More than 80 years after she was sent to live there as a little girl, Florence Logie celebrated her 95th birthday this week in what is now the Brookshaw Home for the Aged.
More than 80 years after she was sent to live there as a little girl, Florence Logie celebrated her 95th birthday this week in what is now the Brookshaw Home for the Aged.
Logie was just 9 in 1928, when her mother died. She was moved to Grahamstown and placed in the Woodville orphanage – the same building which now houses Brookshaw.
Grahamstown is rich with memories for her of tragedy, beauty and falling in love – and she shared these with the Grocott's team during a small gathering of friends at the home on Tuesday. Her granddaughter, Charmaine Haines, said that Logie was admitted to Brookshaw Home's St Michael's frail care in July.
After visiting the rose garden for a bit of sunshine with family members, Logie realised that she had returned to what had been the orphanage she grew up in. “On seeing the very distinguishable Victoria façade of the original house she turned and said ‘I recognize this place,’” Haines said.
Haines added, “Florence remembered one of the girls having to sleep outside because she had TB. She later died there.” Logie also recalled the place flooded with nuns, and even joked with her granddaughter about how boys were not allowed to visit. Logie said she used to sneak out to go meet up with her boyfriend – he later became her husband – near the Grahamstown railway station.
The 95-year-old told Grocott’s Mail that she loves reading romantic novels in her free time and that she reads a lot of books about the Wild West because she loves “a bit of action”.
Logie did not just lose her mother when she was brought to Grahamstown. She also lost her “two brothers who remained in Natal at an orphanage home ran by Anglican priests", Charmaine said.
They never forgot their sister, and tracked her down by the time she was 13. They communicated via letters after that point, said Haines. Logie said that it was a very touching moment to return with her family and felt that she had come full circle.
Logie celebrated her birthday on Tuesday 19 August. Surrounded by fellow house mates and the nursing staff, she was very happy about the attention she was getting.
“It’s very nice to be spoilt,” she said, and drew attention to her hair, which was styled by daughter-in-law, Gail Peterson.
