A Table View woman, who moved to the area 50 years ago, recalls how it was much quieter than the busy town it is now.
Lorraine Morgenrood, who turns 80 next week, lives with Anthony, 78, her husband of 54 years. They both grew up in Woodstock.
In school, Lorraine played in the orchestra and loved playing the piano and the violin. She says her school orchestra was very good and won a number of eisteddfods.
After high school, she didn’t follow her love for music. She got a job at Maskew Miller Longman doing invoicing and working as the managing director’s secretary.
She worked at the publishing house for 16 years. In 1958, she met Anthony, who was her brother’s friend. The two married in 1965 and when they moved to Table View in 1969, the first of their two children, Adrian, was born.
Lorraine says that when they moved into the area, there were probably about three other neighbours in their street, including Councillor Boy de Goede, and the rest was just bush.
“Our street was one of the few which was tarred. I think this is mainly because the councillor lived here. Blaauwberg Road was a single carriageway down to the beach and Boy de Goede Circle had only one shop which stood where Pick * Pay stands today.”
Anthony recalls how the Diep River overflowed in 1974, flooding many houses in Table View.
“All the men in the area had to go out and help sort out the damage that was caused. Luckily, our house was not affected by it.”
The couple say life then wasn’t easy because there were only two buses coming in and out of Table View – one in the morning and one in the evening – ferrying people to and from work.
If you missed your bus you were stuck unless you had a car.
According to Lorraine, there were buck and other animals roaming around where they lived and they didn’t bother to lock their doors.
“Unfortunately, the more people moved in, the further away the animals were driven and the more crowded it got,” she says.
Anthony misses the peace and quiet of the old days and the little to no traffic.
For Lorraine’s 65th birthday, the couple went backpacking across Argentina and had a great time. “We took on this adventure because we worked quite hard in our lives and decided we needed that trip. We also took a trip to Europe where we went to 15 airports in 10 days. We went to Rome, Athens, Istanbul, London, Paris and back to Johannesburg. It was quite an adventure,” says Lorraine.
Lorraine loves her gardening and knitting and she says she makes Anthony do all the heavy lifting and digging.
“We have two grandchildren now, and that’s another adventure we are on. We just try to keep ourselves busy and enjoying our time together,” says Anthony. “Lorraine loves making teddy bears with her knitting skills and works with a charity.”
The Morgenroods say they have enjoyed their life in Table View and hope to see the area grow and prosper.