Experiences by Kathleen Dowd

None of you might have even registered my existance then, but I was there too, and was the one that got so scared with the Mummy, (with Boris Karloff), that I was allowed to go into the parent's card game room, shaking and crying because none of you "big, strong, helping guys" wanted to keep me company, THANKS.

I was about 6 or 7 at the time, and have not yet forgiven any of you for the cruelty that was afflicted upon me during those days, (some things are just too painful to forget,)
Scars remain, and one is tortured for life, by the image of Boris Karloff all wrapped up in toilet paper, dragging one foot, left or right, depending on the scene; and all the big guys yelling:

"Well, if you are so scared, then get out!, you scary cat... We want to watch this movie" (I hope to be able to overcome the strenuous pain these memories drag...)


Now I need to know who was in the room with us, when we found a "piece of black paper" in a corner (we were ordered to make our beds and fix the room that day, in order to be able to have breakfast...). The "piece of black paper" ended up being a TARANTULA... yes, really, it must have weighed about 4 or 5 kilos, and was about 25 cm in diameter (not including the legs, of course) The dads didn't beleive us, even though we screamed louder than the Egiptian Princess while her lover was being buried alive.... One of them finally came in and saw the damn thing with all it's 250 legs poking out..... they gathered all their guts, and were brave enough to find a broom to attack the menacing monster from the other end of the room repeatedly, by thrusting the weapon at it with the little aim they had left after the activities they had engaged in the night before... Needless to say, we all cried after the poor weak, mild, and defenseless creature was massacred into a reddish-black pulp. Did anyone count how many broom thrusts it took to end the poor creature's life? I was too busy screaming at the top of my lungs, standing on the bed, and regularly checking all the other corners of the room.


And who was the nature-lover who caught bats during the night, only to free them in the morning, when the sun was out, just to see how they flew up like mad, and, I don't know actually why, but they dropped dead almost instantly when they realized the sun was out. (I must admit it was fun to see these disgusting creatures commit suicide just to please our twisted minds...)


So, now all you have left is to answer soon, so I can begin the process of healing my painful wounds... (even if by now I have figured out that Boris Karloff was an actor, and not a poor Egyptian architect that was buried alive for having an affair with the princess...)


Kathleen Dowd (does anyone actually remember me?) Apart from my immediate family, that is...

Experiences by Moira Dowd

I was born on a hill and recall precious moments of having been able to grow on a hill… Valerie’s story gives life to our childhood … too many memories… even if I was 7 (year 1967) years old when I left La Oroya, it all comes back at once and it gives me a wonderful feeling… thank you for sharing it with us all.

I still hold some school newsletters which stayed with me, they talk about Rockie MacGregor and Margaret MacNeillis and Jennifer Isaacs.

We all talk about memories. I hold too many, one of them Mrs. Nuckols ….so peaceful, she gave us a precious place to listen to her story telling and prepared her delicious cookies which we so much enjoyed there up on a hill in our little hiding place “The Castle”. For us it was the top of the world. An adventure.

I also hold a farewell note given to Daddy, Eduardo J. Dowd, when we left La Oroya to Lima. So many surnames, all those families: I’ll transcribe some of it, you might find your family name here:

La Gerencia de Logística
La Oroya 24 de Junio de 1967...
Con todo cariño de sus amigos y compañeros de trabajo con motivo de su traslado a Lima como gerente de Logística...

Allen, Alzamora, Amezaga, Aragón, Aranda, Black, Bolton, Clark, Cowper, Craig, Delgado, Duffy, Eguiluz, Eigl, Flores, Fraser, Freire, Furlan, Gallardy, Garrison, Glennon, Graham, Guggenheimer’s, Halle, Harris, Heredia, Hickey, Hickford, Isaacs, Johnson’s, Kirkner, Kitagawa, Kristensen, Lang, López, Lord, Maccagno, MacGregor, Macpherson, Martin, Mata, Mckenzie, Molina, Molloy, Muir, Nuckols, O’Neill, Owen, Poikonen, Polo, Richards, Roper, Sampson, Savage, Scarth, Schnell, Schwab, Selters, Swan, Taylor, Thomas, Vandy, Veliz, Vidal, Wandke, Wilkins, Young
And the list goes on and on.

I hope to read more on the web page about our yesterday’s, it was a marvellous one.
I must give a special THANK YOU TO SEAN DOWD Sean, you made this happen!!!!

MOIRA DOWD