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TAIPEI AIR STATION |
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Dorothy sitting in front of the window between the front door and the carport. On the floor beneath the brass table sits the only telephone in the Hsinchu MAAG compound, a Chinese Army Field phone, an EE8 military field phone or similar, in a heavy canvas case. It was to be used only to warn us in the event of a ChiCom invasion. The phone was probably placed in our quarters because Roy was also the Provost Marshal. Each week at mid-morning Dorothy took a call from a man who perplexingly only said, “chugga lon” a couple of times. Eventually she decided that he was saying “checking the line.” |
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The Rayle Home, Quarters # 3. The upright drum sitting next to the back door of the 1957 Dodge Coronet contained gasoline which Roy pumped by hand into the family car using a funnel with a screen to help trap water because contamination was a big problem. Kerosene used for cooking and heating was in the other drum stand just beneath the black pole. Roy had sealed up the fireplace, maybe because firewood was unavailable and a large kerosene heater had been placed on the hearth instead. The Ahmas lived in the small wing that connected to the kitchen at the side door. If you look closely, you can see the Ahma’s shoes drying on their room’s window just right of the outside kitchen door. It took at least one day to cut our yard’s grass. The local man who cut the grass only used scissors and a hand scythe. He declined the use of Roy’s push mower. This same means of grass cutting also took place at the Officer’s Club Annex in Taipei in the late 1960’s.
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Diana standing by the living room front door. The floors were terrazzo, polished faux-marble, (typical Taiwan floors of the day) covered with grass rugs made up of square tiles, twisted fiber flat-wound in a squared spiral, as seen here. These rugs were full of thorny pieces, so the kids quickly learned to not go barefoot (also couldn’t go barefoot outside because of hookworm.) Western rugs or stuffed upholstered furniture had to remain stateside because of the high humidity. Notice the portrait of Chang Kai-shek just above the lamp. Roy may have put it up tongue-in-cheek. Many of you will remember your homes in Taiwan. It was required by law, the resident’s name had to be displayed on a sign outside of the front door in Chinese characters, of course, we also had our English spelling on the signage. |
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Shirley and Lin, the Rayle’s twenties-ish ahmas, dressed-up for their day off in the back yard in front of Roy’s flower garden. Their duties included washing clothes (with a Maytag), light housework, helping in the kitchen, babysitting the younger kids and maybe buying local produce. The Rayle children were instructed never to give them any instructions or requests, that was the prerogative of the ”Tai Tai” (Dorothy.) Later Dorothy said that it was unnecessary to have two ahmas. Perhaps Roy’s rank meant he was expected to hire two servants.
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