I feel privileged in some ways to have married into Norma's family. Her paternal grandfather is credited as the founder of the town. He led a group of Ilocanos to this fertile but empty area from the overcrowded town of Bacarra in Ilocos Norte, the reason why Ilocano is the language still spoken by the majority of the town's inhabitants.

In 1980 a book was published to commemorate the town fiesta for that year, detailing the history of the town. I have been entrusted The bookwith one of the few remaining copies and have scanned some pages into Word, edited them and these are the extracts shown here. There are also some grainy pictures which hopefully give an insight into conditions at the time: What follows are extracts from the book. I have corrected only grammatical errors but otherwise left the rather curly English as it is.

San Mateo by the Magat River San Mateo was first called "Malasat" by the Ifugaos and the Kalingas who came from the mountains of Ifugao province west of the Magat River. During the early twentieth century San Mateo was practically covered by thick grasses including the samon, tanglag, sical and bical (bamboo) with dangla trees growing along the creeks and rivers, such that the trails were made almost impassable. When these tribes found the going too difficult, they rested under a big "bangar" tree and heaved a sigh exclaiming "nalasaten" with a grimace on their face. To mark the place with identity, they finally called it "Ma­lasat". When the pioneering Ilocano settlers arrived, they pronounced it "Marasat" (the name survives as a barrio today) changing the consonant "L" into "R" which is pronounced by the Ilocanos as influenced by the Spanish tongue.

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Bridge for development: The ceremonial ribbon cutting on June 15, 2011 of the San Roque—Bagong Sikat bridge spanning about 275 meters long.Pinasinayaan  nuong Hunyo 15,2011 ang San Roque-Bagong Sikat Bridge sa bayan ng San Mateo sa pangunguna ni Mayor Crispina R. Agcaoili at Vice Mayor Roberto C. Agcaoili kasama ang punong barangay at opisyales ng San Roque at Bagong Sikat sa pangunguna ni Kapitan Marino M. Yahin, Jr. at Kapitan Ronnie V. Galamay.

Matatandaang ika-siyam ng buwan ng Mayo taong 2009 ng halos kalahating bahagi ng San Roque-Bagong Sikat Bridge ang tinangay ng malakas na buhos ng tubig na dulot ng bagyong Ondoy. Sinabi  ni Mayor Ampie na sadyang napakabigat ang kahulugan para sa kanya ng pagpapasinaya ng  naturang tulay na siya ngayong maituturing na pinakamalaki at pinakamahabang  tulay sa bayan ng San Mateo.

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Municipal Assessor Antonio P. Bartolome took his oath among others all over the country at the recently concluded oath- taking ceremony of Real Estate Service conducted by the Professional Regulatory Commission (PRC) and the Professional Regulatory Board of Real Estate Service (PRBRES).

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