They both lived on Saipan between 1948 and 1950 and on Guam between 1953 and 1955 while their father, W. Stratton Walker, a federal engineer who designed the glass breakwater in Apra Harbor.
Ann, now 68, attended Agana Junior High School, then located in what is now the Julale Shopping. Mary, 66, attended Adelup Elementary, which has since been converted to become the governor’s office.
Mary said she and her sister first came back to the island in 2008 when one of Mary’s students took it upon himself to raise money for the trip for them by asking all her former students to pitch in.
They stayed at the home of Mimi Santos and Tom Santos in Toto and were looking to see if any of their former classmates were still around. One of them was Mary’s good friend Guadalupe “Lupe” Gumataotao, but to no avail. They were advised to go see Piti Mayor Ben Gumataotao and they did.
“We went to his office and we gave him the same story then showed him the picture and asked if he heard of Guadalupe Gumataotao,” said Mary.
As luck would have it, Lupe is the mayor’s sister.
Through the mayor’s help, the mayor was able to contact Lupe, who is now living on the mainland U.S. The two have since been in communication with each other.
Mary recalled her childhood on Guam. “The bus would pick us up at Tenjo Vista (Nimitz Hill), drop Mary at Adelup and me at the junior high school. Then on our way home we would get off at the USO club and swim before our dad, who worked on the Navy base, would pick us up after work,” she said. “What a life!”
This past week the two spent a day on Saipan and went to a senior citizens center to see if they would be able to meet up with some old classmates. They brought an old yearbook, report cards and shoes that were made for Ann by a cobbler on Saipan. The mementos have been donated to the CNMI Museum.
Looking around at the beach area of Adelup on Thursday, Ann raves over the pleasure of island living. A young woman they met a few days ago brought them a papaya as a gift. “The way people reach out to you and accept you and are hospitable with you even though you are a stranger. This has touched us more deeply than I can tell you,” she said.
“That’s so typical of the kind of hospitality we have received,” Ann said. “We don’t deserve any of that, but we are so touched by the love that seems real genuine to us.”
They departed on Sunday to return to Virginia but with a lot more memories and new friends.
