In a previous post, Chris read a comment of mine, checked out the scrapbook on my Odyssey web site, and recommended it as worth reading. The result was the biggest visitor spike in my stats history. For decades, I'd been carting that scrapbook around the various places I've lived, and would occasionally notice it gathering dust on a bookshelf. It was like the ashes of a person in a jar - a large part of my life that was no longer relevant, as though it had never existed. Back in 2010, I decided to digitize all the images and write the story, and then post it all on my web site in the hope that, somehow, it would give meaning to the things I've done and the places I've been... to let the world know that I did indeed exist, especially all the grand and great grand nephews and nieces I've never seen or met. We're not a close family, obviously.
After posting the scrapbook, a few of my ex colleagues accidentally discovered it by Googling stuff about various radio stations I'd worked at over the years. They got in touch and rapped for a while before they disappeared again. But at least the scrapbook was no longer gathering dust, and was serving a purpose.
But it was just after Chris read it and recommended it, that visits went through the roof. That meant (and means) a great deal to me. It's a vindication of my life being worth at least something. Funny about that. This is the time of year that celebrates the resurrection.
So my sincere thanks to Chris and all those people who took the time to check out the life and times of yours truly. You've made it all worthwhile, and an old bloke very happy indeed. Thank you very much.
Hi Gary I was one of those visitors and read the scrapbook from start to the last entry, great read. Shows some of the talents the members here have. Maybe you could continue your scap book with the future and your travel tales. cheers blaze
GaryKelly said
12:50 AM Mar 31, 2013
Muchas gracias, Blaze. That's very kind of you. Currently, I write a daily blog called waffle on the site just to keep me occupied - I love to write (besides, I'm still gummy). There's also a journal of my day trips locally over the past few years. But as soon as I'm permanently on the road, I'll archive the waffle and use the journal to keep a daily record of the places I visit and the faces I meet. That's probably the main reason I'm doing this thing... to document it all, including photos and videos. My way of carving "I Wuz Here" on a tree trunk. But I do enjoy photography as well, so theoretically I should be as happy as a pig in mud. I honestly can't think of a better and more practical way of spending my remaining years.
neilnruth said
02:40 AM Mar 31, 2013
I checked out your website ages ago Gary and found it interesting. I've been encouraged this past 12 months to write my story - but I don't know I'd put it on the web. I just wanted my kids and grandchildren to know 'where they came from'.
BohemianGypsy said
04:38 AM Mar 31, 2013
I too had been to your website in the past Gary but I went again when Chris mentioned it and clicked on the scrapbook which I didn't do last time and I sat there from 4am in the morning until 6.30am reading the journal of your younger years. It made for fascinating reading and also some wonderful memories for me as I lived in Sydney until I was 17 then joined the Army but came back to Sydney for a few years to work in 5 Sig Regt. I worked in Darlinghurst when I was 16 yrs old at Repco Auto Parts lol. All that aside I enjoyed the journey down memory lane and enjoyed your written narrative of your adventures.
Thankyou
Michelle
chrisnchris said
05:02 AM Mar 31, 2013
Hi Gary I checked out your scrapbook too , great read and guess what I remember Gary Kelly 2GO Gosford . It was asuch a big thing when we finally got our very own radio station and I also remember the wheelbarrow thing so there you go . My family have been on the coast since 1850 and are still there in droves . My other half left the area in 68 ( army) and I left in 72 ( army wife) but I still it home . Thanks for the memories . We also owned at one stage a white 68 Valiant Regal Cheers
vk6tnc said
05:34 AM Mar 31, 2013
Wow. Who would have guessed my post would have generated such a response
Thanks, Gary, for the comments, looks like I became your Publicity Manager for a day !
In my current role as carer for my elderly Mum, I spend a lot of time on the net. This forum has matured over the years into a great resource and I am so happy to have found it last year. I have been reading old posts, from years ago, and it sure had a rocky beginning. Many similar forums have come and gone, or are dead in the water with only 100's of members, and only a couple of posts a day !!!
I believe Cindy can be congratulated on the way this forum has been moderated over the years.
Whenever I find something of interest on the net, or can share my knowledge, I will always let everyone know...
GaryKelly said
03:29 PM Mar 31, 2013
Well, well, well, how amazing is that? Chris remembers me in the wheelbarrow! My finest hour, that one. And thanks to you too, Michelle and others who have enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Good thing I digitized all that stuff and put it on the net. Speaking of the wheelbarrow, one of those kids happened on the scrapbook and wrote me a couple of years ago. He's well into his 50s now and we're still in touch. In fact, guess who offered me his street address to use when I'm on the road for rego, insurance, license, etc? Yep. Him. Small world, yes? 'Ow's ya boiled egg? Once again, thank yaz all for taking the time to share the mems.
neilnruth said
11:19 PM Mar 31, 2013
Gary, I note from your Scrapbook that you lived in Bega for a short time. Remember the 2BE technician, Peter Carson? He was a friend of ours. Sadly he passed away at a relatively young age due to kidney disease before he could have a transplant.
GaryKelly said
12:55 AM Apr 1, 2013
Yes, NnR, Peter was a lovely bloke. A very gentle person, and a whizz techo. Our boss at the time, Ray Rumble (what a name for a radio announcer) was here in Taree a while back. He's another who came across the scrapbook by googling something and got in touch. Anyway, we met for a couple of beers at the pub (his shout) and he told me about Peter, and how he was grateful to Ray for setting up a permanent pension fund for his wife and kids before he died. If Ray ever writes a scrapbook, it'll take you a month to read it. BTW, another of 2BE's jocks at the time, Greg Toohey, died of cancer some years ago when he was working at 2ST Nowra. I think I told the story of Greg sitting in his undies in the studio when I first arrived at the station. He'd hiked through flooded fields during heavy rain that morning. Yep, lots of stories and if I told them all it would take forever.
Duh said
10:37 AM Apr 1, 2013
Did you ever come across Leo DeKroo Gary? At one time he was part of a duo called the DeKroo Brothers (the other bloke Doug was not a real DeKroo, it was just a stage name) on Bandstand with Brian Henderson and for a period was married to Judy Stone, since re-married.
He later had a music shop somewhere in Sydney subs and was a radio host on one of the Dubbo Radio Stations. He retired to his farm outside of Dubbo but has since started in radio again, see this link;
He probably told you that to stop you from getting a big head Gary, you probably were the best of a good bunch of applicants....also gave him an excuse to keep your pay down, lol !
I had no idea Leo was on Dubbo Radio, until I stayed there on a trip and heard him, went around and met him at the studio there.
-- Edited by Duh on Monday 1st of April 2013 02:48:18 PM
GaryKelly said
03:41 PM Apr 1, 2013
No bells ringing, Vic, although the DeKroo name sounds familiar. Maybe I heard it on Bandstand.
Duh said
07:43 PM Apr 1, 2013
Here is one link Gary, but please note the DeKroo Brothers were NOT brothers like this link says, I grew up in the same street as Leo and his parents and siblings after they migrated from Holland via a few years in Indonesia (I think his dad was a Dutch policeman there) see;
Ah, yes, I recognize them now, both of them, after watching the vid. Definitely a take on Don and Phil Everly. Wow, that's a long time ago. I was 16 in 1960... just bought my H.G. Palmer stereogram for 59 guineas. I didn't get into radio until 1969. First job, 2LF Young. The boss told me not to get any big ideas because I was "the best of a very bad bunch" of applicants. Hehe. It's a good thing I had no idea how dreadful I was. If I had, I would never have applied.
In a previous post, Chris read a comment of mine, checked out the scrapbook on my Odyssey web site, and recommended it as worth reading. The result was the biggest visitor spike in my stats history. For decades, I'd been carting that scrapbook around the various places I've lived, and would occasionally notice it gathering dust on a bookshelf. It was like the ashes of a person in a jar - a large part of my life that was no longer relevant, as though it had never existed. Back in 2010, I decided to digitize all the images and write the story, and then post it all on my web site in the hope that, somehow, it would give meaning to the things I've done and the places I've been... to let the world know that I did indeed exist, especially all the grand and great grand nephews and nieces I've never seen or met. We're not a close family, obviously.
After posting the scrapbook, a few of my ex colleagues accidentally discovered it by Googling stuff about various radio stations I'd worked at over the years. They got in touch and rapped for a while before they disappeared again. But at least the scrapbook was no longer gathering dust, and was serving a purpose.
But it was just after Chris read it and recommended it, that visits went through the roof. That meant (and means) a great deal to me. It's a vindication of my life being worth at least something. Funny about that. This is the time of year that celebrates the resurrection.
So my sincere thanks to Chris and all those people who took the time to check out the life and times of yours truly. You've made it all worthwhile, and an old bloke very happy indeed. Thank you very much.
I was one of those visitors and read the scrapbook from start to the last entry, great read. Shows some of the talents the members here have. Maybe you could continue your scap book with the future and your travel tales.
cheers
blaze
I too had been to your website in the past Gary but I went again when Chris mentioned it and clicked on the scrapbook which I didn't do last time and I sat there from 4am in the morning until 6.30am reading the journal of your younger years. It made for fascinating reading and also some wonderful memories for me as I lived in Sydney until I was 17 then joined the Army but came back to Sydney for a few years to work in 5 Sig Regt. I worked in Darlinghurst when I was 16 yrs old at Repco Auto Parts lol. All that aside I enjoyed the journey down memory lane and enjoyed your written narrative of your adventures.
Thankyou
Michelle
I checked out your scrapbook too , great read and guess what I remember Gary Kelly 2GO Gosford . It was asuch a big thing when we finally got our very own radio station and I also remember the wheelbarrow thing so there you go . My family have been on the coast since 1850 and are still there in droves . My other half left the area in 68 ( army) and I left in 72 ( army wife) but I still it home . Thanks for the memories . We also owned at one stage a white 68 Valiant Regal
Cheers
Thanks, Gary, for the comments, looks like I became your Publicity Manager for a day !
In my current role as carer for my elderly Mum, I spend a lot of time on the net. This forum has matured over the years into a great resource and I am so happy to have found it last year. I have been reading old posts, from years ago, and it sure had a rocky beginning. Many similar forums have come and gone, or are dead in the water with only 100's of members, and only a couple of posts a day !!!
I believe Cindy can be congratulated on the way this forum has been moderated over the years.
Whenever I find something of interest on the net, or can share my knowledge, I will always let everyone know...
Did you ever come across Leo DeKroo Gary? At one time he was part of a duo called the DeKroo Brothers (the other bloke Doug was not a real DeKroo, it was just a stage name) on Bandstand with Brian Henderson and for a period was married to Judy Stone, since re-married.
He later had a music shop somewhere in Sydney subs and was a radio host on one of the Dubbo Radio Stations. He retired to his farm outside of Dubbo but has since started in radio again, see this link;
http://www.dailyliberal.com.au/story/151425/radio-favourite-happy-with-his-new-home/
He probably told you that to stop you from getting a big head Gary, you probably were the best of a good bunch of applicants....also gave him an excuse to keep your pay down, lol !
I had no idea Leo was on Dubbo Radio, until I stayed there on a trip and heard him, went around and met him at the studio there.
-- Edited by Duh on Monday 1st of April 2013 02:48:18 PM
Here is one link Gary, but please note the DeKroo Brothers were NOT brothers like this link says, I grew up in the same street as Leo and his parents and siblings after they migrated from Holland via a few years in Indonesia (I think his dad was a Dutch policeman there) see;
http://www.musicminder.com/scripts/entertainers/displayentertainer.asp?ID=004557
http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2011/05/31/3231870.htm
http://test.yourguide.com.au/multimedia/38235/513159/jimmy-little-and-leo-de-kroo-in-dubbo.aspx