Once Called Home Firing up a Penny Rhodesian Penny compared with the US Cent Firing up a Penny and the Imagination Guiding was something to be experienced in that phase between eleven and sixteen after which the opportunity vanished. Firing up a Penny and the Imagination Mom believed Baden Powell’s camp and woodcraft activities engaged every
Once Called Home Prefab The Paper House by Leslie Johnson courtesy of Morris Sloman Prefab The first prefabricated building in Southern Rhodesia, erected at the Globe and Phoenix Mine as its first manager’s house, was constructed out of panels of paper maché on wire netting, hence the name, The Paper House. Prefab The
Once Called Home A Memorable Picture Que Que’s Main Street, Rhodesia A Memorable Picture This charming picture has come my way through the blog. It was painted by a Que Que artist sponsored by Arthur Chapman in 1972, but it’s the same Main Street, Que Que of the late 50’s that I remember.
Once Called Home Wash Your Hands Wash Your Hands Last week my friend Betty Goolsby shared her illuminating experience with Girl Scout latrines in Conroe, Texas. Some things are universal. Wash Your Hands The mine manager’s Phoenix House, and our house at #1 Silver Oaks Road were the only two houses on the mine that
Once Called Home Great Expectations Great Expectations I thought I knew quite a bit about camping before I ever experienced it, what with Mom’s all absorbing preparations for one camp or another. Finally, I flew up to Guides from Brownies and actually went myself. Great Expectations Guiding and camping were great equalizers. The shrill
Once Called Home Be Prepared Be Prepared I went along with Brownies, but the objective really was to turn eleven and ‘fly up’ to Guides with elaborate ceremony, which Mom relished. Every ceremony began with the Color Party presenting the Guide flag along with the flag of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland and the
Once Called Home Going Beyond the Barriers Going Beyond the Barriers Mom’s Guiding ambitions grew by leaps and bounds after that first foray at the Davies plot. She now turned her attentions to training Katie Bosman to run a Coloured Troop, and Florence Chileshe a young school teacher from Amaveni Township to run Wayfarers (a modified
Once Called Home A Uniform of a Different Sort Mom, in her Prime A Uniform of a Different Sort As you recall in last weeks blog I hoped that I would fit in at school wearing a school uniform like everyone else. My mother too believed in uniforms as a great equalizer. A Uniform of a Different Sort The
Once Called Home Anticipation Is Best Anticipation Is Best Last week I wrote about the Swiss embroidered muslin dresses that my mother made for me. They marked me outwardly as different at church on Sundays. I had other reasons too for being different. School and a uniform held great promise for me. Anticipation Is Best I
Once Called Home Transparency Transparency In the past weeks, I have been writing about Que Que’s pantomimes, highlighting a few of the townsfolk that made them the success that they were. We could go on for quite some time with these tales, and perhaps I’ll return to it later. However, I thought
Once Called Home The Roast The Roast Mary Morrison was Mom’s right hand, reliable, amiable and ‘absolutely vital’ in the smooth organization of the front of house and finances for all the pantos: all the things that were not Mom’s strengths. Mary would trundle the pram with first one baby and then the
Once Called Home Donkey's Years Jiminy Cricket Lynn Jelks Pinocchio Wendy Allen Pearls Leslie Opperman June Mackey Me Lesley Candy Lobster Susan Harman Donkey’s Years Mom remembered the magical Pantomimes she had seen every Christmastime at the Empire Theatre in Johannesburg as a child. It began with the tram ride from her home in
Once Called Home Backdrops Backdrops in Peter Pan Tiger Lily (Lesley Candy) Smee and Starkey (Steven Combrink and Norman Fullwood) Mermaid (Judith de Beer) Backdrops I’ve devoted three blogs to a few incidents in Mom’s first play In Mother Nature’s Garden. Of course, it and the subsequent more ambitious pantos wouldn’
Once Called Home The Insect Orchestra The Insect Orchestra G du Pressis Jennifer Arnott L Pretorius J Hutcherson The Insect Orchestra Last week I mentioned that Henrietta Fox had aspirations much higher than being an insect in Mom’s pantomime Mother Nature’s Garden. But there were lots of other children happy to be musical insects.
Once Called Home Catch a Falling Star...Never Let it Fade Away Early Morning Sunflowers Far R Heather Heap Far L Jennifer Morrison 2nd L Sugar Bressler Milkweeds of Autumn Center Front Eileen Sloman imm behind Davidge-Pitts Front R Hillary Jelks Catch a Falling Star…and Never Let It Fade Away Last week I introduced you all to Mom’s first play
Once Called Home In Mother Nature's Garden In Mother Nature’s Garden Every mother has hopes and dreams for her offspring, but my mother encouraged lots of kids. I hope that wherever you hail from, you’ll enjoy my family’s dynamics as I remember them. In Mother Nature’s Garden. My parents didn’t spend much
Once Called Home Goodness Gracious! The Queen Mother is Coming to Town A Royal Welcome along the length of the Railway Platform A Shy bob as a Sunbeam presents a bowl of wild flowers to Princess Margaret The formal welcome to Que Que by the Mayor Goodness Gracious! The Queen Mother is Coming to Town Tuesday 7th July 1953 Queen Elizabeth The
Once Called Home The Roar of a Lion and Shots Heard Around the World Mom at the Fever Hospital Johannesburg, 1936 The Roar of a Lion and Shots Heard Around the World Last week, over breakfast, the family discussed a school assignment of mine to recount a hunting or fishing experience. We needed to bring along a related memento or photograph to share with
Once Called Home Hunteen, Shooteen & Fisheen Dad with his Smith & Wesson Revolver When the Lions Roar at Night Personal note: My word count has been creeping up over the weeks! I don’t want to presume on too much of your time so this week I’m just giving you Part 1 entitled Hunteen, Shooteen
Once Called Home The Jubilee Bicycle Parade 1950 Beehive of Industry Jubilee Bicycle Parade Last week I wrote about the float winners at the Que Que Jubilee Celebration of Rhodesia in 1950. This week I am continuing with the bicycle parade that accompanied it. There were all kinds of entries: clowns, and fairies, goblins and witches, Noddy in
Once Called Home The Jubilee Float Parade 1950 Slomans Jubilee Float 1950 Que Que Hospital Float for the Jubilee Parade 1950 Southern Rhodesia was a slow starter by anyone’s standards. Since its founding by Cecil John Rhodes in 1890 its development had been stalled for a host of reasons. Ever present were the host of pestilences which
Once Called Home The Mayoress' Tea Party The Mayoress’ Tea Party As we saw in my very first blog, The Goings On at the bottom of the Garden, my mother was confident that the colonies offered a lot more freedom of expression than was permissible in the strict conventions of England. To her, this openness, mixing of
Once Called Home Early Morning Tea Early Morning Tea Tea was more than just a drink. It was a ritual, appropriate for almost any official function as we saw in the last piece from my novel, The Hospital Christmas Tea. There were teas to celebrate a dignitary’s arrival, the opening of a new facility or
Once Called Home A Present at the Hospital Christmas Day Tea (an excerpt from the novel) This short, short story, condensed from my novel, is set in the small fictitious town of Umzimtuti, Southern Rhodesia just after WWII. Suddenly Southern Rhodesia has an attraction for people wanting to distance themselves from war torn England and Europe. This excerpt introduces you to a sample of the colorful
Once Called Home The Fifty First Gamble (A brief excerpt from the novel.) I’m in awe at the speed and distance my first blog post of my memoirs traveled within twenty four hours. Thank you all so much for responding and passing it on. After my first entry I had a flood of inquiries into the novel. So, over the next two
