(The following was emailed by Nestor Mercado as we were organizing for the Golden Reunion of 2009.)

WELCOME TO ST. LOUIS HIGH SCHOOL CLASS OF 1959 WEBSITE!

Any way you slice it, fifty years is a very long time!  The passing of the years, especially that many of them, makes memories somewhat nebulous and fuzzy. But 2009 is the year when we celebrate the 50^th year of our graduation from high school.  Because of this, I have wracked my mind thinking about the many things that transpired during our senior year.

The memories that come to mind are as follows:

        ●This was the first year Fr. Hubert Dupont became director of the school.

        ●The Columbian Squires first came into existence this year.

        ●The school newspaper was called The Clarion of Saint Louis.

        ●We had our usual high school plays, piano recitals and intramurals.

        ●The altar boys would aspire to serve Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.

●Inside the church, at that Mass, the star would travel from the back to the manger scene in the front of the church.

●There were basketball games with teams of the other catholic schools in the nearby towns.  George Mamuric, Roger Tiongson, Paulino Bulosan and others would play the neighboring teams.  It was a big deal to go to the neighboring towns to watch these games.  It was ever more of a big deal to go to the big city, Manila!

●At the beginning of the school day, we all lined up from the shortest to the tallest.  Inevitably, Percy Tiongson would be in the front of the line, and I was always immediately behind him.

●The school day would begin with the singing of Bayang Magiliw, then the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, and finally, end with the Saint Louis School song.  In my travels through the countries of the world, I found out eventually that the melody of the Saint Louis School song is the same melody as the old South African National Anthem!  Somewhere down the line, someone took poetical license and adapted the melody of a country’s national anthem for the school hymn. I guess at that time, the world was still a humongous place, and who would ever realize that a country boy from Solano would figure out that someone had inadvertently used another’s tune for his own purpose.  Be that as it may, hearing the school song still sends chills down my spine to this day.

●At that time, we lived in an insulated, safe and unadulterated place.  Life was simple then.  On the way to school, or walking on the main drag, one would pass by such landmarks as Sanchez Studio, Avenue Theater, Hai King Panciteria, Mabuhay Bakery, VLT, and Norenco, and it was a common sight to see Eleuterio Tropa and His Lamplighter, World Peace crusaders, walking the streets of Solano.

●I first experienced the beginnings of urban street lighting when Tottoc Boulevard was festooned with hundreds of fluorescent lights, giving the street a very festive atmosphere.

●We were all herded to church on First Fridays, so that we can all hear confessions and attend mass.

●There were many nuns at the Sister’s convent, and they were usually assigned as teachers in the school.

●We enjoyed hanging out with Roy Tamani at the convent, making communion wafers and just chilling out..

●During the summer vacation, we would look in awe at the Varsitarians, as they came back to spend their vacations after grueling months of study in Manila.  Every once in a while, we would get that much coveted invitation to a party with them, and we would increase our desire to be like them.

●The jeepney fare to Bayombong was 10 centavos.

●Calesas reigned supreme, and the present day tricycle was just a figment of one’s imagination.

●Picnics were held at Bangan Hill, the Dike in Bayombong or the river in Sinafal.  The resorts as we know them today were nowhere to be found.

●We used to enjoy listening to the 45/78 RPM records at Rol Barrero’s house, and there were plenty of star apples and Indian mangoes to serve as snacks.  We also relied many times on Rol to help us with scrap book covers, etc.

Our first immigrant to leave Solano for the U. S. was Amor Salvador, who left for Hawaii after our high school graduation.  A few years back, I had asked Tony Gascon and Roly Suratos to help me find Amor’s relatives in Solano, so we can get his U. S. address, to no avail.

Since that graduation day, my trips to Solano would last no more than three days at the most.  But during those infrequent times when I came home, I have had the privilege of meeting with Jimmy Magalued, Rolly Llantada, Roger Tiongson, Lawrence Aliac, Lina Tiongson-Purificacion,   but never really saw Tony Mendoza, Paulino Bulosan, Ambong Diego, Roy Tamani and the many other people whose names I begin to forget. 

I did have the pleasure of seeing here in the U. S. the likes of Rey Miranda, Rol Barrero, Jimmy Magalued, Roger Tiongson, Mely Manlapig-Tan, Escil Manriquez-Gaines, Mely Urmaza Mamuric, Lydia Mercado-Villanueva, Linda Garcia-Espinosa and Percy Tiongson.

My hope is that this walk down the path of years gone by will evoke many more reminiscences than merely the things I talked about.  Nobody has a monopoly on the memories, and I am sure that you all have more things to contribute to allow all of us to relive the beautiful world of our youth.

Therefore, please receive my warmest welcome to this web site, and I invite you to submit your own take on things, items that you may want to mention, pictures you may want to share.  Together, let us build up on the increasing excitement of meeting all of you in December, as we look forward to celebrating the Golden Jubilee of our high school graduation.

God bless you and keep you in His care, and Happy New Year to all.