Family Histories Archives - Page 8 of 10

Robert Hamilton McCleland: With the Pioneer Column to Rhodesia

By Dean McCleland in McClelands, Other Personal 18 February 2016 0 Comment

In line with my philosophy of using The Casual Observer as a platform to propagate my views concerning the events in the world, I also wish it to become a repository of the articles on the McCleland family. We are fortunate in having a printed family history entitled The Reverend Francis McCleland: Colonial Chaplain to Port Elizabeth 1825 to 1853. Hopefully this is the first of many such articles but for that to materialise, I require information on the family from recipients of this blog.

The first in the series highlights the achievements of Robert Hamilton McCleland who was a member of the Pioneer column which occupied Mashonaland in 1890

Main picture: Robert Hamilton McCleland from the Draaifontein Collection

My Rocket Scientist Brother and the Remotely Controlled Gun

By Dean McCleland in McClelands, Other Personal 8 February 2016 2 Comments

Blaine might have been an Engineer but he has always been a designer at heart. Who wouldn’t want to be? But it requires a special temperament, a conflation of technical understanding and practical ability. Blaine possessed both in abundance. Probably because this was a tiny project, it would have been more satisfying than most as every decision was his instead of being split between a multitude of other engineers.

Main picture: US riverine naval boat of the type that was captured by Iran

The Cars of our Youth

By Dean McCleland in McClelands, Other Personal 1 February 2016 0 Comment

Style and comfort were secondary. Due to lack of money, wheels in the McCleland household during our youth were all that were required as long as they worked. Now cue in the music of The Days of our Lives all saccharin and mulchy. None would win car of the year or the street mile, but we adored them nonetheless. This is their story as told mainly by my younger brother.

Main picture: The first car that my father owned, an Austin A70. His previous vehicle had been a panelvan which was his employer – JJ Ruddy and Sons – company vehicle. As there is no extant photo of this vehicle, the best that Blaine could do was a stock photo off the internet.

The Fish River Canyon Hike: August 2006

By Dean McCleland in Hiking, McClelands 31 January 2016 0 Comment

As 2016 will be the 10^th anniversary of this hike which from a personal perspective was noteworthy in that I hurt my back so badly on the descent on day one that it ultimately culminated in my 2^nd back operation a few months later. As a commemoration, I have elected to reprint / re-issue the two blogs on this hike as one blog: The Report Back and the irreverent – or maybe that should read irrelevant – awards. Of the 9 of us who completed this hike, Walter Baumgartl has since passed on, long before his allotted time.

Main picture: Fish River Canyon – Viewpoint at the Start. Naturally the only way down, is down Continue reading

My Rocket Scientist Brother: How the Mind Works

By Dean McCleland in McClelands, Other Personal 29 January 2016 0 Comment

By 11 years of age, I was reading the newspaper from cover to cover. In addition with my limited pocket money I did not purchase comics like the rest of my friends but magazines such as Look and Learn. I was enthralled with the world that opened up. What finally caught my attention was the part work by Purnell entitled The History of the Second World War. Even though Blaine was only 9 years old, he had to listen to my expounding on all these issues – the Holocaust, the rabid racist Nazis and of course their wonder weapons. Initially it was a monologue but soon Blaine would contribute. What was fascinating partly in retrospect was how his mind worked compared to mine. This is that story.

Main picture: This Guy Fawkes was not going to have a huge straw Guy Fawkes or an even bigger bon fire. Rather being Kentron engineers, it might not be a guided missile but at least it was a potent rocket. Talk about taking work home with you.

My Rocket Scientist Brother

By Dean McCleland in McClelands, Other Personal 27 January 2016 0 Comment

Perhaps it is not common knowledge but my brother can validly be awarded the sobriquet of “rocket scientist.” Certainly as regards intelligence it was indubitably true but definitely not in the nerdish dilettantish sense. What was it like to have a brother who was four years younger than one oneself yet who was nonetheless intellectually one’s superior?

Main picture: This is a huge drawing that Blaine did on his bedroom wall. It was so perfect that I always wondered why he did not do more sketches or drawings
Continue reading

Haircuts: Barberous Acts

By Blaine McCleland in Family Histories, McClelands 19 May 2015 0 Comment

This is another episode in his Vignettes of Youth series whereby he recalls the quirks and oddities of life in Port Elizabeth during the 1960s and 1970’s when life was far simpler but discipline was more stringent. No doubt psychologists reading these sketches will be aghast and wonder aloud why our generation was not more ill-adjusted due to the trauma inflicted upon us by parents who did not appreciate the latest hair fashion: long hair. And I wanted mine as long as possible

Main picture: For us as pre pubescent youths, La Pebra was more important than food. Why we attached such importance to it, I will never know.

The Spoon Rest: Lost in Translation

By Blaine McCleland in Family Histories, McClelands 28 April 2015 0 Comment

One day when I was in about standard 4 Mom decided that she needed a spoon rest while she was cooking. I asked her what it was and I said that I would make her one, in fact I would make her a double one. She described it as having a concave part where the bowl of the spoon could lie and a raised bit at the back for the handle. With these scanty design specifications, I went to work. I incorporated the technical features and added some customisation of my own. After a few days of cutting, filing and sanding pieces of fruit case wood, I produced my masterpiece piece

Main picture: Lost in Translation

Arachnophobia: Spiderman I Ain’t

By Blaine McCleland in McClelands 28 April 2015 0 Comment

They say that much of what we are, we learn at the knee of our parents. Well, I learnt my fear of spiders from Mom. Maybe she learnt that from her mom but, then again, Granny Dix looked so stern that she would have scared away the spiders. Mom was terrified of them to the point of irrationality. Unfortunately for her, the rain spider is endemic in Southern Africa and, I must admit, they are big, hairy and scary. To her they were not the gentle rain spider, they were the worst thing she could think of – tarantulas.

Main picture: One of at least 6 rain spiders that inhabited our bedroom

God: Losing my Religion

By Blaine McCleland in McClelands, Religion 23 April 2015 1 Comment

Coming from a pretty religious family, Dad must have been a disappointment. My great, great grandfather, Rev Francis McCleland, was the first Rector of the St Mary’s Church. Our family actually owns a square foot of the historical parsonage house at 7 Castle Hill, P.E.

Main picture: As dad was an atheist and mom was religious, the church which we were supposed to attend as children was the Newton Park Methodist Church

The Opinion Pieces are an eclectic bunch on current affairs & history often with a human interest aspect. The Movie/DVDs reviews are mainly on documentaries with a smattering of movie reviews.

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