The meatsafe, the wireless, catching rabbits, a mother's apple pie, the ubiquitous laminex table or even an atmosphere of resentment and unhappiness.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It's these fragments of childhood memory that have been caught and committed to paper by older residents of the Loddon Shire. All centre round the kitchen table, as the heart of a country home.
Together they form Contours of our Lives: reflections from the kitchen table, launched in Dingee on Wednesday.
Author Lorraine Marwood helped the participants to shape their snippets of memory into a story. Having lived and farmed in Dingee when her family was young, Mrs Marwood even contributed a chapter to the finished product.
To help participants to refine the memories into a readable story Mrs Marwood began by running several seminars in Dingee.
It meant isolating a fragment of memory and developing it to make it attractive to a reader.
To do so, the writers had to build a narrative. Mrs Marwood helped them shape their ideas into a story with a beginning, middle and end.
For some it was difficult to begin, but once they did, the memories flowed.
"Kids will write like that, but adults … " Mrs Marwood said.
"It's personal, and they're a bit precious of it."
Programs and events coordinator for the Goldfields Library Corporation Tammy Higgs developed the idea when searching for a project that would help seniors connect with each other.
"In rural communities it's easy to become isolated, it's a great way to get people to share in the community in a different and productive way," Ms Higgs said.
"It's a good way to connect with surrounding little towns around Dingee."
Writing took Inglewood's Alice Leech back to a kitchen in the tiny locality of Redbank, and the apple pie her Mum would bake.
It's just so important to get memories down as you get old.
- Lorraine Marwood
"It certainly brought back many fond memories," Ms Leech said.
"It was something Mum did a lot. She was very caring of others in need and she would often cook for the neighbours."
Participant Laurie Barby recalled a childhood spent at Point Lonsdale, rabbiting and listening to sport on the wireless.
Writing down his memories helped him to grieve, as he faced the loss of his mother.
For Mrs Marwood, writing her own story was in some ways a challenge. But stepping back into her childhood kitchen brought back memories she had forgotten about.
"Everyone thinks you as a writer will have a really brilliant story," she said.
Mrs Marwood believed putting their memories on paper helped the writers "take stock" of how they have altered in the years since they sat in their childhood kitchen.
"It's just so important to get memories down as you get old," Mrs Marwood said.
"I wanted to memories to show how each one of us grew personality traits and lifelong skills that began in a childhood kitchen."
Have you signed up to the Bendigo Advertiser's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in central Victoria.