328. Uncovering History
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| Poster commemoration of the village nursery- founded 1923 |
Two… two
single photos in almost a year of appeals is the total sum of contributions
received. And I wondered, don’t the
villagers care?
No, I don’t
think that is the case, after all, practically everyone since 1923 to the
present day have been through those doors, the nursery is part of their
existence, their life, it is family.
Armed with
the belief the villagers could not possibly be indifferent, I went off to
test the ground, talking to them, asking questions, cajoling them. Once out of sight I took out my notebook and
pen and wrote down what I could remember- for indeed there is nothing more stifling
for people than being interviewed with a notebook and pen.
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| 1952 - A dad with his two daughters & doggy |
However, in
barely an hour of that, among other things, I came up with the following: after
the war the nursery was run by two nuns, Sister Lucia and the “Chubby” Sister
of whom no one knows the name. The
nursery belonged to the parish and the priest was in charge of the building;
people didn’t pay for sending their children there but they supplied the nuns
with their everyday needs, a sack of potatoes, a liter of milk, cheese, bread
and so on. Firewood was brought to light
their stove for cooking and warmth. One
of the men told me he chopped up the wood and in recompense a nun gave him a
white handkerchief to put in the top pocket of his best Sunday jacket- it was
all beautifully embroidered, he said. When one woman was ill and her husband was
in hospital, the nuns took care of her three children in their convent at the
nursery… And the stories go on, touching, remarkable…
But people
will not come forth with their past of their own accord- you must go and
collect it from them and that’s how history is made- otherwise it remains buried for ever.
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| Collecting the past |
