Image courtesy of Arnold Morrison
Photo taken by Gilbert Vega/Gill Photography
Saturday, June 28, 2025: The Filipino American National Historical Society – Delano Chapter invited as many of the “old” families as we could remember and find to an event honoring our parents and the manongs who were the first to immigrate to the United States between the 1920’s through 1965, paving the way for the 1st generation, 2nd generation, and now 3rd generation to achieve a better life. The air conditioning unit at 40 Acres Reuther Hall strained to keep the capacity crowd of 300, including our United Filipino Organization (UFO) volunteers, representing three area high schools, from melting.
As with most, if not all, the community events taking place in and around Delano, Arnold Morrison was on hand to document all the festivities as they unfolded. Watch the video HERE and don’t forget to give Arnie some love and leave a LIKE. Kudos to Arleen Villaruz-Gonzales for collecting all the pioneer photos and burning the midnight-oil to create the wonderful slide presentation. Mr. Morrison has broken the video down into segments or chapters, so you can skip directly to what interests you most by clicking on the chapter. Do not miss the opportunity to watch and pause the slide show, (Ch. 9 – 52:10 Delano Filipino Pioneers).
WHAT WE HOPED TO ACCOMPLISH
1. Funding for Larry Itliong Memorial Cemetery Bench
Many thanks to everyone who attended the Pioneer Family Dinner and Fundraiser! Your support will help bring about the installation of a memorial bench at North Kern Cemetery. The bench will be placed near manong Larry Itliong’s gravesite to help visitors locate his final resting place.
In addition to the initial seed funds provided by founding member, Roger Gadiano in 2022, the poster at left details how the funds raised will be utilized. FANHS-Delano has selected Design Option #2. Information about a formal unveiling will be made available in the very near future.
Click on the image to enlarge for better viewing.
2. Identifying more people from the War Brides & Baby Boomers photo
As a “Barney” born five years after this photo was taken, I could identify my mom (#2), my brothers (#41 & 43), Auntie Liling (#28) and the Dahilig kids (#29, 38 & 45), Auntie Looming (#11), Ted Fernandez (#42), and Nenang Bonita (#10) who was my sister, Anita’s, godmother. That’s a total of 10 people. Thanks to FANHS members, Domi Tomate and Nickie Tuthill-Delute, more names were added, and as I reconnected with the Fernandez Family, I learned the identity of the the guest of honor, Elsa Oria, the “Singing Sweetheart of the Philippine Islands”, and her daughter, Melodi Eastman. Flyers advertising this event over the past year would bring in a name here and there, but after the Pioneer Dinner, I was able to add six more names, updating the list to what you see above. If more people can be identified, send the info to Elina Simon via text at (661) 606-9554, or email NewsEvents@fanhsdelano.org.
3. Collecting old family recipes for a future FANHS-Delano cookbook
With so many of the old families gathering for this event, our committee jumped at the chance of capturing our parents original recipes. There are so many dishes that mom and dad prepared that I never learned how to cook and I wish I had. I pride myself for executing mom’s potato salad, vegetable lumpia, and binangkal, but that is the extent of my knowledge. Arleen Villaruz-Gonzales has been in contact with many of the attendees who submitted a recipe. Below is an example of what a completed submission will look like. Click on the image to enlarge for better viewing.
There is still time for you to send in a submission. Recipes can be an appetizer, side dish, main dish, or dessert. Completed submissions should include directions, a photo of the dish, a photo of the owner of the recipe, and a brief story. Use the example below for reference. If you have any questions or need help with writing, please call or text Arleen at (661) 343-3379.
4. Collecting your stories to share and archive for future generations
Ch. 10 – 58:50 Event Program