Who is Bill?

The cataloguing team are currently considering this snapshot of three young men thinning beet near Heyfield, in 1923. All three are holding the short-handled thinning hoes, with Alister Garside on the left, demonstrating the back-breaking nature of the work.

Alister has named his companions on the reverse of the photograph, thus:

We are reasonably confident that the one on the left is George King, who is possibly Alister's cousin, but we are having trouble understanding Bill's name, the one in the middle. Is it Doll? Or Poll? Or a mis-spelling of Pohl?

George Alister Garside was born in 1907 in Port Melbourne, the son of George Garside and Ellen King. So we can assume Bill is a similar age. The surname Doll appears then only at Terang, and there is no William/Bill. The name Pohl is in small numbers in Victoria, but no Bill/William fits.

Alister will have been the one to name the photograph, but late in life, and he may have been unsure of Bill's name.

Any suggestions, anyone?

Lottie Jackson's Cookbook

One of Maffra's icons is Lottie Jackson's Victory Cook Book. This was first produced in the 1940s to raise funds for the troops, again in the 1950s to raise funds for the ambulance, in the 1960s for the Swimming Pool (see below), and possibly again in the 1970s. A couple of years ago it was yet again reprinted.

The Society has one copy, probably from the early 1960s, in its possession. This is the title page:

Also in our collection, we have this photograph of Mrs Jackson and an unknown Ambulance officer from Maffra. It is probably from the 1950s, and he appears to be a returned soldier, but we do not know his name. If anyone can help with that, we would deeply appreciate it.

The early 1960s book we have if full of recipes contributed by various Maffra people. And from all over Gippsland. So if you happen to find your grandmother in there, you can have a good idea of her recipes. Sago Souffle, anyone?

There are also the obligatory "Handy Hints". here is a short selection:

If anyone can assist with further memories of Mrs Jackson, or her cook book, we would be glad to hear about them.