Memories of a resident

Today, I had a visitor! An older lady knocked on my door and asked if she could look out the back of my house, over the canal. Her name was Pauline Schlesing, (nee Rinebold) and she was brought up in a little house on The Bow.

I took her out the back and she gazed over the area between my house (#28) and the VanStrydonk’s (#30) where her tiny cottage once stood.

Apparently, the house burned down and her father, Richard Rinehold, was killed in the fire on Aug 27 1977. He purchased the house in 1948.

I showed her the photos of the houses and she knew most of the owners by name.

Pauline told me several stories regarding lots of kids coming to play at her house, because The Oxbow was so much fun. Swimming and fishing was a big deal in the summer, and ice skating went on, as it does now, in the winter.

Behind our house, was a bean field and the kids were allowed to pick beans (yellow) for a penny a punnet. Pauline liked the fact we had cleaned up the Bow.

The Old pub and bar also had a small store, and the kids would go there to get their candy. Of course, the new owners will be delighted in this news.

I’m hoping she will return shortly, because she has a number of photos to share with me. Its days like this that make it such a pleasure to live here.