Your grandfather, who I do not recall meeting, was a farmer in San Antonio.
He gave your father an intense belief in making Saipan a better place to live, the “Spirit of Saipan” which you allude to in your letter. Your father also had a well-developed work ethic even in the eighth grade when we first got to know each other. He was a member of a class of students that were English speaking and most challenging for a 25-year-old teacher from Miami, Fl. I remember all of them with great fondness.
But your father was more than just my student. I actually was your father’s science teacher. In those days the student population and teacher population was small. As a result I had the same students in several science classes such as biology, chemistry, and physics. Ramon Garrido Villagomez became my laboratory assistant and would help me after school to keep the lab ship shape. He also did a great deal to help me understand this new culture I had been thrown into.
I know your mother and may have attended their wedding. In those days there were few haole teachers on Saipan and so I got invited to many christenings and weddings. It was a wonderful time and instilled in me the “spirit” to which you allude, the “spirit” which has kept me here, teaching ever since.
I congratulate you on your decision to enter the public arena and carry on in your father’s footsteps. Hopefully, we will meet in the near future to get to know each other better. E-mail me at [email protected] When I read your letter, it was as if your dad, the judge, was nearby.
ROGER N. LUDWICK
Sadog Tasi, Saipan
