Filipino Society in Taber create new museum display

Times Photo by Trevor Busch. CULTURE: Executive members of the Filipino Society in Taber pose with Tank 77 Museum staff in December while surrounded by their new cultural display at the museum.

By Trevor Busch
Taber Times
editor@tabertimes.com

For December and January, Tank 77 Museum invited the Filipino Society in Taber (FST) to put together a new cultural and historical display detailing their settlement in the region in recent decades. 

Although Tank 77 Museum is still currently shut down for public access due to the explosion incident in the arena on Dec. 17, members of the FST – including President Bienvenido Antonio C. Bagot, Jr. – sat down with the Times in December to talk about the new display. 

“First thing was, when we were looking for a space for our office we just bumped into Taia (DeBona, Tank 77 museum manager) and she gave us this idea for you guys to collaborate on Filipinos (in Taber),” said Bagot, Jr., who is currently in year two of a five year stint as president of the FST. “So that’s the start of it.”

The display features a plethora of cultural touchstones for local Filipinos, the founding and impetus for the FST, a collection of cultural and historical artifacts and documents, photos, traditional clothing items, an exploration of some recent Philippine history, various books and much more.

DeBona talked about the origins of the display and efforts by the museum to be more responsive to the interests of the local community.

“When I first came on as the manager, I tried to see how we could better support the community. And at the time, it was Filipino history month in June, and I just thought, well, there’s this great big Filipino community in Taber, and I didn’t have any connections, and so I had actually gone into one of the stores to see if I could get connected.”

DeBona hopes to make multiple inroads into ethnic communities that sometimes fly under the radar in Taber and area.

“As the museum for Taber and district, we really want to support all of the communities in Taber, whether it be cultural communities or ethnic communities. We want to make sure that we’re supporting everybody, right? And so they (FST) had told me about their own desire to get some space, and just their own desire for educating the public on Filipino culture, and also the Filipino Society in Taber. I mean, I don’t think a lot of people realize how long the Filipino Society has been in Taber. And although it is a temporary display space for right now, it’s from December to January, we hope to continue having space in the museum to share not just the Filipino culture and the Filipino Society, but all of the cultures in Taber now. We do have very limited space, so it makes it tricky. But I thought this is something that’s achievable.”

An island nation with a long history of various periods of colonization and military occupation, Bagot, Jr. wanted to make sure the FST’s museum display included an account of some of the recent history of the Philippines.

“We wanted to highlight how the Philippines have been invaded or colonized by Spain, the Americans and the Japanese. I have grandkids here, that were born here. So they were called the second generations. And it would also be nice for them, not just my grandkids – different Filipinos here who are full blood Filipinos, that they would know their history right there.”

“We would like to thank Taia for giving us the opportunity to showcase our own culture and heritage through our displays. That’s the opportunity, that we’d like to say, thank you.”

In addition to Bagot, Jr., the current 2025-2030 FST executive includes Teresa Genert (vice-president), bylaw officers Carly Gonzales, Alvin Laigo, Arnel Lomibao, and Mat Cambas, secretary Leila Bagot, treasurer Kathryne Waldner, assistant treasurer Edwin Gallego, financial secretary Sherill Rabaca, and auditors Ruth Snell and Leynebet Medina.