Siloo (1950-1954)

Siloo, a place trapped in time, was almost paradise and life was one of comfort and tranquility.
Though naturally beautiful, it was a primitive place even by the standards of time.
Ours had been a solitary existence but one that we had grown to love just as we have come to terms with the place with its haunting sunsets and limpid streams so clear.
Horizons so distant they seemed impossible to reach.

Nightfall, blanketing the valley in a boundless blackness brought an even keener sense of solitude.
The profound silence was broken only by the chirr of the crickets or the gentle swish of the tall trees or by the call of the wild.

Our family reached this place in early 1950's  and it was here in 1952 that the fifth child and second son was born, Victor, fondly called Avic, and where in 1954 the youngest child and fourth daughter, Lydia or Lingling, first saw the light of day.

It was here that we had our first rudiments of learning under the tutelage of Mr. and Mrs. Pedrito and Estrella  Berial.
Another co-teacher of Papa was Mr. Eugenio Blanco, who came from the Ilocos Region, whose first teaching assignment was with Papa in Siloo.

The common folks of Siloo have simple hopes and dreams.
They are self-reliant, hard-working and honest-to-goodness gentle people leading an ordinary way of life.
Adversity has strengthened them and they are conditioned by their mountainous, sometimes harsh environment
and other than generous soil.
In spite of this, they are God-fearing and God-trusting.
Never wavering in their faith on the Divine Providence.

Manit and Manong Boy were classmates from Grade 1 to 3 under Mr. Berial.
Both the teacher and Manong Boy would spend hours riding a carabao while at the same time plowing and preparing the school garden for planting vegetables and root crops.

In 1954, i was enrolled in grade 1 at a very young age of four due to lack of enrollments
Because i was not of school age i would daydream all through my lessons with Mrs. Berial and i kept skipping classes..

I would pretend to drop my pencil on the floor made of bamboo slats so i could have an excuse to go down and ran home without coming back.
A clear indication that i have no interest in being in class.
When the school year ended, i can't read or write a single word.

Together with the teachers, papa built two dormitories. One for male and the other for female pupils who came down from the mountains to enroll in class.
Some of these over aged pupils came in handy for they helped mama at home doing the laundry, cooking, cleaning, pounding rice, working on the flower beds and other menial household chores.
Some of these mature pupils were track and field athletes who could run like the wind and have competed in District and Provincial Sports Fest, always emerging victorious.

They also constructed a spring that flowed into a fishpond where Papa raised tialpia for everybody's consumption icluding the people in the barrio.
We never ran out of food supply becasue the reiver that flows nearby was teeming with fresh water fish.
Wild pigs and big birds (kalaw) abound in the nearby forest where Papa would hunt them down with his dog Patsy and a rifle.
Neither do we have a short supply of snakes the size of anacondas, for they would come creeping up on us in the dead of the night, entwined on our verandah after having eaten its fill of our chicken in the coop.

Fresh vegetables and root crops were also grown in the school garden and fresh fruits can be harvested from the surroundings if not given freely byt the barrio folks.
Banana trees heavy with ripening fruits grew on one side of the school premises.

We lived in a very big house with a wide verandah made of bamboo and sawali which we called "The Cottage".
Through Mama's supervision, it was always spic and span.
Complete with white curtains billowing from every door and windows.
We also have a flower garden lush with colorfully blooming flowers.

There was one time when the National, Provincial and District Education officials from the Central office of the Bureau of Public Schools came riding in to inspect the barrio school.
They were so impressed with the way Papa and his teachers managed the school that they were profuse in their praises and commendation for them.
Thus, making Siloo Farm School a model in the District of Manolo Fortich if not in the Division of  Bukidnon.