Copyright Quisumbing Family 2008. All rights reserved.
Remembering Pop
Carlos Emilio Arguelles Quisumbing
1910-1996
Part I:
Sentiments, Memories, and Recollections
Compiled by
Cora Quisumbing-King
With thanks to Charles T. Quisumbing
for spearheading the initial request
“A diamond in the rough” is a phrase bestowed upon Pop by one of his female American classmates upon their high school graduation from the American School. Although he was tall, he was not exactly what one might call “dark and handsome”. And yet, he married the love of his life. In fact, all hands were on deck amongst his parents, his sibs, and yes, the Theresian nuns, to ensure this.
Pop was a quiet unassuming man who could be loquacious, pulling in information from the various books he read. He was a builder of bridges, of piers, and market places—literally and figuratively. Not only did he build the Quezon Bridge, the electric towers in Caliraya, public markets in various towns, and the pier in San Carlos City, he also documented the Q lines, helping to bridge the past with the present and the future. There he was, using yellow lined legal paper to list the names of the Qs from every II generation. There he was, writing the Q Clan story.
Let it be known to every Quisumbing that the family tree each of us “inherited” and continue to update began (as far as we know) with information Pop wrote down, either from memory or from research he started in the early 1990s after I nagged him and my sister Vising followed up to make sure he kept at it!
To remember Pop is to remember a man who was a proud Quisumbing without being boastful, who perpetuated a legacy without being conscious and deliberate about it. He left in us a pride in being a Q.
When your father dies, the sun shifts forever; and you walk in his light.
Diana Der-Hovanessian
Many things there are. To remember. To honor about our father. To celebrate his life. There are a thousand things but these we would like to share.
Sonny Quisumbing
I remember Pop taking Blue Boy and me to Palompon, Leyte when we were small. I had my first taste of "sisi" and "tuway"….Pop and I going to Butuan (I think I was the only one with him) when the match factory in Magallanes was not yet built. Those days in Magallanes were memorable….the small house he built for us there….vacationing with Pop and Mommy in Mambajao….when getting into the beds was then an exercise because they were so high, the bats that came dashing through the room and the mirror on the wall (so eerie at midnight).
Fast forward to the first time Pop came to the US. I remember Pop tried to avoid the cold weather because of his age, but surprise! it was snowing when he arrived in April.……driving him around town and taking pictures of his first snow…..planting azaleas and rhododendrons in front of our Carteret home. Every spring, I remember Pop when they bloom.
I remember during Pop’s final moments of his life. He always wore his New York Giants t-shirt whenever I came home from the States. He knew I am a big Giants fan. I am so happy to remember….we had our picture taken each time.
Ely Quisumbing
I have many memories of Pop. He always wanted us to be trained to work and earn from our efforts. This is why he allowed us (my twin Dickie and I) to work in our match factory (Pacific Match) in Magallanes in the summer of 1964. He also made sure we did not forget to go to church and assigned someone to take us via motorboat to attend Sunday mass in Butuan. At times I would be the one running it; that was a nice experience.
Pop always went out of his way to accommodate us. When he was with Santa Clara Lumber Company, he made us work as engineer trainees for a few months. That’s how we landed in Davao. When I grew weary of working in Manila in the early 1970s, he went out of his way to recommend me to friends he knew; thus I was able to work in Cebu at the Visayan Electric Company.
Dickie Quisumbing
When we were young, Pop taught Ely and me how to fish in Magallanes. As we grew older, he guided us in how to raise chickens, a hobby which evolved from a few chickens to a hundred of them. Pop made sure we did not skip classes and would give us a belt spanking if we did. He helped us solve math problems. He taught us the value of work by allowing us to work during the summer break in Magallanes and in Davao too, pulling some strings to do it. We enjoyed the work and experience. He gave of his time to us--a symbol of his love. He went to government offices in Manila to get our licenses. Pop was a father with a brilliant mind and a soft-spoken demeanor.
Cora Quisumbing-King
Some of the things I remember about Pop:
Pride – in his practicality, his ability to find great deals. Once he bought a case of discounted gray woolen blankets. We embroidered the edges with lazy-daisy flowers using colored yarn. How about the plastic sheets sewn into raincoats! Or the large supply of pad paper which our large family could easily go through. How he beamed with pride during these occasions!
Love – Pop looked out for all our needs. He did my tax returns and typed my college thesis in those days of carbon paper. His reminder “Cora, I heard you coughing last night, please do not forget to take your medicine regularly” spoke volumes of Pop’s gentleness and family devotion. I treasure two of his favorite native hats and a basket with a curved wooden handle. He used this basket to bring eggs from Cebu to Quezon City.
I will never forget his gift of a small statue representing a graduate to commemorate my college graduation. The funny thing was that it was of a boy! It was all he could find. If he was proud of my academic achievements, he was even prouder of my involvement in student politics. He called me a nationalist. During the last year of his life, he had the prescient view of my need to return home more often.
Misadventures - I was standing behind him while he was fishing on the little pantalan in Magallanes (near Butuan City) where we had a match factory. Well, when he reeled in his fish, it landed on my head leaving me with scratches. When he stayed with us in Naperville, IL, he forgot his boiling pot of corn because he was too engrossed watching Bewitched. Bothered, and Bewildered. Another time (in Andover, Massachusetts) he shrunk my dress in the dryer.
Simplicity - I lovingly remember Pop, the simple man, his lack of vanity, his focus on his health. He looked good in batik and barong shirts. As he grew older, he watched his diet in order not to exacerbate his gout. There was always room for ice cream or his share of chocolates though. When he took a boat trip to visit his aunts in Camiguin, he made sure he wore a woolen cap over his head. Folks must have been amused!
Places – I associate certain places with Pop: a bench at the University of Chicago, the Morton Arboretum which I pass by from work. We took him to a picnic here once, so many years ago when Katrina was still a baby. A traveling man (because he was owner as well as sales manager of Pacific Match), he took us with him: I met my pen pal from Iloilo during one of these trips and someone from Gingoog who became a classmate of mine.
Because of Pop: I became a genealogist. I love paella, sopa del gallego and arroz la cubana. I have this habit of turning off the lights in unused rooms. And how can I forget Pop’s humor. When I said “I love you, Pop” saying goodbye while heading back to the States, he replied, “Of course, I made you”!
