We lived just a hop, skip and jump to High School. One was not allowed to walk with boys so one lunch time I was seen with Russell Kingsley. He went home for lunch also. Terrible!! One day, Daphne Selby-Hele went home for lunch and was not allowed to leave the table until she ate her spinach which she definitely did not want - so the solution was to give it to me, so we got back in time. Funny thing, I often dream I am late for school. Daphne and I are still mates from when she arrived at Grade 2 Primary. The teacher said "who would like to look after the new girl from Bowen?" I put my hand up and have been part of her life ever since - about 70 years!
I have sent some photos of our mums who were mates. Sadly, both have now passed on. My mum was known for her good cooking, except when there was a scone competition, they turned out like rock cakes, although not entirely her fault.
Dad (Leslie) was very active and we went mushrooming, blackberrying, cray fishing in the local rivers at the weekend. He made us beautiful cream puffs on a Sunday night and we soon polished them off with clotted cream. One morning, mum (Muriel) heard a clatter in the kitchen. The noise was found to be Haden Davies getting a saucepan to leave our milk in as mum had forgotten to put out the billy.
We had a kitchenette with stove and sink and our eating area had a big fire place. Dad would get the old light poles cut to size and they would burn for days in winter. He also dug our air-raid shelter which became half full of water and when we had air-raid practice at High School, I made sure I sat in the middle so I would not get shot.
One side lived the Hutchinson's and often mum would swap bread recipes with her through the fence. Max Grubb lived at the back of us and next to him on the corner was the Hunt family - I remember David and Peter.
I remember Daph and I climbing pine trees in the bush near us, she climbing right to the top and swaying and me being terrified. We tried to play tennis on the old court at the end of Hillside, never knowing where the ball was going to land on the broken ashphalt...going to the Saturday matinee and sitting in the front row, as dad was in the operating room with those big spools of film. Mum would go, maybe on a Friday night, and sit in the crying room with Fay. Do you remember the magpies swooping on the bike riders on the bike track when riding to work?
I loved working with APM Maryvale and then Head Office with girls still having reunions.
Immediate Neighbours: Hutchinson, Cooley, Kingsley
Opposite Neighbours: Findlayson