy
(28 years) and Northrop
Grumman (Logistics Analyst: 10 years). Immigrated
to the United States in 1958. Hometown:
Urdaneta, Pangasinan, Philippines.
Aleli (formerly Aleli Dimalanta Jocson)
is a Homemaker. Attended Far Eastern
University (Philippines). Immigrated to the
US in 1963. Hometown: Concepcion, Tarlac. They currently reside in Bremerton,
Washington.
Washington University (Fall
2011), pursuing Pre-med studies.
Cameron Alexander Fernandez Reidy: 19 years old. Incoming freshman, Clark College (Fall 2011). Plans to transfer to WSU: Major: Web Design/Graphics
Cindy’s Educational Background:
University of Southern California, McChord Air Force Base extension:
Completed graduate credits in Organizational Behavior; accepted into the Master
of Science program: Systems Management, University of California, Davis:
Bachelor of Arts, International Relations:
Trade & Finance; World Politics
Attended University of the Philippines:
1982-83 (President’s List)
Certified. Bank of America (formerly
known as Countrywide): 1997 – 2008.
Senior Underwriter, Chief Underwriter
(Underwriter III), and Hawaii Regional
Operations Manager/AVP. Other Banks,
Credit Unions, and Mortgage Companies:
1983-1996 (California, Guam, and Oklahoma).
Personal interests:
Cindy enjoys spending time with family
and friends. She looks forward to traveling
more once her fraternal twin sons have
graduated from college.
Cindy dreams of retirement “someday”…
Community Service:
Active in Filipino-American Associations
in SW Washington and Oregon, including
~ FAAPVI/Fil-am Portland & Vicinities:
Assistant Secretary, and Lifetime MemberSpouse:
ship (Reidy family); FAACCV/Fil-am
Charles (“Chuck”) Arthur Reidy.
Career:
28+ years in Banking and Finance, empha- Clark County & Vicinities: Member;
Chuck’s parents: Ralph Albert Reidy
(1920-1993) from Indianapolis, Indiana. A sizing Mortgage Banking, Bank of Amer- CFAA/Council of Fil-am Associations of
World War II veteran, awarded the Silver ica: 2009 to present: Underwriter: Conven- SW Washington and Oregon: Principal
Star (Gallantry in Action), Battle of Leyte. tional (Conforming and Non-conforming) Representative (FAAPVI Affiliate); Aguman Capampangan: Member; FANHS/FilRetired from the U.S. Federal Government and Government (FHA and VA): FHA
(40 years). Married (1946-1993) to Estela Direct Endorsement Underwriter, and VA am National Historical Society: Member
Staff Appraisal Reviewer (SAR) /Lender
Lorenzo Reidy (formerly Estela Arellano
Appraisal Processing Program (LAPP)
Lorenzo), a Homemaker. Estela is from
Malabon, Metro Manila, Philippines.
Estela resides in Columbia, South Carolina Rizza Knight
near two daughters.
Chuck: Microsoft (Account Manager,
Rizalina Knight graduated from Mindanao State
Veterans Administration). Retired U.S. Air University. She achieved a Master’s degree from
Force (20 years). Graduated from St. Marthe same university, and also at the University of
tin’s University, Bachelor of Arts: Manthe Rockies in Colorado. She is active in Snowagement Information Systems. Attended
Cap Community Charities. Recently moved to
University of the Philippines (Clark Air
Oregon, she is a member of the Cebuano SpeakBase extension), 1981-82. Chuck and
ing Organization. She is married to Bill Knight.
Cindy have been married over 28 years
They live in Gresham, Oregon. (Note: Rizza’s
and reside in Felida (Vancouver), Washofficial biographical data was not available at
ington.
presstime for this newsletter.)
Children:
Clarissa Lyn Fernandez Reidy: 23 years
old. Graduated from Washington State
University, Bachelor of Arts: Business
Management; Minor: Spanish. Member
Services: PIA West. Resides in Salmon
Creek (Vancouver), Washington.
Carlo Anthony Fernandez Reidy: 19
years old. Incoming freshman, Western
Page 6
CHAPTER ONE T September 2011
The Symposium Panelists
Tony Cassera
Anthony Cassera was born in
Manila Philippines just after
WWII. He arrived in Portland OreAlong with his
gon in 1960 with his parents: Franwife Barbara Afcis X. Cassera, British American
fleck, they own Cascitizen father, and his mother Catasera & Affleck
lina Rubio Cassera of Moncada,
Video Productions.
Tarlac, Philippines. He has
They both
two brothers—Eric and Disraeli
are producers, direcCassera.
tors, videograAnthony is employed at Legacy
phers and editors.
Health Systems at Emanuel Medical CenThey also have a catering business with
ter. He is Photographer and Audio/ Visual a specialty of Roast Beef Brisket.
support technician with CME ( Continuing
Anthony is accomplished artist, painter,
Medical Education). He has been at Legand writer. In the past few years, he has
acy Health Systems for 17 years.
held several art shows featuring his paint-
Marci Liguid Hope
FAMILY: Husband John S. Hope (deceased);
son Matthew L. Hope
EDUCATION: MA and Post Graduate Studies, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon
1980;
Bachelor of Science in Education (Majors:
History & Theology), Silliman University,
Dumaguete City, Philippines , 1967
CAREER:
1980-2002 (22 years) Portland Public
Schools, School District #1
Taught in Middle School and High School –
Portsmouth Middle School and Roosevelt
High School; Special Ed Master Teacher – supervised Special Education
student teachers from Portland State University and University of Portland;
Special Ed Program Chair – Area II PPS Department of Special Ed; Retired
as a Special Education Consulting Teacher
1973-77—Teacher Trainer, Community College of Micronesia, Ponape,
Micronesia; High School Instructor – Ponape Island Central School, Ponape
High School Kosrae High School, Kosrae, Micronesia
1970-1972 – Mission Work, United Board for World Ministries, Mizpah
High School, Truk, Micronesia; High School Instructor, Dean of Girls and
Dormitory Manager
1967-70 - Instructor, Silliman High School and college women dormitory
manager, Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines
ONGOING ACTIVITIES & INTERESTS
2000 to Present – Original Trustee, CFAA
2002 to Present – Founding Executive Director, LCW – Ingan Leyte Project
(ILP), Ingan, Hinunangan, Southern Leyte, Philippines
2002 to Present – Board of Trustee Member, Little Children of the Philippines Foundation (LCPF), Dumaguete City, Philippines
2002 to Present – Active member Montavilla Kiwanis Club and past President, Portland, Oregon
2000 to Present – Active Member, Board Member and current Secretary,
Philippine American Chamber of Commerce of Oregon and SW Washington
(PACCO)
ing of military planes, portraiture, and exhibited his Photography. His interests includes Military History WWII in the
Pacific.
Anthony has been a member of the Filipino American community in Portland since 1960. He was the president of
the FAYA (Filipino American Youth Association) in 1968. Over these many years
he has documented the Filipino community
in Portland on both film and video.
Anthony and Barbara have been married for 32 years and have one daughter,
Maria Affleck Cassera, age 26.
Remy Dones Piccininni
Registered Nurse
(Retired), married to
John Piccininni
(Retired Federal Employee)
Birthplace: Cauayan,
Negros Occidental
Education: College of
Nursing, Silliman University, Dumaguete
City, Negros Oriental,
Philippines; Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 1970
Past Nursing Licenses: Philippines Board of Nursing; Georgia State Board of Nursing; State of Illinois Board of Nursing, and Oregon State Board of
Nursing
Certificates:
St. Luke's Hospital – Psychiatric Nursing;
University of Chicago (UC) Hospitals and Clinics Critical Care Nursing
Employment:
St. Luke's Hospital, Quezon City, Philippines
Redmond Park Hospital, Rome Georgia, USA
University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics
Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland
Past Memberships: Oregon Nurses Association
(ONA); American Nurses Association (ANA); FilAm Association of Portland and Vicinity
Current Memberships:
FANHS – Filipino-American National Historical
Society Oregon Chapter; SUACONA – Silliman
University Alumni Council of North America;
PANOCHA –Pacific Northwest Chapter, Silliman
University Alumnae of the Pacific Northwest; Oregon Grotto of the National Speleological Society
(NSS)
Page 7
CHAPTER ONE T September 2011
THOUGHTS of a FANHS Trustee
By Concordia Borja-Mamaril
FANHS National Trustee
Whenever I return to my country of birth,
I carry with me not only my luggage but also
carloads of joy packed deep in my mind with
the thought that I would again see my close relatives and friends,
as well as my 1950 co-graduates in BS in Chemistry at the University of the Philippines. But not all of my visits (12 in all as of
this writing) were happy ones; there were also sad
events. I remember vividly the sudden trip of my
sister and I in May 1993 when an unexpected call
from my niece in Manila informed us that Mother
died in her sleep, 11 days after celebrating her
92nd birthday.
There were two other sad events, but not as sad
as when Mother died. I recall my first trip to the
Philippines in 1966 after being away for eight
years. Why did it take me so long to return? Because I waited until I received my green card. I
was one of those included in the 20,000, due to the
passage of a bill in Congress transferring unused
European quotas to the Asian countries. At the
airport, after hugging my mother, she unexpectedly
uttered in Ilocano, "Natayen in Tatang mo." (Your
father is already dead.) All I could say was "Wen ammoc." (Yes I
know.) Then tears welled in my eyes as I remembered the last
day I saw my father on August 28, 1958 at the airport when I left
for the U.S, as a Rockefeller scholar for graduate studies. In some
few moments precious memories of my father's life flooded my
mind, which tempered the profound sadness of death. The other
sad event brought me home occurred in April 1977 when I had to
join my sister and her children for the one-year death anniversary
of my brother in law.
My 1966 trip was also laced with happy moments. I was one
of the sponsors in the christening of the youngest son of a very
good friend in high school, who also brought me to Baguio City
where her in-laws resided. Then we went to Legaspi City to see
the famous Mayon Volcano. Through the courtesy of Dr. Cesar
Ingles (brother of my good friend and UP classmate, Norma Ingles), we went around the city and to Tiwi to see the hot springs.
With my mother, sister and her family. I went to Tagaytay City to
witness the eruption of Taal volcano. I also went to Narvacan,
Ilocos Sur to join in the christening of the only son of brother
Bernardo. And of course, I had to visit Dr. Julian Banzon
(chairman of the Department of Chemistry, College of Agriculture) who recommended me for a Rockefeller scholarship.
In 1974 when I was already working in Heidelberg, Germany
at Serva Feinbiochimica company, I went for a second visit to the
Philippines. I was so glad to see my mother again and other close
relatives, as well as my former UP classmates, during the Chemistry alumni reunion in Diliman. The next Chemistry alumni reunion I attended was in 2000 and our class 1950 was the honored
golden jubilarian. The 1950 graduates who were able to attend
presented a dance in short double steps to the tune of "Singing in
the Rain" and holding our umbrellas. At the end we positioned
the umbrellas to read Y2K-GOLD. We also sang "Those Were
the Days" but I changed the lyrics to fit the occasion. For example the first 4 lines went as follows: "Once upon a time in nineteen fifty, When we were graduates of Chemistry, Remember
when we marched with excitement, And dreamed of all the years
that lay ahead." The next UP Chemistry alumni reunion I joined
was in 2005, fifty-five years after graduation. One of us was supposed to since Lourdes Velez-Mantaring, former chairperson of
the Institute of Chemistry did not attend for she was touring Israel and Jordan. All I did was to introduce each of my former
classmates in attendance and mentioned a little about their ac-
UP Chemistry class 1950: Cording Borja-Mamaril, Gregorio
Abreu (cum laude), Ester Mirafuente, Lourdes Velez-Mantaring
(cum laude), Amelia Bautista, Alice Buenconsejo, topnotcher of
the first Chemistry board exam given in 1954. (Photo courtesy
Amelia Bautista)
complishments. I joined again the chemistry alumni reunion in
2008, as well as the general reunion of UP alumni. That was a
grand occasion being the centennial of the founding of UP. But
the most memorable of all was the 2010 reunion, for we were
honored us diamond jubilarians. The Institute of Chemistry gave
us colorful umbrellas marked University of the Philippines and
the president of the UP Alumni Association. Alfredo Pascual (a
1970 Chemistry graduate and now the UP President since February 2011) presented to us a medallion on which was inscribed,
"Diamond Jubilarian 2010."
In June of this year, I went back to the Philippines, primarily
to join the Chemistry alumni reunion scheduled for June 25.
There was a continuous downpour that flooded Manila and Quezon City that the reunion was postponed for October. However,
on July 1, five of my Chemistry co-graduates feted me for lunch
at Terry's restaurant at Podium mall in Mandaluyong City. I
promised them that our picture will be included in Chapter One
newsletter. So here we are in the photo on this page.
Our class 1950 had 3 cum laude and 1 magna cum laude. So
far no other graduating year in chemistry has surpassed this number of honor students, because in 1946 when we were freshmen,
only valedictorians, salutatorians, 1st and second honors were
admitted due to limited space because the buildings in Ermita
were badly damaged during the liberation of Manila in World
War II.
Page 8
CHAPTER ONE T September 2011
The purpose of Chapter One is to inform, update, and disseminate information relevant to FANHS, both locally and nationally, and to
the Filipino American experience. You may already have an article ready with regard to this. Please submit your ideas, comments,
and/or suggestions to the FANHS newsletter. Contact Ruth Olandria, president, or any of the officers or members of FANHS Oregon
Chapter.
Our Mission is to Promote Understanding, Education,
Enlightenment, Appreciation and Enrichment through the
Identification, Gathering, Preservation and Dissemination
of the History and Culture of Filipino Americans in the
United States.
FILIPINO AMERICAN NATIONAL
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
OREGON CHAPTER
Ruth Laurente Olandria, President
willyruth@msn.com
Ligaya Humbert, Vice President
ligaya.humbert@gmail.com
Consuelo Rivera, Secretary
welo.rivera@gmail.com
Simeon D. Mamaril, Treasurer
sidama@juno.com
Dr. Concordia Borja-Mamaril, National Trustee
sidama@juno.com
FANHS-Oregon is a nonprofit tax-exempt
organization operating under the bylaws of the
Filipino American National Historical Society Incorporated.
FANHS-OR Board of Advisors
Fernando F. Sacdalan
Wilfredo L. Olandria
Albert H. Newnam
Simeon D. Mamaril
Danilo E. del Rosario
Ligaya S. Humbert
Adoracion O. Lim
Lourdes Cereno Markley
Dolly Pangan-Specht
Ruth L. Olandria
Newsletter: Ronnie Lim
1988-1991
1991-1993
1993-1994
1994-2000, 2002
2001
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2011-
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