After many attempts to find information and contact many cadres of Dong Hieu Farm through different periods, I finally met engineer Nguyen Van Hung, who had great contributions in restoring the guest house of Dong Hieu Farm, where Uncle Ho used to take a nap in the past.
Now, this house has become the Uncle Ho Memorial House in Thai Hoa town, located in the premises of Dong Hieu Commune People's Committee. Although it is no longer used as a guest house, its unique architectural features are an indelible mark, marking the ups and downs of Phu Quy land from the time it was a coffee plantation during the French colonial period, and then a system of state-owned farms in the movement to build Socialism in the North.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hung was born in 1950, a second-generation citizen of this red basalt land. Before that, his parents also came from the lowlands to this land to work as coffee plantation workers, and later became the first workers of Dong Hieu Farm. Therefore, it is not surprising that his youth witnessed the bustling period of this most fertile land in Indochina.
In 1969, after graduating from high school, Mr. Hung passed the entrance exam to the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the University of Water Resources. Just after entering the school, the war against the US to save the country of our people entered the most fierce phase. At this time, like many other friends of the same age, Mr. Hung "put down his pen" and joined the army. During the period from 1969 to 1972, he followed his unit to fight in the Southern Laos battlefield, then went down to participate in the Quang Tri campaign in 1972. From 1973 to 1974, he participated in protecting the Truong Son route against the fierce attacks of the US imperialists and their henchmen. During the historic moment of Spring 1975, he and his unit participated in the Ho Chi Minh campaign from the direction of the Indochina junction, through Kon Tum, down to Pleiku, Buon Ma Thuot, to the Be River and entered the liberation of Saigon. Then he was stationed at Bien Hoa airport until October 1975 when he returned to school to continue his studies.
Talking about the guest house of Dong Hieu Farm, Mr. Hung recalled: Since he grew up, he had seen this guest house, maybe it was built by the French before, when they occupied land to build plantations. Because since the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the French colonialists carried out the first colonial exploitation (1897 - 1914), focusing on clearing and establishing many plantations throughout Indochina. In 1913, two French capitalists, Vonte and Muttong, established the first plantations in the area east of Hieu River, these plantations were the predecessors of Dong Hieu Farm later.
“After the August Revolution succeeded, French plantation owners or pro-French Vietnamese fled one after another, and the plantations fell into the hands of the revolutionary government, collectively known as the Plantation Management Board. The assets left by the old plantation owners, from houses, factories, and crop systems, were all used to serve the construction of the State-owned farms later. Therefore, it can be said that the guest house of Dong Hieu Farm was built during the time of the French plantation owners, and was later renovated and used to suit the actual conditions of the farm,” Mr. Hung shared.
On December 10, 1961, during the second time Uncle Ho visited his homeland, Dong Hieu Farm was honored to be visited by him. At that time, Dong Hieu Farm was one of the "leading flags" in agricultural production of the socialist Northern State-owned farms. Therefore, although the time to visit Nghe An was only 3 days, and work was very busy, Uncle Ho still took the time to visit the farm.
At 8:30 a.m., the helicopter carrying Uncle Ho landed at the "airport". It was called an "airport" but in fact it was a hill in Dong Hong village (now Dong Hieu Primary School), which was leveled by farm officials and workers to welcome Uncle Ho. From where the plane landed, Uncle Ho went straight to the stadium in Dong My village, where thousands of farm officials and workers, armed forces officers and soldiers and local people were gathered to wait. Here, Uncle Ho kindly inquired about the production situation and people's lives, encouraged people of all walks of life to overcome difficulties, contribute to the successful construction of socialism in the North, and effectively support the liberation of the South and the reunification of the country.
After the rally, Uncle Ho rested and had lunch at the guest house of Dong Hieu Farm. In the afternoon, he visited coffee team 119 and livestock team 1, which were the farm's excellent production and livestock teams. After that, he returned to the guest house and at 3:30 p.m., he boarded a plane to Hanoi. His visit to Dong Hieu Farm lasted only 7 hours but left many beautiful memories that will never fade in the hearts of the cadres, workers of Dong Hieu Farm and the people of Nghia Dan district.
The event of Uncle Ho visiting Dong Hieu Farm at that time had a great influence on Dong Hieu Farm in particular and Nghia Dan district in general. Because this showed the attention of the Party and Government to the state-owned economic model at Dong Hieu Farm. This was a worthy recognition for the efforts of the farm's cadres and workers, but at the same time it was also an act of encouragement and motivation for not only the cadres and workers of Dong Hieu Farm but also cadres and workers of other construction sites, and farmers of Nghia Dan district to make more efforts in the cause of building Socialism.
Back to the story of restoring and protecting the Dong Hieu Farm guesthouse since the day Uncle Ho visited. Mr. Hung still remembers that in 1983, after a period of graduating and working in Ben Tre, he returned to take up his duties at Dong Hieu Farm. At this time, the farm's guesthouse was degraded, many opinions suggested that it should be demolished to rebuild another guesthouse. However, with the understanding of a construction engineer and his understanding of the historical and cultural values of the building bearing the imprint of French architecture. In particular, this house is also the place where Uncle Ho's footprints are kept, so Mr. Hung proposed to the farm leaders to allow the restoration according to the original architecture and dimensions of the old house.
“At that time, Dong Hieu Farm was a unit under the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, so after the farm leaders gave the policy, I had to travel with the drawings and related documents to Hanoi for the Ministry to sign and approve the documents and related legal procedures. The restoration was carried out in the original state, without changing the original structure and architecture. After about 5 months, the restoration was completed. The house consisted of 3 rooms, the middle room was originally used as a reception area, the two side rooms were resting rooms, with an area of over 200m22, on the tiled roof" - Mr. Hung recounted.
This house, though small, has the typical features of French architecture with a prominent yellow color and a 1.2m wide porch in front and surrounding the two gables. In front of the house is a row of columns, although without iron reinforcement, built entirely of brick, but very sturdy, supporting the entire space of the house. The columns have a base and a pedestal. Connected to the column system is a 0.4m high railing, stylized in the form of a cross-shaped arrow. The outside of this house is meticulously cared for. From the facade, the exterior shows sophistication and care. Right under the roof is a system of stylized decorative borders made of cement, increasing the aesthetics of the house while still ensuring ventilation. The use of moldings is done gently, combined with cross-shaped bricks, creating a characteristic feature for the overall architecture.
Since being restored 40 years ago, this house has never needed much repair, only occasionally having to change the tiles and re-whitewash the walls. Currently, this house is preserving valuable artifacts such as: the bed Uncle Ho slept on, the bowls and chopsticks Uncle Ho ate from, the clothes Uncle Ho wore, touching photos of the places Uncle Ho visited...
Appreciating the values of this house, in 2006, Nghe An Provincial People's Committee issued a Decision to recognize and grant a Provincial Historical and Cultural Relic Certificate to the Dong Hieu Farm Guest House Relic. On December 23, 2015, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism granted a National Relic Certificate to the memorial sites of Uncle Ho's visit to Dong Hieu Farm. Including the farm's guest house.
Leaving the red basalt land of Phu Quy, I was forever impressed with the Uncle Ho Memorial House, which used to be the guest house of the former Dong Hieu Farm. Under the shade of the ancient milk flower tree, the yellow wall and mossy tiled roof of the house further accentuated its ancient and quiet appearance. This is probably the only building in Thai Hoa town that still retains French architectural features. I secretly thought, if there were no people like Mr. Hung or the former farm leaders, this house would not have remained for future generations to know how vibrant the Dong Hieu area used to be...