COLUMN: Prof. Nkrumah Recalls Accra Of The '50s

Pof. Joe Nkrumah of the Ghana National Museums and Monuments Board had part of his childhood days in the city of Accra in the then Gold Coast. He recalls those good old days with nostalgia in a chat with the Accra Mail in his office.

SOCIAL LIFE IN The CITY

Accra in the 50s was an interesting and hectic place especially in the central part, the Orgle Street area or Faase as the Gas called it. Faase means behind the stream. This is an implication that there was at a certain period of time a body of water or a stream at the place. There were various cultural activities in Accra because of the different ethnic groups existing in the city. The half mile square radius area around the present day Bank of Ghana and the Parliament House were scenes of many social activities at weekends and even during week days. The present day Ghana Commercial Bank was the site of the famous Rodgers Club, a social centre built by the one-time colonial governor of the Gold Coast, Governor Rodgers. This spot was open to all races unlike the European Club, which was an exclusive all-whites club. Across the road in front of the old Parliament Building was the Accra Town Hall built by the then Anglican Bishop of Accra during the tenure of Governor Hodgson. The old Polo Ground where the Kwame Nkrumah Mausoleum stands today used to be the Accra Community Centre. There was also the Baden-Powell Memorial Hall, which also served as a social centre. When the aforementioned centres were occupied the Bishop's Girls' School could also be used for social functions.

CINEMA HOUSES

The elite of society had their own cinemas and these were the four Rs cinemas - Rex, Royal, Roxy and Regal, which were owned by Captan. The Temani Brothers also built the Cinema Palace, which was the first to show daytime programmes at 12.15 not forgetting the 8.15pm shows. Then the Opera Cinema came on board to compete with Cinema Palace. It cost 6pence to watch a show. As kids in those days we raised money to enable us go for these shows by selling newspapers like Graphic, Evening News, Daily Echo and Morning Post. This venture could fetch us some 5shillings a day.

GROWING UP IN THE CITY

As kids we slept little waking up at 3am because we had to engage in a number of ventures like selling newspapers and helping the fisherfolks to earn some money and at the same time go to school. This was a time when discipline was at its highest peak. When fish was in season we went to the beach through a stairway near the Ussher Fort to help the fishermen cart their catch home. We created a sort of balloon with a cloth and this we used to hold some of the fish we carried for the fishermen. We carried with us a basket each. We added the few fish we were able to get to the ones the fishermen gave us and sold them. This done we went to collect the morning newspapers which we sold before going to school.

SCHOOLS

As a kid I lived at Osu RE initially and it was at this place that I started schooling. While there I sold cut yams for my mother. The pieces of yam were arranged in a pan and to keep them fresh I carried water in the pan for watering.

In 1951 the Gold Coast District was situated at Nima junction and it was responsible for primary education. Giffard Camp was for Middle School education and this was where I had my middle school education. The late General Kotoka was one of my teachers at Giffard Camp. At that time all the teachers in the garrison schools for kids of soldiers like myself had teachers from the military's Education Corps. My father was a soldier in the Gold Coast Regiment fighting in both India and Burma. At the end of the war he re-enlisted as a teacher.

I was not strictly a barracks boy because my father was part of the administrative and professional class in the military who lived outside the barracks. I can not remember the feeling I had when my father was leaving for the war because I was too small.

CHILDHOOD DAYS IN AKWAPIM MAMPONG

I had part of my childhood days in Akwapim Mampong and it was interesting watching soldiers engage in military exercises during which they used live ammunition. After the exercises we took the unused bullets and the empty cases of the spent rounds with which we played with. We opened the brass shell and emptied the powder and made it to generate a fine smell. Another thing we did was create holes on a plank and place the live rounds in them. We then supported this between two stones and employed a certain trick to do target practice.

BARRACKS LIFE

The only time that I experienced life was in Kumasi. In Accra in the 40s administrative and professional staff lived outside the barracks. It was only the infantry men and bands men who lived in the barracks.

SUPERMARKETS

The Kingsway stores was next door to the Ussher Fort in those days and the building still stands today. It occupied two floors. The shops were later moved to the new Kingsway when the place was finished. Other shops were the CFAO, A.G. LEVENTIS, SCOA, UTC, SAT, G.B. OLLIVANT, John Holt. The Unilever House was built by UAC.

ACCRA IN THE '50s

Places like Abossey Okai, Mamprobi and others were seen as being outside Accra. From Abossey Okai one had to pass through Fadama, which was a reclaimed land and the Owusu Memorial Park where the yam market is. The city had two cemeteries but churches like the Methodist Church and others had their own churchyards.