Biking Down Memory Lane: The Burnham Boy Returns to Lake Drive Where He Worked as Bike Attendant in the 80s

In 1982, an eighteen- year-old man from the island town of Anda, Pangasinan bravely went to Baguio City and tested his luck for his dream of sending himself to college. He worked as a bike attendant in a concession located along Lake Drive, part of Burnham Park for almost a year. Their employers call him and his fellows Burnham Boys–an obvious moniker. 

The young man dealt with different types of tourists and recreational vehicles daily to move the wheel of his life. His working experience in the City of Pines helped him to be a high school teacher in his town. This industrious and courageous person is my father. 

Whenever his previous students complimented him, I often hear that they remember my father’s diligence. They share sir Dops’ tales of working in the sea of Tondol and in various cities and provinces to save money for the pursuit of being the first degree holder of his family. They often tell me about my father's seashells picking in our barangay, construction works in Cubao, and babysitting in Antipolo. He wore different hats just to earn money.

Actually, these are also the jobs he often narrated to me and my siblings during our younger days. I only learned about his Baguio days when we had our GAD training in the city five years ago. He was my fellow teacher at that time. He shared to the faculty that he used to manage bike rentals in Burnham Park. That was the only thing I learned about him being a Burnham Boy. 

Honestly, I am not into past stories of my family, especially about my parents’. I just want them to tell their lives voluntarily. But, as they grow old, I have to be curious and get nosy about how they lived their yesteryears. 

So, I asked him about his work in Baguio this Father’s Day. He is not enthusiastic as he was because of his depression. He speaks few words nowadays. I initiated the conversation and he answered my questions in short sentences. 

“It was 1981, 1982,” he said confusedly. 

I had to ask him again and he affirmed that it was 1982. 

“I earn Php 70 a month,” he said when I asked about his wages. 

I knew that amount was big in the 1980s. I asked him how he was able to budget his expenses. He said that it was pure ‘diskarte’. He did not worry about his house rental as he was accommodated for free. 

He had to work from 7 AM to 5 PM for him to earn money. His customers pay Php 9 for bike rental for an hour. Well, there is no easy job. I admire him for bearing the cold weather of the city. He had to acclimatize himself to survive. He had to fight shyness as he needed to convince thousands of people daily to get customers.  

We went back to Baguio City last month to celebrate Mother’s Day. One of the activities my family and my relatives did was biking at Burnham Park, 3 PM on May 8th. My mother, my uncle and his wife, and I insisted that he try biking. He disliked the idea as he just wanted to stay inside the van we rented. I said that he had to go back to the place where he fought for his dreams. 

He cannot back out as we paid the rent for a Grand Tour sidecar worth Php 150 for 30 minutes. He joined my uncle and his wife on that ride while my cousins, my sister and I rented one for us. The then Burnham Boy, now a retired teacher, pedaled in the Lake Drive where he used to work in the 80s. 

I know he loves biking as he used to take the Anda- Bolinao route two years during weekends before his retirement. He was as strong as a carabao. I pushed him to bike at the park as my way of reminding him about his routine before he got sick.

 

In the thirty minutes, we had several times of meeting each group in different lanes. We often cheered him to make him enjoy the moment. He was poker face at that time, but I know deep in my heart that he had a nostalgic moment in that recreational activity. 

It was 3:30 in the afternoon when we had to stop pedaling. We returned the sidecars to the attendant. It was puzzling for me how sharp his memory is that he remembers the bikes that belong to the stall. I think this sharpened my father’s memory skills. 

Burnham Park has a special place in my father’s heart. This recreational park helped him to be an educator. His earnings as a Burnham Boy sustained him to go back to college when he was 26. I can say that we benefited from it as the place was my father’s stepping stone to obtain a college diploma, secure a job and raise his own family. He did not just help in moving the wheels of the rented bikes during the 1980s, he also moved the wheels of his life successfully that made him propel his career and now enjoying the fruits of his 32 years of public service as a high school teacher.