WAIKOIKOI.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 39

WAIKOIKOI.

February 29,-^-The marriage of Miss Ethel Chittock, eldest daughter of Mr H-. G. Chittocfe. to Mr William. Lavender, took plac« on Wednesday, 26th inst., at the residence of the bride^s 7 parents, tlte ceremony being performed by the Bey. H- Waugh. The bride* •who was given away by her father, wore a beautiful costume of white lustre trimmed with white lace, and." the . orthodox veil and wreath. The bridesmaid was- Miss Lena Chittock, sister of the bride, sad the grooms<^m*n was Mr John Lavender, brother of the bridegroom. When the oeremony was- over some 70 guests, mostly relatives of the bride and bridegroom, sat down to a sumptuous wedding breakfast, and after all had partaken j of the good- things provided the customary toasts weze given and responded l to. The happy couple left for Dunedin by the after1 noon express. Tha wedding presents, wene bath numerous *nd costly, and showed clearly the esteem, in which Mr and Mrs Lavender ace heldr by the residents of the district; In the. evening, some 120 people were- entertained at a ebtnoe in the local ball. The. floor w«» in capital order for dancing, and tie music, supplied by Mes C. Armstrong (piano) and Messrs J. Cooper and A. M. Simmers (violins), was all that could bs desired. Mr Hugh Mack&y acted aa M.C, and wss ably assisted by. Mr William Kirk, jun. During the ■evening songs were given by several present, and- dancing was kept up till 3 a.m. • The health and prosperity of the bride and bridegroom was proposed and heartily responded- to by all present singing " For they are jolly good fettosrs." Mr A. M'lntyre. in a neat speech, returned thanks on behalf of the- guests to Mir and Mrs Chittock for the right royal wav they had entertained all present. Mr Chifcto k responded,, and thanked. >the donors- for the handsome presents given iiis daughter. Three cheers wese given Mrs Lavender, mother of the bridegroom. Unfortunsnely Mrs La-vender was unable to be- present at thenredding owing to her daughter being- ill with* scarlet fever. A uwst enjoyable evening was brought' to a clow by the singing of "Auld lang/Syne;" •The Farm. — Harvest work is now general. 1 Some ate cutting the crop-, while others are* busy leading in. k few «re wadtmg- fox the crop to fully ripen, and although, tne weather has been warm the unripe crop is very slow in getting, rea6sy, for the- reaper. On the whole farmers should get good yields- when, the threshing mill comes- round, for the crops, though nofe quite as heavy as they would ,have been had- rain come a month, ago. are good, and some patches appear to b» very good. The* rain that fell lvat week has been of immense- banefit to the" turnip crops and the grass. - Farmers- Union. — There- hs» been no meerfcing o£ the local branch, for same- time. One* reason for thi» ig that farmers have, for the past, three months-, been too. busy shearing and grassreutrmg. and' now Baxveet is on it may- b» a good while yet before tfiere is any chance of ». meeting; being- held. Thebranch, however, stiH exists;, but want oi meetings js- apt to drell a msmba'» «aithu»ix asm, whereaa mestings held wh regular intervals tend" to keep* up interest in the union — a matter of impcTtante when farmers axe only half-hearted in uni^n matters, a failing which, is noticeable in many districts. Sickness. — Tffere is one- case of scarlet fever in our midst, the afflicted one- , being; Misa ST. Lavender, whom we all. hope to seecompletely recovered at an early date. Church Choir. — I am plased- to record that the choir lias made geaat progress under tite able baton of Mr William Speden. This is very gratifying to the congregation, and the very marked improvement of late in the singing of the hymns is highly appreoiated. Pomahakav Bridge. — For %c past tnzee years there has been » notice posted) up on the bridge stating tiiot xto weight over 25cwt muat be carried over it. Of course} such a notice iar more- honoured in the breach than in the observance, i nor-«sn it well be otherwise when farmers are carting to Pomahakasiding. The brrdger is in a very bad state. and unless something is done to it soon a. serious accident is likely to happen. It is a shame to see the bridge sp sadly neglected.