We have loved doing the senIor citizen’s project. First we had to prepare for a tea to which we had invited a number of senior citizens. Some of us prepared a little talk about the project.
During the project I interviewed Emily.
There were a couple of occasions when Emily couldn’t make it and then I joined Kimberley who was interviewing Angela.
This is what I found out about my Senior Citizen. When you have read about my project, please fill in the comment box and tell me about a senior citizen or grandparent that you know. Thanks
Emily as a small child:
Hi my name is Emily and I grew up with seven children in my family. I lived in Pretoria North and my mother worked as a housewife and my father was a moulder. I remember in those days people worked as shop assistants, teachers, nurses and clerks. We kept a jersey cow in our yard. Before I went to school I remember waking up each morning to help my mom get eggs from our chickens. I would always play with my dolls in the garden. I also loved playing with prams and animals. I was very interested in art and I had lots of friends. I was spoilt. I remember owning a glass doll.
Emily’s Primary School Days:
When I was in Grade 1 my school was quite small, but had a huge field. It was quite close to our house. Later I went to school at Pretoria North Primary and got there by bus. I did English, Afrikaans, Nature Study, History and Geography. We also wrote with dipping ink pens and we didn’t have computers or calculators. If we were naughty we were sent to the principal and we got a hiding with a cane. We had lots of homework every night. My favorite games on the playground were ball games.
Emily as a teenager:
As a teenager I wore ordinary clothing that everyone wore – denims, skirts, jeans and I didn’t have a cell phone. My school didn’t have extramurals. In my spare time I read a lot, listened to music and danced. In the evenings my family worked in the garden together. I had to contact my friends by ordinary phone if I wanted to visit them. I went on my first date when I was 17. Most people went dancing or to the theatre for their dates. A perfect boy to date would be someone considerate, educated, groomed and pleasant company. I liked listening to serious music like classical music. I have photos from when I was a child. My favorite movies were love stories or anything with dancing and music. We ate mainly veggies and stews. We didn’t have servants cleaning our house. I met my husband by growing up with him. He was a childhood friend.
How has South Africa changed since Emily was a child?
South Africa has changed a lot. There are so many cars and so much traffic. There was none of the modern technology when I was young – cell phones, computers, internet, digital cameras and so on.
Does Emily have any interesting information about her own grandparents?
My grandfather was a composer of music, and my grandmother was a lady-in-waiting to Queen Victoria. That must have been very exciting.
What advice can Emily give to help us in our lives?
Be honest, honour your parents, study hard, and be careful.
Any herbs and remedies that were popular when Emily was a child?
We used to drink Borstal for coughs, rub on vicks for sore throats and chests, and we drank castor oil (ugh) if we had a sore stomach or we were constipated.
Any other interesting stories you could tell us?
Once my husband took me on a world tour and we even went to the Far East. Oh yes, and I was the May Queen of Pretoria once which was very exciting. My husband was a Rhodes Scholar.
It was sad to say goodbye at the end of the project The senior citizens enjoyed it as much as we did. .
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We made autocollages about our senior citizens today using a programme called Microsoft Autocollage. Here is mine.
