Cool well water Uncle Ho visited

Sincerely, proudly

At Mrs. Vuong Thi Trinh's house in An Thuong village, Tran Phu commune, the well where Uncle Ho visited 60 years ago is still intact in its original location. A sign with the words "The well where Uncle Ho visited, February 15, 1965" is neatly hung next to it.

The year Uncle Ho visited, Mrs. Trinh, a 22-year-old girl, was assigned to work as a receptionist to welcome Uncle Ho in the commune, so when Uncle Ho visited her house, she was not allowed to go home, only her mother and aunts were at home.

This year, Mrs. Trinh is 82 years old. Her health is poor and her memory is limited, but many memories and stories about Uncle Ho's visit are still clear in her mind.

In 2012, the well was visited by President Truong Tan Sang when he attended the launching ceremony of the movement "Patriotic hygiene to improve people's health" at the memorial site of President Ho Chi Minh in the commune.

Mrs. Trinh and her children and grandchildren are very proud of and cherish the well. Therefore, although the structures in Mrs. Trinh's house have all been changed and rebuilt, the well has remained intact for the past 60 years. In the house, there are many pictures from visits by the President, Party and State leaders talking and giving advice to Mrs. Trinh's family...

"This well has been the same for more than sixty years. Only the top part is slightly different. Having Uncle Ho visit is an honor for the whole family," said Mrs. Trinh.

The well is also an honor for the people in the hamlet and village. Here, people named the hamlet Uncle Ho's Visiting Hamlet.

Cool stream

In the cold weather of early spring, I took a ladle of water from Mrs. Trinh's well and dipped my hand in it. It was very warm. In the summer, the water was cool. The water in the well was clear all year round.

This well still retains the old way of digging and stacking bricks. Mrs. Trinh said that at that time, the family hired about 3 people to dig the well and then stack bricks around it, without building a mold or plastering like the wells dug today.

Before the well, the whole family only used rainwater for drinking and daily activities, and for bathing and washing, they used ponds and streams. Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh, Mrs. Trinh's daughter, still remembers that before the well was built, every 30th of Tet, she would go fetch water from Mr. Don's well in the village to eat during Tet. Since the well was built, water for drinking and daily activities was taken from the well until there was tap water like today.

60 years ago, when visiting the well, Uncle Ho talked with Mrs. Vuong Thi Khe (Minh's grandmother). Minh remembers most that her grandmother told her Uncle Ho asked, "Is it clean like this every day or is it just clean today?"

Remembering Uncle Ho's teachings, Ms. Minh's family is always conscious of maintaining hygiene. The small house with the well is always clean and tidy inside and out. Every bush and blade of grass in the garden is also meticulously cared for and kept clean.

Until today, Uncle Ho's words and the values ​​he left behind after his visit are still preserved, remembered, and passed on to future generations in the family.

Nam Chinh Commune, now Tran Phu Commune, is also one of the leading communes in Nam Sach District in the sanitation movement, keeping village roads and alleys green, clean, and beautiful, worthy of being the place where Uncle Ho once visited because of its exemplary sanitation movement.