REMEMBER GUAM
A major portion of this book is dedicated to the collection of memories and stories I have received from people all over the world. These stories have been divided into decades: 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s etc., as well as places, events, and traditions. There are stories from veterans who served during WWII, from folks who were stationed on Guam recently, from those who found work there for a few years, from those young ladies who were whisked away, married and have been unable to return home, from those still living on Guam etc.
It’s ok to be sad, to miss what life used to be, to yearn for the wonderful time you and I had on Guam: at least we have our memories, in print, to share and preserve for all time!
Another portion of Remember Guam is dedicated to our food! I LOVE GUAM FOOD! I have taken it upon myself to strive to record the foods we love so that future generations can enjoy them! I am terribly disturbed when individuals do not share, or even worse, intentionally give an incorrect recipe! The writing of this book is just the beginning of what is proving to be a very fun and rewarding endeavor!
I REMEMBER YOU REMEMBER WE REMEMBER
I remember…
What do I remember about Guam? The unfortunate things I recall about my being on Guam during the invasion were the dreaded mosquitoes that carried malaria to many of our forces. Secondly, I remember the muddy roads we had to travel on….they were created by the heavy rain Guam had been having.
I recall how sad I felt for the people of Guam living in conditions of ruin. The people were very helpful and easy to make friends with. In most cases there were areas that were out-of-bounds to us and it isolated us from going into the villages to really make friends of the masses. We did make close ties with the men and boys that came into our area so that they could help in many ways.
It pleases me to know that I took part in the liberation of Guam in 1944.
I remember…
Some of us would go to Eskuelan Påle (Sunday prayer school). We’d walk to St. Jude Thaddeus School, now Bishop Baumgartner. There was Cool Spot near Bishop. It was a great place to get cool pops etc.
I remember…
I also remember the friendliness of the Guamanian people. When I was five or six, we were showing some visitors around the island when we came upon a fiesta at the beach. Although we didn’t know any of the people, they invited us to join the festivities. The reason this memory is so vivid is because there was a cooked fish on a platter and its head was still attached!
COCONUT CANDY
As I am “kåmyoing” (grating) the coconut to make coconut candy, I remember back to when my dad would be grating coconut. My siblings and I would ask for the initial shreds of the coconut because it was the sweetest and the moistest. This is the part of the coconut meat that is in direct contact with the coconut juice, the liquid inside the nut.
INGREDIENTS
Set 1 2 c. sugar 1 T. butter 4 ½ c. grated, fresh coconut (2 coconuts makes about 4-5 cups….I would buy 3 if in the states, preferably at an Asian store. Most of the time, at least one coconut has spoiled).
Tools: cleaver or machete, kamyo, newspaper, cup, 2 large plastic bowls, large frying pan (non-stick would work best), long wooden spoon, tin foil, pan spray
DIRECTIONS
PREPARING THE COCONUT
1. If you are lucky to be on Guam, you need to husk the coconut . Most stateside coconuts are already husked and you are left with the brown nut. 2. Take the back of the cleaver or machete and wrap (tap hard) the coconut as you turn it in your hand.
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