Ronnie (94) still rollin’ and bowlin’
His secret to a long life is that he never fights with anyone.
Johannes ‘Ronnie’ Evans, born March 23, 1924, will turn 94 years old this week.
Although a milestone in itself, Ronnie is also the oldest bowler at Allen Park Bowling Club. Here, in Cactus Road, he met with Express to chat about his beloved sport.
Ronnie, dressed from head to toe in white, looks at home on the precisely manicured lawn. He appears calm and focused before rolling his ball, which has a small dog on the side, towards the other side of the levelled lawn. His aim is to get as close to the smaller white ball as possible.
This dedicated player has had 16 years of practice. “I enjoy the exercise I get from the sport,” he said, “and seeing all my friends.”
And no, Ronnie insists, this sport is not just for old people. “Young people should also play, it is lots of fun.”
He was introduced to the sport by his second wife Issie (83), who played before the two met. Issie’s bad knee doesn’t allow her to play anymore, so she sits and knits on the side-line while Ronnie enjoys the game. These two have been married for 17 years.
“The secret is that one listens while the other one talks,” Ronnie teases. It quickly becomes clear that this lawn bowler is quite a joker.
“I have been the oldest player in this club since 2012. Maybe I’ll keep it up until I’m 99 and give someone else a turn,” he laughs.
His colourful personality might be attributed to his interesting life. Ronnie was born to Sannie and Morris, who had a dairy farm in Sabie. At the age of 17, Ronnie became a sampler in the Sabie gold mines. In 1942 he joined the army’s engineering corps. This, he said, was the adventure of a lifetime.
“It was exciting because we were just travelling and being engineers. We never had to fight.”
This adventure led him to Egypt and Italy. At the end of the war in Germany, he volunteered to go to Japan. However, after the atom bomb, it was no longer necessary and he returned home.
But Ronnie’s taste for adventure stayed. Six months later he joined South African Airways, where he stayed for 38 years. This job allowed him to travel the world, of which his favourite was Bangkok. He proudly shows his embroidered shirt, which he bought on his travels.
Ronnie has had a long life and many adventures and he shows no sign of slowing down.
“My secret is that I am always calm and never fight with people,” he shares. That, and possibly all the exercise from lawn bowling.
