Oranjemund Kids

[Michele Alexander (Voden)]

Hi Johanna

So glad that you've joined the forum! I can remember you, your brother and Dad, I'm sure John was in my standard. (Std 5 in 1988). If I remember correctly your dad was really strict with you guys!

We had a lot of fun in that park, although I fell off the top of the slide once and I can remember my dad pushing me on the swing until I felt ill!

What a carefree existence we had as children in Oranjemund! It is still a great place to raise children and I'm glad that my girls can enjoy the relative freedom of living in Oranjemund. 

[Maxine Hall]

My mom told me about this site and it brings back alot of fond memories.  After being on the site I emailed Ebben yesterday and can you believe it she called me from Windhoek, the last time I saw her was in Standard 5... 23 years ago, it was great to catch up on all the news.  Still the same friendly girl.  I live in Cape Town now and my brother Paul lives in Amsterdam and can you believe it he has a little boy of 5 years old.  I have so many great memories of Oranjemund... who remembers the school buses - when the school bell rang at the end of the day we all used to run as fast as we can to get to the bus to get the back seat, all the cool kids sat on the back seat.  In the afternoon all the kids use to take the bus in and out of the town and hang out on the bus - my fathers worst nightmare.... once he saw me on the bus sitting at the back with all the cool kids and followed the bus and made me get off.  I was so embarressed.  Who remembers PT Classes...I remember many a time forgetting my PT clothes and the teacher used to make you do PT in your school shirt and nickers....some time you didn't have the regular school nickers on and your school shirt was a little short, boy was this embarressing especially when you were doing PT with the boys.  I was part of the "blue team" for sports day and Shelly, Sharon (Fields and I were cheerleaders - Sports day was loads of fun.  Who remembers "stingers" 

[Michele Alexander (Voden)]

Hi Maxine!

Not much changes, the kids still run for the bus at the end of the school day, except these days they need a bus pass to get aboard.

Did Mrs Holland/Miss Wilson give you PT (I took ages to get used to calling it PE - physical education, as it is now known as for us it was always PT - physical torture). Anyway, Mrs Holland is now my daughters PE teacher!

[Maxine Hall]

Hi Michelle

Miss Holland was my teacher.  It was such a long time ago I can't remember all of them though.  Do you know where Natasha Slow is now and Tracy Hockney?

[Johanna]

HI Shola
I remember you dont know if you remember me....I think your brothers name is Damian..
Anyway just want to comment on your girl guides/ brownie comment...Memory i have of that is "Busy Beeing" during holidays...knocking on folks doors all over O'mund doing odd jobs to coolect money for a good cause...During one holiday I collected about R40.00 and then...I spent it all on sweets at the Oranjemund cafe...those days R40.00 went along way..so I had plenty of sweets to suckle on while at the Oranjemund swimming pool that was just opposite the single living quarters ...I sheepily had to go and tell Geraldine Mckay- Joanne's mom - I spent the money....I was so embarassed about the situation I never returned to Girl Guides again...

Michelle, I think it is my "Tate"  (domestic worker as we then called them) you are talking about as having been the strict one...as while we were at the park playing he would often come and haul John and I to go home and have supper at home....sometimes by the ear!!!

Anyone remember the cross country's we used to run in the desert...past the Christmas fair grounds..I remember once coming second to Denise Du plooy - who was a fab runner- I was so mad.... 

[Warren Weidemann]

Hi Johanna

Thinking about the cross country race still gives me shivers of fear. I disliked it intensly. Of course when I got to boarding school and found out that the cross country races there were 10km long, the OPS race didn't seem so bad.
Funny thing though, Denise (I'm married to Denise du Plooy) and I watched our eldest daughter run her first OPS cross country race a few weeks ago, Denise broke into tears as she watched the little one's dash off into the desert. I suppose the memories came flooding back.

I did tried to comfort her by giving some assurance that it wasn't good-bye and the little one's are expected to return at some point - she didn't see the humour. :-\

[Johanna]

Hi Warren...also remember you..you must know my brother John Amutenya as I think your brother Darryl shared the same class as him at one point at OPS...You married to Denise!!!! I am sure in our early O'mund days at OPS nobody would have thought you would pair up in the future  ;) ...

Pease pass my regards to Denise and I hope to chat to her some time on this forum...Also tell her that I never got over her winning the Victrix Lodoreum trophy when we were in standard five - the trophy awarded to the best all over achiever at the Rhodes, Banarto and Oppenheimer races -  :'(     Came second to her in everything except the hurdles.... She had a real fear about  the hurdle race - ask her about that one am sure she will remember-... At the start uo line before Mr. Bergh set us off with that loud pistol like gun ..she would be whispering next to me ... " Oh Johanna ek is so bang ek weet jy sal eerste kom in die hurdles"..something like that ...  :)   Hope your little girl kept up the "Du Plooy" tradition at the OPS country by coming first.... 

Anyway how is your sister Tammy?  She loved hanging out at the O'mund public pool especially  with a girl called Kim Davis . Kim had a brother called  Miles. Remember that Miles loved collecting reptiles and all sorts of scary crawly creatures that he probably hunted for in the desert... I think he had all types of them kept in his room to the best of my recollection ...thats the memory I have of them...
You stay well
Cheers

[Claire Mc Cullagh]

Kim and Myles Davies.  He was always in and out of desert collection all sorts.  They lived in 15th ave I think.

Darryl or Warren - where is Tammy these days and Sumie Germishuizen?
I remember Tammy dancing at the street party to the Locomotion.

[Warren Weidemann]

I remember John well, him and my sister were in the same class, if I remember correctly.
Tammy is now living in Johannesburg and working as an accountant. She actually won the swimming Victrix Ladorum in std 5 - so all that time at the pool must have paid off.
Sumi stays somewhere in Cape Town if I'm not mistaken.
Yes it was Kim Davies and her brother was Miles Davies (no relation to Miles Davis - I assume).

Cheers

[ebba kalondo]

Waah, Warren, i still remember the rock Romeo and juliet 'opera' you and Paul put up in std four or was it five. Honk like a seal everytime i think about it...

My daughter met up with Johanna's daughter when we were living in kenya. Jo, plse come to paris, Lea misses her little friend!

Brandon vd Westerhuizen caught up with me on fb and hopefully i'll hook up with him soon. A reunion is afoot in south london this summer, but mostly young uns...i'm sooo old. sigh.

We should get Micheal Alexander to organise a last Teenage Dance for all ahem old teenagers; we invade the new town, reappropriate it for a weekend, demand for those fuchsia pink sausages and leave havoc in our wake. sounds like a plan to me; anything to come back. My eldest sister Johanna is a sub b teacher at OPS. oh.my.god!

My youngest daughter doesnt know Oranjemund, my teenaged son is well versed in the way of the Tank Park Legend, he even knows about Oom Danie....Julie Greig's hero. I hear she's a horsewhisperer somewhere...anyone know where she is?

[Nicky Hodge]

Hi Claire,
You probably don't remember me, but if your Dads' name is Larry, I certainly remember him. If your address was 72-2nd, it must have been his house...... on the corner if my memory serves me correctly? I used to live at 76-2nd, just a few houses down. Looks like you have moved back to Ireland. I served a small part of my apprenticeship with him in the Compressor workshop on the mine. Those were good times ...... he used to play many a prank on me. All the stories he used to tell us about the IRA in that strong Northern Ireland accent of his had us all listening in amazement. Have your folks moved to Ireland as well? What are they up to? Trust they are all well?     

[Cherry (Alcock)]

I grew up in Oranjemund from age 7 (1964) on and off until 1994 and now live in Cape Town.  It's amazing to read all these stories and find out where people are now - well done Mike!

Those who remember us will know the Alcock kids - Cecile, Cindy, Cherry, Coral and Billy (Bill).  Cindy and my father Bill are buried in Oranjemund and I will go (come) back one day to see their graves and Oranjemund as I have not been back in 13 years. 

Bobby, remember "konyntjiedorp"?  That was the east end of town - the "new" section where all the families with more than 4 kids lived!  ;D As kids we used to build forts (two storeys and more!) out of the creosoted fence poles (remember Sandy B?).

Cheers all

Cherry

[Shola Schreuder]

Hi Johanna

I was also with John, Tammy, etc.  Good times.  Yes, my brother was Damien (he passed on the 2nd July '96).  I also used to be at the pool with Kim and them, great times!

When you talk about Miles, it makes me think about Steven Lineker who also collected all kinds of creeepy things!  The worst thing I remember, was he used to catch little birds in traps, tie fishing line to their necks, then when they flew away, he would yank the line and then...  DISGUSTING!  So, yes, I have weird and scary images in my head now.  He also taught me to smoke...  Which I haven't done since Feb '04!

[Clive Symes]

After reading Cherry ( Alcock's) comments about building forts from the splitpole fencing, in the 1960's , I must confess that Mike's comments about Oranjemund being like a family is very apt. People like David and Tony Hockney and others will remember the, same forts we built in  1955 - 56 etc when the first fences were going up
We also used to use the corrugated Iron sheets to make underground dens. Oh yes the other use for the corrugated sheeting if you could get the steam roller to drive over it, was to bend it in the middle nail a 2 x 3 in the front and back and voila you had a canoe to take to the pink pan or down to the river.

I lived and grew up in Oranjemund from 1952 - 2005.

[bobbysmith]

cherry i remember it like it was yesterday,what great memories,i still havent managed to contact coral,please send email,i loved makeing them forts,only problem was mom and dad knew where you had been cos you came home covered in glue and stank of creosolt,bath time,our house boy called johannes ,spoke english with a cockney accent,the men from the town used to come to our house just to listen to johannes talk,mom a broad cockney tought him to speak,his favourite saying to me was ,bobby git in the bloody baff,[bath]take good care all x