We interrupted our list of “firsts” to bring in stories of the Holiday Season, and now pick up from where we have left. We have covered the first airstrip, airplane, speed boat, vehicle, doctor, cinema, bar, telephone, generator, water system, hotel, mayor, village council, and first residents of San Juan and San Pablo.
First Graduation: The first graduation ever here in San Pedro was celebrated in the month of June of the year 1976. San Pedro High School had successfully prepared its first set of graduates and the entire village turned out to celebrate. The mass was celebrated by Reverend Father Robert Raszkowski S.J., and the guest speaker was the Hon. Louis Sylvestre, area representative. The diplomas were signed by Principal Angel Nuñez and Hon. Said Musa, who was then the Minister of Education. There was celebration in the village for the entire day and the next day there was the first prom ever also in San Pedro. The graduates of the historic Class of 1976 were Abel Guerrero Jr., Clarita Ancona, Milly Castillo, Guillermo Paz, Orlando Trejo, Odilia Nuñez, Lydia Gonzalez, James Azueta, Efrain Guerrero Jr., and Pedro Vasquez. ( Soon the first prom and the first prom dates. Look out!)<
First Air Accident: The name of the American pilot involved in the first airplane accident is not remembered by the folks in San Pedro, but the air accident is vivid in the minds of those who lived in the 1960’s. This pilot tried to take off from the short, grassy runway in San Pedro during one of those days when the breeze was howling at some 30 miles per hour. To make it worse the aircraft was covered not with aluminum, but by some canvas-looking material. To compensate for the lightweight of the small four seater, he loaded a few bags of sand, but that did not help. The wind caused the plane to spin over and it was cast nose down on the west side of the airstrip more or less where the recompression chamber is located, which at the time was covered with coconut palms. The plane was totally destroyed but the two persons in the plane escaped with minor scratches. And do you know what? The kids in the village all had a delightful time stealing rods from the body of the plane which were used for spearing fish.
