Phil

	found!!!
Relation:	Name:	Last known location:
1. Lola:	Louisa Paloma Denison	Canelar

We did not have the ability to post messages before, but now we do. We will do our very best to assist you in finding your lost loved one.

>----- Original Message -----

Author: Francis J. (Jimmy) Grzywacz Date: 8/23/2000 6:59 pm EDT

Subject: RE: Zamboangueños - where in the world are you?

Phil,

My mother was born and raised in Zamboanga, but moved to the U.S. right before I was born in 1968. She unfortunately died in 1988 when she was 37 years old. I had the priviledge of visiting my family in Zambo when I was 16 in 1984. I have lost contact with my family since then and I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction to locate them. My Lola was living in Canelar when I visited and I believe she still does. Her name is Louisa Paloma Denison. I also have many uncles, aunts and cousins who live in Zambo also. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Francis Grzywacz

You might know the Denisons in Zamboanga City. I can recall a girl, or maybe they were sisters, during our high school and first year of college who hang out with us sometimes in school named Denison - do I recall correctly? Anyway, if you know of any, can you respond to Francis Grzywacz on our CHISMIZ bulletin board.

Hi Jimmy! Greetings from L.A.!
When I was still in Zamboanga in the late 1970s and early 1980s, I had a friend with a last name of Denison. He had a sister whose name I also forgot. And, yes, I remember that they did live in Canelar.

Regards,
John L. Shinn III
LOS ANGELES

Hello John,

Thank you for replying to my message. It is possible that may have been my mothers only brother,whom I knew as Uncle Boy. She had many sisters though, whose names I don't remember either. During the late 70's early 80's, I lived with my mother in a small town in Maryland about 20 miles south of Washington D.C. As for my Uncle Boy, I know he was the youngest child so he was probably in his 20's at that time. I also know he played in a band that performed in the Zambo area when I visited in 1984. Let me know if you think this is the same person. Also, how long have you lived in L.A.? When was the last time you visited the Phillipines?

Sincerely,

Jim Grzywacz

Aug. 24

Hello again Jim!
Yes...that's him.....Boy....he always had long hair and I do remember now that he played in a band.
I knew his sister when I was in high school but lost contact with her when I left Zamboanga in 1978 to study in Manila.

I've been living in L.A. for 15 years and the last time I was in Zambo was in 1997.

Regards,
John

Jimmy:

I wasn't sure if I recalled correctly my vague memories of the Denisons in Zamboanga, so I asked my friend John ( Boboy ) if he did. After seeing the subsequent postings in our CHISMIZ board, I now recall the 2 Denison sisters who used to hang out with us in school. The older sister went to college at the Ateneo, probably 1977. She may have been 19 or so, and her younger sister went to another school, probably 15 or 16 at that time. Also, I recall their older brother playing in a local band. We saw them a few times I believe, playing at a local beer garden. He was the lead guitar singer, and had long, dark hair, and tall. They were mestizos. I don’t recall the sisters’ first names, because we just used to call them Denison, good-naturedly. I recall the older sister having a close friend who she hang out with all the time at school – she had dark complexion and a little shorter that Denison. The older Denison was tall for a Zamboangueña. I recall talking to the older sister and her friend at school in 1979, telling them about my departure to the U.S. They asked me to send them pasalubong from the States. I also recall they lived in Canelar, and there is a great possibility that if you ever visit there again, many people will be able to help you with information about them. Or else, you might get lucky if some of our site visitors have better information for you as to their current whereabouts. This web site was meant for one of this “finding” in cyber space. We will do our best to help you in your search for your long, lost relatives. If anyone in Zamboanga City, or anywhere in the world for that matter, has any information to help Jimmy in his search, it would be a Godsend. Buena suerte, amigo.

Phil Baños
Zamboanga.com

Phil,

Thank you so much for responding to my message. It is heartwarming to know that you and John have been acquainted with my family. I guess that speaks for the closeness of the Zamboanguenos. To update on my progress, I contacted the telephone directory in Zambo to no avail. I am not giving up hope though, I have a lot of family in the Philippines, so I am bound to run into someone in cyberspace. I also plan to visit Zamboanga sometime in the next year I hope, and it would be nice to spend all of that time with my family. Thanks again Phil and John.

Jim Grzywacz
Jeffersonville, PA
fjgrzywacz@prodigy.net

Aug. 24, 2000

Hi Jim!
There is a Dennis Miller Denison in Zamboanga City. I don't know if he's related to you. Here's his phone nos.
993-2318 or 992-3552

Good luck!

John L. Shinn             III
Founder-Editor
L.A. Zamboanga Times
LOS             ANGELES

It is our pleasure to be of some assistance to you in your quest to find your family. In the very near future, this sort of family or friends search will be made a lot more commonplace with the completion of our individual barangay web pages. Every barangay will have their own respective web page with detailed information about it and their own free Z-Mail™ address provided by Zamboanga.com. The barangay captain will have a close connection on what's happening on the web site, and they can help provide the type of service that makes them exactly who they are - neighborhood leaders. The residents of each barangay can also get their own free Z-Mail™ address and use the web page and free e-mail service as a means to communicate with their distant relatives or friends. People tend to live and stay in the same barangay for a long time, and staying in touch with either friends or relatives within that barangay will be made more simple with the inception of our cyber-barangay project. Keep coming back to check on our progress, and help us spread the word to your friends and relatives about our city web site - Zamboanga.com. We look forward to a continued relationship with you. Please stay in touch.

Sincerely,

Phil Baños
Zamboanga.com

Jim:

By the way, are you interested in getting your own free Z-Mail™ address from Zamboanga.com - i.e.: jimmy@zamboanga.com?

Let me know.

Phil Baños
Zamboanga.com

John,

The second no. you gave me is it! Dennis is my cousin, my Uncle Boy's son. I just finished talking to them on the phone, they are still living in the same house in Canelar. They were so happy to hear from me. I was also able to speak to my Lola, although her hearing has started to go.
My Uncle Boy told me " Your Lola is crying now, she is so happy to hear from you ". I now have their address and phone # under lock & key, so we can keep in touch.

I also gave them my E and Z-mail address so we can take advantage of the wonders of the World Wide Web. I told everyone how I found them through you guys and Zamboanga.com and they were so surprised. Dennis studies Computer Science at school, so Uncle Boy told me he would E-mail me through school and relay any info from the rest of our family.

I'll be sure to tell him to visit this site, maybe he could make some contributions( a digital camera would be nice)? Thank you so much Boboy, you and Phil have been a great help to me. I look forward to continuing to converse with you guys on Zamboanga.com.

Thank You,

Jim Grzywacz
Jeffersonville, PA

jimmy@zamboanga.com
fjgrzywacz@prodigy.net

Jimmy:

I'm very happy about your reunion with your family in Zamboanga City. It is not everyday that we ( my good friend John "Boboy" Shinn included ) get to be involved in a life-changing story like yours, so this is truly special. We wish you all the happy moments with your "new-found" family. This definitely calls for a celebration! We at Zamboanga.com hope that we can duplicate our help for you to other Zamboangueños out there who are in a similar situation, be it for family or friend. Congratulations, amigo!

We would be glad to see your continued participation in our CHISMIZ bulletin board, and any referrals you give about our web site and services. Tell your uncle Boy or cousin Dennis that photos of around town would be a great contribution - maskin cosa. We are building our archives of Zamboanga photos, and any contribution from anyone would be greatly appreciated.

Sincerely,

Phil Baños
Zamboanga.com

Aug. 29, 2000

Hi Jim!
I've been so busy trying to find the right schools for my two kids.
Anyway, I'm just as happy as you are when I found out that you finally got in touch with your relatives in Zamboanga City.
I'm also happy that in our own little way, Phil and I were able to help you find them.
If we can be of help in the near future, remember, we're just an e-mail away.
Regards to your family and take care.

Sincerely,
John (Boboy) Shinn III
Founder-Editor
L.A. Zamboanga Times
LOS ANGELES