Day 1
12/07/23 22:42
Following my mother's death on June 20, 2023. I decided to post a narrative about her nearly 106 years of life on Facebook. Each post included photos. There were ten posts, and they are reproduced here with a bit of editing and a few additional photos. I hope that you enjoy the story and the images from Rhoda's past, and our shared life with her. All four of the Porter children feel that we were lucky to have had Rhoda and Bernie as our parents. Happy reading! Kent
June 28, 2023—
Post One:
I write to let my Facebook friends know that my mother died in her sleep early Tuesday morning last week. She was just three weeks shy of her 106th birthday. Although it was sad for my sisters, my brother, and me to see her go, we were happy that she got her wish to die peacefully in her sleep in the home that she had lovingly built with my father beginning in 1946, a home in which we were all raised. I am also very happy that my sister Karen and brother-in-law Dave, who have been caring for my mother and living in the Los Gatos house with her, now have found their well-deserved freedom to live their lives as they wish.
When someone dies who is so old, it is remarkable to ponder not only the person's physical longevity, but also the history that he or she experienced in life. Mom was born in South Africa to American parents during World War I , lived through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the development of television and personal computers, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements, the traumatic assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, the 911 attacks, and so many more momentous events-- a list that is too long to mention in its entirety here.
Recently, a good friend of mine from elementary school and high school wrote that she was participating in a Facebook challenge to post one photo a day that brings her joy, and to do it for ten days while nominating one other person to do the same. I was one that she nominated.
One of my faults is that I am not a very good “rule follower”. Rather than nominating an individual, I would encourage others generally to post their own “joyful” photos. So I support the idea. Regarding my mother’s death, I have prepared my own “Rhoda story” which I will eventually put on a website that I maintain. On Facebook, for those who are interested, I will post the same story in parts for the next ten days with pictures that bring me joy.
Here is the first installment:
Rhoda Ann (Bensberg) Porter, a longtime resident of Los Gatos, died at home on June 20, 2023, just three weeks shy of her 106th birthday.
Rhoda was born in Paarl (near Cape Town), South Africa in 1917 to Isabel Hoover Bensberg and Ferdinand Bensberg. At the time of her birth, her American parents were living on and managing a large Cecil Rhodes fruit farm near Wellington, South Africa. Later, her father Ferdinand was hired to manage a much larger estate called Lourensford on the Western Cape. The family lived on that estate during those years. Her sister, Ruth (Bensberg) George, joined the family in 1921.
In 1922, the Bensbergs moved back to California. At Capetown, the four boarded the S.S. Baradine which took them to Sydney via Christmas Island, Fremantle (Western Australia), and Melbourne. Upon their arrival in Sydney, Isabel and her two daughters were quarantined, most likely due to measles. Ferdinand went on alone to San Francisco. Isabel, Rhoda and Ruth arrived later aboard the S.S. Tahiti, traveling from Sydney via New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands. Arriving in San Francisco on July 3rd, 1922, the young Bensberg sisters became Californians and remained so for the rest of their lives. And Rhoda ended up losing her English accent that she had acquired in her formative years in South Africa. The family eventually settled in a house that they designed and built on West Road above Austin Way in Los Gatos.
Rhoda in her first year of life with her new parents, Ferdinand and Isabel Bensberg—1917 on the De Fortuin Estate in Wellington, South Africa
Isabel, Rhoda, and Ferdinand—De Fortuin estate near Wellington, South Africa, late 1917 early 1918
The R.M.S. (later the S.S.) Baradine—Isabel, Ferdinand, and their two daughters Rhoda and Ruth traveled on it from Capetown South Africa to Sidney, Australia in 1922. That journey was the beginning of their new lives in California
The R.M.S. (later the S.S.) Tahiti, the ship that brought Rhoda, Ruth, and their mother Isabel from Sydney to San Francisco on July 3, 1922
June 28, 2023—
Post One:
I write to let my Facebook friends know that my mother died in her sleep early Tuesday morning last week. She was just three weeks shy of her 106th birthday. Although it was sad for my sisters, my brother, and me to see her go, we were happy that she got her wish to die peacefully in her sleep in the home that she had lovingly built with my father beginning in 1946, a home in which we were all raised. I am also very happy that my sister Karen and brother-in-law Dave, who have been caring for my mother and living in the Los Gatos house with her, now have found their well-deserved freedom to live their lives as they wish.
When someone dies who is so old, it is remarkable to ponder not only the person's physical longevity, but also the history that he or she experienced in life. Mom was born in South Africa to American parents during World War I , lived through the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, the New Deal, World War II, the development of television and personal computers, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the Civil Rights and Women’s Rights movements, the traumatic assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, the 911 attacks, and so many more momentous events-- a list that is too long to mention in its entirety here.
Recently, a good friend of mine from elementary school and high school wrote that she was participating in a Facebook challenge to post one photo a day that brings her joy, and to do it for ten days while nominating one other person to do the same. I was one that she nominated.
One of my faults is that I am not a very good “rule follower”. Rather than nominating an individual, I would encourage others generally to post their own “joyful” photos. So I support the idea. Regarding my mother’s death, I have prepared my own “Rhoda story” which I will eventually put on a website that I maintain. On Facebook, for those who are interested, I will post the same story in parts for the next ten days with pictures that bring me joy.
Here is the first installment:
Rhoda Ann (Bensberg) Porter, a longtime resident of Los Gatos, died at home on June 20, 2023, just three weeks shy of her 106th birthday.
Rhoda was born in Paarl (near Cape Town), South Africa in 1917 to Isabel Hoover Bensberg and Ferdinand Bensberg. At the time of her birth, her American parents were living on and managing a large Cecil Rhodes fruit farm near Wellington, South Africa. Later, her father Ferdinand was hired to manage a much larger estate called Lourensford on the Western Cape. The family lived on that estate during those years. Her sister, Ruth (Bensberg) George, joined the family in 1921.
In 1922, the Bensbergs moved back to California. At Capetown, the four boarded the S.S. Baradine which took them to Sydney via Christmas Island, Fremantle (Western Australia), and Melbourne. Upon their arrival in Sydney, Isabel and her two daughters were quarantined, most likely due to measles. Ferdinand went on alone to San Francisco. Isabel, Rhoda and Ruth arrived later aboard the S.S. Tahiti, traveling from Sydney via New Zealand, Tahiti and the Cook Islands. Arriving in San Francisco on July 3rd, 1922, the young Bensberg sisters became Californians and remained so for the rest of their lives. And Rhoda ended up losing her English accent that she had acquired in her formative years in South Africa. The family eventually settled in a house that they designed and built on West Road above Austin Way in Los Gatos.
Rhoda in her first year of life with her new parents, Ferdinand and Isabel Bensberg—1917 on the De Fortuin Estate in Wellington, South Africa
Isabel, Rhoda, and Ferdinand—De Fortuin estate near Wellington, South Africa, late 1917 early 1918
The R.M.S. (later the S.S.) Baradine—Isabel, Ferdinand, and their two daughters Rhoda and Ruth traveled on it from Capetown South Africa to Sidney, Australia in 1922. That journey was the beginning of their new lives in California
The R.M.S. (later the S.S.) Tahiti, the ship that brought Rhoda, Ruth, and their mother Isabel from Sydney to San Francisco on July 3, 1922
Day 2
12/07/23 22:23
June 29, 2023—
Post Two:
Once the family moved to West Road, Rhoda attended school from third grade to half-way through sixth grade on Austin Way. That one-room school house very near her home was closed during her sixth grade year, so Rhoda and her small contingent of fellow students were then moved to Saratoga School on Oak Street . Rhoda and most of her friends went on to Los Gatos High School and graduated from there in 1935. After high school, she attended San Jose State College for two years.
At the age of 11, at about the time that Rhoda had been moved to Saratoga School, her parents divorced. She found great companionship and friendship with many of her classmates during those traumatic years. Several of her school “chums” ended up being friends for life. Two of those close friends eventually became well-known movie stars, the sisters Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine.
At the end of her two years at San Jose State, in the midst of the Great Depression, Rhoda experienced a course change in her life. Her mother told her that, as a single parent, she could no longer afford to pay the fees at the State College for her. Instead, Rhoda chose to go to work in San Francisco, living in the City for several years. After work, she would return every Friday to Los Gatos by train. Yes, in those days, the Friday afternoon train from San Francisco left at 5:30 p.m. and went all of the way to downtown Los Gatos near where the present-day Post Office is now located.
Later, as things got even worse economically during the Depression, Rhoda’s mother Issy rented out the family home in Los Gatos in order to make ends meet. She moved in with both of her daughters to a cottage located on the Filbert Steps on Telegraph Hill.
The eighth grade graduating class at Saratoga Grammar School, 1931. Rhoda (Bensberg) Porter is in the first row, third from right. Next to Rhoda on her left sits her close friend Joan Fontaine, second from right. Those who are from Saratoga may remember Louise (Garrod) Cooper. Louise was a life-long friend of Rhoda's. She is standing in the top row, the second from the right. Several longtime friends are also shown in the 8th grade photo below.
Rhoda (left) standing next to Joan Fontaine's sister Olivia De Havilland (who was one year older than Rhoda's classmate Joan)— in the patio of her home on Cañon Drive in Los Gatos, (76 years later than the eighth grade photo), when Rhoda was 89 and Olivia was 90
Post Two:
Once the family moved to West Road, Rhoda attended school from third grade to half-way through sixth grade on Austin Way. That one-room school house very near her home was closed during her sixth grade year, so Rhoda and her small contingent of fellow students were then moved to Saratoga School on Oak Street . Rhoda and most of her friends went on to Los Gatos High School and graduated from there in 1935. After high school, she attended San Jose State College for two years.
At the age of 11, at about the time that Rhoda had been moved to Saratoga School, her parents divorced. She found great companionship and friendship with many of her classmates during those traumatic years. Several of her school “chums” ended up being friends for life. Two of those close friends eventually became well-known movie stars, the sisters Olivia De Havilland and Joan Fontaine.
At the end of her two years at San Jose State, in the midst of the Great Depression, Rhoda experienced a course change in her life. Her mother told her that, as a single parent, she could no longer afford to pay the fees at the State College for her. Instead, Rhoda chose to go to work in San Francisco, living in the City for several years. After work, she would return every Friday to Los Gatos by train. Yes, in those days, the Friday afternoon train from San Francisco left at 5:30 p.m. and went all of the way to downtown Los Gatos near where the present-day Post Office is now located.
Later, as things got even worse economically during the Depression, Rhoda’s mother Issy rented out the family home in Los Gatos in order to make ends meet. She moved in with both of her daughters to a cottage located on the Filbert Steps on Telegraph Hill.
The eighth grade graduating class at Saratoga Grammar School, 1931. Rhoda (Bensberg) Porter is in the first row, third from right. Next to Rhoda on her left sits her close friend Joan Fontaine, second from right. Those who are from Saratoga may remember Louise (Garrod) Cooper. Louise was a life-long friend of Rhoda's. She is standing in the top row, the second from the right. Several longtime friends are also shown in the 8th grade photo below.
Rhoda (left) standing next to Joan Fontaine's sister Olivia De Havilland (who was one year older than Rhoda's classmate Joan)— in the patio of her home on Cañon Drive in Los Gatos, (76 years later than the eighth grade photo), when Rhoda was 89 and Olivia was 90
Day 3
12/07/23 22:23
June 30, 2023—
Post Three:
The Bay Bridge connecting Oakland and the rest of the East Bay to San Francisco was completed in 1936. Until the late 1950s, its upper deck carried automobiles, and its lower deck trains. The Golden Gate Bridge was opened in 1937 to connect the North Bay to the City.
The role of San Francisco as the center of the hub of the Bay Area was enhanced by the building of those two bridges, and young people seeking work were drawn to it from all over. There were opportunities for them to live cheaply in communal boarding houses, and our mother Rhoda was one of those. She lived first in a boarding house on upper Broadway, in a Pacific Heights mansion previously owned and occupied by a wealthy San Francisco family. She made lots of friends there with many who were sharing the same experience, branching out from their home towns to their young adult lives in the City. The friends from the “boarding house days” were from all walks of life and were seared in my mother’s memory throughout her years after WWII. We Porter kids heard those stories repeatedly. One of those friends from the boarding house days, against whom she often played ping-pong (and regularly beat him!) was Howard Brodie. At the time that Mr. Brodie was living in the boarding house, he was a sketch artist for the San Francisco Chronicle. He later became famous first as a cartoonist, stationed in Europe for Yank during the War, and then as the court artist for CBS News.
Between 1938 and the outbreak of World War Two, Rhoda continued living in the City. She had various jobs as a secretary and moved to two other locations with a smaller group of her friends whom she had met at the Pacific Heights boarding house, one at Macondray Lane on Russian Hill, and the other on Napier Lane at the top of the Filbert Steps.
In early 1942, shortly after the onset of World War II, Rhoda joined the Red Cross. She often said later, “All of the young men went off to the war after 1941, maybe I thought I should do my part”. She traveled by rail to Washington D.C. for her training and was then assigned to Fort Richardson, Alaska. In those days, one had to get a passport to travel to Alaska which was not yet then a state. Having been born in a rural part of South Africa, Rhoda had no birth certificate. She had to find her father whom she hadn't seen for thirteen years (since she was eleven). She needed him to sign the affidavit of her birth, and, through contacts with her aunt, she was able to find him and get him to sign the necessary paperwork to get her passport. So she was all set to go on a great adventure in the North.
In keeping with Rhoda's propensity to meet people who later became famous, she encountered General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. on the Fort Richardson base in Alaska. At the time, General Buckner was the Commander of all Alaska forces. He got wind of the fact that one of the many secretaries in his office (Rhoda) had been born in South Africa. Apparently, General Buckner had traveled to South Africa when he was younger and he was very interested in her story. He invited her to dinner so that he could hear it first hand. He sent his jeep with flags and his commanding general's insignia on the front of it to pick her up at her base dormitory. They went to a party together. Several years later, in 1945, General Buckner was transferred to Hawaii to lead the invasion of Okinawa. Unfortunately, he became the highest ranking military officer to be killed in the line of duty. To commemorate him and the siege at Okinawa, his image appeared on the cover of Time Magazine after his death.
It was at Camp Richardson in Alaska that Rhoda met her future husband, Bernie Porter. Bernie had been drafted and was serving in the Army there. During their courtship, they often went with friends to the Lucky Shot Mine (above Craigie Creek in the Talkeetna Mountains, about 75 miles north of Anchorage), or went skiing at a nearby ski area in Girdwood. The war was still ongoing in Alaska against the Japanese who had invaded the Aleutians. However, the "Chain" (as they called it) was pretty far away. Life in Anchorage probably allowed for some down time.
Rhoda and Bernie were married at the Fort Richardson Post Chapel on December 1, 1945. After the war, they came back to Rhoda's home town of Los Gatos, started their family, and built an adobe house in the hills above the orchards of the West Santa Clara Valley.
Cover of the April 13, 1945 edition of "Yank" magazine, with Howard Brodie illustration
Rhoda was a secretary at various places in the financial district of the City between 1938 and 1941. She was also briefly a nurse's aide. Here she is wearing her new uniform during that short time period in her life
Time Magazine cover (April 16, 1945 edition) commemorating the Battle of Okinawa and General Buckner. Over 265,000 were killed between April 1 and June 22, 1945 (including about 95,000 Japanese soldiers, about 20, 000 American soldiers, and about 150,000 Japanese civilians). General Buckner was one of the 265,000 people who died. What happened at Okinawa was a deciding factor for American planners and military commanders to order the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Rhoda skiing in Alaska, 1943
Rhoda and Bernie skiing in Alaska, 1943
Wedding of Rhoda and Bernie Porter, December 1, 1945, Post Chapel at Fort Richardson, Alaska—Rhoda was 28, and Bernie 27
Rhoda standing near their partially-completed adobe home in Los Gatos, holding her oldest child Karen (b. 1946). Photo was taken in early 1947
Post Three:
The Bay Bridge connecting Oakland and the rest of the East Bay to San Francisco was completed in 1936. Until the late 1950s, its upper deck carried automobiles, and its lower deck trains. The Golden Gate Bridge was opened in 1937 to connect the North Bay to the City.
The role of San Francisco as the center of the hub of the Bay Area was enhanced by the building of those two bridges, and young people seeking work were drawn to it from all over. There were opportunities for them to live cheaply in communal boarding houses, and our mother Rhoda was one of those. She lived first in a boarding house on upper Broadway, in a Pacific Heights mansion previously owned and occupied by a wealthy San Francisco family. She made lots of friends there with many who were sharing the same experience, branching out from their home towns to their young adult lives in the City. The friends from the “boarding house days” were from all walks of life and were seared in my mother’s memory throughout her years after WWII. We Porter kids heard those stories repeatedly. One of those friends from the boarding house days, against whom she often played ping-pong (and regularly beat him!) was Howard Brodie. At the time that Mr. Brodie was living in the boarding house, he was a sketch artist for the San Francisco Chronicle. He later became famous first as a cartoonist, stationed in Europe for Yank during the War, and then as the court artist for CBS News.
Between 1938 and the outbreak of World War Two, Rhoda continued living in the City. She had various jobs as a secretary and moved to two other locations with a smaller group of her friends whom she had met at the Pacific Heights boarding house, one at Macondray Lane on Russian Hill, and the other on Napier Lane at the top of the Filbert Steps.
In early 1942, shortly after the onset of World War II, Rhoda joined the Red Cross. She often said later, “All of the young men went off to the war after 1941, maybe I thought I should do my part”. She traveled by rail to Washington D.C. for her training and was then assigned to Fort Richardson, Alaska. In those days, one had to get a passport to travel to Alaska which was not yet then a state. Having been born in a rural part of South Africa, Rhoda had no birth certificate. She had to find her father whom she hadn't seen for thirteen years (since she was eleven). She needed him to sign the affidavit of her birth, and, through contacts with her aunt, she was able to find him and get him to sign the necessary paperwork to get her passport. So she was all set to go on a great adventure in the North.
In keeping with Rhoda's propensity to meet people who later became famous, she encountered General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. on the Fort Richardson base in Alaska. At the time, General Buckner was the Commander of all Alaska forces. He got wind of the fact that one of the many secretaries in his office (Rhoda) had been born in South Africa. Apparently, General Buckner had traveled to South Africa when he was younger and he was very interested in her story. He invited her to dinner so that he could hear it first hand. He sent his jeep with flags and his commanding general's insignia on the front of it to pick her up at her base dormitory. They went to a party together. Several years later, in 1945, General Buckner was transferred to Hawaii to lead the invasion of Okinawa. Unfortunately, he became the highest ranking military officer to be killed in the line of duty. To commemorate him and the siege at Okinawa, his image appeared on the cover of Time Magazine after his death.
It was at Camp Richardson in Alaska that Rhoda met her future husband, Bernie Porter. Bernie had been drafted and was serving in the Army there. During their courtship, they often went with friends to the Lucky Shot Mine (above Craigie Creek in the Talkeetna Mountains, about 75 miles north of Anchorage), or went skiing at a nearby ski area in Girdwood. The war was still ongoing in Alaska against the Japanese who had invaded the Aleutians. However, the "Chain" (as they called it) was pretty far away. Life in Anchorage probably allowed for some down time.
Rhoda and Bernie were married at the Fort Richardson Post Chapel on December 1, 1945. After the war, they came back to Rhoda's home town of Los Gatos, started their family, and built an adobe house in the hills above the orchards of the West Santa Clara Valley.
Cover of the April 13, 1945 edition of "Yank" magazine, with Howard Brodie illustration
Rhoda was a secretary at various places in the financial district of the City between 1938 and 1941. She was also briefly a nurse's aide. Here she is wearing her new uniform during that short time period in her life
Time Magazine cover (April 16, 1945 edition) commemorating the Battle of Okinawa and General Buckner. Over 265,000 were killed between April 1 and June 22, 1945 (including about 95,000 Japanese soldiers, about 20, 000 American soldiers, and about 150,000 Japanese civilians). General Buckner was one of the 265,000 people who died. What happened at Okinawa was a deciding factor for American planners and military commanders to order the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Rhoda skiing in Alaska, 1943
Rhoda and Bernie skiing in Alaska, 1943
Wedding of Rhoda and Bernie Porter, December 1, 1945, Post Chapel at Fort Richardson, Alaska—Rhoda was 28, and Bernie 27
Rhoda standing near their partially-completed adobe home in Los Gatos, holding her oldest child Karen (b. 1946). Photo was taken in early 1947
Day 4
12/07/23 22:23
July 1, 2023—
Post Four:
When Rhoda was 10 years old, she lived just a short distance from the San Tomas Aquino creek. At the time, that creek flowed through (and watered) one of the largest French prune orchards in the world called the “Glen Una/Hume Ranch”. On April 18, 1927, she and four of her young friends decided to hike to the top of Hume Canyon, at the source of the San Tomas Aquino Creek, where they could see a tall tree that was nicknamed “Lone Pine” by the locals. After two of the kids (a brother and sister) went home to their family, the remaining three including Rhoda and the Bergers, an eight and six-year old, reached Lone Pine at the top, got lost and didn’t return to their homes by nightfall. A large search party was assembled, and, later that night, Edward Matteoni (then a Los Gatos high school student and Hume Ranch employee) came across the three children asleep near the top of the canyon.
That canyon became one of the enduring loves of Rhoda’s life up until the day she died. With her husband Bernie, her sister Ruth and her brother-in-law Tom George, they found a three-acre parcel of land for sale with commanding views of San Tomas/Hume Canyon and the entire Santa Clara Valley. The two couples bought the land and both ended up building adobe brick houses for their growing families.
Rhoda and Bernie had four children (Karen, Susan, Michael, and Kent). After their births and during their childhoods, the construction projects on the family home continued. The whole Porter family grew to enjoy their home and garden lovingly created by their parents. The home and its location remain dear to their hearts to this day.
Newspaper story about the lost children being found
Karen, Bernie, Susie, and Rhoda in Rhoda's daffodil garden (about 1950)
Michael, Rhoda, Kent, Karen, Bernie, and Susan—early 1954—at Homewood, Lake Tahoe (Phil and Barbara White’s cabin)
Bernie and the Porter children—left to right Karen, Kent, Bernie, Mike, Susie—in the patio at the newly completed Porter family home (photo by Rhoda). In those days, of course, it was recommended that the sun be behind the photographer. Mike and Susie clearly didn't like that strategy! Karen and Bernie just turned their eyes to the rest of the family. And for the first six weeks of his life, Kent had to wear casts (shown in the photo) to correct feet that were slightly turned in when he was born. Those casts date the photo to sometime in late October or early November of 1953
Rhoda giving her two daughters a bath on the valley side of their new home’s first wing, 1949
Kent, riding bareback on a horse (or maybe a pony) at Bernie's sister Maxine's (and husband Harold's) farm near Palmyra Nebraska, with his Dad holding the rope. Kent's brother Mike is in the background, getting ready to ride a horse properly outfitted with reins and a saddle. Shortly after the photo was taken, Kent fell off into the pasture. He never rode a horse again until he was in his 30s, and each time that he did, it was with a saddle! (photo taken about 1962)
Kent and Mike, in the patio at Los Gatos. Just above the patio is a one-room cottage that Bernie built in preparation for a visit from his parents from Nebraska. Further up the hill, one can see the blurry outline of the Georges' house. Ruth George was Rhoda's sister, and Tom George, Ruth's husband. The Georges had three kids, Tom, Sally, and Chris. The two families bought the land together in late 1945/early 1946 and built their homes themselves at the same time.
Porter children—Karen, Mike, Kent, and Susie—in front of fireplace in living room, Los Gatos (about 1956 or 1957)
Post Four:
When Rhoda was 10 years old, she lived just a short distance from the San Tomas Aquino creek. At the time, that creek flowed through (and watered) one of the largest French prune orchards in the world called the “Glen Una/Hume Ranch”. On April 18, 1927, she and four of her young friends decided to hike to the top of Hume Canyon, at the source of the San Tomas Aquino Creek, where they could see a tall tree that was nicknamed “Lone Pine” by the locals. After two of the kids (a brother and sister) went home to their family, the remaining three including Rhoda and the Bergers, an eight and six-year old, reached Lone Pine at the top, got lost and didn’t return to their homes by nightfall. A large search party was assembled, and, later that night, Edward Matteoni (then a Los Gatos high school student and Hume Ranch employee) came across the three children asleep near the top of the canyon.
That canyon became one of the enduring loves of Rhoda’s life up until the day she died. With her husband Bernie, her sister Ruth and her brother-in-law Tom George, they found a three-acre parcel of land for sale with commanding views of San Tomas/Hume Canyon and the entire Santa Clara Valley. The two couples bought the land and both ended up building adobe brick houses for their growing families.
Rhoda and Bernie had four children (Karen, Susan, Michael, and Kent). After their births and during their childhoods, the construction projects on the family home continued. The whole Porter family grew to enjoy their home and garden lovingly created by their parents. The home and its location remain dear to their hearts to this day.
Newspaper story about the lost children being found
Karen, Bernie, Susie, and Rhoda in Rhoda's daffodil garden (about 1950)
Michael, Rhoda, Kent, Karen, Bernie, and Susan—early 1954—at Homewood, Lake Tahoe (Phil and Barbara White’s cabin)
Bernie and the Porter children—left to right Karen, Kent, Bernie, Mike, Susie—in the patio at the newly completed Porter family home (photo by Rhoda). In those days, of course, it was recommended that the sun be behind the photographer. Mike and Susie clearly didn't like that strategy! Karen and Bernie just turned their eyes to the rest of the family. And for the first six weeks of his life, Kent had to wear casts (shown in the photo) to correct feet that were slightly turned in when he was born. Those casts date the photo to sometime in late October or early November of 1953
Rhoda giving her two daughters a bath on the valley side of their new home’s first wing, 1949
Kent, riding bareback on a horse (or maybe a pony) at Bernie's sister Maxine's (and husband Harold's) farm near Palmyra Nebraska, with his Dad holding the rope. Kent's brother Mike is in the background, getting ready to ride a horse properly outfitted with reins and a saddle. Shortly after the photo was taken, Kent fell off into the pasture. He never rode a horse again until he was in his 30s, and each time that he did, it was with a saddle! (photo taken about 1962)
Kent and Mike, in the patio at Los Gatos. Just above the patio is a one-room cottage that Bernie built in preparation for a visit from his parents from Nebraska. Further up the hill, one can see the blurry outline of the Georges' house. Ruth George was Rhoda's sister, and Tom George, Ruth's husband. The Georges had three kids, Tom, Sally, and Chris. The two families bought the land together in late 1945/early 1946 and built their homes themselves at the same time.
Porter children—Karen, Mike, Kent, and Susie—in front of fireplace in living room, Los Gatos (about 1956 or 1957)
Day 5
12/07/23 22:23
July 2, 2023—
Post Five:
Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, as their children were getting older, Rhoda was active in politics with the League of Women Voters and the Democratic Party. Her husband Bernie, who worked as a business systems supervisor at Westinghouse in Sunnyvale, became the president of the local Los Gatos Democratic club. Often, volunteers would gather at Rhoda’s and Bernie’s house to stuff envelopes, organize precinct lists, etc. We kids were roped in to help. When the volunteers saw Rhoda and Bernie’s house, they realized that it was a perfect fit for holding political events. One of the biggest fund-raising events at the house was a tea for U.S. Senator Clair Engle. Senator Engle attended, along with many other Democratic political luminaries from the era.
Our parents’ political activities led to quite a few friendships, many of which endured throughout the turbulent 1960s. And the connections they made might be called “networking” today. One such connection and friendship was with Norman and Phyllis Dolloff who lived up off of Bohlman Road in Saratoga. In early 1961, at a dinner at the Dolloff house, Rhoda asked Phyllis if she knew of any part-time secretarial opportunities. Phyllis knew someone who worked at Saratoga High School, and that person told her that the principal’s secretary, Mrs. Huff, was retiring along with her husband who taught Math at the school. Rhoda went to the school immediately and inquired. After recounting her years of secretarial experience both in the City and in Alaska during the War, she was told that she would be hired “temporarily” until they could find a full-time person. That hire ending up being an 18-year career as the secretary for Vernon Trimble and Don Brand, the principal who replaced Dr. Trimble when he retired.
Almost every year that she worked at Saratoga High School, and even after she retired, Rhoda and her husband Bernie hosted the annual, year-end Saratoga High Faculty Party in their owner-built home overlooking the Santa Clara Valley. In those days, the school cafeteria made lasagna for the party and the custodians brought up tables and chairs. And it wasn’t just the teachers who attended. Every employee was invited.
We Porter kids got to see a side of the school employees that was quite appealing and human to our young eyes. At the parties, there was always “Dr. Trimble’s Punch”, a mysterious concoction that would make any fraternity college boy jealous. When I was in high school, I was called upon to park cars along the narrow Cañon Drive that led to my parents’ house. Teachers would occasionally arrive at the adobe pillars at the bottom of my parents’ driveway, say “Hi Kent”, offer their car keys to me, and ask me to “go ahead and park it” somewhere. That happened even before I got my driver's license!
We know from many accounts that our mother Rhoda was a well-liked employee. The teachers felt that she “had their backs”. And she was quite skilled as a secretary, not only for the traditional typing and dictation needs, but also because of her trustworthiness, her writing skills, her pleasant demeanor, and her worldliness. Nevertheless, as a high school student there myself, I was sometimes embarrassed to hear her say over the loudspeaker at 5 o’clock when my mother was ready to leave for home, “Kent Porter, please come to the main office”. My basketball playing friends would yell out to me, “Mommy’s calling”. Kids can be brutal!
Karen’s and Dave’s wedding, another large event of many held at the house (1968)
A patio celebration of life for Helen Oreb who had died that year. Helen and Genevieve taught at Saratoga High School and were great friends of my parents. Rhoda and Bernie were "honored to be able to honor" Helen at their home
Los Gatos house—-second wing/with dining room, living room, upstairs bedroom and bath, and Rhoda and Bernie’s bedroom and bath--had just been completed. They needed space for their growing family in 1953
In this picture (1953), Kent had the whole living room floor to himself —talk about space! The photo shown below was taken just after the final building step for the addition, laying and sealing the tile floor. Bernie and Rhoda didn't have much help on their Los Gatos building project. However, for the living room tile floor, Vince Garrod and his brother-in-law George Cooper brought over their cement mixer from the Garrod property on Mt. Eden Road when Bernie was setting that tile floor. Both George and Vince attended Rhoda's and Bernie's 50th anniversary in December of 1995 in the Los Gatos house, and they reminisced with Bernie while admiring that floor on which they helped.
1962 yearbook photo of Rhoda in her relatively new job
Adlai Stevensen at the San Francisco Labor Temple with Karen and Susie Porter (Rhoda’s daughters). The photo appeared in the San Francisco Call Bulletin. The lapel's hand-made signs on paper plates read, “I’m Adlai’s Boss”!
Post Five:
Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, as their children were getting older, Rhoda was active in politics with the League of Women Voters and the Democratic Party. Her husband Bernie, who worked as a business systems supervisor at Westinghouse in Sunnyvale, became the president of the local Los Gatos Democratic club. Often, volunteers would gather at Rhoda’s and Bernie’s house to stuff envelopes, organize precinct lists, etc. We kids were roped in to help. When the volunteers saw Rhoda and Bernie’s house, they realized that it was a perfect fit for holding political events. One of the biggest fund-raising events at the house was a tea for U.S. Senator Clair Engle. Senator Engle attended, along with many other Democratic political luminaries from the era.
Our parents’ political activities led to quite a few friendships, many of which endured throughout the turbulent 1960s. And the connections they made might be called “networking” today. One such connection and friendship was with Norman and Phyllis Dolloff who lived up off of Bohlman Road in Saratoga. In early 1961, at a dinner at the Dolloff house, Rhoda asked Phyllis if she knew of any part-time secretarial opportunities. Phyllis knew someone who worked at Saratoga High School, and that person told her that the principal’s secretary, Mrs. Huff, was retiring along with her husband who taught Math at the school. Rhoda went to the school immediately and inquired. After recounting her years of secretarial experience both in the City and in Alaska during the War, she was told that she would be hired “temporarily” until they could find a full-time person. That hire ending up being an 18-year career as the secretary for Vernon Trimble and Don Brand, the principal who replaced Dr. Trimble when he retired.
Almost every year that she worked at Saratoga High School, and even after she retired, Rhoda and her husband Bernie hosted the annual, year-end Saratoga High Faculty Party in their owner-built home overlooking the Santa Clara Valley. In those days, the school cafeteria made lasagna for the party and the custodians brought up tables and chairs. And it wasn’t just the teachers who attended. Every employee was invited.
We Porter kids got to see a side of the school employees that was quite appealing and human to our young eyes. At the parties, there was always “Dr. Trimble’s Punch”, a mysterious concoction that would make any fraternity college boy jealous. When I was in high school, I was called upon to park cars along the narrow Cañon Drive that led to my parents’ house. Teachers would occasionally arrive at the adobe pillars at the bottom of my parents’ driveway, say “Hi Kent”, offer their car keys to me, and ask me to “go ahead and park it” somewhere. That happened even before I got my driver's license!
We know from many accounts that our mother Rhoda was a well-liked employee. The teachers felt that she “had their backs”. And she was quite skilled as a secretary, not only for the traditional typing and dictation needs, but also because of her trustworthiness, her writing skills, her pleasant demeanor, and her worldliness. Nevertheless, as a high school student there myself, I was sometimes embarrassed to hear her say over the loudspeaker at 5 o’clock when my mother was ready to leave for home, “Kent Porter, please come to the main office”. My basketball playing friends would yell out to me, “Mommy’s calling”. Kids can be brutal!
Karen’s and Dave’s wedding, another large event of many held at the house (1968)
A patio celebration of life for Helen Oreb who had died that year. Helen and Genevieve taught at Saratoga High School and were great friends of my parents. Rhoda and Bernie were "honored to be able to honor" Helen at their home
Los Gatos house—-second wing/with dining room, living room, upstairs bedroom and bath, and Rhoda and Bernie’s bedroom and bath--had just been completed. They needed space for their growing family in 1953
In this picture (1953), Kent had the whole living room floor to himself —talk about space! The photo shown below was taken just after the final building step for the addition, laying and sealing the tile floor. Bernie and Rhoda didn't have much help on their Los Gatos building project. However, for the living room tile floor, Vince Garrod and his brother-in-law George Cooper brought over their cement mixer from the Garrod property on Mt. Eden Road when Bernie was setting that tile floor. Both George and Vince attended Rhoda's and Bernie's 50th anniversary in December of 1995 in the Los Gatos house, and they reminisced with Bernie while admiring that floor on which they helped.
1962 yearbook photo of Rhoda in her relatively new job
Adlai Stevensen at the San Francisco Labor Temple with Karen and Susie Porter (Rhoda’s daughters). The photo appeared in the San Francisco Call Bulletin. The lapel's hand-made signs on paper plates read, “I’m Adlai’s Boss”!
Day 6
12/07/23 22:22
July 3, 2023—
Post Six:
As creatures of the Great Depression, our parents embodied an attitude of “do it yourself”. They rarely hired people to help them, until they both were too old to do things by themselves.
Having grown up on a farm in Nebraska, Bernie was a “handyman extraordinaire”. The Porter children witnessed up close and personal what an incredibly hard worker and problem solver he was. In spite of the fact that his regular job was office related—he was a business systems supervisor for thirty years in the payroll department at the Marine Division of Westinghouse in Sunnyvale—he managed to build three homes in his adult life, as well as a cottage on their property in Los Gatos and a beautiful addition in the Santa Cruz mountains to the home of two close friends. Rhoda and Bernie even took trips across the country to visit their daughters and their families, and brought along in their truck projects to do in their daughters' homes—tile counters, cabinets, even hand-made furniture. He was quite skilled in masonry, electricity, plumbing, cabinetry, carpentry, and welding.
Rhoda participated fully in Bernie’s building projects and more. She was his design advisor and assisted in much of the labor. Even when they were both long retired, the two would regularly take trips to Handcraft Tile in Milpitas and Stonelight Tile in San Jose to buy “seconds” (slightly defective tile) in the company yards. The people who worked at those tile businesses got to know Bernie and Rhoda so well that the employees would say hello to them by name when “those old folks” would walk in the door. The Porters would also take regular trips to Johnny’s Little Baja, a roadside stand in Moss Landing. There, they would buy iron fames for eventual tile-top tables that they would make for themselves, friends, and family members. In the early days, Bernie set the tile and Rhoda did the grout work. To this day, Karen, Susie, and Kent still cherish Bernie’s and Rhoda’s signature tile table creations in their own homes.
Porters, Bruces, and MacQueens—Rhoda’s and Bernie’s 50th anniversary party at Los Gatos House—1995
Kings Beach Lake Tahoe Cabin in Winter
Bernie and Rhoda in their living room at Christmas
Rhoda visiting at Kent’s, Cyndi’s, and Megan’s Ukiah house
Ukiah House, two walls thick with steel reinforced concrete in between. 10,000 bricks were laid by Bernie and Kent.
Los Gatos House, after 5 months of building—1st wing early 1947
Rhoda and Karen in Los Gatos Kitchen at Thanksgiving
Tile and cabinetry work at Karen’s and Dave’s New Jersey House
Bernie and Rhoda helping with tile floor work, Ukiah House 1980/81
Kent, dripping tar on nail holes for roof tile, Ukiah house 1983/84
The builders (Kent, Bernie, and Rhoda), Ukiah House—seven years in the making
Kent's and Cyndi's home in Ukiah, 2020
Thanksgiving extended table in Los Gatos
Hallway in Los Gatos in late 1950s
Living room in Los Gatos
Archway and stairs, Los Gatos
Living room and bookshelf, Los Gatos—exposed late 40s redwood beams, paneling, and ceiling (very good quality from that time period) throughout the Los Gatos house
Kent and Bernie installing lintel beam at Helen’s and Genevieve’s house addition in the Santa Cruz Mountains—adobe brick walls to go between the redwood posts, and large window to go below the beam
Helen and Rhoda admiring Bernie’s hand-made arch and window
Post Six:
As creatures of the Great Depression, our parents embodied an attitude of “do it yourself”. They rarely hired people to help them, until they both were too old to do things by themselves.
Having grown up on a farm in Nebraska, Bernie was a “handyman extraordinaire”. The Porter children witnessed up close and personal what an incredibly hard worker and problem solver he was. In spite of the fact that his regular job was office related—he was a business systems supervisor for thirty years in the payroll department at the Marine Division of Westinghouse in Sunnyvale—he managed to build three homes in his adult life, as well as a cottage on their property in Los Gatos and a beautiful addition in the Santa Cruz mountains to the home of two close friends. Rhoda and Bernie even took trips across the country to visit their daughters and their families, and brought along in their truck projects to do in their daughters' homes—tile counters, cabinets, even hand-made furniture. He was quite skilled in masonry, electricity, plumbing, cabinetry, carpentry, and welding.
Rhoda participated fully in Bernie’s building projects and more. She was his design advisor and assisted in much of the labor. Even when they were both long retired, the two would regularly take trips to Handcraft Tile in Milpitas and Stonelight Tile in San Jose to buy “seconds” (slightly defective tile) in the company yards. The people who worked at those tile businesses got to know Bernie and Rhoda so well that the employees would say hello to them by name when “those old folks” would walk in the door. The Porters would also take regular trips to Johnny’s Little Baja, a roadside stand in Moss Landing. There, they would buy iron fames for eventual tile-top tables that they would make for themselves, friends, and family members. In the early days, Bernie set the tile and Rhoda did the grout work. To this day, Karen, Susie, and Kent still cherish Bernie’s and Rhoda’s signature tile table creations in their own homes.
Porters, Bruces, and MacQueens—Rhoda’s and Bernie’s 50th anniversary party at Los Gatos House—1995
Kings Beach Lake Tahoe Cabin in Winter
Bernie and Rhoda in their living room at Christmas
Rhoda visiting at Kent’s, Cyndi’s, and Megan’s Ukiah house
Ukiah House, two walls thick with steel reinforced concrete in between. 10,000 bricks were laid by Bernie and Kent.
Los Gatos House, after 5 months of building—1st wing early 1947
Rhoda and Karen in Los Gatos Kitchen at Thanksgiving
Tile and cabinetry work at Karen’s and Dave’s New Jersey House
Bernie and Rhoda helping with tile floor work, Ukiah House 1980/81
Kent, dripping tar on nail holes for roof tile, Ukiah house 1983/84
The builders (Kent, Bernie, and Rhoda), Ukiah House—seven years in the making
Kent's and Cyndi's home in Ukiah, 2020
Thanksgiving extended table in Los Gatos
Hallway in Los Gatos in late 1950s
Living room in Los Gatos
Archway and stairs, Los Gatos
Living room and bookshelf, Los Gatos—exposed late 40s redwood beams, paneling, and ceiling (very good quality from that time period) throughout the Los Gatos house
Kent and Bernie installing lintel beam at Helen’s and Genevieve’s house addition in the Santa Cruz Mountains—adobe brick walls to go between the redwood posts, and large window to go below the beam
Helen and Rhoda admiring Bernie’s hand-made arch and window
Day 7
12/07/23 22:22
July 4, 2023—
Post Seven:
Grandparents are often smitten with their grandchildren, and Bernie and Rhoda were no exception. They had three grandchildren, Emily and Stephen (daughter and son of Susie and Chip), and Megan (daughter of Kent and Cyndi). Bernie and Rhoda couldn’t get enough of them.
Both of our parents would often travel back east whenever they could to see Emily and Stephen, and to Ukiah to see Megan. Because Rhoda lived almost seventeen years longer than Bernie, she was able to attend more of the big events for the grandchildren—high school and college graduations, their participation in plays and sports, concerts that they gave, etc. And Cyndi was bold enough to invite both her parents and Bernie and Rhoda to witness live the birth of Megan in a hospital room in Santa Rosa—an incredible gift to all of Megan’s grandparents. And, of course, there were many special moments with the three grandchildren in Los Gatos.
Even though both Bernie and Rhoda were never able to graduate from college due to the dire financial circumstances during the Great Depression, they both greatly valued education and encouraged us to get college degrees. The three grandchildren followed in our footsteps, and their grandparents were certainly proud of all three.
Emily and Papa, repairing lamp
Kent, Megan, Papa, and Grandma at Santa Cruz wharf
Megan, Grandma, and Falguni (Megan’s soon-to-be mother-in-law), in dining room in Rhoda's home
Grandma, Emily, and Papa
Megan, Susie, and Emily at Bridgetender’s in Tahoe City
Karen, Grandma, Megan, Stephen, Kent, and Dave at Stephen’s Yale Russian Chorus concert in San Francisco
Rhoda, Stephen, Emily, and Papa
Stephen and Papa
Stephen, Grandma, and Emily at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga
Rhoda and Bernie with baby granddaughter Megan
Megan with grandfather, "Papa" Bernie Porter
Almost 22-year-old granddaughter Megan Porter with almost 99-year-old grandmother Rhoda Porter at the Wood Tavern in North Oakland, April, 2016. Rhoda's youngest grandchild graduated from UC Berkeley the following month, and Rhoda attended Megan's Cal History Department ceremony.
Post Seven:
Grandparents are often smitten with their grandchildren, and Bernie and Rhoda were no exception. They had three grandchildren, Emily and Stephen (daughter and son of Susie and Chip), and Megan (daughter of Kent and Cyndi). Bernie and Rhoda couldn’t get enough of them.
Both of our parents would often travel back east whenever they could to see Emily and Stephen, and to Ukiah to see Megan. Because Rhoda lived almost seventeen years longer than Bernie, she was able to attend more of the big events for the grandchildren—high school and college graduations, their participation in plays and sports, concerts that they gave, etc. And Cyndi was bold enough to invite both her parents and Bernie and Rhoda to witness live the birth of Megan in a hospital room in Santa Rosa—an incredible gift to all of Megan’s grandparents. And, of course, there were many special moments with the three grandchildren in Los Gatos.
Even though both Bernie and Rhoda were never able to graduate from college due to the dire financial circumstances during the Great Depression, they both greatly valued education and encouraged us to get college degrees. The three grandchildren followed in our footsteps, and their grandparents were certainly proud of all three.
Emily and Papa, repairing lamp
Kent, Megan, Papa, and Grandma at Santa Cruz wharf
Megan, Grandma, and Falguni (Megan’s soon-to-be mother-in-law), in dining room in Rhoda's home
Grandma, Emily, and Papa
Megan, Susie, and Emily at Bridgetender’s in Tahoe City
Karen, Grandma, Megan, Stephen, Kent, and Dave at Stephen’s Yale Russian Chorus concert in San Francisco
Rhoda, Stephen, Emily, and Papa
Stephen and Papa
Stephen, Grandma, and Emily at Hakone Gardens in Saratoga
Rhoda and Bernie with baby granddaughter Megan
Megan with grandfather, "Papa" Bernie Porter
Almost 22-year-old granddaughter Megan Porter with almost 99-year-old grandmother Rhoda Porter at the Wood Tavern in North Oakland, April, 2016. Rhoda's youngest grandchild graduated from UC Berkeley the following month, and Rhoda attended Megan's Cal History Department ceremony.
Day 8
12/07/23 22:22
July 5, 2023—
Post Eight:
Throughout our lives for quite a few times, we heard the story of Rhoda having been born to American parents in South Africa in 1917. Whether or not it was a “retell” to us kids, or if her place of birth was new to someone else, it immediately seemed to elicit interest in those who were hearing the story.
Most people probably know the sordid history of Apartheid in South Africa, the system of institutionalizing the separation of races in order to keep the minority group of racist whites in control of the country. Apartheid was in place from 1948 to the early 1990s.
Rhoda never believed that she would be able to return to her country of birth, mostly because she was a thinking person and, like many, was appalled at the policy of separation keeping racist whites in control of the South African government.
After South Africa evolved, overturned Apartheid and elected Nelson Mandela as President, a couple of good friends of mine told me that they were soon taking a trip there. I suggested that maybe they would be interested and willing to visit the area and the home where my mother was born and take a photo for her. All I knew was that the orchard estate managed by our grandfather, where our mother was born, was called “De Fortuin” and had been a Cecil Rhodes Fruit ranch near Wellington. They agreed to travel to the area and do a little snooping around to see if they could find it.
While they were gone on their trip, I was “surfing” the Internet and I came across a person from Wellington named Willie Koorts, an amateur astronomer who also seemed to have a special interest in the history of the area where he lived. I sent an email to him, and that started a lengthly series of emails to one another. I told him about my mother and sent him photos that I had of De Fortuin from 1915-1918. Willie came to the conclusion that the house where my mother was born might be the one just across the street from his own home. He sent a photo of it, to which I compared the old photos that my mother still had. It was a match! Willie introduced himself to the current owners of De Fortuin, a Mr. and Mrs. Behne. They were very excited to see such old photos of their home.
Meanwhile, my sisters Karen and Susie came up with a plan to take our mother on a trip to her native land. When Rhoda was 83, she traveled with them to South Africa. They were able to take the famous “Blue Train”, then visited Willie Koorts and his family, and, thanks to Willie and the Behnes, our mother was able to tour the home in which she was born. The three spent a lot of time exploring the area frequented by Rhoda’s parents when she was in her early childhood. With Willie, they also went to a local history museum where Rhoda was fêted by the historians there. Willie even contacted a journalist friend who wrote and published a story in Afrikaans about the "older American woman sho had come back to see her homeland". Rhoda later traveled with Karen and Susie to an enormous fruit tree estate that our Grandfather managed after the De Fortuin job ended—Lourensford Estate at Somerset West on The Western Cape. The manager named Mike Kreft gave them an extensive tour of the facilities, and even took them around in his four-wheel-drive vehicle so that Rhoda and her daughters could see how big the parcel of land and plantings were.
Karen, Rhoda, and Susie on the Blue Train
Karen and Rhoda on Blue Train
Entrance to De Fortuin Estate, the house in which Rhoda was born
Ferdinand, Rhoda, and Isabel at De Fortuin near Wellington, SA 1917
Karen, Rhoda, Susie, Willie Koorts at De Fortuin, ready to meet the Behnes and be shown around the home where Rhoda was born and lived
De Fortuin Estate
Dining room in De Fortuin home
Grounds at historic Dutch house nearby
Fireplace in the same house
Rhoda and Susie, wading in the Indian Ocean near Somerset West
Lourensford Estate now grows mostly wine grapes, but also a few fruit trees. In 1919-22, Ferdinand Bensberg (our grandfather) managed mostly the growing of fruit trees, like those that were on his great uncle's property in Santa Clara (the Abram Block fruit orchard).
Mike Kreft, manager of Lourensford Estate on Western Cape during their visit
Post Eight:
Throughout our lives for quite a few times, we heard the story of Rhoda having been born to American parents in South Africa in 1917. Whether or not it was a “retell” to us kids, or if her place of birth was new to someone else, it immediately seemed to elicit interest in those who were hearing the story.
Most people probably know the sordid history of Apartheid in South Africa, the system of institutionalizing the separation of races in order to keep the minority group of racist whites in control of the country. Apartheid was in place from 1948 to the early 1990s.
Rhoda never believed that she would be able to return to her country of birth, mostly because she was a thinking person and, like many, was appalled at the policy of separation keeping racist whites in control of the South African government.
After South Africa evolved, overturned Apartheid and elected Nelson Mandela as President, a couple of good friends of mine told me that they were soon taking a trip there. I suggested that maybe they would be interested and willing to visit the area and the home where my mother was born and take a photo for her. All I knew was that the orchard estate managed by our grandfather, where our mother was born, was called “De Fortuin” and had been a Cecil Rhodes Fruit ranch near Wellington. They agreed to travel to the area and do a little snooping around to see if they could find it.
While they were gone on their trip, I was “surfing” the Internet and I came across a person from Wellington named Willie Koorts, an amateur astronomer who also seemed to have a special interest in the history of the area where he lived. I sent an email to him, and that started a lengthly series of emails to one another. I told him about my mother and sent him photos that I had of De Fortuin from 1915-1918. Willie came to the conclusion that the house where my mother was born might be the one just across the street from his own home. He sent a photo of it, to which I compared the old photos that my mother still had. It was a match! Willie introduced himself to the current owners of De Fortuin, a Mr. and Mrs. Behne. They were very excited to see such old photos of their home.
Meanwhile, my sisters Karen and Susie came up with a plan to take our mother on a trip to her native land. When Rhoda was 83, she traveled with them to South Africa. They were able to take the famous “Blue Train”, then visited Willie Koorts and his family, and, thanks to Willie and the Behnes, our mother was able to tour the home in which she was born. The three spent a lot of time exploring the area frequented by Rhoda’s parents when she was in her early childhood. With Willie, they also went to a local history museum where Rhoda was fêted by the historians there. Willie even contacted a journalist friend who wrote and published a story in Afrikaans about the "older American woman sho had come back to see her homeland". Rhoda later traveled with Karen and Susie to an enormous fruit tree estate that our Grandfather managed after the De Fortuin job ended—Lourensford Estate at Somerset West on The Western Cape. The manager named Mike Kreft gave them an extensive tour of the facilities, and even took them around in his four-wheel-drive vehicle so that Rhoda and her daughters could see how big the parcel of land and plantings were.
Karen, Rhoda, and Susie on the Blue Train
Karen and Rhoda on Blue Train
Entrance to De Fortuin Estate, the house in which Rhoda was born
Ferdinand, Rhoda, and Isabel at De Fortuin near Wellington, SA 1917
Karen, Rhoda, Susie, Willie Koorts at De Fortuin, ready to meet the Behnes and be shown around the home where Rhoda was born and lived
De Fortuin Estate
Dining room in De Fortuin home
Grounds at historic Dutch house nearby
Fireplace in the same house
Rhoda and Susie, wading in the Indian Ocean near Somerset West
Lourensford Estate now grows mostly wine grapes, but also a few fruit trees. In 1919-22, Ferdinand Bensberg (our grandfather) managed mostly the growing of fruit trees, like those that were on his great uncle's property in Santa Clara (the Abram Block fruit orchard).
Mike Kreft, manager of Lourensford Estate on Western Cape during their visit
Day 9
12/07/23 22:22
July 6, 2023—
Post Nine:
As I mentioned in an earlier post, our mother and father were able to travel around the country and overseas. Rhoda first went to Europe with Karen and Susie the summer after Susie graduated from Saratoga High School (1966). Mike and Kent stayed home with our father Bernie. Bernie, of course—ever the builder— remodeled the kitchen completely while still going to work during the weekdays!
Over the years, Rhoda was able to go again to Europe with Bernie quite a few times. On her final trip, she traveled with her dear friend Genevieve Palace to Paris, ostensibly to visit Susie and Chip who were spending Chip’s sabbatical year there. Before leaving, I encouraged my mother to visit her childhood friend Olivia de Havilland who had been living in the 16th Arrondissement in Paris since the 1950s. Rhoda wrote to her friend, and the two arranged to meet at Olivia’s home. At the time, Rhoda was 88 and Olivia was 89.
After getting flowers, Rhoda and her three companions Susie, Chip, and Genevieve rode in a taxi to Olivia’s home. Apparently, the two Saratoga Grammar School and Los Gatos High school friends chatted and gossiped together about the “olden days” for four hours, and the others couldn’t get a word in edgewise. All drank champagne throughout in Olivia’s comfortable sitting room.
In the Spring following that Parisian trip, Olivia wrote to Rhoda and told her to expect an invitation to upcoming tributes commemorating Ms. de Havilland’s 90th birthday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, both to be held in LA. I told my mother that I would take time off of work and would drive her to Los Angeles so that she could attend. The invitation never arrived in the mail. The day following the tributes, Olivia called Rhoda at her home and asked to come by the house with her daughter Gisèle. Rhoda immediately straightened up the house, then raced down to Trader Joe’s to pick up some snacks and champagne to offer. They both showed up at the home an hour after the phone call, holding a USPS returned formal invitation letter. The address was correct, but apparently the postal delivery person had made a mistake and didn’t put it in the mailbox. In spite of her disappointment at not having been able to attend the tribute events, Rhoda was thrilled to have Olivia and her daughter at her home on Cañon Drive, and to show them “the house that Bernie and Rhoda built”.
Bringing flowers on the way to Olivia de Havilland's home
At the doorstep, flowers ready for Olivia
Rhoda pushing Olivia's doorbell
The gang of visitors--Genevieve, Susie, Mom, Olivia, Chip
The gang of visitors again—Olivia wrote two and a half years later to my mother the following: “I am not sure, but I think two cameras were at work when you came to tea with your daughter and son-in-law in April of 2005”. She was right except about the tea. It was champagne!
The two old pals in Olivia's home, Rhoda at 88, Olivia at 89.
Mom showing her Olivia photo, the signed copy is in her Los Gatos home
Olivia promotional photo from early 1940s
Partying after visiting Olivia—some were a little tipsy
Susie and Rhoda in the Jardin du Luxembourg
Paris Café Mom
Rhoda and Genevieve, Jardin du Luxembourg
Checking out Paris real estate listings
Chip and Mom, checking out the vineyard in Montmartre
Olivia in Rhoda's and Bernie's Los Gatos home, 2006 (posted again)
Post Nine:
As I mentioned in an earlier post, our mother and father were able to travel around the country and overseas. Rhoda first went to Europe with Karen and Susie the summer after Susie graduated from Saratoga High School (1966). Mike and Kent stayed home with our father Bernie. Bernie, of course—ever the builder— remodeled the kitchen completely while still going to work during the weekdays!
Over the years, Rhoda was able to go again to Europe with Bernie quite a few times. On her final trip, she traveled with her dear friend Genevieve Palace to Paris, ostensibly to visit Susie and Chip who were spending Chip’s sabbatical year there. Before leaving, I encouraged my mother to visit her childhood friend Olivia de Havilland who had been living in the 16th Arrondissement in Paris since the 1950s. Rhoda wrote to her friend, and the two arranged to meet at Olivia’s home. At the time, Rhoda was 88 and Olivia was 89.
After getting flowers, Rhoda and her three companions Susie, Chip, and Genevieve rode in a taxi to Olivia’s home. Apparently, the two Saratoga Grammar School and Los Gatos High school friends chatted and gossiped together about the “olden days” for four hours, and the others couldn’t get a word in edgewise. All drank champagne throughout in Olivia’s comfortable sitting room.
In the Spring following that Parisian trip, Olivia wrote to Rhoda and told her to expect an invitation to upcoming tributes commemorating Ms. de Havilland’s 90th birthday at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, both to be held in LA. I told my mother that I would take time off of work and would drive her to Los Angeles so that she could attend. The invitation never arrived in the mail. The day following the tributes, Olivia called Rhoda at her home and asked to come by the house with her daughter Gisèle. Rhoda immediately straightened up the house, then raced down to Trader Joe’s to pick up some snacks and champagne to offer. They both showed up at the home an hour after the phone call, holding a USPS returned formal invitation letter. The address was correct, but apparently the postal delivery person had made a mistake and didn’t put it in the mailbox. In spite of her disappointment at not having been able to attend the tribute events, Rhoda was thrilled to have Olivia and her daughter at her home on Cañon Drive, and to show them “the house that Bernie and Rhoda built”.
Bringing flowers on the way to Olivia de Havilland's home
At the doorstep, flowers ready for Olivia
Rhoda pushing Olivia's doorbell
The gang of visitors--Genevieve, Susie, Mom, Olivia, Chip
The gang of visitors again—Olivia wrote two and a half years later to my mother the following: “I am not sure, but I think two cameras were at work when you came to tea with your daughter and son-in-law in April of 2005”. She was right except about the tea. It was champagne!
The two old pals in Olivia's home, Rhoda at 88, Olivia at 89.
Mom showing her Olivia photo, the signed copy is in her Los Gatos home
Olivia promotional photo from early 1940s
Partying after visiting Olivia—some were a little tipsy
Susie and Rhoda in the Jardin du Luxembourg
Paris Café Mom
Rhoda and Genevieve, Jardin du Luxembourg
Checking out Paris real estate listings
Chip and Mom, checking out the vineyard in Montmartre
Olivia in Rhoda's and Bernie's Los Gatos home, 2006 (posted again)
Day 10
12/07/23 22:17
July 7, 2023—
Post Ten:
Shortly after my mother’s death on Tuesday, June 20th, I was at a family campground in the Sierra Nevada when my sister Karen left me a text message at 5:30 a.m. to call her. The connectivity up at the camp is not so good, but a friend from our tent circle with enough bars let me use his phone.
When I reached Karen, she told me that our mother had died in her sleep that morning. In recent years, my mother was getting older and older and more and more frail. Every time I would leave her home in Los Gatos after a visit, I privately pondered whether or not it would be the last time I would see her. So I was surprised at the emotion welling up in me as Karen told me the news—I began sobbing and could barely get all of the details from her. I have wondered what that was all about, as I knew, like everyone, that she would die. Death is an indelible fact of life.
Many people say that fear is most often related to not knowing. In my case, I think that my sobbing when I heard the news of my mother having died was a sort of release from fear—I was finding my ground. Those fears were just below the surface before my mother’s death, and they bubbled up when I heard the news.
Growing up, for whatever reason, I never really learned how to share my emotions, or how to cope with them. As a child, I mistakenly thought that it was better (and perhaps safer) to keep them in check as a part of the “inner self”. However, I have discovered in my adult life that sharing is the key to coping. That is why I decided to write the stories about my mother when the opportunity presented itself.
There is a lot to the expression, “May her memory be a blessing”, which several of my Jewish friends sent to me when my mother died. Our Porter family memories of both our mother and father endure, and we were all lucky to have had our parents (and grandparents) in our lives for such a long time.
Thank you to my friend from childhood, Emily. She had nominated me to share a photo a day that “gives you joy”. Although I broke the rules for the challenge, I have benefited personally from writing the stories, finding the photos, and sharing with you on Facebook. I hope that you have enjoyed them as much as I the writing. Thanks for looking through the window of Rhoda Ann (Bensberg) Porter’s life!
Finally, five days before what would have been her 106th birthday, I share with you a poem with which you are most likely familiar. I know it was one of our mother’s favorites, as in her younger years, she could recite it by heart—she must have had a good teacher of English at Los Gatos High School:
Post Ten:
Shortly after my mother’s death on Tuesday, June 20th, I was at a family campground in the Sierra Nevada when my sister Karen left me a text message at 5:30 a.m. to call her. The connectivity up at the camp is not so good, but a friend from our tent circle with enough bars let me use his phone.
When I reached Karen, she told me that our mother had died in her sleep that morning. In recent years, my mother was getting older and older and more and more frail. Every time I would leave her home in Los Gatos after a visit, I privately pondered whether or not it would be the last time I would see her. So I was surprised at the emotion welling up in me as Karen told me the news—I began sobbing and could barely get all of the details from her. I have wondered what that was all about, as I knew, like everyone, that she would die. Death is an indelible fact of life.
Many people say that fear is most often related to not knowing. In my case, I think that my sobbing when I heard the news of my mother having died was a sort of release from fear—I was finding my ground. Those fears were just below the surface before my mother’s death, and they bubbled up when I heard the news.
Growing up, for whatever reason, I never really learned how to share my emotions, or how to cope with them. As a child, I mistakenly thought that it was better (and perhaps safer) to keep them in check as a part of the “inner self”. However, I have discovered in my adult life that sharing is the key to coping. That is why I decided to write the stories about my mother when the opportunity presented itself.
There is a lot to the expression, “May her memory be a blessing”, which several of my Jewish friends sent to me when my mother died. Our Porter family memories of both our mother and father endure, and we were all lucky to have had our parents (and grandparents) in our lives for such a long time.
Thank you to my friend from childhood, Emily. She had nominated me to share a photo a day that “gives you joy”. Although I broke the rules for the challenge, I have benefited personally from writing the stories, finding the photos, and sharing with you on Facebook. I hope that you have enjoyed them as much as I the writing. Thanks for looking through the window of Rhoda Ann (Bensberg) Porter’s life!
Finally, five days before what would have been her 106th birthday, I share with you a poem with which you are most likely familiar. I know it was one of our mother’s favorites, as in her younger years, she could recite it by heart—she must have had a good teacher of English at Los Gatos High School:
SHE WALKS IN BEAUTY
She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.
One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.
And on that cheek, and o'er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!
Lord Byron
Mom, you will missed but not forgotten…
Love,
Kent
NOTE: All photographs today were taken of our mother in her recent years. She showed remarkable longevity and endurance. Also included is an image of Rhoda Porter’s obituary which is slated to appear in the San Jose Mercury this Sunday.
Early 2019, sitting on the patio in the chair that her grandfather TA Hoover invented and crafted sometime between 1925 and 1935
On her deck that looks out over her cherished San Tomas/Hume Canyon
In her kitchen
With Linda Lockhart at Saratoga Grammar School reunion
Rhoda at her 104th birthday celebration at Kent's and Cyndi's new home in North Oakland, July, 2021
Rhoda Porter—July 12, 1917 to June 20, 2023
Link to obituary that appeared on July 9th, 2023, three days before what would have been Rhoda's 106th birthday.
