OnceCalledHome

Once Called Home

We had a Farm in Africa

Our Family at the Farm. Far L Brian, our “cookboy” John, Mom, Felon head “herd boy”, “herdboy”, middle me and David, crouching another “herdboy” and Sugah our “gardenboy”. We Had a Farm in Africa The farm was acquired as a foreclosure when the second Hunt brother (of Hunter’s Road)

Once Called Home

New Year's Eve in Africa

New Years Eve Dance at the Globe and Phoenix Hall late 1940s Mom and Dad far L standing Mr. Forster 2nd R standing Mrs. Davies seated left Mr. Al Davies 2nd R seated New Year’s Eve in Africa In the 1940’s Old Year’s Night was bigger than

Once Called Home

Christmas Day in Africa

The Nganga (witchdoctor) Christmas Day visit to our house Christmas Day in Africa Christmas begins, officially, in America, on Thanksgiving with the arrival of Santa Claus, on a red sleigh, pulled by a team of reindeer at Macy’s Department Store at the end of the New York Macy’s

Once Called Home

A King Tradition

The King Family. My maternal grandmother (center front) and her siblings Pre WWI. A King Tradition When I was growing up in the 50’s we always had a house servant and a gardener to help keep the household running smoothly.  Our ‘cookboy’ was John.  Mom hoped to keep him

Once Called Home

Chanukah in Africa

The coral creeper smothering the wrap around verandah of our house. Photo courtesy of Tess (nee Banfield) Harris Chanukah in Africa Jews had made their way to Rhodesia in its earliest days, before the turn of the century.  Josepth Schattil had come north before the Mafeking to Bulawayo railway was

Once Called Home

A Hirsch Holiday

Our arrival at the Aerodrome, Lilongwe, Nyasaland, mid 1950s A Hirsch Holiday Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) is landlocked.  Geographically it had always been well defined naturally, with great rivers bordering it, north and south. To the west was semi-desert and to the east the beautiful Eastern Highlands falling away to

Once Called Home

Perseverance Pays Off

The Opening of the Que Que Minicipal Swimming Bath 1953 by Governor Sir John Kennedy Perseverance Pays Off Some days, months and even whole years slip by uneventfully and we wonder, looking back, what ever happened to them.  Occasional ones are banner years: 1953 was one of those, not just

Once Called Home

Thinking Big

The Town Hall (now Reps Theatre) 2010 courtesy of Melody Annandale Thanks to Maureen Riley (nee Bowden) for contact Thinking Big At the very first council meeting, Dad presented his case, proposing that the municipality undertake maintenance for a swimming bath to be constructed with State Lottery funding, for which

Once Called Home

Change

Globe and Phoenix Mine Swimming Pool 1950 George Banfield and daughter Tess photo courtesy of Tess Harris NZ Change It was 1947 when Dad resolved to run for office.  The issue was the preemptory rejection, by the Mayor, of Mom’s proposal to council for a municipal swimming bath for

Once Called Home

Challenge

Our First Paddling Pool at 1 Silver Oaks Road Globe and Phoenix Mine Que Que Southern Rhodesia Brian and I late 1940s. Challenge The Globe and Phoenix Mine gave us everything we needed: jobs, houses, Que Que Stores to meet our material needs and wants and the club which had

Once Called Home

An Unavoidable Disease?

Girl Guides Search and Rescue Dutchmans Pool Que Que Southern Rhodesia Gail Owen on branch R Jennifer Combrink Leslie Candy An Unavoidable Disease? Mom wished she had never grown up and remained fourteen forever.  She wanted to prolong the first stage of teenagedom through Guiding for every girl she could.

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.