Vinh Thanh, my hometown, the day Uncle Ho came to visit
(Baonghean.vn) - It was the winter of 1961 on the morning of December 10. Thousands of people were anxiously waiting to see Uncle Ho. At exactly 7 o'clock, the helicopter appeared in the sky, slowly descended and landed on the parking lot a few hundred meters from the stage to welcome Uncle Ho. After hugging and receiving flowers from the children, shaking hands with the district and commune officials welcoming him at the door of the plane, Uncle Ho stepped onto the stage to the endless shouts of the crowd: "Long live President Ho!".
We saw Uncle Ho, so simple and friendly. Still wearing a mahogany-colored "ba ba" (traditional Vietnamese dress), a khaki shirt, rubber sandals, weather-beaten hair, a silver-flecked beard, a kind and benevolent face like a Buddha or a fairy... Uncle smiled and waved to his compatriots and signaled for everyone to be quiet.
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| Uncle Ho visited Vinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) in December 1961. Photo: Document |
Holding a small piece of paper in his hand, Uncle Ho began to speak. With a warm Nghe accent, his words resounded affectionately: “Dear all compatriots! Uncle Ho and the Central and Provincial Party Committee comrades have come to visit Vinh Thanh Cooperative, the members and you. Uncle Ho has the following summary story for your attention: Vinh Thanh Cooperative has made progress in all aspects. Generally speaking, Uncle Ho does not need to tell anymore. Although Vinh Thanh Cooperative has made progress, it is too little, so Uncle Ho will say a few more points.”
Then, Uncle Ho adviseddetailed instructions to the peopleabout the importance of water, fertilizer, and the season for rice and other crops. Uncle Ho praised the commune's tree planting, saying: "The tree planting here is quite good, but not really good... Then Uncle Ho talked about very specific things such as: Sanitation is not clean; He praised the Cooperative Management Board, the issue of solidarity, transparency and democracy in dividing work points, the Cooperative must care for the elderly and the lonely... At the same time, he also kindly reminded about the role of the Party cell in directing production and building rural solidarity.
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| Uncle Ho talked with people of Vinh Thanh commune (Yen Thanh) during his visit in December 1961. Photo: Document |
Seeing Uncle Ho standing there talking intently, sweat dripping down his face, everyone was wondering. Mr. Nguyen Quy - Chairman of Vinh Thanh Cooperative standing behind respectfully gave Uncle Ho a handkerchief. Uncle Ho gently waved his hand to refuse. Then, Mr. Phan Duc Tue (Commune Party Committee Secretary) hesitantly raised his umbrella to block the sun, Uncle Ho signaled to put the umbrella away and pointed down at the sea of people sitting below: "Uncle Ho is not feudal! Can you find enough umbrellas for the thousands of people sitting below?". When talking about the achievements of 5 typical individuals for Uncle Ho to award the Badge, Uncle Ho asked: Are the achievements of the ladies and gentlemen above true? Mr. Tue answered: "Yes, sir", then Uncle Ho said: "Uncle Ho is not asking you, I am asking the people. Is it true, my compatriots?". Then Uncle Ho asked the people: "Uncle Ho proposes to award the Badge to these 5 people, do you agree?", the whole sea of people rose up like waves: "Yes, Uncle Ho, yes, yes!". Then Uncle Ho invited the 5 most outstanding people to the stage so he could pin the badge on them.
After the talk, Uncle Ho suggested visiting some places in Vinh Tuy village, the village where Mr. Nguyen Quy - Emulation Fighter of the whole North, Chairman of the first high-class agricultural cooperative of Nghe An province lived. When passing by the row of buffalo pens, he stopped and asked: "Do you feed the buffalo at night?". Mr. Nguyen Dang Chuc - Chairman of the commune walking next to him, replied: "Yes, sir!". Is it like that every day? - Yes, sir! He said: "We must feed the buffalo at night so that they have pulling power tomorrow. We must feed the buffalo at the same time so that the buffalo does not lose sleep."
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| Monument in Dong hamlet, Vinh Tuy village - where Uncle Ho visited on December 10, 1961. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
The local house arranged for Uncle Ho to visit was Mrs. Han's tiled house, but Uncle Ho did not go in. He went to Mrs. Tham's house, a thatched house. After that, Uncle Ho went to the nursery school in Vinh Phuc hamlet. Seeing the newly whitewashed walls, he gently reminded: "You must have welcomed me so you had them whitewashed?" Mr. Chuc stammered: "Yes!". Meeting the nannies, Uncle Ho kindly asked if the children ate and slept on time, if they had enough nutrition... Then Uncle Ho said something like: "Looking after children is hard work, because children are often fussy, you have to be patient and hard-working. I hope you take good care of them so that their parents can work in the fields with peace of mind."
From the nursery, Uncle Ho turned into Ms. May's house nearby. He walked ahead, the clothesline was full of clothes blocking the yard, he reached out to clear the path. Hearing the noise outside, Ms. May quickly carried her son, who was less than one year old, and ran out to see Uncle Ho already at the door. Uncle Ho bent down to look into the kitchen and saw smoke and burning straw spreading out. He said: "You go in and watch the kitchen!"...
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| Panorama of Vinh Thanh Primary School - where Uncle Ho talked with Vinh Thanh people on December 10, 1961. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
Leaving Ms. May's house about ten meters, Uncle Ho visited Tien Long Commune Hospital. Ms. Tran Thi Tam, the person in charge of the hospital, was busy cleaning up some things when Uncle Ho entered. She quickly looked up and exclaimed: Oh! Uncle Ho! Seeing three postpartum women lying on the bed about to sit up, Uncle Ho signaled them to continue lying down and resting. He went to ask a pregnant woman lying at the far end (Ms. Ngo Thi Tuong, from Vinh village): "Are you giving birth to a boy or a girl?". Ms. Tuong was so emotional that she could not say whether she was giving birth to a boy or a girl. After that, Uncle Ho told Ms. Tam: "You try to study more, improve and hone your skills to serve the people better and better."
From the hospital, Uncle Ho and the Central delegation returned to Thap mountain where the helicopter was waiting for him to continue his visit to Dong Hieu Farm, Nghia Dan district. Standing in front of the helicopter door, he waved goodbye to thousands of people who were also raising their hands to say goodbye to him. Many people had tears in their eyes. Looking at his waving arm, the whole country was silent and choked up...
Over the past 60 years, following Uncle Ho's teachings, Vinh Thanh commune, Vinh Tuy village (Yen Thanh) has nowchanged a lot, there are no more thatched houses, many high-rise buildings have sprung up, village roads and alleys are paved with concrete, life is prosperous and happy. The place where Uncle Ho visited in the past has now become a spacious memorial area, contributing to reminding people, generations of leaders, descendants, to live, study and follow the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh.
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| Vinh Tuy village, Vinh Thanh commune - where Uncle Ho once visited - has now undergone many changes. Photo: Thanh Cuong |
