The journey
- 1. 1925North of ManilaBorn in a small hamlet several hours north of Manila[EJ]
- 2. 1949Mandaluyong, RizalMarried Angelita S. Aguilar[MC]
- 3. 1950ManilaGraduated as a civil engineer; second lieutenant in the army engineers[EJ]
- 4. 1963BruneiCivil engineer for the Government of Brunei[EJ][FMT2]
- 5. 1970Fort McMurrayThe first Filipino family in town[EJ]
From the Philippines to Canada
1954 - 1957
His father, Pablo, in Alaska
- Ben Sr's father, Pablo Espejo, was a schoolteacher.[EJ][MC]
- In 1954 Pablo's name is on the Pacific American Fisheries crew list for its King Cove cannery in Alaska, a typed list of the employees of the 1954 season.[PAF54]
- In July 1957 Pablo wrote a letter to his granddaughter Bengie from the Pacific American Fisheries cannery at King Cove.[LTR]
- Together, the crew list and the letter show that Pablo worked at the King Cove cannery in at least 1954 and 1957.[PAF54][LTR]
- The family story is that Pablo first went to Alaska as a teacher.[JEFF]
1925 - 1963
Early years and army service
- Ben Sr was born in 1925 in a small hamlet several hours north of Manila. The family's hometown is believed to be Vigan.[EJ][JEFF]
- He was the second of four children of a schoolteacher, Pablo Espejo.[EJ][MC]
- He wanted to be a doctor, but became a civil engineer because his father wished it.[EJ][FMT1]
- In the late 1940s he served in the Philippines reserve officer training corps.[EJ]
- After the Japanese occupation he took a five-year civil engineering course at a technological institute in Manila.[EJ]
- He graduated in 1950 and became a second lieutenant in the Philippine Army corps of engineers.[EJ]
- He was sent to a southern army base and led units in jungle clashes with the Huks.[EJ]
- After a friend was killed, he moved to the engineering corps' real estate section, which developed land in the Huk homeland and brought in settlers from other parts of the Philippines.[EJ]
- He served in the army corps of engineers until 1963.[EJ][FMT2]
1949 - 1960
Marriage and children
- He married Angelita S. Aguilar, a teacher, on December 12, 1949, in Mandaluyong, Rizal.[MC]
- The 1995 tribute gives the year as 1951; the marriage contract, the original record, gives 1949.[EJ][MC]
- Six children were born between 1952 and 1960: Benlita (Bengie), Benjamin Jr., Aristeo (Aris), Virgilio (Gil), Eleuterio (Terry) and Aurora.[EJ][OBIT]
- Bengie, the oldest, was born on February 20, 1952, in Quezon City.[OBIT]
1963 - 1969
Brunei
- He left the army in 1963 and worked for six years as a civil engineer for the Government of Brunei, on Borneo.[EJ][FMT2]
- In Brunei he worked with many British people, most of whom planned to move to Canada.[FMT2]
- From Brunei he applied for Canadian visas for the whole family: himself, his wife and their six children. He also thought about Australia.[FMT2]
- Angelita died on August 5, 1969.[GRAVE][EJ]
“It was just like a ghost town.”
1970s
The first Filipino family in Fort McMurray
- In 1970 his family became the first Filipino residents of Fort McMurray, then a town of about 4,500.[EJ]
- When they arrived, the Espejos were the only Filipino family in town.[FMT2]
- There were only one or two flights a week, Edmonton was an eight to nine hour drive, and the road south was gravel.[FMT2]
- His first winter reached 60 below Fahrenheit, about minus 51 Celsius.[FMT1][EJ]
- He said he would not have minded going to Inuvik or Baffin Island.[FMT1]
- Around 1980 he said he would not move back to the Philippines, because his children and grandchildren lived nearby.[FMT2]
“The first winter I was here was the worst winter they had.”
1970 - 1987
His work
- He was building superintendent for Alberta Public Works in Fort McMurray, in the physical plant division of Alberta Government Services.[EJ][FMT2]
- One of the buildings he looked after was Keyano College, then the Alberta Vocational Centre.[FMT2]
- When Keyano became a public college in 1978, he became its physical plant manager.[FMT2]
- He was later physical plant manager for the Fort McMurray Catholic School Board.[EJ]
What he gave his community
Filipino-Canadian Association
In 1977 he was a founder and the first president of the Filipino-Canadian Association of Fort McMurray. He served twice as president.[EJ][FMT1]
Separate school board
He was elected to the separate school board in 1977.[FMT2]
St. Paul's church
He chaired the parish council of St. John's Roman Catholic Church and led the planning and building of the city's second Catholic church, St. Paul's.[EJ]
The ambassador's visits
Twice he persuaded the Philippine ambassador to Canada to visit Fort McMurray.[EJ]
Manong Ben
Later Filipino arrivals called him manong Ben, a term of respect for an older brother. Newcomers knocked on his door in the middle of the night for support and advice.[EJ]
In the newspapers
Still searching for
- Pablo Espejo's birth year and birthplace
- Where Pablo Espejo is buried in Vigan, Ilocos Sur
- Ben Sr's hometown - we believe in or near Vigan
- The names of Ben Sr's brother and his other sibling
- Eugenia Pillan's family (Ben Sr's mother)
- The family of Canuto Aguilar and Maxima Santos (Angelita's parents)
His family
Sources
- [EJ] Edmonton Journal, "Tribute", Bob Gilmour, 1995. Clipping in archive folder 02. View the clipping
- [FMT1] Fort McMurray Today, "The Espejos", Jackie MacDonald, about 1981. Clipping in folder 02. View the clipping
- [FMT2] Fort McMurray Today, "Peace in Canada's north", about 1980-81. Clipping in folder 02. View the clipping
- [MC] 1949 marriage contract, folder 04.
- [OBIT] Bengie's obituary, Trinity Funeral Home, 2019.
- [LTR] Pablo's 1957 letter, folder 01.
- [PAF54] Pacific American Fisheries Records, folder 74/7, 1954 crew list (Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Washington University). Copy in folder 01.
- [GRAVE] Angelita's grave marker, Holy Cross Memorial Park, Novaliches.
- [JEFF] Family knowledge (Jeff).