GOLDEN MEMORIES FROM TESSIE MARZAN

"Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold."

INTRODUCING TERESITA LONZAME MARZAN (HIGH SCHOOL 1960)

EBB'S E-TALK: Over the years, the above quote is one of my favorite. I found out that many friends come in different colors. Some are silver. Others are platinum, but the BEST are the GOLD ones. I have many friends who are truly GOLD in hearts and souls. Without them, my world is dull and gray. Golden friends enriched my life. So let's keep our old friends. Like me, you'll be surprised that we are blessed with lots of GOLD, though not literally. Some old friends are gems like gold that keeps us afloat when times are tough.

We are happy to report that our blog is generating lots of buzzing lately. I'd like to welcome Tessie Lonzame Marzan to our e-grp list. We also welcome Naty Cristi Ocampo for speaking up. This week I am taking a break and let others do most of the talking and musing. It's wonderful to walk down "Memory Lane" with them once more. After Tessie's long e-mail, it help jogged the memories of many classmates which I posted here. I don't remember the many details of our high school days and thanks to many classmates who filled the gaps. Ghee, forty nine and 1/2 years went by so fast. There are so many golden memories and here are tid bits along the way. Halina at maglakad na tayo!

TALES FROM TESSIE MARZAN: (PART 1)
Hello dear classmates,
What a wonderful surprise to hear from Sari & Cherrie after 49 years. Sari, sorry for not calling you back pronto, I was planning to call you sometime that weekend. I am technologically impaired so my husband does the computer tasks for me. Hope you don't mind that he's privy to our communications. So, don't put anything there that he ought not to know.
This e-mail is a loooong one - combination biography, remembrances, musings & etc; so make yourselves comfortable; here goes:
I went to UST & graduated (M.D.) 1968; married Romulo from Moncada, Tarlac, 1970. I had my daughter, Maddie, 1971 & my son, Mel 1974; went to US 1972 under the exchange visitors program (Ohio - Michigan - Illinois). I visited PWU once & saw Perla B. & Linda C.; ran into Cynthia U. & Susan V. in UST. Had no contact with anyone since but got some news from my sisters. I'm the oldest of 6 girls & we all went to HS. 3 to college & 1 retired as instructor from the college of nursing, PWU; ditto 3 nieces to HS & at least 2 in college. So you can see my extended connection to PWU. The school should give the Lonzame family a loyalty plaque.
I worked at a state hospital, M-F, 8-4 with one hour lunch breaks & coffee breaks as needed, (nice schedule - huh). I worked various shifts the last few years of my career which wrecked my circadian rhythm; the change of schedule, though offered some distinct moolah advantage. I took early retirement incentive formally in 2002 but continued working for several more months on contractual basis. My hubby, Romy, retired 2006 (Info system/customer relations). I turned 65 March 5, 2009 & like some of you is quite happy with the senior perks.

MARZAN FAMILY PICTURE LAST CHRISTMAS 2008
We have lived in Bartlett since 1977, a mid-size middle class town, 35 minutes from O'hare Int'l. airport, 1 hour from downtown Chicago & 15 minutes from the hospital. It was a convenient, likable, livable town for both of us. My daughter has 2 kids (Angelina, 7 & Alex almost 3). She used to work for Delta airline in Atlanta but is now based with her family in Dubai.They spend every summer with us. My son also has 2 kids (Amelia almost 4 & Gabriel 8 months) and they live nearby. I'm originally from Sucat, Muntinlupa (Sylvia E.- you're my honorary town mate). My parents are deceased, I have 3 sisters in Texas, 2 brothers & 2 sisters in the Phil.
About three years ago, I went into a frenzy; joined the Garden Club, Womans Club & the Friends of the Library. I have since dropped the Womans Club, but still volunteer at the library & enjoy the Garden Club activities. I'm also an avid reader (all genre except Harlequin type novels), watch movies checked out from the library but limited to ones with subtitles due to my hearing loss. We live simply, do our own house work, take care of our yard & babysit our grand kids as needed. We try to travel abroad once a year & have recently enjoyed group tours as we used to travel on our own.
We chose to stay in the area to remain close to relatives & friends and also, we like the changing beauty of the 4 seasons. We bought cemetery lots in Bartlett, so you can see we're really staying put. Am I morbid or what?
Well, this is my life in a nutshell; not very exciting but satisfying enough. My whole family visited Phil. in 2005, so, 2010 is about the right time to go home again.
Given our age, the loss of some of us is not unexpected but still hits you hard to see the names & picture their faces.
We're fortunate to have a copy of the class picture, can't help with identifying the others, dahil kahit yong sarili ko ay hindi ko marecognize. I thought I was the one seated to the right of Cynthia U. I trust your keen eyes that I'm the one on the extreme left, 6th row. I had a few chuckles looking at the Acquaintance day pic.& reading Sari's descriptions.
Ebb --- I liked the quonset huts - anyone out there who liked them, too?
BTW, I'm wondering about Tessie Agana, Angie Castillo & Judith Gonzales. I remember them when we were in the quonset hut.
I hope I started to bridge the long gap & will continue to do so with my next e-mails. Keep the blogs flowing. I'm looking forward to reading them.
Warm regards to all.

TALES FROM TESSIE MARZAN (PART 2)
Hello Dear Classmates,
Hope everyone is as well as can be. Sari, thanks for the compliment. BTW, Renita called & she'll call again to set a date to visit. I prefer e-mails as my way of communication as they are too long for the blogspot; so if you don't mind, I'll send them to you for distribution as you have the directory in the system. Thanks again. As Puri & I bridged with our "all about me", let's hear from everyone. This 2nd bridge is now along memory lane, divided into segments: 1. Happenings 2. Places 3. Classmates 4.Teachers & Classes 5.Others. Certainly, not all our memories are happy ones but most are. No offense meant for any omissions, commissions & inaccuracies; feel free to add, comment & correct. So, everyone, take a stroll with me.
HAPPENINGS
1. Acquaintance day - the hands down favorite of all - whoever came up with this idea should be canonized. What a fun, imaginative & ahead of the time way to start the school year, encourage leadership & teamwork & forge camaraderie & loyalty. Senior year was the best - our own theme & choreography for the modern dance. This day really jelled HS experience for me. I bet no school at the time had something similar - this is the happening we can call ours --- alone.
2. Do Day - spent half the day spiffing up our home rooms. I think our section lost the contest over a darn dusty thing. Anyone, remember what that was?
3. Trips to the Convocation Hall - I'm sure all relished leaving classes, trooping thru the corridors, stairways, the Pharmacy Lab & finally to the fourth floor; to sit & watch with awe our talented schoolmates as they acted, orated & declaimed. How about the chorus contest - I can still remember a few words of the song (in the dusk, I was idly dreaming, when a --- came to view, hmm - hmm- hmm). I think this song did it for us - winning the contest our sophomore year.
4. Monday mornings - chatting in the main quadrangle, lining up after the bell rings; the Girls Scouts trooping the colors for the flag ceremony, praying the morning invocation, then walking quietly (really?) to our classrooms. Senior year - teetering, preening & somehow feeling all grown up in our high heels; Oh my goshs, pareho kami ng sapatos ni Evelyn N.
5. Field trips - to see The Ten Commandments & a play in Ateneo.
6. Bayanihan - what prestige it brought to the school & pride & some envy?, that some of our very own were pioneers. I think I may have seen a practice or two but for the life of me can't say I saw a show.
7. Spiritual - PWU was & is non-sectarian yet it instilled Catholicism in me more than UST ever did.
- the yearly retreat (thank you God, no classes), sacrifices we made, No talking, remember Fr. Bertrand?
- going to confession for First Friday Mass, singing "Tantum Ergo".
- wearing the scapular, admiring those beautiful stampitas
- saying the rosary in October - I was always glad if it fell on a Math period.
PLACES
1. Quonset hut - our own special place, don't think any private HS at the time held classes in one. Unique, isn't it?
2. Canteen - that small place wedged between the stage & our building where we spent countless lunches & recesses with our barkadas.
3. Chapel - just the right size, beautiful & serene despite its location.
4. Main library - probably visited once or twice; how about the HS library, don't even know what books they had.
5 Facade/quadrangle/promenade - can't remember loitering there too much; Tessie C, in her blog said Ms. T discouraged us, & probably we were also edged out by the college students.
6. Convocation Hall - one of the best places to be.
7. Washroom - convenient place to visit to cover up those accidents, after you scrounged for some chalk.
8. Bookstore/uniform store - tiny, tiny.
9. Stage - dominant presence in the campus.
10. Guidance office - can't remember who our counselor was - told her I wanted to be a doctor "why"?. I really didn't know why but I said, "I have an uncle who is a doctor"; & the rest is history.
11. Principal's Office - made a few trips there (more about that later).
Classrooms - the reason why we were at PWU - the rooms we shared for 4 years - where we learned, laughed, gossiped, sang, prayed, argued, quarrelled? (don't remember anyone crying there); disparate groups of girls in the cusps of womanhood - oblivious to or preparing for the challenges of the next chapters of our young lives. It is the place where we bonded & is the font of all the sentiments & emotions we are now remembering, experiencing & expressing. WHICH IS GOOD, REALLY GOOD. Excuse me, I have to get a box of tissue. Till my next e-mail. Warm regards to all.

PURI'S PERSPECTIVE: Tessie's email sparked many recollections. Here are e-mail exchanges between Puri (maroon) and Evelyn N.(blue).

Hi Puri,
The Chinese song begins with "Kao san ching.."; the Indian song with "Batchipan ke mohabat chi ko.Now I remember the tune of those songs too. and yes, that Japanese "Sakura" song. Sorry, I don't remember the Korean song. There was also a Thai song but the words were so long and hard to remember.

When we were freshmen, we saw "Alexander the Great" movie. Correct me if I'm wrong but was it after that when people started calling Sari - Alex?Yes, because Sari has this classic Scandinavian profile and good looks. While the rest of us looked simply Pinay.

I agree with Tessie Lonzame about the silent retreats when talk was forbidden. I don't think I ever went to a silent retreat after HS. We were so "holy-holy" for that week and on the last day, we looked forward to giving and receiving stampitas. I had to beg my Mom to come with me to buy them at National Bookstore and other religious stores. I remember collecting and exchanging stampitas and scapulars from the small religious book store on campus.

Does anyone remember who were the swimmers in our class? PWU was one of the few schools which had a swimming pool. I was a scarery cat and finally had to jump in at the deep end and swim towards the shallow end in order to pass PE. But those who went to JASMS were very comfortable in the water- you, Hana, Lita R (?). Yes my only medal on our HS graduation was First Place for Backstroke relay. I swam with Lita, Hana and Baby Lustre.

Speaking of Sylvia Estrella, I remember her house as being near Max's Restaurant in Kamuning. Am I correct or does my memory fail me?I also went frequently at Sylvias house. She served the best Sans Rival she baked and other cakes.She also fed us with fried chicken livers and gizards from Max, sarap-sarap because her aunt Ruby Trota, her Mom's sister is the owner of Max. Max catered our wedding reception and Mrs Trota's gift was our wedding cake shaped like a horseshoe for good luck.Luckily I'm still married, she was my Mom in law's good friend. My Mom in law Dolores was our HS60 commencement speaker. She's 96 in Oct and lives with us here.

From Evelyn N. Zabala to Tessie M.:

Hi Tessie, What memory you have! I don't even remember that we had the same shoes! (It was really fun to wear those high heels - it made us feel so grown-up!) What I do remember is that you wanted to be a doctor. And I knew that if there was one who would make it- that would be you. You were so focused and sure of it. I'm glad you realized that dream.

Other musings....
I also enjoyed our choir practice- was it the sophomore year when we won? There was someone who could play the piano by ear, was it Tessie Castro? I think it was in one of the international festivals or something and we sang Chinese, Indian and Japanese songs. Would you believe that I still remember the lyrics of those songs?
Convocation Hall- orations and declamations. I remember Cora Fausto as the person to beat for the Tagalog oration- she usually won.
I told Puri that I would always watch the ballet students practice on the 2nd floor with all the mirrors. And whenever Bayanihan had a presentation (HS and college), I would always volunteer as an usher. That way, I would get to see the show free and I was admiring how graceful and pretty all the dancers were. It was on one of the shows after they just got back from a trip abroad that I heard "Hava Nagila" for the first time.
The Acquaintance Patty at the beginning of the year was something to look forward to. We had a different theme each year, and we had songs, dances and costumes. Maybe others have more memories to add.

FROM SARI- AS SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE:
We have to thank Tessie Marzan for jogging your memories, Evelyn and Puri. Palagay ko we sang those international songs when we were freshmen. Tatanga-tangang probinsiyana ako noon (gravitated with Ampy kasi pareho kaming from D) and could remember only certain things we did as a Class. I know for sure that we were Sophomores when we won all 1st places in the choral contest- choral grp, pianist (Norma Reyes) and conductress (Lita Ramos). Night and Day yong kanta natin in English. My memory is not sharp tonite so I cannot recall the other songs we sang. I do not know what year we were when our teachers had some kind of performance (I can picture Tita Loyd Marcos wearing a somewhat loose outfit while dancing and singing Hava Nagila). Hope more classmates would weigh in sa kanilang naala-ala. Sayang Cora is busy attending a conference. Kung hindi, she would have butted in. Magaling yong sa kantahan and she'd likely remember when we sang those Asian songs. - My guess talaga is 1st yr. As for the Alexander the Great movie, I believe it came out on our 2nd yr. That's when I remember everyone calling me Alexander - after watching the movie - a class outing. Tila nag-class outing din tayo sa Ten Commandments - or did that come up after we graduated from HS?

FYI FROM SARI- 2 other grps had requested to be linked with our Class blog. Others are getting interested. I hope na ganoon din kayo dear classmates . Please start writing about yourselves para maaliw din naman kaming readers. Nakakasawa na 4 regulars lang ang nagda-dada sa blog or sa e-grp. You can share stories with the class; am sure we'll all be delighted to learn about the "now" you. Paki-share naman. Thanks.Sari

FROM SARI TO CORA: Cora F., hindi lang tayo ang may long term memory. Tessie, in her walk along memory lane (see below), has more details we never verbalized in earlier exchanges. Am I glad hindi lang tayong dalawa ang weird. - Tessie, before we had you in the e-grp, Cora and I sounded very weird. We were recalling events others seem to have forgotten. Now you are in our company. You still have vivid recollections of years gone by. Welcome to the Weird Club (3 1/2 na tayo - yong 1/2 ay si Roselani who has partial recollections).Anyway, classmates please enjoy Tessie Lonzame Marzan's fine recitation of our gone bye years!Sari

FROM NATI CHRIST OCAMPO: Hi, dear classmates, remember me? I am Nati Ocampo (the quiet one), sister of Tessie Ocampo (the TALKATIVE one). Not only is my sister Tessie talkative, she can also laugh so loud, she can be heard a thousand miles away. Many times during those days when I denied I even knew her, to those who asked.
She hasn't changed. I hope not, because that's how I'll always remember her and love her.
Anyway, I really enjoyed looking at the pictures that Sari sent us from Marlene. How young we were, my goodness! I was able to identify some of the young ladies in the picture by name, and some by faces. Does anyone know what happened to Cynthia Ugalde? And what about Erlinda Chacon, Ginny Golding, Vicky Saldana and Tita Ang?
By the way, I remember the song we sang when we won First Prize. Lita Ramos was our conductress and she won First Prize, too. That song was "By the Bend of the River". It had a plaintive melody, I even "hum" it to myself every now and then. Was it in our Junior or Senior year that we won this? Because we beat the other group. They sang "Waltz of the Flowers", and their conductress was Annette Verzosa.
Oh yes, dear Sari. You said it well --- "Masaya talaga mag-walk sa memory lane". This is all for now, folks. Hope to hear from you again soon!
From Eloi Dizon: I am amazed at rhe memory of every one. I dont remember much, what I remember is what impressed me about people. You,Hana and Lita I remember as the beautiful dancers, the poise of Lita, the agility of Hana. Puri when you stand still, how you seem to have elastic joints bending gracefully. Sylvia E. always has her hair nicely set in a page boy style, Tessie Lonzame has long brown curly hair in a ponytail, Linda C. always has nicely pressed uniform, Cora F. and Sari were always active,Evelyne D. was my seatmate, Lilia V. was my lunchmate.Regards.
From Eloi: Hi Evelyne,I did read all of the blog and every time I am amazed at how good you are at it.I also just read Teresita Lonzame,s email. We lived only 45 minutes from each other in the Chicago area, also Renita Abary is in the same area. For now, I am just going around here in california. I have to wait for my son to visit me before I can send a photo because I don't know how to do it. Regards!

From Rose Lani: Sa totoo lang, can't recall any of the songs we sang. I just know that Norma Reyes is our pianist. Lita Ramos, and Sonia Alvarez, conductress. Sorry, brain frozen sa ngayon. Am amazed at you guys, mas matalas pala ang memory niyo. Akala ko marami akong natatandaan, nothing pala compared to you. Pati title ng kanta, alam niyo.