When the war came, Bert and the next door neighbour built an
air-raid shelter between the two properties for their families. It was
underground, steps leading down from either side. She broke her little toe during
this effort. Bert finally joined up as only one Manager was allowed to a
business and as he was the youngest, he decided to join the Air force ground
staff.
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| Bert Wood in Air Force uniform |
It was a struggle - four children - living on an allowance
from his Air force pay, so she washed and ironed for American Servicemen. This
was done with a wood copper and hand washing. One day a week preparing dinners
for servicemen at Albert St Methodist Hall and of course still the one day a
week to her mother to help. Each night she wrote to Bert who was stationed in
Darwin.
When the war was over and the children were moving into teenage
years the home was always open to their friends. Once a month the young people
from the church would have a party, of singing around the piano and games and
more often than not it was at the Wood residence. She always enjoyed this and
had a lovely supper prepared. She always
gave her children opportunities to work hard in the church preparing concerts
and Sunday School Anniversaries. Bert would paint backdrops for the concerts
and she would always work hard at home and do the extra things when members of the
family were busy with church activities.
She used to enjoy going to the Boomerang Theatre to see a
film of a Friday or Saturday night or just a drive to Woolloongabba to buy
fruit was quite an outing of an evening when the children were small.
In the children's teenage years many holidays were spent at
Burleigh Heads. One year the tent we were in was completely ripped to shreds in
a Cyclone. She wasn't a great lover of surfing but she enjoyed the beach and
simple pleasures were watching the people on roller skates at the open air rink
at Burleigh.
She would have loved to have learnt to dance but she wasn't
allowed to, so to watch people dance or skate gave her enjoyment. Her father
died in July 1949 at 75 years, her mother died in May 1953 at 76 years and her
sister Eileen passed away in May 1958 at 53 years.
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| Back row:Eileen and Dorrie Laws Front row: Bert & Olive Wood, Emily & Percy Laws |
Shirley married Bill in 1956; Jean married Don in 1957;
Cliff married Helen in 1961; and Alan married June in 1962. All her family
lived in Brisbane. Grandchildren began to arrive and the first week out of hospital
she always looked after the family with the new baby.
Their hardware store at Woolloongabba and their home at Annerley
were both taken by Main Roads as they were in the path of the proposed South
East Freeway. They came to live at Aspley.
Christmas has always been a very special time in our family.
We all came home for Christmas lunch and dinner. She always enjoyed preparing
the traditional meal and the Christmas Pudding Recipe which has been handed
down is something to rave about. At night the grandchildren with the help of
their mothers performed in a concert on a stage and backdrop prepared by Bert .
From the time she was married Christmas dinner was at her home, her mother, father
and sister Dorothy came.
Bert took a job for a few years and when he retired they
went on a touring holiday to Perth. They worked hard in the garden and yard at
Aspley always keeping it immaculate. Bert died in January 1979 at 72 years. She
stayed on at Aspley working hard in the garden. Her home was badly damaged in the bad hail
storm that hit Aspley. Her brother, Percy died in 1985 at 86 years and her
sister, Dorothy passed away in 1988 just one month short of 87 years, so she is
the only member of her family alive. (1)
While she was working in the garden at Aspley someone crept
into her home and stole her purse. This naturally unnerved her and with the
many instances on TV involving the elderly she became fearful. She was also
becoming forgetful about tablets she had to take so agreed to be assessed for
admittance into an aged home. She enjoyed once a week her day at the respite
centre at Aspley. She was accepted and moved into John Wesley Gardens hostel
care. She took part in activities there always folding the serviettes ready for
the dinner table. She spent just over 2 years there. After a few mini strokes
she was sent to Jacaranda Village Prince Charles Hospital for further
assessment and was finally placed at St. Lukes.
Her favourite meals would be roast dinners or steak &
kidney, bread and butter pudding and steam puddings. She was always busy with
her hands sewing, knitting, crochet, cooking. Her family was the most important thing in her
life. In fact after Bert died her family was her whole life for she didn't mix
in any circle of friends until just before she went to John Wesley Gardens when
it was suggested she go one day a week to the respite centre at Aspley which
she enjoyed. During the war she didn't have much in the way of clothes but she
always liked to dress well and in later years she has had a nice wardrobe of
clothes.
(1) It is probable that this was written before she died in 1999.
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