Honest John

NZ Truth, Issue 1198, 15 November 1928, Page 6

Honest John

WHAT does the name O'Donohue conjure up? Visions of shille- , laghs and the Emerald Isle? Maybe, but mention the name 'O'Donohue m Levin and some scores of faces will light vp — and some scores of tongues sing the glad refrain: "What! You know him, too?" For 23 years John i O'Donohue has been, connected s with- the Weraroa Training Farm, where youngsters who have not drawn a decent deal m the great game of life are equipped with .a hand ' thatv enables them to play straight. The study of wayward and unfortunate boys has been the life study of John O'Donohue and the fact that many a clean-limbed young fellow has come back to Levin to shake him by the hand is, to him, suflicient payment for a lifetime given to ' the service of the, Dominion. Yet, .-juvenile psychology is not his only- study. He has put Weraroa on a paying- basis. It is an asset to the country, financially as well us morally. His knowledge of farming and his appreciation of up-to-date methods — also, his amused contempt for red-tape — have done a lot for the land and people under his control. True, he is a Government official with many worrying duties which he carries out to the last letter . ; . but John O'Donohue could never be anything else than a fine, straightforward gentleman. x . , i