One of the founders of the Mossman Markets turns 90 today
LOCAL STORY
MARGERY Ford was an original stall holder at Port Douglas Markets and one of the original founders of the Mossman Markets and today she turns the big 90.
Margery has been a big lover of plants and cooking all her life which according to her children she is “wonderful” at, and it was these traits that paved the way for her love of the markets.
For the last 30 years Margery has been selling her beautiful plants, cooked tropical cakes, jams and chutneys along with tea and coffee from her market stall every weekend.
She first began at Port Douglas and then later went closer to home when she organised the start up of the Mossman Markets where for many years she collected the stallholder’s fees and donated it all to charity.
For Margery a market day would begin at 3am, getting up early to cook her goodies, especially fresh pumpkin scones “which was her speciality,” according to daughter Cheryl.
Margery has had a long and interesting life born on the 26th October 1928, the second youngest in a family of six, all of which she has now outlived.
She has lived all over the region, born in Mareeba before moving to Malanda, Daintree, Mossman and Wonga Beach where she grew up on the family cane farm, riding to school in Rocky Point on the back of a horse each day.
She met her future husband, Ira Ford, at the dances at Wagan and by 1948 they were married.
Together they took over control of her family’s cane farm in 1960 where Margery worked hard on the land as one of the workers. She would chip the cane and sit on the back of the planter while her husband drove the tractor, until he passed away in 1993.
The couple had five children Linda, Trevor, Elaine, Cheryl & Cecil, eight grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren.
Margery was still going strong at both the Port Douglas and Mossman Markets until just prior to her 75th birthday in 2003 when she fell out of a tree trying to collect her fruit. She broke her leg in three places and needed to have surgery.
The accident slowed her down a little forcing her to give up selling at the Port Douglas Markets. She was not giving up completely however, making Mossman markets her main focus for another fifteen years right up until April of this year when she was struck down with Influenza B which put her in hospital for a long time.
Margery has recovered now but the illness took its toll and she has had to give up her beloved market stall.
However, she still goes to bingo every Wednesday and even won the jackpot this week just in time for her birthday!
She is also still cooking pumpkin scones and she will tell you that she is the best pumpkin scone maker in Australia.
Happy 90th Birthday Margery!
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