Page 20 - Exhaust Notes November

November 2022 Exhaust Notes - Edition No 319 

I’ve Got a Story

The conventional profile does not seem to be something that all club members seem to want to
contribute to.
So let’s try something different. I am going to approach members to just tell a story about themselves.
Everyone of us has a story.

Here is an example.

Stan’s Story Part 1……..

Hi, I’m Stan. I was born in 1953, just before the emergence of Rock n Roll. My earliest memories was
of sitting in the front lounge room of the house, listening to “How Much is that Doggy in the Window”.

My parents came to Australia by assisted passage in 1950, with two and a half children. My father was
Polish. Mum was Irish born, but bought up in Scotland. That’s another story for another day.

They share-farmed for about 13 years, until they were granted an allotment on the Heytesbury
settlement (Cooriemungle) in 1962. From an undeveloped 180 acres, my parents transformed that
property into a showpiece of a dairy farm. This again is another story for later if you are interested

I went to Timboon Consolidated School /High School. I was dux of the high school in 1972. They
could not find anyone else to award the prize to.
After leaving high school I wanted to pursue a tertiary education. My parents could not afford to send
me to university. I won a teaching scholarship, which was not really my preferred career path. Three
years of study at Geelong Teachers College was so easy in comparison to the pressure of HSE at
Timboon. A very relaxed environment, which opened my eyes to a different world and new friends.

And yes, I had a motorbike. First a clapped out, smoke belching 2 stroke Yamaha 250. Then a Honda
360G, (loved it) which I bought from earnings doing hay carting in the summer break.
My first teaching appointment was about thirty kilometres east of Stawell called Landsborough West
in 1976. It was a one teacher school with eighteen children. The first few weeks were a bit like the film
“Wake In Fright”. Again, that’s another story. But I soon found my way, made a lot of friends, drank a
lot of beer, played local football for the first time in my life and did a great job of teaching (I think).
Transport to and from school, was a Ford XY Falcon Ute that I borrowed / bought from my Dad, and
sometimes my motorbike.
They say the further you go north in Victoria, the friendlier the people. This was certainly true of this
area. I still have very fond memories of this area and have kept in touch with people from this area. I
could not have had a better learning curve, professionally and socially.
I will continue this story another day…….. if you are interested.

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