Tag Archives: Hockey

Jolly Hockey Sticks

Were talking ca.1940, girls hockey in Harrismith. English teacher ‘Scottie’ – Miss Helen Scott, formally – was the coach. Mother Mary says Phyllis Arbuckle’s Mom used to charge up and down the sideline shouting, “Shoot! Shoot!”

Later Mrs Coetzee became the English teacher. Afrikaans-speaking Mrs Coetzee, talking about the lady who discovered radium, would correct their pronunciation: “Madahm Curié” she’d insist. She wanted to correct our pronunciation, Ma exclaims, slightly miffed.

She had a very handsome husband, fellow teacher DJ Coetzee, who they called ‘Mrs DJ’ (must check this). In a shocked tone Mom says some forward girls would make excuses to peer at him thru his classroom window, or enter to ask him some inane question. Just to get near him!

~o0o~

The feature pic is also school hockey, but about 25yrs later. Still, the mountain would have looked the same…

Fecundity

When we got to River Drive in 1989 we were warned it was a fertile zone and if you weren’t careful babies would start popping out all over. This was from the Lellos who had produced three offspring there; the Greenbergs, two; The Hockeys, a few, Donna was the only one around then; the Howard-and-Dofs, three boys; And there were others. We were blissfully child-free and at least half of us were determined to remain that way.

Then the Naudes arrived and produced two boys but we had stood firm, determinedly child-free ’til 1999. When we left that river in 2003 we only had two children, having managed to sell three others after fattening them up and putting a smile on their faces.

In Elston Place there was a swarm of children; The pool was always overflowing. They all soon learned the gate code and the place was like a railway station. And nothing has changed in the thirteen years we’ve been here. Here’s the latest crop with Jess – who turned eight the month we arrived here. She goes down the road to visit most evenings:

– they worship our Jessie –

Three of these are kids of the older kids who used to swim in the pool when we first arrived!

Here are some of the early-days kids with a young Jessie leaning back:

Elston Place gang (2)