We will miss you, Mr Johnson

We were very saddened by the news of the passing of Mr Edward John Johnson on 18 November, aged 95. He was one of the stalwarts who assisted in the community victory to save Princess Vlei from commercial development. 

Born, in 1924, Mr Johnson lived for most of his life nearby Princess Vlei. He raised his six children a three minute walk away, and would frequently go down to the vlei with them. “On Saturday afternoons we would walk down to the Vlei and I would put in a line for each child and they would catch beautiful carp…. In winter, the Vlei would run over and we couldn’t get out of our house… My children still remember these days… This Vlei belongs to our people.”
 
Mr Johnson was a frequent participant in the protests against the mall at Princess Vlei, and would talk to the younger ones about life near Princess Vlei in the early days. "I used to travel into town with my parents, who were farmers, to sell vegetables. They  would be give me half a crown, which I usually spent on buying ‘boermusiek’ records."

Mrs Cicilia Johnson, who has spent 64 of her 88 years near the vlei, was also passionate about saving Princess Vlei, and was involved in planting milkwood trees at the vlei. She was very inspired by the natural beauty of the place, and wrote a moving poem to describe the pleasure the serenity of the vlei brought to her:
 
We offer our deepest condolences to Mrs Johnson, her children, and other family members. We have no doubt that the spirit of Mr Edward Johnson will continue to dwell on the banks of Princess Vlei.

Princess Vlei
by Cicilia Johnson

Grassy Park in the Cape Flats
Nothing there to see?
Endless avenues, waterlogged fields?
Not so, dear Reader to me.

My Haven of Refuge I found
Where the carp and the trout abound;
Where the Weeping Willow softly sway.
This dear Reader, is Princess Vlei.

Constantiaberg surrounds it
As if in a warm embrace,
And smiles into the water
At the image of her face.
Luscious green fields, children at play.
This dear Reader, is Princess Vlei.

Birds sing merrily in the trees
Swayed by the cool South Easter breeze.
The majestic pelicans are a wondrous sight
As they sail upon the water
Or take to sudden flight.

The setting sun now touches the glade
With Heavenly Light
And soon the Vlei’s inmates
Will settle for the night.

Reluctantly, I take my leave, of my
Beautiful Oasis –
As she folds herself in her Royal Cloak,
And Sleeps – The Princess.