Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 163, 22 May 1940, Page 4

Local and General

Appointment of Deputy Registrar. It is stated in the New Zealand Gazette that the Public Service Com missioner has appointed Mr V. J 4 Lee to be Deputy Registrar of) Births, Deaths and Marriages at To Teko. £67 to War Funds. An instance of liberal giving to the various war appeals comes from Ohope, where a well known resident, Mr Ernest Runnerstrum, has subscribed to date no less than £67. At the commencement of hostilities he donated £25 to the district Farewell Committee, since then he has hand;- j ed no less than £42 to the Ohope Red Cross branch, in separate don,ationse of £5, £12 and £25. More Important Party. "I can't go to camp on May 15, as we have sant out invitations to a big party on May 18," was the reason advanced by a recruit when telephoning the army authorities this | week after receiving notice that he was to entrain with the third echelon. The officer at the other end of the telephone looked sympathetiche was, too—and his reply, "Yes, but I have sent out invitations to a much bigger and much more important gathering," must have also made the about-to-be-wed recruit smile.

An Historic Flag. A flag in the possession of Mrs N. V. Greagor of Ohope (a large Union Jack) has a connection with the past which is most interesting, especially at the present time. It is at least fifty years old, and was flown in London to mark the successful close 1 of the Boer War. Latier in 1918 it was gracing an English masthead to celebrate the armistice which brought to an end the Great War. The present owner is now holding it till November, when she maintains the Allies will have Germany. The Hidden Heat. A resident of Whakatane presented his father with one of the latest electric bed warmers. The instructions for using state that the plug should be in the power socket for about three minutes, this being suf j ficient to warm the cot. On the day of receipt of the present, father climbed into bed to try the gadget. He followed instructions and was soon asleep, but he had omitted to take the plug out of the point, and one of the children, coming in later, depressed the switch. About ten minutes later other people in the house commenced to search for the fire but it was not until a loud, dervish-like yell from the bedroom had revealed father with sundry burns and black-edged holes through two sheets, five blankets and the mattress, that the mystery was solved.

Resumption of Work. The Stoke-stonc used in the grinding process at the Paper Mills has arrived and will be fitted to-day. When the ■work is completed all the men temporarily suspended will resume their employment. About 30 men have been affected. Contract Let. It is announced in the latest New Zealand Gazette that a contract has been let for 1,6(56 yards of maintenance metal for the Whakatane jGisborne via Waioeka Main Highway. The price is £788 2s and the contractor is Mr J. A. Scarff. A Busy Town. A Waikaio visitor standing in the Strand yesterday, commented to a local business man, 'By Jingo, this is a busy little town. I don't think there is another centre of its size that I know of. where there would be such a crowd in town on a w r eek day." Pied Piper Wanted. Motorists yesterday morning stopped and stared at the junction of Domain and Commerce Streets, when a couple of largish rats, without any apparent fear, started to gambol across the wet bitumen. Such was the general surprise that two cars actually pulled up to let the rodents pass. An Expensive Machine. A new four-sider planer which has been installed by Messrs Boon,i Sullivan and Luke, is recognised as one of the latest of its kind, and likely to be a considerable factor in coping with Ihe work of this busy firm. It is estimated that to purchase and install the machine at the present time would entail an expenditure of approximately £900. A "Get-rich-quick" Scheme. It is not common for the male of the species to resort to fraud in an effort to line his pocket without physical effort, and young girls are seldom found in the "con. game." The exception has again proved the rule, however, and a maiden of tender years has been discovered making hay while the sun shines on patriotic fund campaigns, reports a Dunedin daily. Her method, it appears, has been a suburban house-to-house canvass, with a polite request for a small sum for the Patriotic Council, and the fact that no provision is made for the authorising of collect under the age of 21 years has proved her downfall. Her scheme has been nipped in the bud, with, so far as is known, only a trifling sum involved, and the girl has learn ed the lesson that easy money always comes hard.