Twenty years ago a group of Filipino nurses traveled from the
Philippines to start a new life in Kansas City. Unfamiliar to each other and
coming from different colleges of nursing, eight of these nurses shared a
common bond and started spending most of their free time together.
They
shared a three-bedroom apartment at 108 Olive Street. After sometime, they went
their separate ways. Some got married and some went out of state.
Twenty years later, the bond that they shared brought new light to
their friendship. As evident in the first (but hopefully not the last) reunion
held in Kansas City, coming from as far as California (Elis
Flores-Mariano, San Diego and Mina Echalico-Almerido, San Jose), Virginia
(Norma Hernando-Azarcon) , Texas (Anita Co-Uy, Odessa and Cathy dela
Cruz-Hertenberger, Abilene) and Illinois (Babes Santos-Cortez, Frankfort), they all came back, husbands and kids in tow, to share happy memories once
again.
The reunion, held last June 14-17, 1997, was organized by Sonia
Somera-Tumanut, Aida Encarnacion-Quiazon and Emy Mendoza-Yabut. The reunion
officially began with a dinner reception hosted by Annie Sison-Covillo. We had a potluck picnic and Father's Day celebration at Mayie Tigno-Vilkins's
spacious ranch on the following day. The kids, ranging from grade school to high school, had a grand
time getting to know one another. They clicked right from the start as if
they've known each other for a long time. Most of the following day was spent at the Plaza for their shopping pleasures. The kids spent the
afternoon at Worlds of Fun, wishing the day would never end. On the last day
of the reunion, Sonia hosted a dinner party at her house.
Invited were the old circle of friends from 20 years ago. There were lots of
laughter, singing, dancing , reminiscing, and not to mention lots of food.
The reunion lasted for four days, but the memories will linger for a long time. At the change of millennium, we hope everybody will be
healthy and well to attend the next reunion. Till then, thanks for the
memories.
Mina
| Filipinos in Kansas City | Philippine Nurses Association of Greater Kansas City |
