Reader role takes Fred down memory lane
19 May 2010
By Rebecca Perry
Some of us might struggle to remember what we did last week but 83-year-old Fred Brake has decades of memories still burning brightly, and he plans on sharing them as one of Queensland's Ready Readers.
The former draftsman and insurance agent wants to help others before he "gets senile", joining scores of other volunteers in the program to read stories and help boost literacy levels among school students.
And the Townsville great-grandfather has learnt first-hand why spelling is important: 'My mother called me Frederick but on my birth certificate the German midwife spelt it the European way, Fredrick, and it has caused a few problems over the years,' said Mr Brake, who has also volunteered at Townsville Base Hospital since his wife Dora passed away three years ago.
'My wife and I both helped read to children in schools about 20 years ago when the local paper ran a similar program and I got a badge for it.'
As a boy, he and younger sister Phyllis attended eight south-east Queensland schools - travelling and camping between Nambour, Beaudesert and Coomera while his father helped build roads.
'We sometimes had to walk about three miles to school and often accepted a lift with people, but nobody thought anything of that in those days,' Mr Brake recalled.
'When I was 11, I was in a class with 35 other students and as I was waiting for the headmaster to give me work so I could sit the scholarship exam, I ended up teaching the younger kids for six months.
'I had so much respect for teachers and still think education is so important today.'
Volunteers are being trained and undergoing blue card checks before the program kicks off in Townsville, Toowoomba and Wide Bay during the second half of 2010, ahead of a statewide rollout in 2011.
For more information, visit Volunteering Queensland 
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