Family Oral history series (one)

Oral history of the Flores family: a personal rendering
by Frances Flores Morillo

It was not too long ago that my brother, who now goes by Luis, rather than by Luis Jr. when our father was still alive, urged me to write an oral history of our family.

I long toyed with the idea of writing some kind of biography, one of those tasks we toy with now and then, only to temporarily shelve it once more somewhere at the back of our minds.

Let’s make it doable,” my brother suggested.  “Write snippets of whatever you remember and we’ll gather these all together in some kind of collage.”  “Whatever it is, will be a work in progress, undergoing frequent alterations with input from all members of the family. Sometime in the future it can be organized into some kind of a biography.  All family members, young and old, cannot not only add information, suggest alterations, but in the best of possible worlds, submit snippets of their own.  We'll start an avalanche of interpretive oral historical accounts.”

So, I am starting with the following first collage entry.  I invite you all to join me.  You can make direct comments to the blog entries or email me.

Warmest regards and affection to all.

Itogon, Benguet (1939)

I have no memory of our life in the north of the Philippines, in the town of Itogon, in the mountainous province of Benguet where my father (Luis) worked for the Macawiwili Gold Mining and Development Company Inc., probably his first stable job after marrying my mother (Carmen).

I have never been to Itogon but I understand it was a mining town, rich in gold, which brought settlers and rapid development

I do not remember the photograph below which shows our family in December of 1939.  I am 2 years old.  I do not know how I was described then, but as the photo shows, I have short dark hair and the inquiring gaze, typical of the infant that I must have been.  Seated in our living room on the left are my mother and myself (Frannie).  My father is seated on the chair on the right.  I do not know the people behind us.  They are probably the household help and/or friends of my parents.

Except for the rattan chairs and coffee table, the room is very western.  We have a Christmas tree and many presents for me.  My parents’ partly visible wedding photo hangs on the right wall and my mother probably crocheted the Dollie on top of the coffee table.

My father valued reading. He was an avid reader. Carpentry was one of his hobbies and he built the desk in the background.   He also built a small bookcase made of narra wood (Philippine mahogany) which I keep in my house to this day.  Some things stretch across one's lifetime and even beyond to future generations. I have been remiss for it is only now that I reveal the legacy borne by this bookcase.

My father is a young man in this picture, self-assured, confident and decisive.  There was “never a dull moment” when he was around.  He was articulate, intelligent, schooled, slender and hardworking.  No doubt these characteristics helped propel him to prominence as an engineer.  There was a need for engineers, teachers and a whole generation of professionals during post-WW II development.   My father was part of this optimism, a man of causes for the improvement of society, a better and more commodious life, the promise of the post-war American influence.

The inscription on the back of this next photo specifies, a view of the cottage in Baguio where my father and mother stayed on holiday.  They were close to my mother’s parents keeping in frequent contact about the what’s, why’s and where-with-all’s.  Baguio is a popular vacation and honeymoon city because of its temperate climate and lush and varied vegetation.  In the Philippines, pine trees can only grow and cows can only thrive in Baguio. No doubt it is in this mountainous paradise where my father was able to procure a Christmas tree.

This next picture is a group picture of the workers at the Macawiwili Mining plant at Itogon and shows my father standing at the extreme right wearing a helmet.  The next photo shows the electric power plant.  This suggests my father probably worked as an electrical engineer that monitored and maintained the power plant.  Much later, after the war he constructed and maintained a number of power plants for the Soriano conglomerate.³

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Footnotes:

1. Itogon, Benguet, once a mining township is now a municipality with a population of around 60,000 people.  It is a tourist site, has a dam (Binga dam) and the temperature is around 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit all year round.  I believe Ilocano was the major dialect spoken in this place.
2. After the war Andres’ Soriano was the leading industrialist in Philippine post-war development. He was originally a Spanish citizen, then became a Filipino citizen, finally becoming an American Citizen till his passing.    Presumably, being an American citizen was more favorable to his business interests as opposed to being a Filipino citizen.  He is credited with forming the San Miquel Brewery and Philippine Airlines among numerous other companies.