For 30 years, from 1960 to 1990, the Guam Museum was under the administration of the Guam Public Library. During most of those years Magdalena S. Taitano was the island’s territorial librarian. Taitano was also the first CHamoru to earn a Master’s degree in library sciences.
The American Legion is a federally chartered veterans organization that supports veterans’ issues and engages in other community projects. The American Legion Mid-Pacific Post No. 1 was founded in Guam in 1930 under Naval Governor Willis Bradley. When the Guam Museum was first established in 1932, Governor Edmund S. Root authorized the use of a small building adjacent to the Plaza de España’s historic grounds fronting and surrounding the Governor’s Palace. The newly formed American Legion offered to manage it. Hiram W. Elliot, post commander, and Naval Chaplain Francis Lee Albert. Elliot hired Joaquin T. Aguon to help with the collections.
US Navy Corpsman Hiram W. Elliott (1880 – 1949) came to Guam in the early 1900s to work at the Maria Schroeder Naval Hospital. He married Concepcion Martinez of Hagåtña, and the couple had 12 children. He was also a teacher at the public night school in Hagåtña. After Elliott retired from the Navy he used his pharmacy training to open Elliott’s Drug Store, near where the Hagåtña precinct/police station is now located.
Gertrude Costenoble, also known as Trudis Alemån, was born 20 December 1893, in Reinfelden, Switzerland. In 1904 a portion of the Costenoble family, parents Gertrude Blum and Ludwig Wilhelm Herman with brother Hermann, had settled on Guam. The whole family was later reunited on Guam three years later.
Gertrude and Hans Hornbostel Read Post »
Andrew T. Laguaña (1950 – 2022) was part of the first generation of island-born architects, and the first Chamorro elevated to Fellow status of the American Institute of Architects. Since 1989, he guided Guam’s architectural and engineering professions while defining the island’s building environment, honoring Guam’s cultural uniqueness, and serving as an outstanding example for future generations. He was the first Guam architect to chair a region (Region 6) of the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards. He also advocated for updating Guam’s Building Code.
Andrew “Andy” Laguaña Read Post »
In the late 1950s a very young Laura Souder spent Saturdays with her father, Paul, at the Guam Museum at its Garden House location in the Plaza de España. In addition to dusting the artifacts, her interaction with museum attendant Thelma Glenn and hearing stories of Guam history from her father helped shape her career.
The Guam Historical Club was a small group of people interested in Guam history in the 1950s and 1960s. Led by Paul Souder and Agueda Iglesias Johnston, the Club helped tell the story of Guam history at the Guam Museum when it was located at the Garden House at the Plaza de España. Members helped care for the artifacts, engaged with visitors as needed, and worked in cooperation with the Guam Women’s Club who staffed the museum at the time.
Guam Historical Club Read Post »
This film project compels university/college students to enhance their traditional classroom learning by physically visiting specific sites in Guam, interacting with individuals with stakes in those sites, and commenting critically on the potential of these sites to be recognized or further legitimized as historically significant or as viable cultural heritage sites.
Lesson Plan: Historical and Cultural Heritage Sites Film Project Read Post »
Jump Start Your Art: Marketing, Resources, and Guides. The Guam Council on the Arts and Humanities Agency (CAHA) hosted Jump Start Your Art: Marketing, Resources and Guides – two workshops for artists, cultural producers and entrepreneurs in 2016. These educational and capacity building workshops enabled artists to connect with representatives from various fields in a creative business.
Jump Start Your Art Read Post »
Summary Workshop Report epublication. In May-June 2016, Guam is hosting the Festival of the Pacific Arts (FestPac), a region-wide festival celebrating the various arts and cultures of the Pacific. FestPac 2016 will showcase traditional performances, arts and craft displays and demonstrations, music and story-telling. Hosting the Pacific wide festival represents an important and exciting opportunity to highlight cultural identity and heritage among a diverse group of Pacific islanders, many of whom share a colonial past and have felt its impact on traditional practices and lifestyles.
CHamoru Cultural Values Workshop Read Post »
