Old-timer talks about Camp John Hay back then

BEHIND THE SCENES

Alfred P. Dizon

(Zyrelle Del Prado, information officer of John Hay Management Corp. (JHMC) writes this week’s piece.)

BAGUIO CITY -- Talking with a Camp John Hay old-timer brought back nostalgia and gave us a glimpse of years past in the former American military camp. 

 “With a locally knitted bonnet on my head and dressed with a layer of thick clothes, I was always excited to tag along with my Papa going to work,”  Mang Ponce says like this happened yesterday.

He is now 52 and still walking on the same grounds at the camp as when he was a two-year-old.

Camp John Hay was ordered by the President of the United States on Oct. 13, 1903 as a mountain retreat for its military and civilian personnel around the world. 

It was established as a resort and vacation haven, designed to rejuvenate weary servicemen from combat in order to regain their strength and vigor.

“Every gate was jointly guarded by US and Filipino soldiers -- sturdy and upright men in their camouflage uniforms,” Mang Ponce recalls.  “Green manicured grass slopes, a thick canopy of Benguet Pine trees and oh, that piney smell at dawn mixed with the morning dew was unmatched by the most recommended air freshener in the metro.”

He says the camp was the most appealing U.S. military installation during its era.  With its sprawling area of 1,764 hectares, it was the refuge of a hundred cottages, hospital, chapel, a movie house, mess halls, stores, and various facilities for some sports and social activities. 

A pet project by U.S. commanding generals, who assumed command since 1911, Mang Ponce says improvements, renovations, and construction of roads, hydro-electric plant, and water pumping station were introduced making it self-sufficient, independent and advanced compared to other facilities established during its time.

“The smell of their bread about to puff in the oven still lingers in my mind.  It was extraordinary.  It was incomparable with our famous pandesal. It tasted soulful and my stomach would never forget how it satiated my hunger with its mouth-watering taste. May to June were my favorite months and came with my favorite line from my Papa - ‘get a bag and let’s go mushroom picking.”

He recalls picking wild mushrooms was one of my most treasured memories of him and his dad in the camp.  “After the rain, we spent the whole afternoon going on forays and it was like playing peek-a-boo in between pine trees. If we had extra money, I would buy aromatic bread in the bakery.”

Mang Ponce says facilities inside the camp were manned by Filipino crew and as a kid, he always came in handy.

For half a decade now, Mang Ponce has continued to walk on the same ground, though the routes have changed. Seeing the same pine trees, though some are no longer standing and breathing the same air, gives him a nostalgic feeling.  Half a decade ago and he still talks like he just turned two.

 “How I wish we could go back through a time capsule and you could travel with me. I will show you more trees, more mushrooms, the best bakery I’ve known, that wonderful tasting loaf, greener sceneries, colder climate, the environmentally conscious camp. Oh how I wish, if only,” Mang Ponce says as he half-closes his eyes as if to turn back time.

 Fast forward to 2018, Mang Ponce is an accomplished father to three wonderful children.  He brags about his son, Jay-ar, who is now a certified public accountant. 

His daughter, Jay Ann just finished a bachelor’s degree in financial management and accountancy while the youngest, Jo Anne is still in school under the K-12 program of the government.

Now, he dreams of having a grandchild to hug and tickle.