Yesterday, today and tomorrow

COLUMN - Iconic Mossel Bay. It's a hashtag being used almost everywhere: social media, billboards and even good old mainstream media, like the radio in the car.

While this is the buzzword at the moment, Mossel Bay has been iconic ever since 1488 when Bartolomeu Dias set foot on the beautiful sandy beach at Munro's Bay and later left a letter at the Post Office Tree.

My mother was born in Mossel Bay in 1946, her father being a dedicated railway man, and her mother had, already at the time my mother and her twin brother were born, raised six other children.

Four years afterwards, the last Cummins child was born.

I have lived in Mossel Bay for 34 years myself, having completed matric in 1997 at Point High School. I went to Park Primary, which back in the day, was a dual-medium school as Milkwood Primary was still home to the provincial traffic department and its sports field was the go-cart track.

Going to Hartenbos was an outing, especially for my cousin and I, who would tie cushions to the saddles on our BMX bikes and pedal to the hot swimming pool, and then make the trip back home again. We had a carefree, safe and happy childhood.

Much has changed since then, yet so much has remained entombed in the culture of the residents, whose roots run deep in our beautiful town.

Iconic
Wisdom abounds in the elderly; the arts (in many different aspects) flourish; people within the communities lend a helping hand where necessary; and we still have infrastructure that works as it should.

I'll expand a bit on what I mean, shall I?

I had the privilege of knowing a well-known Mossel Bay resident called Sylvia Palmer, who was born on the corner of Field and Montagu streets in 1919 and died in 2020, a few months short of her 101st birthday. She regaled her granddaughter, with whom I have been friends since the age of nine, and I with tales of the Mossel Bay of yesteryear. She'd lived through so much in her life, and even though life dealt her some difficult cards, she never thought of leaving the town that had been her home for more than a century.

Artists from all walks of life host workshops or classes to share their talents and help those who would like to develop theirs.

Whether it's a dance class you're looking for, a word-related workshop, or getting creative with clay, you're bound to find it in our iconic town.

A retired ward councillor is looking after a young baby because the child's mother is battling addiction; this while she is grieving for her son whose life tragically ended just a few weeks ago.

Lastly, and certainly not the least, our municipality is the best in the country and the envy of many a big city, I'm sure.

With the solid foundation we have in the leadership, the long-term residents and the next generation stepping up to keep the values, integrity and culture of our town alive, Mossel Bay will certainly remain iconic for many years to come.

Priscilla Fick