A GOLDEN WEDDING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 98, 18 January 1918, Page 2

A GOLDEN WEDDING

MR. AND MRS. STANSELL, OF LYALL BAY.

The golden wedding of Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Stansell was celebrated at their residence, Lyall Bay, ou Wednesday. There wan a large gathering of relatives and friends present, and' telegrams of congratulations and good wishes were received from all over the Dominion. During the years in which they have lived in this country both Mr. and Mrs. Stansell have seen many changes, and have witnessed the growth of townships where once there was nothing hut swamp land or country in its native state. Mrs. Stansell, who was then Miss Cecilia Maria Popplewell, arrived in Lyttelton in 1851 in one of the first four ships that brought the early colonists to Canterbury. Mr. Stansell came to Lyttelton from the Old Country in 1858, and he aud Miss Popple- ■ well were married at Geraldine fifty years ago. For many years Mr. Stansell was in business in Shannon and Foxton, and was twice Mayor of the latter town. An implicit belief in the necessity of doing all that was possible in improving the district in which he has lived has been the means of inducing him to take an active part in local polities. Mr. Stansell has had some experience in coalmining, having worked in the mines in the Ashburton district in 1860. Ho was also so tVr,seeing as to make extensive purchases of land in the Canterbury district in the early days of its settlement. Both Mr. and Mrs. Stansell have done much travelling in New 7iealand, and they hnve made many friends throughout the Dominion, as the telegrams which they received in connection with Wednesday's celebration testified. Their family circle numbers 17 children and 18 grandchildren. One son is at the war, one has 'made the great sacrifice, and another is going to the front shortly. Of the 1 grandsons, one is about to go, while a son-in-law, having been wounded, has been discharged. The surviving members of the family include Messrs. J. R. 6. Stau--1 sell,'land agent at Levin; \Y. F. Stan- ! soil, schoolmaster at Halcombe; A. C. Stansell, dairy farmer, Auckland; Albert J. Stansell, dairy machine expert, Palmer.ston North; and P. R. Stansell, solicitor's clerk, Wellington; also Mesdames Victors (Levin), Lodge (Ashburton'i, Ruid (Lyttelton), and Misses l'\ and R. H. Stansell (Wellington). Mr. Stansell took a leading part in the sgi- ! tation for the extension of the tramway line to Lyall Bay some few years ago, and lie is now interesting himself in the scheme of providing that bay with various attractions suitable to the seaside now before the consideration of the municipal authorities. SOLDIERS' NEEDLECRAFT EMBROIDERY PICTURE BY WOUNDED SERGEANT. Fifty needlework pictures, equal in colouring and craft to much 17th i-nd 18th century work, were sold at Kndell Street Hospital recently (states the "Daily Mail"). Very proud are the women who staff anil manage this unique' army hospital ; of their soldwr needle-workers. Sergeant E. Liggens, a coal-mnier before the war| wounded at Messines in June, contributed a finely-stitched basket of fruit—peaches, grapes, plums, and pineapple. This is his second piece of sewing; the first was the badge or his regiment, the 10th Royal Wanricks. "You have to be very careful when null the worsted through the linen or it stretches and your stitch is sponled, he said, as he gazed proudly at his work. Corporal Macplierson. once a cabinetmaker, showed some line sill; pictures, one a fire-screen; another good needleman had <mcc been a butcher. . Some men had embroidered cushions, footstools, bedspreads, babies' feeders, vanity bags, and tea-cosies. "We have proved that men, too, can si't at home and sew," said Dr. Flora Murray. Since February the men hnve worked 1120 regimental' badges for their own homes, and the cost for wocil and lmen has been £90. 'Phis sale was held lo buy mora materials.