15 May 2018
A group of students from Stage 3 walked to the Tweed Heads South Community Centre to attend the Red Cross's Memory Lane Morning Tea. While they were there they had the pleasure of chatting and interviewing older members of the community. The notes the students took will be used to compile the stories of our older citizens by the Red Cross.
Students from 5-6H were asked to record the most interesting things they found out.
Kiara Cox – I talked to a man called Bob about his past, he was 83 years old. I found out that school was different to what it is now. He said that they didn't have cars or buses to get to school and that his wife had to ride a horse to school.
Eliza – I spoke with John and Shelia. They were both in their 80's so it was fun talking to them. John fell and was in hospital for 9 months when he was 6. Shelia liked roast dinners.
Lachlan – I talked with Yvonne about her past. She told me about lots of things that influenced her childhood. She told me that she had nine, yes nine, brothers and sisters – and I thought having two was hard!
Yvonne explained that her earliest memory was when she was a baby sitting on the floor staring up at the tap with the water running, "It looked like the water was running onto the bench, not into the sink," she recalled.
I asked her how she would like to be remembered, and she said, "I would like to be remembered as a good person who never gave up."
Tyler – I had a really nice time speaking with the older people. I spoke with a lady who lived on a farm when she was growing up. She said that she saw a snake in the tree and remembered her dad telling her she was special.
Aurelie – I talked with Kristie about her past. I found out that she was turning 88 this year. She had grown up in Melbourne with her cousins. Kristie's special message to me was: To always keep your shoulders straight, have courage, always believe in yourself and do what you can to finish what you started.
Mariah – I met a lady named Marie. She was really nice and she told me about her past. Unfortunately, she was in a really bad car accident when she was 26. Now she is 74.
Tyrone – We had a really nice visit and heard lots of nice and interesting stories. I spoke to a lovely man and two lovely ladies. One of the ladies was from Durban, South Africa, the same place as where my mum and dad were born and raised. One of them was 85 and went to a bush school.
Liam – I spoke with Kathryn and she wants to be remembered as a nice, kind lady and that's how I'm going to remember her. Her favourite song was "Happy go lucky" sung by her husband. Her advice was to "keep your brain healthy and always try."
Theya – At the Red Cross Memorial morning tea, I spoke with Pam. Pam was born in Adelaide and her husband's name is John. Pam had girl twins and another daughter. Pam had two brothers, but sadly one has past. Pam is 72 years old – that's older than my nan. I had a fun time and am pleased that the Red Cross invited us to listen to the stories of these older community members.