100 years of friendship and love for Eve

One of the earliest residents of Alberton, Eve Reynolds, turned 100 on April 18.

On April 18, Eve’s friends from her “hairdressing club” celebrated her milestone with a high tea in Pretoria, and family with dinner that evening.

The big celebrations took place on April 22 when the family hosted a birthday party with about 60 to 70 guests.
Early residents of Alberton.

Eve was born in Johannesburg, where she spent most of her early years, apart from a short time when she and her mother were in Cape Town.

She was the youngest of five children, having two brothers and two sisters.

She completed her schooling in Johannesburg and worked in, amongst others, a sweet factory. She enjoyed sports and participated competitively in acrobatics and dance.

Eve and her late husband Mickey were married shortly after the end of the Second World War. The couple had two sons who married and gifted the couple with four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Mick and Eve, as they were affectionately known, were among the early residents as Alberton became established, building their homes almost at the edges of the town’s development. The first development was opposite the cemetery and the second was at the end of Second Avenue in Florentia, on the corner of Du Plessis Street.

At a point, Eve had to ensure that the local police constable had fulfilled his patrolling responsibilities by signing a register showing that he had patrolled to the end of the street.

Mick and Eve were very involved in the community, helping to establish a care home for boys and also running the local Boy’s Brigade, helping young boys to develop the abilities to enter into and access communities that they may not have been able to do otherwise.

A phenomenal and active woman

Eve, having never been allowed to learn to drive a car, would be seen walking to the shops, one of her favourite past-times, and later when she established a friendship with Marion the two of them would be seen around town.

Later the two of them took to playing tennis and the two became involved in the social tennis club, where she enjoyed playing with her friends, who she described as “the young girls”. Despite being older than most of them, she enjoyed competing and socialising with them, probably leading to people describing her as quite a character.

In addition to cooking, baking and cake decorating, Eve also enjoyed sewing, knitting and crocheting, but her hands aren’t letting her do those things anymore. According to her, physical fitness, being involved with people, and spending a lot of time with children has kept her healthy and energetic.

Having faith and never giving up are the keys to a long and healthy life for her.

Early in the 2000s Mick and Eve moved to Pretoria, and contact with her friends became less, but she continues to keep in touch “with the tennis ladies” who come visit.