A contest, a beautiful page of history where Uncle Ho visited

Walking on the asphalt road wide enough for two-way cars with two rows of green trees, my heart was filled with joy. Aiming straight at the Uncle Ho memorial house, while walking, Mr. Vu Minh Thao told me about the opening day of the Uncle Ho memorial house 30 years ago (in 1991). The funny story suddenly brought back memories of thirty years ago - the place that marked a beautiful page in the history of the Fatherland Front of Yen Thanh district, also a beautiful memory in my working life.

Uncle Ho worked with leaders of Vinh Thanh commune on December 10, 1961. Photo: Archive

That was in early October 1991, when I was Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Yen Thanh district, I proposed to the collective and directly organized the successful "Traditional Storytelling Contest", on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of theUncle Ho visited Vinh Thanh commune, an outstanding example of the socialist North in agricultural production and implementing the "Tet tree planting" in response to his call. The contest attracted the participation of many ages and classes of people in the district. Villages and communes competed to practice singing, dancing, and storytelling. In particular, contestants will tell their own stories on their journey to participate in economic and political events supporting the revolution in response to the call of the Party and Uncle Ho in the two resistance wars of the nation. Many elderly people over 70 years old have registered to tell their own stories. Some told about the day they marched with the whole people to the district office to gain power in 1945, others told about their participation in the Golden Week and encouraged everyone to participate,...

As I recalled that memory, Mr. Vu Minh Thao continued: “At that time, the leaders of Vinh Thanh commune were very excited, and had planned to assign specific tasks to the forces and mass organizations from repairing and renovating the roads in the commune, especially the road to Uncle Ho Memorial Area. The strangest thing was that people from the nearest communes still registered to stay…”.

Returning to the event 30 years ago, when the plan for the traditional storytelling contest was announced, I received news that Colonel Phan Duc Khuoc in Lien Thanh commune registered to tell the story: "Directly participating in seizing power at the District Office on August 25, 1945". Next, teacher To Sy Giuu, Minh Thanh commune also registered to tell a story to participate in the General Uprising. And an old woman in Phu Thanh commune registered to tell her own story and mobilize people to participate in the "Golden Week" to support the Government after the successful August Revolution... Good news poured in from the grassroots to the district Fatherland Front. The atmosphere at the district Fatherland Front office was completely different from usual, more bustling, more excited... All of this created a joyful, excited atmosphere from every village and hamlet in the district.

Cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the Memorial Site of Uncle Ho visiting Vinh Thanh commune (December 2011). Photo courtesy

I still remember in a meeting, Mr. Nguyen Van Bong - Vice Chairman of the District Fatherland Front Committee said: "The preparation atmosphere of the communes is very exciting. The elderly and young people enthusiastically responded to the contest. In particular, there was an old man who registered to tell a story but could not go and had to ask his children and grandchildren to take him there. He could not stand to tell the story, so he asked to sit and tell the story...".

During the days leading up to the competition, I returned to Vinh Thanh every week to check on the preparations such as the competition venue, the accommodation of the delegations, the propaganda work and the activities before and during the competition. The happiest thing was that the leaders of Vinh Thanh commune were very enthusiastic.

Former Chairman of the People's Committee of Vinh Thanh Commune, Vu Minh Thao, recalled: The Party Committee and the People's Committee of the commune mobilized all possible forces to serve the competition. The most worrying thing was arranging accommodation for the 22 delegations from the district attending the competition...

Chairman of Vinh Thanh Commune People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Hung led us to visit the place displaying Uncle Ho's artifacts during his visit to Vinh Thanh Commune on December 10, 1961... The narrator was a girl with a soft, warm voice. When talking about the photos on display, she suddenly turned to me: "These artifacts are the work of Uncle Lang Hong Quang". With a bit of concern, a bit of honor, I remembered the day of preparing to open the Uncle Ho memorial house, looking at the memorial cabinets without any artifacts; I thought I had to contribute something to enrich it. I remembered that in my hometown, there was Nguyen Ba Ngoc, a native of Lien Thanh Commune who worked at the Ho Chi Minh Museum (Hanoi). I called Ngoc and said I really wanted to buy a set of clothes and a pair of rubber sandals of Uncle Ho to display in the Uncle Ho memorial house in Vinh Thanh Commune. Ngoc said: "I can't buy them, but I can show you where I can have them made". I was so happy that it was hard to describe. When I sent Uncle Ho's clothes and rubber sandals to the Memorial House, I felt strangely warm inside. But I still couldn't stop thinking: "It's too simple, we need more artifacts or images to enrich the Memorial House. The fastest way is photos." Thinking of that, I immediately remembered NSNA Van Hoanh. The next day, I went to Vinh city, met Van Hoanh and asked him to help me find and enlarge some photos of Uncle Ho's visit to Vinh Thanh commune 30 years ago. Van Hoanh guided me toSoviet Museumor Kim Lien Relic Site, but at that time time was very limited. Luckily, I remembered Ms. Phung Ngan Hoa, from Yen Thanh, who worked as an archivist at the Provincial People's Committee. It turned out that Ms. Hoa had all the photos of the day Uncle Ho visited Vinh Thanh commune. I borrowed the photos and used my camera to take pictures. I was worried that only about 20 - 25% of the photos could be used. I went to Van Hoanh again. NSNA Van Hoanh and his wife, Ms. Ho, worked hard to edit, take, and enlarge the photos for the third time with 23 photos, all of which were almost perfect. The artist's family also supported the entire cost of restoration and enlargement. A few days later, the Uncle Ho memorial house in Vinh Thanh commune had a fairly complete set of "Photos of Uncle Ho visiting Vinh Thanh commune on December 10, 1961".

In front of Uncle Ho's Memorial House in Vinh Thanh Commune (the author is third from the left). Photo: TGCC

At exactly 8:00 a.m. on December 5, 1991, the opening ceremony of the contest and the incense offering ceremony to Uncle Ho took place. From many directions, groups of people with banners, hammer and sickle flags, red flags with yellow stars brightly marched to the stage. There were 23 groups from communes in the district and many people from all walks of life in Vinh Thanh commune and neighboring communes attending. The delegation of the District Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee was led by Mr. Nguyen Vinh Thu - Chairman of the District People's Committee. The delegation of the Catholic Solidarity Committee of the district included 5 priests, led by Mr. Nguyen Van Khoi...

The contest took place in a lively and exciting atmosphere, attracting a large number of people to listen and cheer. Many stories were very touching.

Mr. Thai Huy Hoang - Secretary of the Commune Party Committee pondered: “What I remember and am most happy about is hearing directly from Mr. Ngo Minh Hon - Vinh Thanh delegation, the first storyteller. Mr. Hon, who was the one who directly welcomed Uncle Ho in the past, told about the touching moment when he was close to Uncle Ho. Mr. Hon said, when the whole population sat silently waiting to hear Uncle Ho speak, he stepped out and raised his hand to greet the people. The applause seemed to never stop. Everyone wiped away their tears because of emotion. Then a district leader came closer with a black umbrella to shield Uncle from the sun. Uncle waved his hand and said: “If you can shield the elders and all the people, shield me!”... The whole crowd of people shed tears again. Some cried out loud. Mr. Hon ended the test with the poem “Echoes of Uncle Ho’s words”. The poem has the line:“Vinh Thanh commune welcomed Uncle Ho to visit/Uncle Ho's teachings still resonate/Like the sweet fruits of Trai hamlet/Every winter, the flowers bloom againsmell…”.Xom Trai is where we are standing now. This was the nursery of the old men of that time…”.

Remembering the contest, remembering unforgettable memories such as the story of Colonel Phan Duc Khuoc, telling about the heroic spirit of the people from all over the district marching to the district office. The slogans were like thunder and the group marched into the palace to arrest the district chief. More touching was the image of teacher To Sy Giuu, dressed in a soldier's uniform in an ancient play, with a sword strapped to his waist. He walked around the stage and told his story: "That day, I was just 17 years old...". He told the story in nom but it was extremely attractive, with many rounds of applause. And many, many more real stories, good from the content and from the narrator's mindset to the audience's response...

View of Vinh Thanh commune from above. Photo: Sach Nguyen

The most difficult and arduous part was the Jury, headed by teacher Hoang Tru, with other members including me and the following: Nguyen Van Bong, Le Xuan Nhuong, Nguyen Van Hanh, Phan The Phiet, etc. I still remember that before concluding the competition, teacher Hoang Tru met me privately to present his plan. He said: It's too difficult, and he gave the First Prize to 2 people, including Mr. Khuoc and Mr. Hon; the Second Prize to 2 people: Mr. Giuu and Mr. Phan Quang; the Third Prize to 3 people: Mr. Anh Hong (Phan Duat), Mrs. Luu Thi Xuan and Mr. Hoang Duc... I only knew: Yes!

Walking around the Memorial Area on the smooth asphalt village road today, before the 60th anniversary of Uncle Ho's visit to Vinh Thanh commune, remembering his advice that helped Vinh Thanh in particular and Yen Thanh district in general to progress to become a New Rural unit of the whole country, I remember and am even more proud of the Fatherland Front of Yen Thanh district for successfully organizing a meaningful contest!

Vinh Thanh November 2021

Hong Quang Mausoleum