Local & General

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 82, 6 January 1950, Page 4

Local & General

Padre Played Safe Paddy asked his priest to bless his St. Christopher medal so he’d be safe while driving. And the padre said: “Yes, but remember—the blessing is only good up to 35 miles an hour!”

For The Highest Bidder “To what do you attribute your long life?” the reporter asked the centenarian. “I don’t rightly know yet,” replied the old-timer, puffing lazily at his pipe. “I’m still haggling with two breakfast-foci companies.”

Newspaper “Folds Up” After 55 years of continuous biweekly publication the “Opunake Times” put out its last issue on December 20. Its last proprietor, Mr C. G. Jackson, was once factory foreman of the Beacon. He intends to carry on at Opunake as a job printer only. Rest For Mothers Mothers should have ten days in bed after the birth of a child, Dr. C. H. Vernon, an English gynaecologist said. He was opposing a proposal to allow mothers to leave hospital 48 hours after the birth of a child because of the acute shortage of beds in Australian hospitals. Three-Day School Week? Shortage of teachers and classrooms in New South Wales might mean three-day school week. This was stated recently by Miss Hilda Barclay, a member of the Teachers’ Federation in New South Wales. She said that 4800 more teachers were required by 1953 even to maintain the present unsatisfactory ratio of pupil-teachers.

Sound Psychology The wife noticed that the new pastor was delivering unusually short sermons. When she commented on their brevity to her husband, who did not like hard church pews, he glanced at her, pondered a bit, then remarked: “That preacher knows what he’s doing. The mind can absorb only as much as the seat can endure.”

Undersea Explosion? Strange feature of the earthquake felt here on Monday night was the sound as of an explosion that preceded it at Ohope. Residents who heard it say the heavy detonation came some seconds before ! the ’quake, and that an eerie silence came between the two. At Whakatane the shake was preceded by a low rumbling sound. Red-Legged Earth Mites

Red-legged earth mites, which first established themselves in New Zealand in the Westshore-Bay View area in 1942, have now reached the Hastings borough. They have been found in large numbers in private, gardens opposite the West School in Gordon Road. The density of the mite populations suggests that the pest may have been present in the area for two or three years, steadily multiplying. Legion’s Busy Time

Over the holidays members of the Legion of Frontiersmen shared with the police, doctors, hospital staff, journalists and others who toil while the world plays the job of keeping the necessary wheels turning. At congested traffic points, at public gatherings, wherever the authorities needed a hand, there was the familiar uniform. Frontiersmen have every right to be proud of their practical interpretation of their ideals of service. Tourist Trade In Europe American tourists in Western Europe are primarily interested in the theater and in architecture, the United States Department of Commerce reports. Other European attractions for U.S. tourists' are museums, concerts, and athletic events. French perfume is the most popu- V lar merchandise purchased by Americans. Next most popular items, in order of preference, are Swiss watches, French and Italian gloves, Italian leather goods and silks, and British antiques and woollens. Farmers Beat Canute

Three enterprising British farmers have pushed back the sea to reclaim 1,500 acres of land for food production in Lincolnshire. This remarkable feat was accomplished in less than six months by building a new bank six and a half miles lcr.g and 11 feet high on the south side of the Wash. Fifty men worked night and day with bulldozers and draglines. Huge creeks, some of them 100 feet wide, had to be closed. Five hundred thousand tens of strong clay were used.