An adventure in applied science - IRRI books - International Rice ...

Developing and staffing the program 73demanded, “Would you like to eat this stuff?” Summoning his considerablepowers of diplomacy, McClung calmed the ruffled diner, who later became astrong supporter of IRRI — and no doubt less critical of its cuisine.The staff dining room was provided with excellent food and service.Occasionally, however, communications could break down there as they doeverywhere. For instance, when N. Parthasarathy, then rice specialist in theRegional Office of FAO, Bangkok, was visiting the Philippines, he was invitedto IRRI for lunch. I called the cafeteria office in the morning and announcedthat an Indian guest would be there for lunch and that any menu would besatisfactory as long as it contained no beef. I emphasized my request byrepeating, “anything but beef.” However, with my Maine accent and a habitof talking rapidly, all that got through to the person who received the call wasthe word beef. When the group sat down to lunch, neither chicken nor fish wasserved, but tenderloin steak. Much embarrassed, I assured my guest that hecould easily order something else from the kitchen. But Parthasarathy replied,“Don’t worry a bit. This is not an Indian cow, and I have no compunction abouteating a Philippine cow.”Pascual is still manager of the Food and Dormitory Services at IRRI and hasresponded with customary flexibility and skill to the increased demands onthose facilities brought about by IRRI’s greatly expanded size in recent years.Esguerra left in 1969 and was replaced by Ester Novero Nocon, who hadbeen on Pascual’s staff for several years as head food supervisor.OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONAn Office of Communication for IRRI was not established immediately but,rather, after a period of evolution. In the early stages, Wortman and I knew forcertain only that IRRI would need two nonresearch specialists, a photographerand an editor, whom we thought to attach to the Library and DocumentationCenter. The photographer would maintain a visual record of IRRI’s researchachievements, its important visitors, etc., and the editor would handle itspublications from manuscript form to final printing.With respect to the former, a young Filipino, Urbito Ongleo, had appearedat Chandler’s office in the Trinity Building in Manila in June 1961, showing asan example of his ability a photograph he had taken of IRRI’s service building.He had been graduated recently from the College of Agriculture at Los Bañosand was then working with his photographer brother in that community. Inthe course of his duties, he had developed an abiding interest in photographyand wished to make it his life work. I told him that IRRI did not yet need a staffphotographer, although it had made arrangements for a commercial photographerin Manila, V.G. Miller, to go to Los Baños occasionally to take picturesof the construction work then in progress. Suggesting that Ongleo keep intouch, I said I would be glad to give him consideration later in the year.From our separate assignments at the Mexican Agricultural Program of theRockefeller Foundation, Wortman and I knew the photographer Neil Maclelland.We asked the Foundation if it would send Maclelland to IRRI for a brief