FQ SÁNCHEZ OF HUMÅTAK

 

FRANCISCO QUINATA SÁNCHEZ

1899-1954

Many people, even in the old days, were content with simply keeping the law, doing their daily duties and staying out of trouble. But there were always some who wanted to do more; to bring the community together and accomplish things for the benefit of all.

In Humåtak before the war, one of those few was Francisco Quinata Sánchez. He personified the civic spirit, especially when it came to the children. He was Humåtak's school teacher, but he was more than that. He was a kabayero, a term describing a man who is noble, esteemed and respected.

Here's why he rose to that level among his community.

FAMILY

Francisco was born in Humåtak in 1899, the son of Antonio Sánchez and Emilia Quinata. Antonio was a simple farmer, as almost every man was in those days. But Francisco took a different path early in life. By the age of 16, in the year 1915, he began teaching school in Humåtak. In those days, a child may only reach the fourth or fifth grade then quit, so it was not unusual to hire a smart 16-year-old to teach the little ones.

His younger brothers, Joaquín and Ignacio, did the same. They started teaching in their teens, as well.

TEACHER

HUMÅTAK SCHOOLHOUSE

Humåtak is one of our smaller villages and in the 1920s the village had roughly 350 residents. Numbers were low enough that a one-room schoolhouse was all that was needed, and often just one teacher, Sánchez himself, who held the title of Principal and Teacher.

School was not just where students learned to read, write and add. It was where government tried to form the island's society by training the children who would soon become the island's working population. Everything from hygiene to agricultural improvements was touched, and Sánchez was the main player. Sánchez was an avid supporter of volleyball and his school scored prizes in island-wide competitions.

VOLLEYBALL IN HUMÅTAK

It's very likely that Sånchez got some teacher training in Hagåtña, though I haven't found anything describing the details. Many teachers still went to night school to enhance their own knowledge. Sánchez also wrote articles for the government newsletter about Humåtak's activities, school and otherwise. Humåtak won a good share of prizes in education, sports and civic activities because of Sánchez.

MAGELLAN DAY

MAGELLAN DAY 1926

Humåtak in the old days was very proud that tradition held that Magellan anchored here when he "discovered" Guam and the Chamorros discovered him!

So Magellan Day, as it was called then, in March, was always a major event in Humåtak. It was a time, other than the agricultural fair and the patronal feast of San Dionisio in October, when the village hosted large crowds of people from all over the island. It was a time for Humåtak to beam with pride, and Sánchez made sure every Magellan Day was better than the last. Humåtak was so identified with Magellan that the village school which Sánchez headed was officially called Magellan School.

As there was no real road between Hågat and Humåtak back then, many people took a boat, the USS Penguin, from Piti to Humåtak. Sánchez lead the Humåtak people in greeting the boats as they came in. The school children took a leading part in the festivities, especially in singing and giving speeches, so Sánchez was behind all those arrangements.

Someone said that Sánchez should be considered the Grandfather of Guam Tourism because he was one of the first people to promote Guam tourism, albeit local. He made sure the Magellan Day celebrations and Humåtak's agricultural fair were huge affairs that drew Hagåtña and Sumay people down to Humåtak. It is believed he, really, was the originator of the annual Magellan celebration.

LANDING AT HUMÅTAK

for Magellan commemoration in the 1920s

Sánchez was involved in the formation of the Guam Teachers Association in 1920 and he must have convinced the Association to adopt as one of its goals the erection of a monument in Humåtak to Magellan. The Association raised the money and the Monument was finished in 1926.  Sánchez is credited with a lot of this work, including the design of the monument. A lot of the yearly fanfare on Magellan Day happened at this Monument.

Sánchez did a lot of the planning and execution of Magellan celebrations. The students and young people of the village had an active role in these events, from singing to acting to speaking, as the nicely-dressed young man pictured above was doing at the Monument. Sánchez was behind all of these plans.

They say Sánchez penned this song that the Humåtak children and people sang as the boats left the bay when the celebrations were done for the day.

Goodbye, friends, you are leaving today.

Goodbye, friends, you are going far away.

But you are coming back again on next Magellan's Day,

to dear old Humåtak by the sea.

In our dear old southern home,

situated right by the sea,

where Magellan landed when he crossed the silent sea,

in our dear old Humåtak by the sea.

AMERICAN CITIZENSHIP CAMPAIGN

In 1936, Guam's political leaders decided to send a delegation to Washington, DC to lobby for US citizenship and other changes on Guam. The Naval Government of Guam refused to finance the cost of such a trip. So, the people of Guam began to raise funds on their own. Sánchez was one of them.

He got his school children to go out every Saturday evening and Sunday morning from house to house, asking for donations. The Guam Recorder mentioned this and added this message of thanks :

The amount of contributions

will appear for you to see;

sixty dollars was collected

by Umatac on the sea.

Many thanks we are extending

to all the citizenry

for aiding the delegation.

Praise be Umatac by the sea!

Pedro "Doc" Sanchez recalls seeing a dozen or so Humåtak school children, lead by Sánchez, singing in the streets of Hagåtña asking for donations for the delegation's trip to Washington. The children held open some sheets and people from their homes would throw nickels, dimes and quarters.

OUTDOOR LIBRARY

In 1933, Sánchez put into action an idea to have a small concrete structure built on the side of the main road passing through the village where he could stack books where people could come and read. There was no librarian. People could read the book and leave it on the shelf when they had to go. 

Although different roofing was placed over the concrete book shelf,  some of them woven material and sometimes tin, the books were still vulnerable to the weather; rain, wind and sun. 

Besides books and reading material, the village put trophies and awards in the structure won by the village. It was fitting that "Umatac Pride" was written on the structure. Behind the outdoor library was Magellan School, which was replaced by a new and larger school after the war further down the road.

The Humåtak people provided the muscles and donated supplies, except for the cement. Books were donated by the Navy. 

During the Japanese Occupation, all the books were removed by the Japanese. After the war, new books were donated, often by the military, till the library fell into disuse.

It's fitting that, in the middle of the structure, Sánchez designed a heart. It was a labor of love for his community.

Besides all of this, Sánchez was elected a Congressman in the old, advisory Guam Congress, representing Humåtak.

DEATH AND RECOGNITION

FQ SÁNCHEZ ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Sánchez passed away in 1954 at the young age of 55. At around the same time, a brand new, concrete school was being built in Humätak, one of the first post-war permanent and typhoon-resistant schools built.

Members of the Guam Legislature thought it was opportune to name the new school after the village's long-time and beloved educator and civic leader. The Legislature passed a resolution asking the island's education board to do so. The board ignored the request and, when a second resolution was passed to press the point, the board said they could honor Sánchez with a plaque or statue.

The board was out of touch with the sentiments of the general public, which wanted to do more. The Legislature passed a bill, then Governor Elvidge signed it into law, mandating the school be named after Sánchez. It was the first Guam public school named for a Chamorro educator. The first Guam public school named after a Chamorro was before the war, when the Naval Government named the public school in San Antonio district in Hagåtña after Padre Palomo.

SÁNCHEZ WITH WIFE AMPARO AND DAUGHTER ANGELINA

Photo courtesy of Joe Quinata, GPT

There are plans in the making to repair and reuse FQ Sánchez School as a charter school, museum, senior citizen center, mayor's office and to include a coffee shop. The Government of Guam has put aside $3.5 million for this project. Senator Joe S. San Agustin introduced the funding bill.