As we were already running late to our second stop, needless to say, we were also late to this, our last place to visit. Luckily, when we were asking where we could find Lino Dizon, Director of the Center for Tarlaqueño Studies and with whom I had an appointment, he happened to be passing by.He brought us to the Center, which is basically just a room. Here are some books, data, and artifacts on/from Tarlac.
Lino was genuinely quite happy to have me there. He wanted to introduce me to everybody. Here's a picture of me, Lino, and Glen Madriaga, University Vice President for Research, Extension, and Development at the Center. Lino also later took me to meet University President Priscilla Viuya.
Lino, whose current research interest is the Thomasites, or American teachers who came to the Philippines onboard the USS Thomas to establish a public school system, showed me this marker. It is dedicated to Frank Russell White, a Thomasite assigned to Tarlac and who founded the first high school (at the site where TSU is currently located) in the Philippines. Lino, whose latest book is on the Thomasite-established Baguio Teachers' Camp, is doing research on White.
Lino also introduced me to Rodrigo Sicat, Director of the University Testing Center and former director of the Center for Tarlaqueño Studies. Here is a picture of the three of us.
We had snack (in my case, late lunch) together, and Dr. Sicat entertained us with his stories and opinions. If we weren't so tired and if we didn't have a long drive home ahead of us, we might have just sat there and chatted the hours away.I have to say that though this Center is the smallest (which does not mean it's not prolific in its publications), its directors, both current and former, are the most affable.
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