Thursday, October 29, 2009

Old Picture circa 1952, before I was born


I have often wondeed what Guihulngan looked like before I was born, and there is nothing like those old photographs, black and white, that can answer this.
Mr Fernando Villegas, lent me a picture dated July 4, 1952, taken during the 6th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Independence Day. The shot was taken from the second floor of Dr Gualberto Rivera's residence, facing south.
We have a motorcade of old automobiles flanked by bicycles. Then Mayor William Billy Villegas (who later rose to boardmember, vice governor and eventually governor of the province of Negros Oriental) is here with his vice mayor, Hon Jose Tirambulo Trinidad.

On the foreground riding a bike with a box-like frame (maybe like a float?) is Mr Fructoso "Tusoy" Dorimon. Mr Tusoy Dorimon used to write legal documents, somewhat like a clerk in those days when lawyers were so scarce.

At the other side, Mrs Jesusa Penaflor Villegas (mother of Noy Fernando), then the only woman municipal employee (talk of discrimination against women, ha ha ha)at the municipio, with Raymundo Orcullo (principal clerk at MTO) ( with bike, how popular and a status symbol those days), and Gervacio Guzman (in checkered shirt, soon to become the policeman).

Those acacia trees is the parking area, and at the far end is Anoy Logronio's botica. All structures were of temporary materials, like nipa and wooden walls.

Take note, the third car is the weapon's carrier (model, that is, translated to the younger generation) of Mrs Memeng (Filomena)Alquizola Reyes, mother of incumbent mayor Ernesto Reyes.

The billboard advertizes Oriental Academy (one of the two secondary highschools here, the other one being Hibbard Institute which was a branch of Silliman University).

Noy Fernando recalls that every Independence Day (July 4 was later moved to June 12), the veterans were asked to recall their wartime experiences as Filipino soldiers defended democracy.

5 comments:

  1. Hello Ma'am... Pls. visit www.jesmaringuihulngan.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. DeSoto Convertible, Ford Tudor, Jeep. mga nindot kaayo nga mga auto

    murag akong papa naa ani nga parade hehe

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  3. My husband, Peter Bulado Macalua, became very nostalgic when he saw this picture, because the first car, the De Soto convertible was his father's (Judge Hilarion Quirante Macalua) car, and he's positive that his Papa was the one driving it. My husband recalled that his father was one of the "Bataan Boys" (a name given to war veterans), and that he participated actively in the July 4th celebration every year. His father was a First Lieutenant in the 72nd Infantry Division, during World War II. He was also a survivor of the infamous Death March.
    I was trying to copy/paste this picture in the Macalua Family (FB group), but was unable to, probably because of its privacy settings. We wish to thank you for blogging about it. More power.

    Peter and Josefina J. Macalua
    Email: pbmacalua@yahoo.com
    macjo5474@yahoo.com
    Blog: http://titajo.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. to all Guihulnganons please help develop our wiki for Guihulngan. http://guihulnganon.info make your contributions to rebuild our historical records.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Very nostalgic this photo indeed...the balcony where this picture was taken still stands today..the old residence of lolo Gualbert and lola Pacing Rivera, with a restaurant at the ground floor also known as Cozy Corner

    ReplyDelete