Maxine Gonong Papers
1946-1983 (bulk 1946-1960)
SFH 59
Finding aid prepared by Dee Dee Kramer
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
2014
Title: Maxine Gonong Papers
Collection Identifier: SFH 59
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
info@sfpl.org
Physical Description:
1 carton, 2 manuscript boxes
(1.8 linear feet)
Date (inclusive): 1943-1983
Date (bulk): (1946-1960)
Abstract: Correspondence, documents, photographs, speech notes, newspaper columns, research notes and clippings, and other materials
relating to Gonong's roles as a foreign service officer in the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco, as a public
speaker in that capacity along the West Coast, as a columnist for the Associated Filipino Press, and as an officer and member
of several Filipino and women's organizations (government, church, and community-based) in Seattle, San Francisco, and Stockton.
Includes some personal papers.
Languages represented: Most of the material in this collection is in English, with some correspondence and personal papers in Tagalog.
Physical Location: The collection is stored onsite.
creator:
Gonong, Maxine M., (Maxima Monje Gonong)
Provenance
Purchase.
Access
The collection is available for use during San Francisco History Center hours, with photographs available during Photo Desk
hours. Collections that are stored offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the City Archivist. Permission
for publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library as the owner of the physical items.
Materials Transferred
Photographs have been transferred to the San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Maxine M. Gonong Papers (SFH 59), San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Scope and Contents
Correspondence, speech drafts, newspaper columns, research notes and clippings, photographs, and other materials relating
to Gonong's roles as a foreign service officer at the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco, as a public speaker in
that capacity along the West Coast, as a columnist for the Associated Filipino Press, and as an officer of multiple Filipino
and other government, church, and community-based organizations in Seattle, San Francisco, and Stockton. Includes some personal
papers, as well as miscellaneous affidavits, residency, and citizenship documents for 1958-1977.
Biographical/Historical note
Maxine Gonong (1914-1997) was a Filipina American community leader, activist, writer, and speaker. She came to the United
States from the Philippines on a scholarship from University of Seattle when she was 18. During the mid-1940s, she served
on the Mayor's City Council and President of the Filipino Community of Seattle. She then moved to San Francisco, got a degree
in foreign service from University of San Francisco, and in 1947 got a position as Foreign Service Officer for the Philippine
Consulate General, where she worked for a decade. She held many positions and belonged to many organizations in the Filipino
community in Seattle, San Francisco, and Stockton, including: President of the Filipino Women's Club of San Francisco; President
of the Filipino United Community Organization of America, Inc., San Francisco; Vice President of the Filipino Community of
San Francisco, Inc; President of the Women's Society for Christian Service of the Filipino Methodist Church, the Women's Society
for Christian Service of the Filipino Methodist Church, San Francisco; and officer of the Ligaya Lodge No. 135 of the Legionarios
del Trabajo in America, Inc., a Filipino fraternal organization headquartered in Stockton. Gonong also wrote a column--"News
from the City by the Golden Gate"--for the Associated Filipino Press published in Los Angeles; Gonong was married to Cob (Cab?)
Cubar Cabaltera in 1975. She died in San Francisco on September 22, 1997.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged according to Gonong's function or role, then by document type.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Philippines. Consulate General (San Francisco, Calif.).
Filipino American women
Filipino Americans--California--San Francisco
Box 1, Folders 1-7
Personal papers,
1943-1977
Incoming personal correspondence
Outgoing personal correspondence
"Cab" Cabalatera correspondence
Miscellaneous personal papers
Life insurance sales
Scope and Contents
Licensing, job application, and training materials, along with client sales records, related to Gonong's employment with Central
Standard Life Insurance Company and Reserve Life Insurance Company.
Photographs
Scope and Contents
Miscellaneous 8" x 10" prints, snapshots, and other individual and group shots of Gonong, her godson, friends, family members,
and colleagues.
“Despedida Party” in honor of Capt. Amadio Cabe held at 1260 Ellis Street, San Francisco, Calif., Dec. 17, 1947
Philippine Consulate General Staff, San Francisco, California, July 2, 1947
Frankie O’Brien’s birthday, 1947
Box 1, Folders 8-14
Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco,
1947-1957
Scope and Contents
Papers from Gonong's tenure as a Foreign Service Clerk at the Philippine Consulate in San Francisco. Chiefly correspondence,
particularly on immigration and foreign affairs, from 1949 to 1953, together with two training guides about Foreign Service
Affairs, and notes on diplomacy and events in Philippine history.
Consulate established in 1946.
Notes on Philippine history and American diplomacy.
Foreign Service training materials
Consulate-related publications, documents, and forms
Photographs
Scope and Contents
Mostly 8" x 10" prints of Consulate events, containing group shots of Consul officials and staff,often with political or social
dignitaries as guests. Many of these luncheons, dinners, or receptions take place at the St. Francis or the Palace Hotel.
Persons of note include: Senator Geronima Pecson; Miss Philippines, the Philippine Scouts, Consul-General Roberto Regala,
and Philippine President Elpidio Rivera Quirino.
Taken at a luncheon in honor of the fourth group of Philippine Pensionados for Fish and Wild Life. The graduates have completed
a year of training under the Rehabilitation Act of 1946. Held at 465 Post Street], March 15, 1950
Waving crowd for President Elpidio Quirino, Feb. 1949
Reception given by Consul General and Mrs. Jose F. Imerial on the fourth anniversary of Philippine Independence, at 2701 Lincoln
Way, July 4, 1950
Souvenir picture taken at the Philippine Boy Scouts dinner-dance sponsored by the Philippine Consulate General-San Francisco,
Calif., Aug. 14, 1949
Banquet for Philippine Vice President Elpidio Quirino, in the Mural Room of the St. Francis Hotel, May 3, 1947
Maxine Gonong seated at table with three other Filipina women at the St. Francis Hotel, Aug. 23, 1949
Maxine Gonong and other guests at Palace Hotel reception and ball for Philippine President Elpidio Quirino, Aug. 14, 1949
Box 1, Folders 15-20
Clubs and community organizations,
1950s-1960s
Filipino Community of San Francisco, Inc.
Women's Society for Christian Service of the Filipino Methodist Church
General note
Includes some ephemera of the Presidents Assembly of San Francisco.
Ligaya Lodge no. 135, Legionarios del Trabajo in America, Inc.
Filipino Women's Club of San Francisco
Filipino United Community Organization of America, Inc.
Photographs
Scope and Contents
Mostly 8" x 10" group portraits of club events and conventions, including the General Federation of Women's Clubs in Portland;
the San Francisco Women's Club hosting Senator Geronima Pecson, the first woman Senator of the Philippines; and the Philippine
Commonwealth Celebration in Seattle.
Senator Geronima Pecson welcomed by Filipino Women [sic] Club of San Francisco, Calif., Oct. 28, 1948
Box 1, Folder 21
Affidavits, residency, and citizenship documents,
1958-1973
Box 2, Folders 1-2
Associated Filipino Press,
1955-1960
Box 2, Folders 3-6
Clippings and research notes,
1955-1983
Scope and Contents
Speeches, research notes and clippings, and newspaper columns written for the Associated Filipino Press on various topics,
including Philippine and Filipino American history, World War II, Filipino Americans, women’s rights, social and political
issues, and San Francisco.
