Resthaven Murray Bridge residents Maureen Green (89) and Doris Klenke (87) have a childhood friendship that has spanned more than 80 years.
Growing up in Monarto, the pair lived close to each other, meeting up most days as they rode their bikes to and from Monarto South Primary School.
‘We would meet at the “five-ways” crossroad,’ Maureen says. ‘Doris was on the western side, and I was on the eastern side. I remember we had to walk past a corner where paddocks from two different farmers met. Each paddock had a bull in it, and we had to be careful as sometimes the bulls would fight through the fence!’
Maureen, who grew up on the land where the Monarto Zoo is now located, says ‘My tennis court used to be where the entrance to the lions’ areas is now. We used to hunt rabbits and collect mushrooms out there.’
Both Maureen and Doris lived on mixed-use properties, where wheat was grown, and animals were farmed.
‘We had cows that needed to be milked by hand before school,’ Doris says. ‘My dad would then separate the milk and the cream. We sold the cream and also made our own butter. It was a job and a half to do in the summer!’
Both families would make their own fresh bread, utilising the local flour that included their own milled wheat.
‘We made do with what we had,’ Doris says. ‘It was the Depression years, and the end of the war, so we ate what was put in front of us and didn’t argue.’
School days
Maureen and Doris started school on the same day in 1943.
Maureen recalls, ‘The school bell would go at 8.50am each day, and we would line up outside with our classmates in three lines.’
‘One of the students would play ‘God Save the King’ on the recorder as we marched into the school. The lessons for the day were often spelling, sums and puzzles.’
Doris says, ‘There was only one teacher, looking after the multiple year levels all together with around 11-20 students. It worked pretty well, and the older students would help to teach the younger ones.’
It was white chalk on the blackboards and ink wells in the desks.
‘We behaved ourselves!’ Maureen says.
‘We wouldn’t do anything wrong!’ laughs Doris.
In addition to school days together, the pair also attended the same church on Sundays, both receiving confirmation from the local pastor.
Growing up
When the girls were teenagers, Maureen would help Doris out on the farm when her parents were away.
‘Mum and Dad didn’t always know what we did,’ Doris laughs.
An example of this was when the girls took Doris’ parent’s Dodge Buckboard ute for a trip into Callington.
‘The brakes were not very good and there was one time when we were out of control, heading down from the top of Callington Hill,’ Doris says. ‘We ended up at the bottom after shooting through the creek. We were all ok – but we never told our parents about it!’
Every Saturday night the two would go to the local dance, often dancing with the soldiers from the nearby army range.
‘We could do every dance in the book,’ Doris says.
Through husbands and children (Doris had six children in seven years!), new homes and farms, Doris and Maureen have kept in touch.
‘We did everything together,’ Doris says.
‘We even landed in here together,’ Maureen says.
Doris’ husband Max is also a resident at Resthaven and Maureen says there are a few others at the home she recognises from the ‘old days’.
‘It was many years ago, but it feels like only yesterday,’ Maureen says. ‘We’ve laughed about so many things over the years.’
Speaking of their new home, Doris and Maureen are happy to be living together at Resthaven Murray Bridge – much like they did when they were teenagers helping each other out on the farm.
‘It’s a lovely place to live, and we often seek each other out during church services and concerts,’ Doris says.
Thanks for sharing your story of friendship, Doris and Maureen!
