By Mikayla van Loon
With the staff putting together the first Vintage Fair on Friday 28 April, it was a trip down memory lane for residents at Mercy Place Montrose.
The wonder and delight was evident as residents entered the room full of items from yesteryear.
“It brings back so many memories from when we were children,” resident Lyn said.
A gathered collection of antique and vintage items, from tools to clothing, servingware to medicines each came from personal stores of family heirlooms from the staff.
Lifestyle coordinator Deidre Halligan said the team worked on bringing it all together over two months to give the residents an experience of remembering the good old days.
“I just love history and it triggers memories. This is designed to trigger their memories and to go back down memory lane,” she said.
Ms Halligan said it is something that is extremely important for the residents to see and feel, to go back in time just by looking at an object.
That’s what happened to Dale Macalister, a resident at Mercy Place of just over a year.
“I walked into that room and the smell in the air, my grandmother came into my memory,” he said.
“When I saw the crystal items on the dressing table, she was there. So it really brought back quite a few memories.”
Having not thought about his grandmother for a number of years, Mr Macalister said “it was a thrill, it was a really happy feeling” to travel back in time, even just for a moment.
The display of tools also brought memories of Mr Macalister’s father back into his mind.
“My father was a mechanical engineer after the war and he taught me how to use a lot of tools,” he said.
“Of course, it’s so different from modern tools and I did have a lot myself but over the years they disappeared.”
Contributing his own piece of memorabilia to the broad collection, Mr Macalister added a handmade replica of the spitfire plane his father used to fly in the war, sitting on a wooden base made from a section of the propeller.
Getting to mingle with other residents, Mr Macalister said, is always a joy when Mercy Place puts on events of this kind.
“It’s something that brings us together,” he said.
The sentiment of bringing back a lot of memories was shared with fellow resident Joan Burrett, who said “it’s absolutely beautiful”.
Having included an antique desk and table in the display, Ms Burrett said “I would love to know the back story” but it still brings her a sense of joy.
“The only thing I feel from some of the old wood that has been handcrafted, is it gives a warmth to a place,” she said.
The residents were also joined by local vintage Hot Rod owners and a vintage fire truck.
