Although Argentina was the country with the seventh largest territory in the world, at that time it had only 20,000,000 inhabitants, of which one third, 6.6 million, lived in the Greater Buenos Aires area, making it the sixth largest megacity in the world, after Tokyo, New York, London, Paris and Shanghai. Besides cars, the streets of Buenos Aires teemed with pedestrians, buses, streetcars, trucks and trains. With the port and downtown at its apex in the east, Buenos Aires fanned out beyond the Federal Capital into mile upon mile of solid city in three large administrative areas: North, West and South.
For the first two months, until their assigned house was ready, the family’s center of operations was the Capital, in a Mission-owned apartment on the same block as the International Baptist Theological Seminary. They had arrived at the end of June, right before the winter break from school and just in time for Mission Meeting, where Ben was promptly elected president. They enjoyed showing off Nancy and got acquainted with several families they had not yet met. For the older children, all missionaries who arrived in Argentina after they went on their second furlough were forever “new.” David was enrolled at Lincoln, the American Community School in the North Zone, and Nelda met with a tutor every morning to catch up on the first half of fifth grade.
Ben had made his initial forays by train, but now he was running up the mileage on the Rambler. Right away he met with the Executive Committee of the South Zone Association, which represented nineteen congregations and was presided over by Francisco “Pancho” Pluís, pastor of the church in Rafael Calzada, but he was shown around mostly by Pastor Quattrocchi of the Avellaneda Norte church, who was quite a character. He confided that he had practically been ordered into the ministry by former missionary Martin Blair. Despite being considered somewhat of a stickler for the rules, he was one of the biggest-hearted of men and was known to travel whatever distance was required to offer consolation when anyone in the Baptist world passed away. The Association asked for Ben and La Nell’s help in emphasizing and promoting evangelism, Christian education, fellowship, church planting and Seminary extension programs. At first, every Sunday the family visited two different churches of the Association and soon Bienvenidos (“Welcome”) became Nancy’s favorite hymn, which she could belt out with the best of them.
Frequent trips were also required to supervise the repair and paint jobs at their future residence, recently vacated by the Mills family, now reassigned to Jamaica. It was located in Adrogué, head of the seventh of ten districts south of the Capital.3 The usual way there was by Avenida Pavón, originally the Camino Real4 that had been used mainly to transport cattle to the stockyards in the early nineteenth century and was now a wide and extremely busy thoroughfare.
The house was very attractive and comfortable, facing a cobblestone street in a pleasant residential area, with neighborhood stores and the railway station within easy walking distance. In fact, the whole town was quite attractive. It had been conceived with an advanced urban design—generous tree-lined streets in a grid, intersected by diagonals, parks and boulevards—whose plans were approved in 1873. Esteban Adrogué donated lands for the railroad, city hall, town square and several important buildings. He wanted to call the train station “Almirante Brown” but the name was already taken. Since it was customary to honor the person who donated the land, it became “Estación Adrogué,” and the moniker extended to the town itself, although the name was not legally adopted until the late 1990s. Many of the original buildings, designed by a renowned Italian architect, are still standing today. It became a cultural center and was nicknamed “The Pearl of the South.” A great number of the original country houses remained, large buildings in the English or Spanish style, with ample grounds, ornate dark green or black iron gates and fences, and, everywhere, huge shady trees. Jorge Luis Borges, the great Argentine poet and master of the short story, spent a great deal of time there in his childhood and once said: “In whatever part of the world I find myself, when I come upon the scent of eucalyptus, I am in Adrogué.”
Humpty Dumpty
Only Nancy regretted the change of furniture. When they unpacked their belongings that had been in storage in Comodoro Rivadavia during their furlough, the Bedfords enjoyed being reunited with so many familiar objects that had represented continuity throughout their numerous moves, but there were some disappointments.
One had to do with Nelda’s dolls. She had amassed quite a respectable collection by the time they left Comodoro. There were dolls of all sizes, colors and materials, from babies to brides, miniature to life size. There was even a boy doll whose entire outfit—shirt, shorts, belt, hat and shoes—had been made by La Nell. The little girl received dolls every birthday and Christmas and sometimes in between, for example, when her father returned from a trip. She took turns playing with them all and put them on loving display in a bookcase. Although she had outgrown the tea-party stage, she looked forward to decorating her room with them and enjoying the memories.
The dolls had been carefully packed and placed in storage cabinets above and separate from the closets in the Mission house in Comodoro. Box after box and barrel after barrel were unloaded from the moving van, but the doll boxes were nowhere to be found. Finally, an old suitcase was opened and there were the remains of the collection: perhaps three whole dolls and random pieces—a leg here, a head there—of a few others. They could not be put together again. It remained a sad and rather disturbing mystery.
Another disappointment was the condition of the living-room furniture, which could best be described as pitiful. The Patagonian climate had taken its toll and replacements would have to be found. In the meantime, Nancy enjoyed the indoor sport of jumping up and down on the couch, for once unhindered by her parents, who knew she couldn’t make it any worse.
So they began the search. Not far from the Seminary was the furniture district and they found a shop on Avenida Rivadavia that made pieces to order. Except for the beautiful set in Rosario, the Bedfords had always had to settle for basic functionality. Now La Nell chose elegant Louis XVI in walnut, with olive green upholstery for the living-room group and forest green for the dining-room chairs. They were able to order everything but the bargueño,5 for which they would have to wait several years, until the exchange was favorable enough for a reasonable price. This furniture was to accompany them on every move for the rest of their lives.
It was the golden age of antique shopping, with amazing bargains to be found. Over the years La Nell gradually added just the right accessories: light fixtures, lamps, a dressoir6 and even a telephone. It was all beautiful and perfect for entertaining their frequent guests—but Nancy’s days of jumping on the couch were over.
Solar System
Each family member settled into an orbit that revolved around the home, where, sun-like, La Nell’s gravitational pull kept their paths on track. She ran the house, kept everyone’s schedules straight and seconded her husband, all the while somehow carrying out her own personal tasks in Christian Education, the Women’s Missionary Union, the Association and the Convention.
Nancy was of course the nearest planet and spent most of her time at home, entertaining herself with toys and books indoors, or with the swings in the big back yard, or relaxing in the shade of the lemon tree with its heady fragrance. Most days she wore her hair pulled up into a ponytail, but on Sundays and special occasions it was let down with only a barrette to keep it from falling in her face. Her big sister liked to take her to the neighborhood merry-go-round because she enjoyed it so much, its operator shamelessly favoring her in catching the ring,7 and because of the sensation she always created. When the sun shone, the little girl’s waist-length hair would glow in living gold, silver and copper, so beautiful that people would stop and stare, often with their mouths open.
Nelda’s personal orbit extended to a radius of a little over three city blocks. She spent