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Outstanding
alumna . . . from page 1
at an altitude of 8,000 feet
marking her 75th birthday. She repeated this feat last August 1999 at a
height of 3,000 feet when she turned 77. In the Philippine Air Force, she
earned the nickname “Minnie Mouse”.
A resident of Shepparton,
she is a professional music therapist and an organist at St. James Cathedral.
She works as Public Relations Officer and helps in the fund-raising campaign
for a child-care organization of the Church of England by holding concerts.
Remarkably, she has serenaded her audience for 12 years and raised $ 350,000
that she used to establish the Philippine House, a museum that exhibits
the best of Philippine Arts and Culture.
Mrs. Fitzsimmons portrays
the tenacity of the Filipinos in achieving indelible endeavors for humanity
and God. She has achieved so much in her career life.
She is a writer, noted musician, pilot, former police lieutenant, traveler
and columnist. She wrote her autobiography and writings into a book
titled, “The Sky’s the Limit” that was published in Australia last year.
She was awarded on May 8, 1999 as one of the six Victorian Senior Achiever
Awardees.
Edith migrated to Australia
through a church sponsored grant in 1970 together with her three children.
At present she pursues a doctorate in Education at the La Trobe University
in Melbourne.
When the clock strikes at
one on January 1, 2000, “Minnie Mouse” will start her journey to the world
13 million times by mails. She will be bringing with her not only the culture
of Australia but that of the Philippines as well. More significantly, she
becomes CPU’s “Ambassador of Goodwill” who will shower each citizen of
the world the culture and spirit that is Central.
Get together in California (L-R)
Alfred C. Morales, Mrs. R. Corvera, Ms. Lorna Buensuceso, Ms. A. Giffin,
Ms. E. Chambers (former librarian), Mrs. A. Buensuceso, Mrs. L. George,
Rev. R. George, Mr. E. Landero, & AC Landero, Mrs. S.. Enabe
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Former
CPU prexy daughter writes
Dear Editor,
Hello!
I received two issues of LINK
(May-July and February-April) recently which I have read from cover to
cover with much interest.
As the daughter of the late
Dr. and Mrs. Harland Stuart and a graduate of the CPU high school I have,
of course, always had a great deal of interest in CPU. As you know, my
father was one of the early presidents of CPU and an architect of many
of the campus buildings which were destroyed during World War II. That
was my home from the age of two until I returned to the U.S. in 1935 at
the age of 17 to enrol as a student at Boston University. I have not been
back to the Philippines since then.
My parents were in the States
on furlough when WW II broke out – only because my mother became ill and
was not permitted by her doctors to return to the tropics and she would
not hear of my father going back alone. They were supposed to return to
CPU in 1940 but when it became apparent that my mother’s disease was chronic
they resigned from the Baptist Foreign Mission Society and spent the next
few years in teaching here in U.S. After retirement they moved her to Gettysburg
to be near some of their family. They are, of course, now both deceased.
I graduated from Boston U. in
1939 and had several executive secretarial positions before I joined the
Navy WAVES during the war where I earned the rank of Lieutenant (j.g.)
before the war ended that career. During the war I met a young man named
Robert Bloom who was the son of a couple we met in Baguio before I came
to the States. Robert and his brother were back here in the States
in college so I did not meet Robert until we happened to be stationed near
each other during the war—he at an Army Air Force base in Connecticut
and I at Officer candidate school in Massachusetts. We met twice before
he was shipped overseas and got married several years later when he returned
from overseas duty.
Robert had been a high school
teacher before the war and although I vowed never to be a school teacher
since so many members of my family were teachers I married a teacher! He
had already earned a Master’s degree before the war and earned a Ph. D.
from Columbia University while teaching at a junior college in New Jersey
after the war. He then took a job at a small Lutheran college here in Gettysburg
in 1949 where he eventually became chairman of the History Department.
We had three sons, who all grew up in Gettysburg but now live far from
here, and there are now four grandchildren. We were married 45 years until
his death in 1990.
After the children were in
school I took a part-time job in Gettysburg College Alumni Office and edited
their Alumni Bulletin for five years. After that I wrote for several
area newspaper but now content myself with volunteer work at the public
library in town where we operate a used book shop to raise money for the
library.
I found while reading LINK
so many familiar names of people I knew when I lived on the campus there.
However, I suspect that most of the surnames I recognized are by now the
children or grandchildren of those I remember since I am now 81 years of
age!
As I’m sure you know, my
brother, David Stuart, and his wife Hazel are now campus residents and
find life there very good. I do wish I could visit CPU once more but I
am rather fragile and doubt I could stand such a long journey. I do think
often of my old time friends and the good life I had there in my
youth.
I hope the small donation
enclosed can be put to good use.
Sincerely,
DOROTHY S. BLOOM
108 Artillery Dr., Gettysburg
PA 17325 U.S.A.
Tel. (717) 334-4159
E-Mail- dbloom@cvn.net
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