By Rex Catubig

 

IT has sat there for years: a box building or what remains of it—having rectangular portals with flat apex, the sides indented with draped corners. In earlier days, big backhoes and other heavy machinery stood on the side like sentinels watching over a mausoleum.

Now, it is boarded by salvaged galvanized iron sheets, with an overgrown Ipil-ipil tree protruding out of the middle portal. The rusty chain link gate is held close by a round steel link chain tied with soiled rags, with a Do Not Block sign painted on a rusted metal sheet. A street number sign on a decaying board is almost unreadable. But the other half of the gate bears a new number 64 sign.

This building which might as well be invisible to the passers-by, not even worth a mindless glance, was once a crown jewel of the prewar township of Dagupan. It was the renowned Oriental Hotel, touted the best in the north, whose architectural design derived from the art deco of Europe and the neo-classic of the US. It lorded over the cultural and commercial milieu in the middle 1920’s till the 1930s. As a mark of its sophistication, it served fine French wines.

The hotel was just one of the burgeoning ventures of business pioneer Stephen Lee who was better known for his eponymous initials S.W. Lee.

The life story of this man of mixed Chinese ancestry is a sweeping saga of youthful adventure, derring-do, acumen and hard work.

As told by the self-styled family historian, bohemian raconteur, Sylvester Lee Salcedo, his grandpa Lee’s epic journey started when as a 14-year-old, his father who worked as a cook in a US commissary in China, took him as an apprentice. The young Stephen was a quick learner and learned the tricks of the trade fast. But the restless youth, having realized what he was capable of doing, aimed to explore the horizon.

In what would be the move that would be the game changer of his life, he packed his bags, boarded a boat, and took that leap of faith miles away to Hong Kong. But his antsy feet could not stand still and no sooner than he landed, he was off to Manila for the ultimate adventure that would spell his destiny and the rest of his life.

In Manila, he easily hooked up with the US army contingent who readily took the young man under their wings. He worked as a sort of messenger-courier who would deliver goods to any destination as ordered. Then, again, not long after, in a serendipitous impulse, he took the long Ferrocarril De Manila-Dagupan ride to Dagupan.

In Dagupan, a young lass of humble origin was adopted by her better-to-do family as was the custom in those days. She worked as a house help, but she was sent to school and received an Elementary Diploma in a course on household management, akin to home care.

Whether it was by fate designed by the stars, or a stroke of luck, the young self-supporting lady and the enterprising young man crossed paths. It would be a match ordained in heaven.

Before long, the union was blessed with three children: Lily, Alex, and Lucy. It boggles the mind that a couple of modest means not only rose to the pinnacles of success but raised a brood of high achievers who made up for the parent’s lack of education by earning impressive academic credentials themselves. Without a doubt, the Lee siblings are worthy heir to the tradition of success and ascendancy that their parents strove for.

The illustrious legacy of the SW and Maria Lee family and their vast estate now rests on the disposition of the children. If the SW and Maria Lee heritage were to live on for the present and future generations to draw life learning and inspiration from, and occupy a place of honor in the community’s history, it behooves the heirs to perpetuate their esteemed memory.

Now or never. (To be continued)

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