A family in 1966

John Wedderburn, far left, Commodore of Eligwa Boat Club, 1966

There is a large black and white photo that Mom kept of Dad when he was the Commodore of the Eligwa Boat Club. The club members are posing on the boat Venus moored on the Vaal River, Vanderbijlpark.  The date printed on the back of the photo is 19 October 1966.

I have a clear recall of the years on the Vaal River, a very social time for my parents, endless all day parties.

One memory is dropping our heavy metal picnic box on my big toe, it exploding in pain and Dr. Christiaan Barnard removing my toenail from the back seat of our car.

He was not yet the superstar surgeon, that was 1967, he was at Eligwa watching his daughter Deidre ski. She was a South African champion at waterskiing.


These years when Dad was busy on Sundays at the Club got the Methodist Church in a huff, with the Minister alienating my folks.

That was then the end of sunday school, church and religion for the Vanderbijlpark Wedderburn's.

The photo got me wondering what the family was doing in 1966.

Nan and Pa started their year cruising. I have her letter to 'Dear Stel and Chip' written on New Years Day 1966 and they are on board the R.M.S. Pretoria Castle, a Union -Castle Line.

There are another batch of letters from Nan during 1966 from Port Shepstone. I still need to figure out who she is writing about, I think it is someone from her family and I will then do a blog.

She is letting Mom know 'that I am still on my feet and have not fed the fishes as yet.' 

Another common problem in our gene pool - seasickness.
'I do not walk alone when the ship is in motion I make Dad walk with me.'

She sounds happy though, they had a 50 mile bus tour in the morning through East London and she is writing at 3.30pm having 'just had a lovely afternoon tea and are sitting in the lounge.'

Grandpa Percy is on the farm, Kalkwal, south of Bloemfontein and drops a letter to Dad on 11 March 1966.

He updates Dad on his brother, Bob's health. I will check in with my cousin Bruce if he remembers what had happened to Uncle Bobby.

What I just love is 'The beans Clive and I planted are more than keeping us going.'

I suppose the planting would have been during our annual summer holiday to the farm, I can just imagine the stern, rather austere grandfather taking the 5 year old Clive into the veggie patch on the side of the farmhouse to plant seeds.

How precious, my dear little brother.

Clive age 5 years.

The rains must have been poor during the summer of 1966.

Grandpa Percy writes that the farmers are in for a bad time as the mealies are all gone.

Its also as 'hot as blazes.' they are pumping 140000 gallons an hour from the river.

That is the Modder River, the life blood on the farm, we spent many happy hours swimming in the river but it was also critical for the crops and animals.

He sends regards to 'the old folks' Mom parents and ends off 'Yours lovingly Pa'. The Wedderburn men demonstrative and affectionate with pen and paper.

Grandpa Percy is 'sorry to hear that Estelle has not been to well'. By mid year 1966 Mom would have fallen pregnant with Inel.

1966 was my Standard 3 year at Oliver Lodge Primary School in Vanderbijlpark and the year end photo is a good way to close out my memories of 1966.