Mango's Newsletter 2005

Last Updated on December 31, 2007

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January 2005 April 2005 July 2005
 

September 2005

  

December 2005

December 2005

Mango’s Resort celebrated Halloween this year with two parties. The early afternoon one was held for children on Saturday the 29th of October. Over one hundred children dressed up for costume competitions, games and food. Later that same evening adults had their fun with a live band performing on our newly renovated beach patio. Pictures from Halloween are/were posted on our main page. If they're not there now then we've moved them to our Halloween page.

Several US Navy ships have been in and out of Subic during the last weeks of October. In keeping with recent Navy policy no Sailors/Marines have been allowed off-base liberty.  The ships included USS Essex, USS Fort McHenry and USS Juneau.

There has been a lot of new construction on the Barrio Barretto strip.

November 1st an expanded  value added tax began on all goods and services in the Philippines. Philippine debt is so big that the World Bank and International Monetary Fund demanded increased taxes. VAT is the result and it may get ugly. It applies to oil and electricity as well. Both necessities are already a huge burden on people’s lives. 

The VFW has changed their dates for the annual Beach Bash. It will now be held on February 16-19 2006.

 The Philippines is set for the Southeast Asian Games (SEA) which they are hosting for the first time. Forty-six sports will be played at eight venues throughout the country. Subic Bay will be hosting archery, canoe and kayak racing, sailing and the triathlon. The old naval base has really buffed up in anticipation of the competitions held between November 27 and December 5.

In late September Mango’s sponsored a golf tournament to benefit Operation Cleft Palate. The event was held at San Antonio Golf Club of Zambales. (former San Miguel Base) 18 sponsors contributed cash and raffle prizes in support of the charity. Pictures from the event are/were posted on our main page. If they're not there when you read this look in our Image Archive collections.

Thanksgiving is not a Philippine tradition. Except for the VFW having Thanksgiving dinner it's pretty much a non-event around here. Course they did serve 205 people this year. So we did something different for our Thanksgiving and moved it to Saturday. I was up at 5 and got the turkey stuffed and loaded in the oven. By mid-morning we were decorating the Christmas tree. I continued working the corn, mashed potatoes, yams. Cooking beats the hell out of trimming that tree in my view. Our guests for dinner were 'War' widows and their children. Four of our friends are working civilian jobs in and around the Iraqi war zone. Their wives are good friends of our. Their nine children are our kids friends. Our pre-meal prayer went out to each of the husbands and fathers doing important work in a tough situation.  Following the Thanksgiving meal the moms and children headed to Mango's beach where they all camped out on the beach. Thanksgiving - Mango's Style!

From all of us at Mango's -
Have a safe and happy holiday season!

 

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September 2005

Quiet, slow, rainy generally sums up the past couple months. We had 44 inches of rainfall in a three week stretch in July. Here's just some of what's been going on.

At Mango’s we’re doing some renovations in the restaurant, back patio and beach. We should be finished when our season gets rolling come October.

Some nice restaurants have opened. Indaba (formerly Swiss Tavern, Boodles) is serving some good Italian food. Their restaurant is cozy and charming. The pool room is popular and they have joined the billiard league. The American owner Lou and his wife have live bands on Sunday nights.

Oh Mama Mia is another Italian restaurant that has opened in mid barrio. We have not visited but have heard good things, so Italian is covered.

In July we hosted a VFW afternoon party in the Rock Lobster Room. It included members from the various districts around the Philippines. In December our local “V” will be hosting the regional conference so we expect people from all over Asia to be in the area.   

Our long time guest Jack Koester celebrated his 84th birthday in July.  He’s lost a step or two but still keeps on keeping on. Some of the pictures capture the little cuties he surrounds himself with.          

If in Angeles City the Kokomos chain just keeps getting better. Their restaurant is exceptional. The sister clubs associated with them are some of the best. My personal favorite is Voodoo. But Lollipop also very good. You'll find an excellent source of updated Angeles City information here: Margarita Station Newsletter Aug 2005

In mid-August four American ships visited Subic Bay in conjunction with the annual CARAT war exercises between the US and Filipino navies. Ships included dock landing ship USS Harpers Ferry, the guided missile destroyer USS Paul Hamilton, the guided missile frigate USS Rodney Davis and rescue and salvage ship USS Safeguard.

Liberty was confined to the former base area. No one got to see the real Olongapo or Philippines. The 1200 personnel were virtually invisible unless one was on SBMA and saw the long lines at ATM machines. Restaurants, bars and hotels jacked their prices to gouging levels but it did not dent enthusiasm.  

The US and Philippine navies took part in bilateral exercises in various training sites in Manila, Zambales, Sulu Sea and Puerto Princesa City in Palawan from August 15 to the 23rd.  Our webmaster Tim Jacobs was involved in the very first CARAT exercises in 1995/1996 where he trained Philippine Navy Divers on sidescan sonar underwater search operations. Tim put together a quick page featuring some great photos from 2005 here: USN - RPN CARAT 2005.

If you are in country we will host our annual Halloween party. We are also staging a golf tournament on September 24th at San Antonio Golf Club. This is a benefit for Operation Cleft Palate and we hope to make it an annual event. We’re especially grateful to our sponsors including Kokomo’s, Blue Rock Resort, Masonic District 27, Lollipop, Quality Garments, GMC Associates, Scuba Shack, Lim’s Mart, Arlene’s Pawn Shop, Voodoo, Palm Tree Resorts, San Miguel Corporation, Pepsi Cola, and Viva Mineral Water.

Lots of updates around the site, they include:

Philippine Stories

        Local News

Mango's Favorite Downloads

Only in the Philippines III

A couple guys were visiting from DC recently. They had been in Olongapo taking pictures. They had the digital camera out and were laughing at one in particular.  Turned out they had taken a picture of the McDonald’s sign that says, “We Deliver.” We only have one in town and yes indeed, they do deliver.  Be Safe - Tom & Wilma

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July  2005

The dates for next years Veteran of Foreign Wars Beach Bash will be February 9-12. We mention this because so many people were inquiring so they could coordinate travel plans around it. It is an event that brings people out who you never see any other time of the year. 

In Late April, long time barrio legend Mike Trimble celebrated his 70th birthday at Mango’s. Inviting over 200 friends he threw a memorable party with a live band on the beach. Also on hand, visiting from Missouri was his 80 year old sister Maurcette. The night’s highlight was old friends, shipmates and former employees lining up to give him handshakes and hugs as the band kept playing Happy Birthday.

On May 30th  Mango’s celebrated 11 years in Barrio Barretto. As part of our celebration the Hot Babes Bikini Open Competition was held on the beach with over 300 people attending. Local friends, businesses and vendors helped sponsor the cash prizes that went to the contestants.  18 gorgeous women competed for the crown. First place went to Marian Alver. First runner-up was Joan Diemsen. Second runner-up was Pauline Garizon.

Another highlight of the evening was Ron Roberts doing several numbers as a ‘Fat Elvis’ during an intermission break. Viva Las Vegas, Love Me Tender and All Shook Up had the capacity crowd clapping and stomping.

Mango’s opened in 1994 when Barrio Barrretto was just beginning it’s recovery from the US Naval Base closure. Our family oriented, child-friendly beach combined with the adult oriented Rock Lobster Room both contributed to our success. We want to sincerely thank all of you who have visited us over the years. We (Tom & Wilma) especially want to thank Tim and Pin Pin Jacobs who have made this site so popular and successful. Without it we would not be communicating with you now.

Two of our three pool teams competed for the Sunday league championship. Mango’s and Rock Lobster squared off in the final round that had begun with 17 teams. With the match tied at 7-7 tie going into the final game Mango’s finally won.  Not a ball was left on the table. 

Palm Tree Resort is under construction next door to us. Due to open in August they will have 16 rooms, a swimming pool and bar and restaurant. A floating bar is also planned offshore between our two resorts. They are doing it right and it’s going to be nice. Already open is their bar called Castaways.

Two other future dates worth noting are popular golf tournaments. One, the Shriner’s held on October 22.  The venue has not as yet been determined. And the 5th Annual Pro-Am  charity golf tournament is on November 19th. TLC Medical Center is the principal sponsor of it’s official title ‘For the Love of Children’ which benefits burned and crippled children. This will he played at Subic Bay Golf and Country Club. For more information on this event check out  www.theloveofchildren.org

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April 2005

Easter Week just ended with the usual Wednesday through Sunday holiday. Subic Bay was jam-packed with tourists both on and off SBMA. (former naval base) Baloy Beach had two events running together. Blue Rock Resort and Dive Center hosted their 3rd annual summer festival. This included a Gay Fashion Competition and a Ms. Blue Rock Pageant followed by live bands. Johan’s Restaurant held a 3 day beach party with limbo dancing, apple bobbing, hot dog eating and beer drinking contests along with DJ’s and live bands.

Easter begins the Philippine summer and our domestic tourist season. Most schools let out this week and won’t start again until June.

In February the Veterans of Foreign Wars, in Barrio Barretto had the most successful Beach Bash in the thirteen year history of the event. The Bash is their principal fundraising tool, toward the scholarship fund, for needy, gifted, local students.

The original Beach Bash was conceived during the closing days of Subic Naval Base as a fundraiser and as a way of bringing together the various nationalities that had begun to frequent the area.  Local businesses contributed money or merchandise for various events during the four day affair. Restaurant and bars were used as venues for the numerous competitions.  

As part of the event, beautiful majorettes, clowns, Shriners in miniature cars and motorcycles and stunningly decorated floats from local establishments paraded down National Highway through Barrio Barretto. Dressed as a military officer, Olongapo mayor James (Bong) Gordon, rode on one of the most interesting participants, Don West’s fully restored World War 11 era jeep that once carried General Douglas McArthur.

The VFW team won the tug-of-war from a young Blue Rock team. Tom Lutz of Health Visions won the arm wrestling contest as he’s done several years running. Morris Salcedo and Roda Tatoy won the doubles pool competition. In the beauty contests Tracy Ream won Little Miss Beach Bash. Cassidy Hanses and Carla Myers were first and second runner-ups. Miss Beach bash went to Dyna Conception of Mango’s. First runner up was Sherlyn Padillo also of Mango’s and Eva Daniels of Islanders was second runner up.

In late February Queen Elizabeth 2, sailed into Subic Bay tying up at Alavar pier. 1900 tourists disembarked the world class pleasure boat to brass bands, native dancers and wide selections of local handicrafts.

Then in March the command ship of the US Seventh Fleet, USS Blue Ridge made a 4 day port call to Subic Bay. The ship has 128 officers and 834 enlisted personnel. 100 of these are Filipino-Americans. The Filipino-Americans were the only group allowed ‘off-base’ liberty. All others were confined to what is now SBMA because of security concerns beyond the gates.

On Sunday March 20th, the Philippines came to a virtual standstill as the nation watched one of her favorite sons fight a 12 round match from the MGM in Las Vegas. In a county starved for heroes Manny Pacquiao had captured the heart of the nation in the weeks leading up to the featherweight fight. He lost to a Mexican rival after a head-butt opened a gash over his eye.

The Fleet Reserve Association (FRA) of San Antonio, Zambales will be hosting their annual FRALICS fundraiser April 7-10. This event helps to fund their food and vitamins supplements program to malnourished children. It also helps pay for their hare-lip/cleft palate surgery program. Horseshoes, pool, darts, volleyball, a 10k run and a golf tournament are all part of this event.

We recently visited the Luisita Golf Course. It is located on the huge Hacienda Luisita located about 40 minutes north of Angeles City. The Central Park Hotel nearby is offering a weekday golf package including two rounds of golf and a night at the hotel with breakfast for P3100. At $57 it’s an attractive package at one of the country’s premiere courses.

We received an inquiry from an American planning to retire with his family, asking if we ever worried about our children being kidnapped. Our answer was that this is, unfortunately, usually a nightmare for the wealthy Chinese in Manila. We know of no instance of this occurring in the Subic Bay area. However a wise parent would always be vigilant. We worry about bird-flu too and pray it does not happen.         

Maintenance around the site included:

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January 2005

Happy New Year from Mango's!

Happy 2005 to you all. Dates to remember in the next couple months include:

        Midnight Rambler’s annual Britannia Party on January 15th

        The VFW Beach Bash is February 17-20

        Mango’s will have a special Valentine’s dinner on the 14th

Then there are the many Super Bowl parties held at 6:00 AM on a Monday morning too!

December was frantic in Subic Bay. Parties, golf tournaments, grand openings seemed continuous. Castaways opened a gorgeous bar next door to Mango’s which was once a house. They intend to build a 14 room hotel with swimming pool. In Calapandayan, Subic City, Elton Ron’s opened. It is a very upscale go-go-dancing bar.

San Miguel Golf Club sponsored member’s tournaments. Subic Bay Golf and Country Club held weekly tournaments, including the Legenda Hotel Classic, a cancer fundraiser and a Caddy Appreciation Day tournament. Health Visions Corporation held their annual For The Love of Children tournament at Mimosa on the former Clark Air Base. This generated thousands of pesos for the Shriner’s burned and crippled children fund.  The local Swedish community held their annual fun tourney at Subic. This one was a blast. If you like a shot of vodka and OJ before teeing off this was the tournament for you.

We held the annual Family Children Christmas party at Pundockit again. There were kids games, two clowns, magic shows, wading pools and a Santa with a San Miguel in each hand. Likewise the Mango’s employee Christmas party was fun and held on Christmas eve. For now there are pictures of both events on our main page. If by the time you read this they are not there then look through the image archive pages.

There are lots of tourists around this season. Angeles City is very full and that helps our area. Our beach volleyball games are crowded every Wednesday and Sunday. The tourist dart league is busy. The Philippines has the weather of Hawaii right now.

 On the old base the Subic Bay Officer’s Club has been demolished. In its place will be a large casino. Opposite the old Spanish gate on the former Post Office lawn are now a Yellow cab Pizza and Pancake House. Restaurants seem to be going up everywhere but the most popular spot is on Waterfront road from old “O” Club to Kalaklan gate. There are 12 restaurants on one side of the street or the other now. Inside the main gate three new restaurants opened. On lot 14, outside the main gate, at the corner of Gordon and Magsaysay a new three story mall has opened.

We did have an ugly incident in the barrio last month. Several policemen manning a checkpoint were ambushed and killed by suspected NPA gunmen. It happened late one night and caused local panic. No one was ever arrested and it appears to have been politically motivated.

We receive many questions from Subic ‘oldtimers’ asking if so and so is dead or alive. We lost many military retirees in the past year. The most well-known and influential was Dennis Thieke better know as John Jones. Founder of Health Visions, TLC hospital, Subic Bay Medical Center and Philippine International Hospital, he left a large hole in the community. Others who passed on in 2004 were:

Dave Dunn
William “Bubba” Pierce
Jerry “The Nose” Tanguay
Jim McGee
Jap Burnett

For two years now our Guest Log has been full of chatter about people asking if Gene Gann had died. On the contrary, he's just fine and continues as head of Subic Bay Medical center. 

    Site maintenance this time around includes archiving all of last years local news to Local News Archive 10.  We have over 260 articles related to the Zambales area now archived dating back to 1999.  The Local News Index has also been updated.  New articles for 2005 will be placed on the Local News Current page.  And, we archived the entire 2004 Guest Log and started a new one.  Most recent news articles include:

     Hope you all had a safe and happy holiday season. Thanks for helping make our website one of the most popular in the Philippines. We moved the site to a new provider just before the holidays so now have more room for pictures and may even be able to resurrect the Mango's Greatest Hits page.  Catch you in March. Have a happy, healthy and safe 2005.

 

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