CITIZENS FAREWELLED

Chronicle (Levin), 4 August 1947, Page 3

CITIZENS FAREWELLED

i MR. AND MRS. E. T. WILSON The Druids! Hail was well filled on Saturday evening', when the public of Bhannon . and district. gathered to bid -farewell to Mr. and Mrs. E. T. Wilson at a functibn arranged by the combined efforts of the. Shannon; School Committee,' the Buckley Golf 1 Cltib and the Shannon Minia'ture Rifl'e Club. Dancing was enjoyed until midnight to the music supplied by Mr. Tom East, of Foxton. At an opportune time the M.C., Mr. J. Lucinsky, gathered the guests of honour.to the stage for the farewell speeches and presentations. -The Mayor, Mr. R. E. Downes, was the flrst speaker, and he extended congratulations to the three committees for arranging such a pleasant function in honour of Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. Mr. Downes went on to state that both Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had been good and well-respected citizens of Shannon, and he was very sorry to see them leave the town. Mr. Wilson had been actively connected with the school and .sports organisations of the town, "and had beena great asset to them. The Mayor said that in the past whenever 'citizens left Shannon they always had fond memories of the town, and came o£te:n to spend a week or so among their old friends. He hoped Mr. and Mrs. Wilson would do likewise. Mr. Downes concluded by wishing them every success and every happiness in their new home at Petone. Mr. A. E. Jeffrey, chairman of the School Committee, was the next to voice appreciation » of the work done for the school by both Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. Mr. Jeffrey mentioned that Mr. Wilson had .earried out the duties of chairman of the committee for some considerable time. He was a great man for the school and always had the school at heart. He, like all members of his committee, were very sorry to and Mr. F. Neame. Mr. W. Bond Jeffrey then asked the guests to accept, as a token of appreciation from his fellow dpmmitteemen, a bronze fire screen. Following Mr. Jeffrey was - the president of the Buckley Golf Club, Mr. R. S. Downes, who expressed his personal regret as well as those of his committee a'nd every member of the club, to see, the Wilsons leave the club they. Lad' done so much to* keep fUnctioning. Mr. Downes said- that .during the lean years Mr. Wilson had worked long and hard fco keep the club on a sound footing. He was one of the foundation memtiers of the Buckley Club and held execiitive offlce^ for many years.-, Apart from hisofficial duties he was pne of their mainstays i-|bS'L ^.-I^layer,!*- havihgt represented 'thb Club in almost au; of its inter-club matches. Mrs.. Wilson, too, was a keen golfer and .had also helped toi, keep the club on a firm footing. 1 During inter-club matches- and tournaments she had helped the club out with catering, and was always a willing worker. Mr. Downes then asked Mr. and Mrs. Wilson to accept a chrome smokers' companion as a mark of appreciation and thanks . from the Buckley golfers. The next speaker was Mrs. S. W. Barber, who represented the Moutoa branch o.f the Women's Division of Federated Farmers, of which Mrs. Wilson was a member. Mrs. Barber stated that Mrs. Wilson was formerly a resident of Moutoa and she always had the district at heart. She had been a willing worker and the branch was very sorry indeed to lose her. During the war years she had assisted with the raising of funds and the packing of parcels for the boys overseas, and srnce the end of the war had assisted the branch with its work of sending food parcels to Britain. Mrs. Barber said that she also earried a message from the farmers of the district to Mr. Wilson for his efficient work and the assistance he had given every farmer during the time he had been on the local post office staff. Mrs. Barber then asked Mr. and Mrs. Wilson to accept a gift from the Moutoa W.D.F.F. The final speaker was Mr. F. J. Lucinsky, who represented the Shannon Miniature Rifle Club. Mr. Lucinsky said the club was suffering a severe loss in losing Mr. Wilson, who had been its secretary since the club re-opened during the latter years of the war. It was due to the hard work that he had put in that the membership had risen from a dozen or so to over sixty members. Mr. Lucinsky also expressed gratitude to Mrs. Wilson for the assistance she had given the club in its social activities. Both Mr. and Mrs. Wilson had helped in the success of fche club and Mr. Lucinsky presented them with a delightful wall mirror as a mark of appreciation. Replying 6n behalf of Mrs. Wilson, Colin and himself, Mr. Wilson expressed sincere thanks for the kindly expressions and good wishes which had been passed on to them. He also thanked the public for coming along to make the evening such an outstanding success. Mr. Wilson said that they were very

sorry to leave Shannon, but tney had to move on in order to keep the wheels of industry turning. It was one of those unfortunate happenings that as soon as one became settled and made so many kind friends in a town, these things known as transfers came along. However, they were not going very

far away, and hoped to see their old friends very often in the future. He also hoped to come along and have a round of golf on the Buckley links from time to time. In expressing their thanks for the beautiful gifts, Mr. Wilson said that it had always been a pleasure to serve o:n a committee in Shannon. There was an excellent spirit of sportsmanship existing in all sports organisations and the school committee was one of the most energetic he had had the pleasure of being associated with. Mr. Wilson then paid a fine tribute to Mr. F. O. Burtt, the present headmaster, saying that although he had only been with the school a short time he had done wonderful work for the school and the town. With the combination of the committee and Mr. Burtt, the Shannon School Would go a long way in the future. Mr. Wilson went on to say that his wife had done much to help him in his various duties, and without her aid he would not have been able to do much. He then went on to mention the fact that younger members were taking an active interest in the executive 'duties of the sports organisations, and expressed ■ a wish that they look to the older members for guidance. He felt sure that with the youngsters at the head the sports 'would go far in the fields of success. Mr. Wilson also spoke of the magnificent work that the women of Moutoa were doing in providing the people of Britain with food parcels, and spoke of the work done by the Moutoa W.D.F.F. during the war years. A delightful supper, the arranging of which was in the capable hands of a committee of ladies, was then served and the gathering concluded by joining hands for the ■ singing of "Auld Lang Syne.""'* "