MUSINGS and STORIES

REMEMBERING OLD SCHOOL DAYS

How I love reading of the old days in the Tamborine Bulletin! Not only does it inform me; it sometimes takes me back to my childhood at Buccan and my school days at Logan Village. This time, I was transported to the one-teacher school where headmaster Mr Alec Brown reigned supreme. I was terrified of him, although I am sure he was just a kindly old chap who did his best for us. There were about twenty of us at this little school, comprised of a lot of the families that have been spoken of in these pages. Perhaps the school at Tamborine Village had not eventuated because there were children from that area who rode their bikes or horses to our school. Among them were the Mantova children whose father ran the garage, and was written about in the Trailblazers. One of them was in my class, maybe Grade 2. I remember him well, because whenever my boisterous Uncle Ted would ask me how I was doing at school, he would end up asking me ‘And Doreen, who’s your boyfriend?’ I would always reply, ‘Cecil Mantova!’ to which I would then be grilled about this likely lad! I hope Cecil has had a good life, and if he is still around, might even recall a shy little dark haired girl called Doreen!

ENAMELLED PLAQUE

 During the last war, my parents befriended two American soldiers, brothers from Idaho. We became very fond of them and were devastated when the younger one lost his life in the fierce fighting in New Guinea. I wrote to his mother until she died and vowed to visit the...

POPPY-SHOW

POPPY-SHOW Because of a recent foot operation, I was obliged to climb awkwardly onto the surgeon’s examination couch. I was unable to wear my customary slacks because of the bandaged foot, so wore a flared skirt that gaped as I swung my leg into position, thus...