The 20's

In 1924, an incident in school affairs caused an abrupt change in the young couple’s plans. Father had not really told clearly what the issue was, but bit by bit, it was a demotion in position. He once told it this way. “I asked the Supervisor if the assignment was final and he said ‘yes!’ In that case I answered, ‘I am resigning right now.’ I went to another table, wrote my resignation letter and handed it to him."

The couple left Subic and Father retired as a school teacher with a monthly pension of P24.00. Father chose to become a farmer thereafter; The couple and their two daughters moved to start a new life in San Marcelino, the hometown where they built their family home.

By that time, the families of Father and Mother had cooled off from the expected ire of parents when their children elope and get married without their blessing. The couple was given a lot opposite of the lot of the rest of the family besides a farm north of the town.

Father cultivated the farm intensely, made it productive with coconuts, pineapples, caimitos (star apple), mangoes and a fishpond with dalag, ar-aro (climbing fish), paltat (catfish).

To augment his measly pension and farm production, Father sold sweepstakes tickets and insurance plans.

Much later he discovered that making soft lasa brooms was a viable industry. He would buy lasa (boyboy) from the Negritoes and make them into long-handled soft brooms. Being a naturally skilled and creative craftsman, Father made more durable and more attractive brooms with different weaving and sewing works. His “special” brooms were really special and were invariably ordered for Manila housekeepers as gifts although they were priced higher than those in the market.

Broom making was a family affair. After super Mother and the older kids would strip the flower stems from the main stem until sleeping time. Actually, Father did his home industry during his supposed leisure time, when it was too hot to work in the farm. Mother did the marketing.

When there is no cash, she would carry two or three brooms to market and come home with supplies of grocery, and viands enough to last for the next market day. Although a secondary activity, broom making was to be big source of funds for our education.