Hermogenes Barba Carbonell senior portrait, Salem High School CLARION Annual, 1918. WHC 1997.021

Hermogenes Barba Carbonell senior portrait, Salem High School CLARION Annual, 1918. WHC 1997.021

Hermogenes Barba Carbonell was born on December 8, 1896 in Bacnotan, La Union, The Philippines.  He spent two years going to high school in the Philippines before transferring to Salem High School.  In Salem he was involved in the Inter-class Debate Team, worked as a reporter for the school’s newspaper, acted in a school play and won a Gold Medal in a typewriting contest.

Filipino Students at Salem High School

Carbonell, was one of 5 Filipino Students in the Class of 1918 that had transferred during their Junior year to Salem, including Bernardo Gapuz, Cecilio Areola, Simon Carbonell and Elpidio Delmendo Goano.

The Rest of the Story…Unknown

After his graduation from Salem High School in 1918, it appears he attended Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University).  He appears in several yearbooks.  After his time in Corvallis, his life’s story becomes a bit more obscure.  There are several Ships manifests that register Carbonell traveling from his home in The Philippines to the U.S. several times during the 1920s.  Beyond that we have not been able to trace what happened to him.