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TROPICS RESIDENT OF THE MONTH,
ROSEMARY FEIKERT
Rosemary has lived in the Tropics for ten years.
She came to Union City from Forest Hills, Oregon. She was born and grew up
on the west side of Chicago in the St. Mels Irish Catholic Parish. She is
very proud of her beloved parents whose pictures show they made a very
handsome couple. Her father was the assistant superintendent of Chicago
schools and an article about him appeared in Time Magazine.
This lady, with a delightful sense of humor, considers she has lived a very
interesting life. During World War II Rosemary worked for the Red Cross in
Tokyo. The army took over the entertainment field and she wound up teaching
Filipino soldiers on the air force base in Guam She met and married Samuel
Feikert from Oregon when she was thirty-two. They went back to Chicago after
choosing to go to Tokyo rather than Europe. It took a long time for the army
to provide transportation to get soldiers home.
The couple resided in Chicago. Sam worked for Kaiser as a ship builder.
Rosemary had five children in six years. When her son, Daniel, was five, Sam
went to Bangkok, Thailand taking his family with him. Rosemary began
teaching children in that country. She had plenty of help with the children
and a chauffer. There were young women who helped with the cooking and
cleaning. She describes the people as different and says that some of the
American women looked down their noses at the people of Thailand. For
Rosemary this was not the scenario. To best describe what the people were
like she uses the characters in “The King and I.” She thinks they are
much like the people of that country.
She showed me a book on Thailand which illustrated what a beautiful city
Bangkok is. Rosemary was there the night of the King’s birthday and tells
how the city was lit with five million lights the size of Christmas lights
in all different colors. The city was overflowing with people. She described
the palace, and has seen hundreds of people playing on fenced area in front
of it with their families. The temples and churches in Bangkok are
magnificent. There are hundreds of boats with people living on them as they
flow through the city on the water. The hotels were very modern hotels at
the time she lived there.
While living in Bangkok, the Feikert children attended catholic school on
the property of a beautiful church. The family lived there twice for the
duration of one and a half years each time. These years provided Rosemary
with wonderful memories. She made friends with many of the people she met in
Thailand. She says the people of that country were not humble. There was no
pretense with the people if they did not like you they let you know. She has
the philosophy that you have to help people whether you like them or not.
Rosemary has many grandchildren and enjoys the times she has with her
family. She has taught many children. She has made a few good friends while
living in The Tropics. One of her favorite activities is attending the
writing class Monday afternoons at Ruggieri Center. She has written many of
the experiences she had in Thailand, Vietnam, Europe and places where she
has lived or traveled extensively. She laughs as she relates about what
travel is like in Bangkok. “There are no rules for driving. There are
frequent accidents. When one occurs everyone gets out of the car and laughs.”
As she shares her life you can tell she is enjoying it. I appreciate this
fellow writer.
Your reporter, Charlotte O’Donnell |