A ponceau, a feathered headgear and a tomahawk changing hand (or head or torso) could well describe the transfer of command within the all-Baguio boys club that is the Apache before the end of the year last December 30.
The most family-centric all-boys club that puts faith on top of food, fun, and fellowship ends the year with a grand bonfire and for the first time held at Melvin Jones, that open space that is the venue for most of the city’s biggest events, including the famous mass of Pope John Paul II 43 years ago.
Karl Gabaen became the first chief of highland blood of the club founded by the children of Baguio pioneers in 1939.
It was a 30-day march to the pinnacle of Apache service for the Pucsusan village chieftain during Rizal Day. It was exactly 30 days earlier, during Bonifacio Day, when he was tasked by then-chief Adam Ferrer to oversee the staging of the grand bonfire as the incoming chief.
On top of that, he had to take part in the annual carol which Apache Tribal Council chair Edgar Avila said had been missing.
On December 30, in front of more than 80 braves and more than a hundred family members, with the past chiefs and elders at his right side and his family to his left, Gabaen took the oath to lead the Apache for the coming year. This came after Ferrer recounted the events of his term and one by one handed the tomahawk, the war bonnet, and finally the ponceau.
It was a busy December of the Apache with Gabaen at the helm, especially since the venue of the grand bonfire, Ibaloy Park (the annual event venue since 20220, had been closed for improvements.
The Apache had been actually homeless since the pandemic struck in 2020. The group used to be housed at the Botanical Garden until 2019. In 2021, when the Apache resumed their grand bonfire, Gabaen hosted the event at his home, which may have been the clincher for his succession to the seat after Jonathan Vergara and Ferrer.
Having Melvin Jones as venue was last on the list; actually, it was not even part of it originally. There were several proposals, including a return to the Lion’s Park, which Dang Reyes said was the place where he was invested in the group in 2004.
Francis Calanio oversaw the bonfire which was lit by a ball of fire “coming from heaven,” on a tree some 50 feet away, 20 feet high.
It came after former chief Rudolfo Paraan declared that it should be lit after the prayer, which he leads regularly, that honored the pioneers of the group and started the three Fs of food, fun, and fellowship when they were youngsters. And that expanded to the 5Fs after the war where many of them served and fought the invaders, including the liberation of the city on April 26,1945. And a little much later, the last F was added for “family” when they started raising their own.
It was a slow start for the yet wet wood, but it did not stop the proceeding that saw the investiture of Gabaen into leading the nation.
Gabaen is expected to start his term with its first fundraiser, a golf tournament to be held either in March or April. It will be the 23rd staging of the golf event since it was started in 2011 by former chief Art Bueno. The event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By Pigeon Lobien
