Local and General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 58, 21 March 1944, Page 4

Local and General

Waimana Gymkhana Postponed The Waimana Patriotic gymkhana, which was to have been held last Saturday, has been postponed till Saturday, April 8 on account of weather conditicns.. Request for 300 Frogs A request has been made to the Reel." ton District High School by the Cawthron Institute. Nelson, for :H)0 frogs to be used for the institute'*work, and the school lia.s undertaken to (ill the order. Pupils will be paid I'or each l'rog added to the school .'ollection, and the institute has placed a ban on the forwarding of frogs under a certain size, u.s.o. Many New Zealanders have been puzzled when visiting American servicemen have spoken of the U.S.O, For the benefit of those whj are still in the dark as to what this actually means, it is, the American equivalent of the New Zealanders Y.M.C.A. and serves the same purpose. Its full title is the United Se rv iee s Organi sat i o 11. i Shocking The taxi business belonging to J, McComb in AYh.akatane was faced with a rather difficult situation besides the Hood on Friday. The battery charger in the Auto Electrician's, situated in the next' building continued to work but there was a ninety volt leakage which was earthed "through the water which stretched through the two buildings. Consequently, when any one touched the tap or the floor in the taxi office they were .somewhat "shocked." Flood Fashion During the last Hood, several weeks back, the BEACON promised that it would not be long before the local business men. would be forced also to paddle round in bare feet. That time has come. For the best, part of Friday, the majority of them were splashing round happily in bare feet, with their trouser legs rolled up above their knees. This did not enhance, their appearance miK'h to speak of. but still. Ihe circumstances certainly warranted it. With Suspenders Floating A very amusing incident was seeji on Friday just as the ilood in the Strand reached its peak. One of the local business men. wishing to cross the footpath which was Hooded with water in order to reach his shop, removed his shoes and socks, and rolled up his trousers, but omitted to lake olf Jiis suspenders. Consequently, when he stepped into the water, they floated gracefully out from his legs 011 the surface, looking for all the world like paravanes on a minelayer. Able Assistance During the period when the flood was at its peak on Friday, nearly all the shops in the upper end of the Strand were inundated whilst a number of those lower down were not touched by the water. However, far from sitting back and thanking their lucky stars that they were fortunate. enough to have, escaped, many of the shopkeepers and assistants from that end willingly set to work and helped those less fortunate to get their premises cleaned out. This was a typical gesturg of goodwill, and was much appreciated. Flood Damage Two premises in Whakatanc which suffered much inconvenience from i the flood were the Bank of New- Zealand, and the Auto Electrician's run by Mr F. Abbott. The Bank had all the lower floor of the. building consisting of the Bank itself and several rooms of the house inundated and left covered inches deep in silt and mud, whilst all the stock which was on the floor of the Electrician's j was given a good wetting and left covered with mud. Some electric motors were damaged whilst a number of jobs which had been completed and were ready for delivery were ruined. I Growing of Culinary Mustard The growing of culinary mustard is an interesting experiment at present being carried out in Southland under the supervision of the Department of Agriculture, states the "Otago Daily Times." Nine crops have been sown, with varying results. The. yield of the better crops appears to be satisfactory, and hardvesting is in progress at present. White mustard has been grown, and this variety is blended with brown mustard. The growing of culinary mustard has already been attempted in Southland. The mustard is very sensitive, $nd two of the crops have been severely damaged by frosts. • ; •