| South African Old-Time Radio Pumamouse Pieces Of The Puzzle A Legacy Of Love |
| The Pumamouse Website Presents... |
LEGACY OF LOVE Legacy: Anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor. This webpage is dedicated with gratitude and respect to an Afrikaner gentleman who left a very unique legacy of love… namely, his love of Springbok Radio. |
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| Thank you for visiting these webpages. Please return often to view new developments. I would enjoy receiving your comments. |
| You can email The Pumamouse (MaryAnne) by clicking on the link below: |
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| This website is owned, designed, created, maintained, and financed by The Pumamouse (MaryAnne) Copyright 2002/2003/2004/2005 |
| THE PUMAMOUSE WEBSITE SECTION LINKS: |
| Please investigate all of the varied sections of The Pumamouse Website by clicking on the links below. |
| Why should anyone devote a webpage in fond memory of an individual with whom they never had the honor of personal acquaintance or any sort of interaction? The answer to this perplexing enigma is remarkably simple. Please allow me to offer an explanation. Aside from countless other reasons for my high regard, I am eternally grateful to Frans Erasmus for his tutelage regarding Springbok Radio. Through his patient guidance, I have come to understand that, for many loyal listeners, the closing of this South African radio station was equivalent to the untimely loss of a loved one. The excellence of the productions that once aired on Springbok Radio is the most obvious cause of this widely held sentiment. Further proof of this contention has come to me through the many letters I have received from thoughtful visitors ever since the South African OTR section of this website was created. Yet, as a curious observer, I have often sensed that something more lay behind the genuine love and devotion that listeners had, and still have, for Springbok Radio. I may be a novice at many things, including the art of detection, but one's name need not be Sherlock Holmes to deduce the truth. Springbok Radio was more than a radio station. It was a veritable institution. Like any well-established organization, it enhanced the lives of its members, (those members in this case being famous personalities, lesser known radio professionals, and nameless listeners). In addition to providing fine entertainment, it gave knowledge and pride and comfort to its members. More than that, due to its high standards of professionalism and the general atmosphere of community it conveyed throughout its broadcasts, it was representative of a way of life for many. I refer not to the history or politics of South Africa, of which I know and understand too little to offer any comment, but to the general feeling of security which Springbok Radio conveyed, reflecting the fundamental beliefs which linked family members and friends and neighbours and complete strangers alike together, back when simple concepts like "courtesy", "decency", "respect", "morality", and basic "love of one's God, country, and family" were more than just lofty words or practiced phrases in many communities throughout the world. Is it any wonder, then, that the death of Springbok Radio affected so many so deeply at the time, and continues to do so to this day? But, what do these observations have to do with my decision to devote this webpage to a gentleman who I never knew? It is my fuller appreciation for the impact of Springbok Radio's existence and unfortunate loss upon its many "members" which led me to ask Frans how his deep appreciation of this fine radio station first began. Try as I may to record his answer, I can not adequately describe the pleasure and enlightenment I experienced as I listened to the heartwarming early childhood recollections which my friend then candidly shared with me. His private memories are not mine to publicize, but their nature was most indicative. Suffice it to say, Frans' preference for Springbok Radio above all other radio services is as inextricably linked with his memories of his Oupa Erasmus as my preference for crochet above all other forms of needlework is linked with my Grandma Angela. I quickly realized that, had it not been for Frans' paternal grandfather's personal preference and unwavering loyalty to the station, Frans' interest in Springbok Radio might never have begun, nor grown into his genuine devotion, and I might never have had the opportunity to benefit from Frans' extensive knowledge of a radio station that is no longer. Indeed, the entire South African OTR section of this website might never have existed. Yikes! My debt to an Afrikaner gentleman who I never had the pleasure of meeting can never be repaid. The only way in which I can attempt to show my gratitude to Frans' Oupa Erasmus is to dedicate this webpage to his memory, with all due respect. Dankie, Oupa Erasmus, vir die erfenis van liefde dat jy gegee na jou kleinkind, en deur hom na my. The Pumamouse (MaryAnne) April 2002 |
| SOUTH AFRICAN OTR LINKS: |
| You are viewing "A Legacy Of Love" |
| PUMAMOUSE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE LINKS: |
| Mnr. Hendrik Johannes Erasmus…aka Oupa Erasmus |
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