This is a response to the query about our life in Chicago during my graduate school years for StoryWorth.
Macrine and Her Mom, Mrs Elena Nieva Jambalos (both RIP), at our Residence, University of Illinois Staff Apartments in Chicago, 1962
University of Illinois, College of Pharmacy, Medical Center-my part time employer and scholarship sponsor during my graduate school years in Chicago.
My family favorite places at that time were the Lincoln Zoo and Lake Michigan. We also love the Chicago Art Institute and the downtown area department stores(Marshall Field and Sears). On several occasions, we have been invited for Thanksgiving weekends in Danville & Springfield, Illinois and surrounding towns. On a couple of Christmas days we have been lucky to be invited at the home of the late Pat and Patty Crowley in Wheaton, Illinois as well as in the homes of the Dean and Faculty members of the College of Pharmacy.
The Crowleys were very active leaders of the Christian Family Movement(CFM) at that time. Our fours years in Chicago is synonymous to our involvement with CFM. The Christian Family Movement (also known as CFM) is a national movement of parish (neighborhood) small groups of families that meet in one another’s homes to reinforce Christian values and actively encourage other fellow Christian parents through active involvement with others. CFM groups contain five to seven families and the adults meet two nights each month in each others houses.
At meetings the members of CFM use many different programs provided by CFM USA. Parents talk about what they have seen in their family or neighborhood and discuss these opinions on what they have seen through the life and teachings of Jesus. After these discussions they make plans on how they can act out the changes they talked about that will positively affect families in their community.
Simple Gifts-Pat and Patty Crowley
" Not long ago we received an interesting letter from Dave and Macrine Katague. In the early part of this decade they spent four years as graduate students at the University of Illinois in Chicago. As native of the Philippines, they were in a strange city and a strange land. They would not have learned very much about it, had it not been for the hospitality extended by CFM groups as well as Executive Secretary Couple Pat and Patty Crowley. Reflecting upon their past experiences, Dave and Macrine Katague wonder about the attitudes of those who spent times in the States, but did not learn to know the people of our country." They write:
Our Impression of America
" During our first year in Chicago, we never received an invitation to participate in the hospitality program. Our name was probably buried in the list of foreign students or perhaps our foreign student adviser was sleeping in her job. During these first year of adjustments to the American way of life, we formed a very wrong impression of Americans. Asides from our daily contacts with fellow students in the school rooms or dormitories, our only other social contacts were people in the streets, subways, buses, department stores, supermarkets and other public places. These were all artificial contacts, giving us an impression that Americans are unfriendly, artificial, insincere, apathetic,intolerant and above all ignorant.The latter adjective was quite true, since the ordinary or typical American does not have the vaguest idea where the Philippines, Japan or even Puerto Rico is located in the map.
"On the other hand what impressions could we have brought back to the Philippines, if our stay was limited to one or two years ( true for exchange visitors). How many visitors and exchange scholars brought home with them the wrong impressions and attitude towards the American people in general? I knew there were a few foreign students in the dormitories who were disillusioned about the United States. One of them was a former dorm mate from Chile. He received an invitation, but never did conquer his apprehension of accepting one.
" At present as couple leader of the first interfaith group in our diocese, we will do our very best to reciprocate, promote, and encourage hospitality programs to foreign students and scholars in our area. We believe that opening our homes and our hearts on weekends and holidays, is one of the best ways of promoting world peace and understanding. Let us then make it possible for foreign students and scholars get the true picture of America and its people. Let us give them the opportunity to share with us our way of life. Let us get busy as a group or perhaps join other groups in order that we can show to the future leaders of the world, how sincere, friendly and aware we are of other human beings in other parts of the world. This is one of the many ways we could be more Christlike, we believe".
This letter was published by CFM in their monthly magazine, ACT, for all their members worldwide.
This is another event in Chicago I will always remember: This is a true story on the birth of our second son( David III)-our third child in 1962. In order to save money, I moved the family from the University apartments to a student housing subsidized by the state. The government housing was about five miles from the university. I had to buy a second hand car from another graduate student, a 1957 Mercury Montclair to drive to school. I remember I paid only $500 for it.
One night while Macrine was preparing thanksgiving dinner, she started labor pains. I was so excited,I did not realized I was driving about 70 miles in a 40 miles speed zone. So there goes the police car with the blinking lights and loudspeaker. I stopped by the side of the road, very nervous and blurted to the police " I am going to have a baby". The policeman looked at me and answered back," No you are not! your wife is ! Come follow me to the hospital". So we have a police car with his blinking lights and siren escorting us to the emergency room of the University Of Illinois Hospital.
Another memorable event during our Chicago Years is our First Thanksgiving Celebration. Here's an excerpt from my write-up in my blogs.
"It was November, 1960 when Macrine and I and our oldest son, Dodie(who
was only 2 years old then) experienced our first Thanksgiving
Celebration in the United States. That year, I was a graduate student of
the University of Illinois at the Medical Center in Chicago. The
Chicago Hospitality Center along with YMCA and Christian Family
Movement(CFM) invites all foreign students in the area to spend a
thanksgiving weekend to the homes of volunteers in small towns of
Illinois away from the crowded city of Chicago. Some of my foreign
student friends were reluctant and did not accept the invitation, but I
had an adventurous spirit so with great anticipation, Macrine and I
along with Dodie went with 12 other foreign students and their families
to Central Illinois.
Our host for that weekend was Mrs. Johnston, a widow from Danville,
Illinois. She lives alone and her beautiful bungalow house right in
downtown Danville. We left Chicago in the morning, had thanksgiving
dinner ( turkey and all its trimmings)in late afternoon. This was
followed by a program in the evening at a local community center, where
all the hosts met and socialized with other invited students from Korea,
Iran, Mexico, Japan, Chile, South Africa, Egypt and the Philippines.
The next day we had a grand tour of the area, the farms and then to
Springfield, the capital city of Illinois where we visited the Lincoln Library and Museum. The tour of the area and
Springfield was the highlight of our two days break from our hectic
schedules as a graduate students.
So, did I like the roasted turkey? Nope, that was first time I had
turkey. In the Philippines we do not celebrate Thanksgiving and I had
never tasted turkey before. I did not like the pumpkin pie either. What I
enjoyed was the oyster stuffing, vanilla ice cream and the cranberries
sauce".
Meanwhile enjoy this video of Michael Andreas-great great grandson
of Franz Liszt playing Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu in his preteen years.
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