FINDING NELLIE: Rediscovering roots, reviving what’s forgotten

Names do more than identify us; they connect us. They resonate in roll calls, diplomas, and school gates. Often they are spoken but seldom questioned. At Nellie E. Brown Elementary School in Olongapo, the name “Nellie” had long been familiar, hanging above the entrance. That changed when archaeologist Ellie de Castro decided to uncover who Nellie really was.

Her film, Finding Nellie, premiered last September at the UP Film Institute. It unfolds like a slow excavation. What began as a simple question about a school’s namesake turned into a three-year journey through archives, homes, and memories. This quest was driven by curiosity and care. The project became a collaboration with UP Diliman’s Department of Philosophy, National Geographic, and Ellie herself. Each contributor added to a story that mixes personal discovery with public history.

Alongside the screening, an exhibit showcased photographs, letters, and fragile documents—pieces of a life slowly assembled. For Ellie, the search didn’t start in a library but at home. Her father, Leonardo de Castro, was once a student at Nellie E. Brown and later became a philosophy professor at UP. He unknowingly sparked the inquiry. 

On his 69th birthday, a former classmate sent cakes. Ellie asked a simple question: “Saan sila nagkakilala?” The answer pointed back to the school named after Nellie. When she asked, “Sino si Nellie E. Brown?”, her father couldn’t answer. That moment planted the seed for the search.

What followed was a trail of half-told stories and faded memories. Ellie began with a quick Google search, spoke to school staff, and interviewed alumni and local officials in Olongapo. She was surprised by how many loved the school but didn’t know who Nellie was. She shared, “Narealize nilang lahat, hindi pala nila alam kung sino si Nellie E. Brown. Pero mahal na mahal nila ‘yung school.”

In one scene from the documentary, Ellie’s team finds a school document listing Nellie as a Peace Corps volunteer who helped establish the school in the 1950s. They later discovered the Peace Corps didn’t exist then. This small revelation was significant, marking the beginning of many myths to unravel.

As the investigation continued, the team searched through church records, ledgers, gravestones, and oral histories, piecing together fragments from people whose memories had faded but whose love for the school remained strong. Each clue added more detail to Nellie’s story.

Finally, on April 11, 2024, the mystery was solved. Nellie E. Brown was identified as a kindergarten teacher from Bangor, Mainev. Her former student, Captain Nickerson, then commander of the Olongapo Naval Reservation, named the school in her honor.

For Ellie, the answer was important, but the process held even greater significance. “Ang pinaka important na part sa akin in finding Nellie is mas nakilala ko ‘yung pamilya ko… nakita ‘yung mga relationships na ‘yun na dati hindi ko makita,” she told The Philippine Star. The film was both an investigation and a reunion, reconnecting her with her father, who passed away before the project ended. This discovery offered a bittersweet closure, honoring both Nellie and her father’s memory.

Behind Finding Nellie was a community of collaborators. Assistant Professor Symel de Guzman and UP students helped with transcription, translation, and fieldwork. Each person found their own connection to the story they were telling. One student, Meca Alesna, said in an interview with SINAG that the project taught her to “panatilihin ang mahahalagang sagisag at parte ng ating lokal na kasaysayan.”

The journey showed that history is not just about records; it lives in stories, contradictions, and collective memories. Some documents claimed Nellie was a Peace Corps volunteer; others simply said she was an American teacher. The truth, hidden for decades, had to be carefully uncovered, fact by fact.

For the NEBES community, knowing who Nellie was transformed how they viewed themselves. To name is to remember — and in remembering, we find belonging. “Knowing where we come from,” Ellie reflected, “gives us roots.”

The film continues to be screened in various venues, most recently at Bulwagang Bonifacio, University Library, Polytechnic University of the Philippines Sta. Mesa, on October 14, 2025 (Tuesday). This new showing at PUP opens the film to a broader academic audience, fostering dialogue among students and educators about the intersections of history, identity, and local heritage.

Finding Nellie continues to engage audiences beyond UP Diliman, with more screenings and exhibits planned. Yet beyond the film’s credits lies its quiet success: proof that even forgotten names can resurface and be celebrated.