A Ring, a Home, and the Threads of History

The Dean’s Marsh History Chats meet on the first Tuesday of each month, usually at the Dean’s Marsh Store. Each gathering brings with it a weaving of stories, memories, and unexpected connections, many of which only come to light through casual conversation.

Fran Permazel recently discovered this whilst chatting to a regular History Chats attendee.

While chatting with Rhonda Elmes at the store during one of these history chats, I discovered that her great-uncle had built a home in Dean’s Marsh when he became engaged, not long after the First World War. As the conversation unfolded, it emerged that the engagement was to my mother’s cousin.

The engagement eventually fell through, and after his death, the ring later surfaced among his belongings. His fiancée was Winn Trigg, whom I always called Auntie Winn. Her mother, Bertha Hunt, was my grandfather’s sister.

I grew up in and out of Auntie Winn’s home, which she shared with her sister Clarrie. Neither of them married, and they became my surrogate grandmothers.

My sister and I would stay with them during school holidays, and Winn, who was an artist, would take us on day trips along the Geelong coast, always stopping somewhere so she could paint a landscape.

And so, back to the ring. Rhonda brought it along to the last history gathering and very kindly gave it to me. I hope to pass it down to my daughter as part of our family history, and I am deeply grateful for Rhonda’s generosity in parting with it.

Fran Permezel