July 4, 2002

     I am pretty sure that nobody in Iloilo City, particularly in the district of Villa knows that it has a special place in Carthage, a historic city in the State of Missouri, some 300 miles southwest of the more popular city of St. Louis, where the Cardinals and the Rams play and where the Gateway Arch is a major attraction.

     Why, you ask. Do they have inasal too? Sinabawan? Or perhaps, alegui rice? Do they have a beach named "Tim***"? (you supply the missing letters)

     No. The place has tiny bodies of water here and there, but it's hundreds of miles away from the ocean, and definitely no beach named "Tim***". The "inasal" is not the way Tatoy makes it. Theirs is smothered in a sauce that tastes like tomato sauce and brown sugar mixed together, and they call it 'barbecue'.

     I'll tell you the reason in succeeding paragraphs. If I have sucked you into reading this far, I intended to do it.

     As one of its major attractions, Carthage, Missouri hosts the Precious Moments Chapel. To those who are unfamiliar with Precious Moments, they are figures of little boys and girls quite striking in their appearance because of their somber look. First thing you'll notice (at least I have noticed) is their eyes are shaped like teardrops. You can't help but get the impression that they look as if they are in a major depression, or worse, suicidal. They have evolved from simple drawings in stationaries and cards, to dolls, to the very collectible (read: expensive) figurines.

     So what was I doing in a place of suicidal figurines? (Alright, they are cute. I'm just kidding.) And what's the Villa connection? If I tell you the reason right now, you'll stop reading.

Photo: R. Garcia

     My wife collects Precious Moments figurines. We have a hundred or so of those prominently displayed in two cabinets in our family room. If we have to file our assets and liabilities for any reason, that's half of our assets right there. Since these figurines are themed, there is a theme for almost every occasion. Let's just say, for our daughter, she has one when she was born (something like 'It's a Girl') to the time she took her first step and for every other developmental stage, to the time she picked a soccer ball, to her first day in school. This will never end. You bet there's one for a 75th wedding anniversary. By that time, we'll need a storage room the size of Fort Knox.

     We heard about the Precious Moments Chapel from a friend. So I checked their website and told my wife about it. I have never seen her so excited , well, since the last time I gave her yet another Precious Moments figurine, which was a week before. How lucky can one man get? My wife doesn't expect anything for gifts other than Precious Moments. For every occasion - birthdays, Valentine's, anniversaries, the day she had her hair stretched, etc. I don't have to bother myself with roses, chocolates, or some stuff from the Victoria's Secret catalog. I admit I am an accessory to this figurine-worship. My wife hasn't purchased a single figurine. I gave them all as gifts. Lately, I have to maintain a list to make sure I won't buy duplicates.

Photo: R. Garcia

     I don't mind as long as it makes her happy. As husbands, it's our job, isn't it? A letter-writer reacting to my previous column chimed in about the 'who-rules-the-remote' thing. "I give up the remote control to my wife. She doesn't want to hand it to me because I keep on clicking and clicking until I completed the channel "cycle". Then, I do it all over again. This makes her feel dizzy." he writes. I can't blame your wife, buddy. Just imagine if you have full subscription to Direct TV. That's about 700 channels right there. If you start channel surfing after dinner, by the time you finish, your wife is already preparing breakfast - with a very big hangover. But then our letter-writer adds, "So I don't get my hand on the remote anymore. She doesn't get mad at me and I don't get mad at her. What she does makes her happy and seeing her happy makes me happy too."

     This is the same reason why I let my wife decide our vacation destination. We planned to go to Disney World in Orlando, Florida this year but when we checked our daughter's height, we decided to postpone it to next year. You see, one has to be at least 42 inches tall to be able to get into the rides and my daughter is only 41 inches. What's the point of going to Disney if she can't enjoy the rides? You can imagine how much she tried to tiptoe just to get to 42. Mickey Mouse is not going away, I told her. So our next option - Carthage, Missouri - 600 miles, 9 hours away by car.

     You've been reading this far and I haven't made the Villa connection yet. It's aggravating, isn't it?

What's wrong with this picture? This is the space devoted to the first Precious Moments factory in Iloilo City. There's something wrong with this picture. Can you tell? Please use the form below or e-mail me.

Photo: R. Garcia

     Precious Moments was started in the early 80's by a Michigan-born artist named Sam Butcher. He used to paint for churches all over the U.S. when he began drawing these teardrop-eyed figures which would eventually become his trademark. He is a deeply religious man and some kind of a missionary. His Precious Moments illustrations are usually associated with religious themes. I am not sure about the circumstances on how he got to the Philippines and lived there for a few years but he built the first factory of Precious Moments dolls right in the heart of Villa, Iloilo.

     Precious Moments in Carthage, Missouri is a vast area of wooded land where there's a chapel, a hotel, a gift shop, a fountain show, convention centers, a wedding island with its own chapel and a Victorian-style home for reception, a restaurant and a studio. It is in the studio where a significant space is devoted to the first ever factory in Villa, Iloilo. The first ever dolls, the workers, and many Ilonggos working on such novelty items as Precious Moments illustrations on capiz shells.

My daughter Claudine (left) watches as Precious Moments' creator and artist Sam Butcher signs her "5th Birthday" figurine (June 22, 2002).

Photo: J. Garcia

     I managed to talk to Sam Butcher for a few minutes when he had his once-a-year-only autograph signing session. Of course, my wife and daughter were part of a long line of collectors so I sneaked in. He has a soft spot for the Philippines and Filipinos, in fact, most of the people in his entourage are Filipinos. He disclosed that he used to have a house in New Washington. Where, Washington D.C.? Seattle? No. In New Washington, Aklan, a few kilometers away from Kalibo. In fact, he said, they made him an adopted son there. He also mentioned that he has a house in a Chicago suburb and only goes to Carthage on occasion.

     Remember the Cory (Aquino) doll? The first ever Cory doll was made by Sam Butcher's factory in Villa and was presented as a gift to then-President Aquino by Sam himself in a Malacañang ceremony in 1987. Cory Aquino was so impressed that she ordered more and used the dolls as gifts to her cabinet officials and visiting foreign dignitaries. A Cory doll as well as a picture of Cory and Sam are on display at Sam's restaurant located within the Precious Moments compound in Carthage. (I am not sure if Cory dolls were available publicly. Would you have bought one? How about today if there's a Kris Aquino doll? Would you buy it? Who would you like to pair the doll with, ala-Ken-to-a-Barbie? A Joey Marquez doll or a Vic Sotto doll? Should the doll look suicidal too?)

     I did not get the chance to ask why Sam Butcher closed his Villa doll factory. I'm guessing you can blame it on the evolution of the now-popular figurine. The dolls were never a hot sell. When he met a Japanese sculptor, they decided to make these figurines. The dolls are still being produced but the figurines made the company what it is now. The figurines are now manufactured in China and Enesco, a licensee, markets them worldwide. Precious Moment figures can also be seen in stationaries, cards, shirts, etc. The company has currently more than 60 licensees who use and market the teardrop-eyed creation. In the U.S., you can buy Precious Moments figurines at all Hallmark stores. Three years ago, we bought one at a stall at SM City Iloilo. I was told recently that the stall eventually went out of business.

     Due to its delicate nature (highly breakable) and its price ($35 to $150 each), these dolls and figurines are only meant for collectors and are usually displayed and cared for the way we care for our expensive chinaware or our high school medals.

     That's why you don't get to see teardrop-eyed dolls in Villa anymore.

     As long as Breakthrough and Tatoy's are still there, who cares?

Comments regarding this week's column are welcome. Please fill up the fields below and click Send to Author. Suggestions for future column topics are also encouraged.

     The author's e-mail address is at drgarcia@wvsumedaa.com

     All views expressed on this column and any other by-lined articles on this site are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization or its members. For comments, please e-mail the author.