Garden Tractor Forums banner

As Paul Harvey Would Say....the Rest Of The Story

8K views 121 replies 31 participants last post by  UncleWillie 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I've grown accustomed to not putting all my information out, but this has been a welcoming site, so I share some, though not all of my background. The short version is, my parents went overseas to Zambia as Southern Baptist Missionaries when I was about 8 years old. Dad was an "Agricultural missionary" who managed a 3000 acre farm/ranch for the Zambian Mission from 1972 til 1998 when he retired. The farm was originally a grant from the British government to Malcom Moffat (related to Mary Moffat, wife to David Livingstone). Upon Malcom Moffat's death in 1934 the "lease" to the farm passed to his heirs, who weren't quite sure what to do with it. Around 1969, his heirs offered the farm to the Southern Baptist mission in Zambia, with two stipulations: 1) it was to be used as a Christian ministry; 2) The family graveyard was to remain open to the family for use and visitation. Dad was chosen to manage the farm in 1971, so after a 3 month orientation, off we went in early 1972.
 
#2 ·
During the 27 years of service, Dad carved a farm out of wilderness, putting nearly 200 acres of land into production. He worked to identify potential cash crops such as coffee or wheat, raised a HUGE variety of produce ( all citrus fruits, pineapple, apple, mango, loquat, all vegetables, strawberries) plus became a major egg supplier, ran a small dairy. He further worked to spread agricultural knowledge to the local people, illustrating the effects of various practices on crop production ( lack of fertilizer, lack of weed control, etc.) Along with the dairy, he worked to train oxen for use in the local area. He ran a corn milling operation, offered some metal repair services, and would rent a tractor with driver and plow to the local villages during the planting season.
Dad was also successful as a missionary. Step by step, churches were established, leaders were found and trained, and new churches were started. By the end of his time in Zambia, he had started nearly 80 churches in and around the Serenje area. In later years, if there was no vehicle access, then he would have the local people widen their local path to whatever "main" (dirt) road they used, then he would use tractors, plows, and a grader to construct a road. The farthest I ever knew of him going to a "local" church was four hours away.
 
#3 ·
[background=rgb(241, 237, 212)]
THE CALL OF AFRICA[/background]
[background=rgb(241, 237, 212)]
When you've acquired a taste for dust,
The scent of our first rain,
You're hooked for life on Africa
And you'll not be right again
Till you can watch the setting moon
And hear the jackals bark
And know that they're around you,
Waiting in the dark.

When you long to see the elephants.
Or to hear the coucal's song,
When the moonrise sets your blood on fire,
You've been away too long
It's time to cut the traces loose
And let your heart go free
Beyond that far horizon,
Where your spirit yearns to be.

Africa is waiting - come!
Since you've touched the open sky
And learned to love the rustling grass,
The wild fish-eagles cry.
You'll always hunger for the bush,
For the lion's rasping roar,
To camp at last beneath the stars
And to be at peace once more.


C. EMILY-DIBB[/background]
 
#5 ·
Funny what you find on the internet. I knew that after Dad's retirement the Mission transferred ownership to a local group, but I wasn't sure exactly what they did with it. Here is a write up I found:
http://www.openafrica.org/participant/Kalwa-Farm

I can confirm that the house is indeed the house Dad renovated and that we lived in for so many years.

Hah! Just looked up Chipota falls and it is indeed located nearby......and I don't think we ever knew it! Oh well, we had our own falls to play in.
 
#7 ·
Plant Tree Building Biome Wood

Ok, found more images on the net. I won't swear that the above is us, but this IS how we obtained brick for building projects around the farm. We hired a "contractor" who located a suitable source of clay on the property, dug it, molded it, and then fired it. Very interesting stuff to see first hand.
Shade Wood Outdoor bench Landscape Tints and shades

This shot ( not mine) is taken from inside our original tractor shed, and shows in the background the "barn" we put in later to house the combine and get some of the other implements out of the weather.
Plant Ecoregion Tree Building Land lot

This shot is identified by someone else as being at Kalwa and does look familiar. I haven't visited in over 15 years.
Sky Plant Building Property Tree

Here is another shot of the house I grew up in.
 

Attachments

#8 ·
Just looked at that last shot and saw the water running in the foreground. I had forgotten that an irrigation ditch ran through there. About the farming, obviously I listed a number of crops in earlier posts. The climate is interesting. First, the farm is south of the equator. That means our winter ran from late May to September. We were about 5000 ft up, so it wasn't as warm as you might think. Frost was rare, but did happen once every couple of years. Mostly, though, the cold season was cloudy, gray, and cool enough you wanted a jacket. Guess what Mom and Dad DIDN'T pack when they first left the states? Temperatures climbed through October, occasionally reaching 95 F. Now, Zambia has a very pronounced wet and dry season, and the last rains would fall sometime in Late April or May. By the end of October, everything has dried out and become very flammable. About this time, the local peoples would begin to purposely set fires. On a warm November evening, we could look across to our river valley and watch the fires crawl across the hillsides. Sometime in early December, the first rain falls and washes away the dust and ash. Whatever had not been plowed or readied for planting suddenly became a priority, because the true rains would start soon. Optimum corn planting time usually fell in the week before Christmas. I spent more than one Christmas eve planting corn. And such TALL corn! Rains would continue to fall until Late April or May, and that was when we planted everything that we couldn't irrigate which was mostly corn and soybeans.
 
#9 ·
I see I let myself wander a bit off topic. Ok, irrigation ditches. Malcom Moffat put in an irrigation ditch that led from a stream on the property past the "top" of the house. If you've never seen one, it's hard to fathom. Basically, the stream "falls" faster than the irrigation ditch does, so when you just look at it, it looks like the ditch is actually climbing "UP" out of the river valley. With a source of water, Dad could irrigate and grow a number of crops year round. May through September was the perfect time to grow cool season vegetables, and once it warmed up virtually anything could be grown. For me, of course, those were the perfect places to wade in, build boats for, and build dams across.
 
#10 ·
Time for Mom to get a bit of the spotlight. She was truly the lady of the house. Her "kingdom" was the care and feeding and education of the family. Feeding alone would cause a lot of people to panic. While the nearby "town" had some supplies, they were VERY basic and usually rather scarce. Read my story about diesel scarcity here:http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/16007-neat-impliment/
I've already mentioned that we supplied our own eggs. Basics like flour, sugar, and a host of other things I can't name were ususally purchased in the capital, about 6 hours away. Mom ended up having a pantry that was bigger than my bedroom! Want a sandwich? Mom had to make the bread from scratch, but we could get Peanut butter and jelly. Spam in a can would provide the meat, if you wanted a meat sandwich. Biscuits, cornbread, cake, frosting and cookies, all baked from scratch. Of course, living on a farm in such a mild climate, with access to crops pretty much year round helped a lot. For years she cooked all our meals on a wood burning stove. We never slaughtered our own beef, but we did have some connections with some farmers who did. So every few months, Dad would return from a trip with half a cow, or half a pig, and we would spend the following day carving the carcass into steaks, and roasts, and ribs, and hamburger or sausage. We used a hand grinder for many years.
Education was another task she had to tackle. Three kids when they left the states, and another little tagalong in '74. Mom had to administer lessons as outlined in the Calvert Correspondence school. She would teach for 20 days, then there was a test which had to be written down and airmailed back to the states to be graded and become part of our official school record. At that time, in that part of the world, "airmail" took a minimum of 6 weeks round trip, and 8 weeks was more likely.
Mom was a registered nurse before we went overseas, and it wasn't long before she started running a very small clinic. Every morning, shortly before the work bell rang at 8:00, she would see people who lined up at the back door. Malaria was a common malady, she would dispense the proper pills with instructions to return if needed. Cuts were cleaned out with "Dettol", a local germ killer that did a pretty good job. Used it on the people, the cows, and the dogs as needed LOL. Major problems were referred to the clinic in town, ( over 1/2 hour away by "motocar", longer on foot.) Those being referred to the clinic were given first seating if Dad was taking the truck to town. If the case was bad enough, we would make a special run.
 
#11 ·
Eventually, word got out that we would take severely ill people to the hospital. I don't think Dad ever refused to make a midnight run, but he made it very clear that if you thought you were sick, you really needed to send word while it was still light out. Things still happen though, and tragedy can strike fast. The last trip I made, in 1996, I ended up spending one night alone at the house. Sometime after midnight, there was a knocking at the door and the night watchman informed me that a little girl was sick back in the bush. I knew Dad had a driver on payroll that he trusted to drive the truck, and I certainly didn't know the way to the village. I sent for the driver, told him to get the girl and take her to the clinic, and went back to bed. About 5 o'clock I heard an engine revving, but thought little of it, other than it had taken the driver a very long time to get the girl and return. Then another knock at the door around 6:00, just as the sky was turning gray, and I thought he told me that someone else was sick. Then the story changed as I realized that the truck had not returned to the house yet. It turned out that the truck was stuck back in the bush and I needed to go pull it out. I grabbed the keys to the tractor and some chains and went in search of the truck. I don't think it took me 20 minutes to reach the truck, and less time than that to pull it out. We got back to the house, and it turned out that yes, someone else needed to go to the hospital. I wish the story ended here, but it doesn't. That little girl was dead. She was related to a leader in the local church. I still remember his grief as he carried her body away from the house.
 
#12 ·
Howard, thank you for sharing these memories with us.
 
#15 ·
Howard thanks for sharing your family story with us . Compared to you I had a pretty boring life , lol , Al
 
#19 ·
Howard thanks for sharing your family story with us . Compared to you I had a pretty boring life , lol , Al
Al, I bet if you picked out your highlights and shared them it would make interesting reading too. My stories just have an exotic locale as the backdrop. Although, I doubt any American has ever shown up at their local gas station with 8-10 diesel drums and a generator to run the pumps. OSHA wouldn't allow it!!
 
#17 ·
Great stories Howard! It sounds like a very interesting childhood. It's nice to see the missionary work that has gone on in Africa in the past. There remains much work to be dine there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HowardsMF155
#26 ·
What a wonderful story, Howard. It's an excellent example of the the profound, far-reaching effects, one person can have on others lives. I'm certain that through you, the manifestations continue. Many thanks!!!
Ditto
 
#21 ·
Howard as I read that,I could not help but think of how cool it would be to have grown up in such an exotic place.
And what a rewarding life it would be. I also thought of how blessed we are to live where we do and that we don't apreciate and take for granted the convinences we have. Thanks for telling your story.
 
#22 ·
Very inspiring memories, thanks for sharing with us. And I agree completely with JD DANNELS we have NO CLUE as to how Blessed we are where we take so much for granted...
Thanks again.
 
#31 ·
Dave, I suppose that for me the saying "you can't go home again" is very true. As long as Mom and Dad lived in Africa, I would visit every couple of years. But after they retired and moved to the states, it became VERY difficult to arrange a visit. And with them in the states, there was far less reason to visit. I wouldn't have posted the poem I did if there weren't some truth to it though. I think that while I would like to return, the magic has gone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: daytime dave
#27 ·
Great stories Howard. I bet you're a good one to have around the campfire... Reading that makes me realize that no one from my generation in this country know what it's like to live without so many conveniences.

tell us more!
 
#32 ·
Two-step, one reason I keep things quiet is that every story I want to tell needs some sort of preface. Simply blurting out "Small world? check this out: there was this one time I picked up some hitchhikers on the Great North road and it turned out I'd met them in the Wake county health office when we were all getting immunized against cholera and yellow fever" requires so much back story it kind of kills the story. My kids do love to hear my stories though.
 
  • Like
Reactions: twostep
#28 · (Edited by Moderator)
Wow! Thanks so much for allowing us to get a glimpse of your formative years Howard! It must have been a real adventure. Your Father and Mother made excellent use of their God given gifts and abilities and were obviously blessed for their efforts! We often forget how lucky we are to live where we do and to have the amenities that we have. When the power goes out here, my kids think that they'll simply die of boredom because they can't listen to their i-pods or play wii! You are a natural writer and I could feel the emotion through the words. You also have a way with words that paint a vivid picture for us all to enjoy. Thanks again for sharing! -Steve
P.S. I read most of this thread on my phone earlier in the day, but wanted to wait until I got home to the computer so that I could type up an apt reply. I also read the story to my wife who was awed and moved by the story too.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top