Historic Saranac Lake is planning to celebrate an historic link between the Philippines and the Adirondack village in August. In advance of the event, the group held a virtual meeting featuring the grandson of the first democratically-elected president of the Southeast Asian nation.
The village of Saranac Lake rose to national and international prominence in the 19th century for its treatment of tuberculosis at a time when there was no cure for the disease. Eighty years ago, then-Philippine President Manuel Quezon came to Saranac Lake for treatment and died there.
New York University Adjunct Professor Luis Francia, who has written a history of the Philippines, says President Quezon was a pivotal figure in that country’s history.
“He represented the transition from the Spanish era to the United States occupation/Commonwealth government,” Francia said. “And therefore he is important in the sense of understanding the way that the Philippines transitioned into the modern era.”
Manuel Quezon III, the grandson of President Quezon, shared photos and explained how the Philippine president came to Saranac Lake to be treated.
“It was a good friend of his, a former Governor General of the Philippines, a former Congressman from New York,” said Quezon. “We owe it to Francis Burton Harrison, his friend, who said have you heard of this little town called Saranac Lake? Because it’s a place famous for a certain Dr. Trudeau who happens to be one of the world experts in this disease. And that’s what brought him to Saranac Lake in 1943.”
Quezon, who has not been to Saranac Lake, recalled that during the COVID pandemic he was contacted by a fellow Filipino who had just visited Saranac Lake and was sent pictures of the places his grandfather had stayed.
“And all of a sudden what had been a color film from 1944 suddenly became digital images from 2019,” related Quezon. “The same deck. The same view of the lake. Something I’d never seen: the living room of the house, unchanged practically in at that point 75 years. The chapel where he lay in state for the last time. And even, interesting detail, a steamer trunk that apparently had been left behind and led to intense speculation among myself and my cousins about what’s in that trunk? We’d better retrieve it. Well, to add to the drama of this story now the trunk is missing.”
Quezon says while his grandfather’s life culminated in what he calls a “death in exile” during World War II, Filipinos still respect his memory.
“On the whole, and I’m just stating this as someone who has gone around the country and been fortunate to interact with many people, I do think there’s still a tremendous amount of good will about my grandfather and his memory,” said Quezon. “There remains a positive impression if only because of his insistence on national pride and our national existence.”
Historic Saranac Lake Executive Director Amy Catania said the virtual meeting is one of a series leading up to a President Quezon History Day in Saranac Lake.
“It is going to be a day of a special museum exhibit, some dance performances, a ceremony to welcome important guests and also some musical performances and Filipino food. So our little village is really excited to have this day on August 3rd,” said Catania.
Historic Saranac Lake’s President Quezon History Day is supported by a grant from Humanities New York.
