If you do not remember these times, then you are a referendum kid Do you remember when Radio Buea used to run the tele – a - disc program? Do you remember the Radio Buea program called “meet the patient” hosted by Aaron Ngoh? Do you remember when Buea had no township Taxi? Do you remember the days when the Prime Minister of West Cameroon used to ride his horse around Federal Quarters housing area & through Buea Station? Do you remember when all educational institutions used to resume for second term in the last days of December so that they can partake in the January 1st march past? (Independence day celebration) Do you remember when Beaufort was the “best” beer in town? Do you remember when West Cameroon used to have Secretary of States whose official residences where in Government Station Buea? Do you remember when mountain hotel was MOUNTAIN HOTEL and Eboa Lottin used to be the featured performer? Do you remember when West Farm orchard was the talk of the town in Buea? Do you remember when the Buea General Hospital building was made of corrugated aluminum sheets (zinc)? Do you remember when mile 17 was famous for its sugar cane? Do you remember when dust cropper planes used to fly over and fertilize Molyko banana plantation? Do you remember when there used to be the cultural dance competition at the Buea Government Stadium after the match past ceremonies on occasions such as 1st January, 11th February, and 1st October. That is the Government stadium next to Council School, not the new stadium? Do you remember when we only had Basel Mission Buea Town, Baptist Mission Great Soppo, Council School Buea Town, and RCM Buea Town primary schools? Do you remember when secondary schools used to have mid-term breaks? Do you remember when Peugeot 404 long base were the predominant means of public transportation between Buea/Kumba/Mamfe & Bamenda? Do you remember SOCADA in Likomba-Tiko? Do you remember Printania, Glamour, R&W King, & DATA department stores in Victoria? Do you remember when Cameroon used to have the West Cameroon House of Chief? Do you remember when the police VIO, (Vehicle Inspection Officer) could place the “OFF THE ROAD” sticker on your car because it was not road worthy? One of the last great VIO I remember was Mola Ekonde. Do you remember when we had traffic police officers in Buea who were well dressed in starched uniforms, white gloves and polished shoes? Do you remember when tax collectors used to go from house to house to collect taxes? Do you remember when dignitaries used to be given seat assignments at the Buea Government Stadium with stickers that were labeled Tribune A, B, C, D with A being the ace card. Those with Tribune A stickers on their cars were allowed to drive their CFA License plate cars into the stadium mainly black Peugeot 403. The rest parked outside of the stadium and had to walk to their designated tribune section of the seating arrangement. Do you remember when they used to have the wrestling matches at the wrestling field in Vasingi? Hans Ikoke (Likoke) of Mokunda, Mbella Nganda of Bokwia, Lyonga la Endeley of Mokunda, are some of the champions that come to mind. Do you remember when the Ministry of Information used to post pictures of current events at the notice board by the police station next to the round about and the one opposite the shell gas (petrol) station in clerks quarters and the one at the entrance to the Buea General hospital? Mola Moanga mo Mbwaye was the Chief photographer. Do you remember when kids used to sell strawberries (enenge nyenges) at the round about by the mobile gas (petrol) station? Do you remember when kids/teenagers used to go around the village from house to house dancing during the Christmas and New Year Seasons to earn some holiday money. Remember songs like this: Juju don come, oh yah Massa charge your pocket Sour sour le oh ya And then we would dance our little hearts out (the twist dance) while the drummer and the lead singer are sweating their hearts off for some loss change or a bottle of grenadine. All we needed were some empty ovaltine cans, rubber bans and some plastic wrapping and we had our drums. Do you remember when you just will hear a choir singing in front of your door during Christmas holiday season? It was a way for the choir to raise funds for their group. Do you remember when there used to be gates to get into most Bakweri Villages? Do you remember Buea customary Court? Do you remember were the incinerator used to be in Buea Town? (@ Stranger quaters) Did you ever go bird hunting with a rubber gun (catapult)? Do you remember when kids were selected from various primary schools in Buea to go and sing Christmas carols during the lighting of the Christmas tree ceremony at the Prime Ministers lodge? Do you remember when you did need a visa (travel pass) to travel between west and east Cameroon? Do you remember when you could travel from Buea to Victoria without been stopped on the road by the police? Do you remember the 1911 bridge in Ombe? Do you remember “Dschang” Moliwe shoe factory? “Matanga ma yesus” Do you remember when Tip Top was the number one Prisons soccer club fan? He used to ride his horse around the stadium during games to animate the event. Do you remember what means of transportation was referred to as CM 2? Do you remember where DeGrando bar, Independence bar, and Standard bar were located in Buea? Do you remember the church sponsored bazaar events? Do you remember operation green revolution? Agric Shows? Do you remember when we had the German, British, and Nigerian consulates in Buea. Do you remember the Basel mission bookshop that was on the hill going to the synods office by the old P&T garage? Do you remember when the linguistic center was opened in Long street Soppo? Do you remember when they used to decorate the streets in green, red, yellow when Ahidjo was coming to town? Do you remember teacher Ngollo of Basel Mission school, or Mrs Chindo or Mrs. Anoma of RCM school Buea Town or any of your former teachers or HM (Head Master)? Do you remember this song? Bakweri people fool Them deny for join soldier For sakker kwakoko. Do you remember when secondary school students were recruited for pre-military training? Do you remember when St Josephs College, Sasse. (SJC) and Baptist Teachers Training College (BTTC) were the only institutions with a matching band squad? Secondary schools that is, not counting the Police Academy in Mutengene? Do you remember when they used to have Miss West Cameroon beauty pageant contest? Do you remember the saying that (Excuse my spelling on this one) Endeley a si wai, mojilli a wowa a mboko Endeley (Dr. EML) had not died and a mojilli (Grass field person) takes over the seat (power) That’s when Foncha, succeeded Dr.Endeley as Prime Minister of west Cameroon. Do you remember when these folks were the talk of the town, Njuma, Ewunkem, Njipe, Akwo, Musenge, Atangana, Didi, Esomba, Munkang, Ndefi, and a few others am missing. Do you remember when speed limit signs used to be posted in Buea? There was one in WonyaLonga in front of the “s” bend by the cinema hall. 30km/ph. Do you remember when most cars used to use the reverse gear to ascend the mile 17 hill because the 1st and 2nd gears were not powerful enough to drive them up the hill towards Molyko. Do you remember where the path of the old Dibanda hill road (north of mutengene) used to be? Do you remember Country House in Muea? Do you remember Cameroon Out Look newspaper? (Akwaya) Do you remember when Mr. Nupa, was the choir master of RCM School Buea Town? Do you remember the school that was referred to as rotten casa mango? Do you remember the school that was referred to as “slow school” in Buea? When Catholic school Buea Station was first opened there was a traffic warning sign by the entrance to the nursery school if you were heading towards Soppo, and another one by the general hospital entrance if you were heading north towards the post office that read “Slow, School Ahead”. Most of us ignored the comma after the word slow, we just read it as slow school ahead. It was “hell” to be a pupil of “slow school”. Do you remember when Adiboloja was the resident dentist in Tiko motor park? Do you remember where nurses quarters was (is) in Buea? Do you remember Mrs. Shalmans’ bakery in Long Street Soppo. Do you remember that Radio Buea used to share the same compound with the presidential palace in GRA? Do you remember when they used to have the canoe race in down beach Victoria. Do you remember that Bilingual Grammar School used to be in Man-o-war-Bay in Victoria? Do you remember when the catholic church in Buea town used to be where I believe is class (enfant) 3 now of the primary school? The section of the building that is closest to Mt Mary maternity road. Do you remember when there were street lights from WonyaLonga to the NA (Native Authority) hall? Present day Mayors office. Do you remember the closing song atleast at RCM school Buea Town for the enfants section? It went something as such: Enfants one and two Come to school again, If you love your teacher Come to school again. Do you remember when there was a Barclays Bank in Buea? It was the building directly opposite the Mobile gas station in Buea Station (by the round about). Do you remember when CDC used to have a fully equipped & stocked store in Moliwe. (How about those teregal name brand clothing they used to stock at their stores in Moliwe, upper Costain-Tiko and probably at other locations). Do you remember when the road from the round about to the market in Buea town was different from todays? You had to go around the police station as if you were going to upper farms, then drive past Bismark fountain, past the Ministry of Information, past the old Federal Inspectors office, the immigration & emigration office, the old P&T garage, the one way bridge next to the old Basel Mission Book store then around the Basel mission hill and you came out by the road leading to the current day Governors residence or close to Presbyterian primary school field. Did you ever use the fox hole behind the equipment building at the Government stadium to sneak into the stadium to watch a prisons/Oryx Douala, Prisions/union Bargante, prisions/foudre Akonolinga, prisions/union Douala, Prisions/CDC Tiko, prisons/Union Abongbang prisons/cannon or prisons/Tonnere soccer game? Gate fee was 200frs CFA for tribune A and 100frs CFA for general “standing” at the time. Tea time entrance fee was 100frs.CFA. also. Humm. Do you remember the Prisons “jazz man Pa Breeze” who used to invoke fog into the stadium when prisons were loosing a soccer game? Feel free to share some of your Buea Old Kids stories.
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 20:49:20 +0000
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