
By Marivir R. Montebon
Sacramento – It was a frenzied and fun step back in time with my high school classmate Angela and Home Economics teacher (yes, Home Economics!) Miss Connie Lepon-Holmes while we were at the Crocker Art Museum here in California’s capital. We remembered and laughed and remembered and laughed at those high school days in dear Colegio dela Inmaculada Concepcion in Cebu, the oldest exclusive girls Catholic school in Asia.
Gracious host Angela, tall Spanish mestiza sweet Cebuana, had asked me days ahead on what things I wanted to see in Sacramento. I replied that I wanted to see a museum here, if that doesn’t bore you. Not at all, Angela said, and so off we three went to Crocker on February 13, 2020, a wonderfully warm winter of 70 degrees.
Crocker Art Museum is the oldest art museum west off Mississippi River. This family mansion was an 1868 legacy of Judge Edwin B. Crocker and developed fully in 1872 by Architect Seth Babson.



Chatting non-stop at a speed of 300 MPH, we walked through the three stories of the mansion like it was nothing. As we marveled through galleries, we remembered classmates, where they are, how they’ve been, and of course, high school events that were silly and fun being teenagers. There was of course, deep sharing on heart matters: Miss Connie’s husband who passed on in September 2019, my daughter Leani Alnica’s passing on in November 2019, and Angela’s struggles to take care of her aging parents. Still, we managed to laugh, as Filipinos do despite life’s brutal challenges.
Back on the elegant Crocker that sumptuously displayed its art collection, I particularly took notice on its emphasis of women portraits and icons on that tour. Take a look, and enjoy. Museum trips are not only historically enriching, it could be fun when shared with friends whom you haven’t seen in long time.
It is easy to go to the Crocker Art Museum to see all these. It is on 216 O Street, Sacramento, CA 95814












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