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Wallingford/Ogg Stories Robert Thomas 'Tom' Wallingford Thomas Goral 'Tee' Wallingford Bessie Campbell Meets Henry Warren Ogg, Jr. John Roland Wallingford - My Dad... Marriage of John Roland Wallingford and Doris Corinne Ogg |
Waller and Montgomery County Stories Generally Historical Marker for Fields Store Cemetery Letters from Texas to Germany in the 1840s Prouse/Jarlov Stories The Jarlovs at Matawai - 1914 to 1929 Flora "Tid" Jarlov Nixon Snapes Grace Prouse and Charles Cecil Nation Houses of Three Prouse Brothers Phyllis Prouse's Postcard Collection Media and Reference Materials More reference materials for the family Contact: Nick Wallingford - nickw@beekeeping.co.nz |
21 September 2001
Lance Nixon
Flora Jarlov was born on 21 September 1921 at the Salvation Army Hospital in Gisborne. From the hospital she returned to the family home in Motuhora near Matawai to join her brothers Ivan Lindsay and Albert, and sisters Evelyn and Rita. Proud parents Axel and Eva (nee Larsen) Jarlov, of Norwegian and Danish descent, spoiled her, as she was the youngest. Her inability to say "kid" when her father bounced her up and down on his knee gave her the life long nickname Tid later Tiddy, and some times Tiddlepom. Ladies and Gentlemen, young ones all introducing Flora (Tid) , our eighty year old treasure.
Tid followed her brothers and sisters to the nearby school at Motuhora, near Matawai. Her father was at this time working in a sawmill. The climate was cold in the winter, but there was plenty of firewood!
A change of school to Ngongotaha near Rotorua saw her again follow her older siblings. In fact it was from this school that older family members moved into the workforce, and Tid pursued her studies. She was, as was Ivan, Dux in her last year there in 1934. As the Gods would have it, that was the end of schooling. One very bright student was now a free agent at home.
She became a great Huck Finn and a very sharp tennis player while here. The lifestyle was controlled by the sound of the mill whistle. This could not last forever, and the family moved to yet another mill at Ngaroma, near Te Awamutu
A pretty young lady was now living in Rotorua and working at Emeny's milkbar. The obvious charm of "Miss Huck Finn" did not go unnoticed for long. In to her life came a yuppie grocer from Auckland. They fell in love.
On 15 March 1941 Tid married Roy Alexander Nixon and they set themselves up in a flat in Rotorua. For the youngsters here today, WW 2 broke out in 1939, and continued until 1945. Destiny was about to change their lives in two ways.
The first son was born, and the Army began calling up young fit men. The level of fitness was maintained as they were now living in a bush village near Rotoma, and the extended family was (don't tell the Greenies) felling native trees and milling the timber in that Valley. It was probably quite a hike for a first time Mum to travel by Morris 8 to the Rotorua Hospital, some 30 kilometres away on unsealed roads. On 18 July 1942, Roy was born.
Final furlough was October '42 and a young father was off to the War, leaving behind a young bride, one son and .... you guessed it, another one in the making. The extended family, living along the same sandy road on the floor of a valley now took on a real significance. On 23 July 1943 at Rotorua Hospital, Lance was born. It was nearly two years later that father and son were able to shake hands
A new job opportunity and it was off to a new mill at Waione, still in the Rotoma area. That was not for too long, but long enough to revel in the arrival of the girl of the family .. Kay Dawn was born ( as were her brothers), at the Rotorua Maternity hospital on 26 April 1948. If you ask you will be told the reason why Kay was nearly called Rising Moon Then former grocer and all round country girl and three kids headed into Rotorua and a brand new house.
A new house and a baby and a job with the Railway. A mortgage. Two little boys enrolling at Rotorua Primary at the same time. The traditional family doing traditional things. Things like lawn mowing and gardening and trolley making and wearing out Uncle Harold and Auntie Nora on their honeymoon by having them create a mountain of stacked firewood. Next door were Des and Jean Skinner, and over the road were Dick and Rene de Vantier, and the two cows we all learned to milk (except Kay). And then there is the curtain making. It takes a zillion yards ( old fashioned metres to the young) of material to make the same curtains for every window of a big house. So she bought a zillion yards.
Five years of making mortgage payments and the interest was nearly paid. That was no way to get ahead and so began the "buy a section build a house and sell it as soon as it was finished" phase. It was all hands to the pump, and Tid became adroit at making curtains (in a variety of fabric and pattern this time) and painting houses. To achieve this she was first the housekeeper to a small on site caravan. Privacy was ensured in the closed in house because, as the kids saw right through the plot, the big bedroom was the first to be gibbed out. We used to wonder why. Anyway the kids spent most nights with their Nana and Nanmum at 11 Russell Road. More of that street later.
We told you ... only a year into the second new house, and it was up sticks and off to a new section and the challenge of getting another home ready to live in and settle down in .. oops.. to sell and to move from. This time the caravan was replaced with a shed with more draughts than an Irish pub. And just up the road literally was sister Evelyn, and Pat and Marie Sushames.... and, yes, you guessed it.... a year later and it was off again.
This was a radical change. It meant leaving not only Rotorua, but the extended family. Only her sister Rita had moved north to the Waikato. The Jarlov clan was a Rotorua clan through and through. Remember the young lady in Emeny's? Well, here was a Mum with three kids ( two at Grammar) working in Brightside Dairy with the Grocer. This was to be the big push to get ahead. Forget sleeping and holidays .. work hard for big rewards. This was the kiwi way.
This was the reward for the long hours. This was a big house and room aplenty for the kids. The first new car - a red and white Humber 80. And right next door the family extended to include Amy and Bernie Odgers, lifelong friends. Kay went over the back fence to school, and when the rains came so did the big flood. The entire corner of the back yard was a lake. In that home, the first automatic washing machine was more than a challenge, as it frequently threw a sickie.
The pattern of moving on repeated itself. The next move was for the country girl to return to the country and so a couple of acres and another new house became home. There were ventures into chook farming spud growing and seedling raising and a bit of sheep grazing. And then there was the next big milestone as the first birdie left the nest. Roy was off to learn to be policeman in Trentham.
Another new house to paint and an intermediate step was called for. For the first time since Waione, it was a rental property with two claims to fame. It had a coal range and a thing Kay dubbed Clanking Calpernia. A funny dunny indeed.
A brand new solid brick house and settled at last. A place for 21sts, for Lance to finish his Training College career, and a boarder to keep his bed warm. Ray Wilson was the new son. Kay was married from here. The longest serving home so far and all was well. There was Colleen and Kerry Orange next door. Lance married from here too.. Roy was married in 1967 in Westport. Families grew and flew from Fenwick Crescent.
A new phase began as retirement approached. By now there were grandchildren ... Craig and Scott in 1968, Elizabeth and Warren and the late Ashley in 1970, and later Claire in 1971, Carl and James in 1972, and Kevin in 1976.So in a period of 8 years there were 9 grandchildren. In 1997 the family welcomed Matthew and Daniel. And along with pending retirement was the need to get some money to put under the mattress. That began a long career as "she who did all the baking and making" at a coffee shop in the city. It was to be a useful career for other reasons. In 1975 Tid was widowed, and was robbed of the chance to retire slowly in one of the two homes that they has set up . In great kiwi tradition there was the beach house at Whiritoa . So instead of retirement, Tid went globetrotting first with cousin Mona and later on her own.
On her own??? Not for ever. In 1982 Tid married that Huntly pom, rascal Dennis Snapes: And here started the next phase in life's journey. Have you seen her bowl? A very competitive player of both indoor and outdoor bowls emerged. Do you remember that tennis prowess as a youngster. All of that competitiveness was still alive and well. Trophies were the way to go. Plenty of them!!! And as if some sort of history was repeating itself, here she was in Russell Road. Remember Nana and Nanmum's house near the Lockwood factory????
The Nineties Bowls was a bit difficult as the effects of Parkinsons Disease took its toll. In fact, Tid had to put her bowling bag away. Dennis bowls her along as quickly as she can cope. There was more to happen though in this eventful life. Kay remarried in 1987, and Lance in 1997 And the grandies began to get married. First there was Craig in 1991, Claire in 1994, Elizabeth in 1995, Scott in 1998, Warren in 1998 James in 1998 and Carl in 1999. There were great grandchildren now. First there was Maggie in 1996, then Laura in 1997 and Blair in 1998 and Libby in 2001. In 1994 we welcomed Sian, and then in 1998 we welcomed Zac Elle and Sam into the family fold.
Now Tid is 80 years young. No she cannot play the piano any more, (blame the arthritis) and she may not sing as loudly (you get that when you are eighty) , and she may take a while to get from point to point, but she still is wife and worrier for Dennis, Mum to a proud family and Nana to eight grandchildren and Nana Snapes to four great grandchildren. She has made the lives of four generations all the richer. She is here today practised at rounding up the family for any occasion and rehearsing for her 90th. I wonder how many more we will be by then?