LONGBEACH.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9490, 2 January 1919, Page 5

LONGBEACH.

RED CROSS CARNIVAL.

A Carnival in ; connection with the Waterton Red Gross Society was held at Longbeach Homestead yesterday afternoon, and in spite of the unpropitious weather that prevailed during the morning, proved to be an unqualified success. j\jr. Grigg very generously placed at .the disposal of' the So^ ciety his large puilding, known as the oat loft, and also, the woolshed These were ; gorgeously.decorated for, the occar sion with flags, bunting arid flowers, and presented a very pleasing..appearr ance .The former building was used as a refreshment:room, while part of it was fitted up in stalls for the disposal of the many . articles that had been generously donated by friends. Tlie latter served .the purpose: of a concert hall and ball room. '

The proceedings .for the.-day .:, were opened by; Mr. Grigg; who, in a characteristic speech, referred to the very splendid work that had. been done by the Red Gross Society- H« stated that the amount of .work that this So--ciety had done had far exceeded the money that had been raised, and. the Society was 5 determined to meet all the dues that were owing, hence their effort that afternoon. Their soldier boys had done their work nobly at the front, and it .was | up to them all to reciprocate this grand response oh the part of the brave-lads by doing their very best at home. He trusted that now. the war' was practically" over, the churches throughout the land would imitate those of the Motherland t by placing in their hallowed , precincts rolls of honour, containing the names of all those who had made the supreme sacrifice. When the Red Cross effort was completed, :he suggested that ' any balance of funds should be retained and placed to the credit of some local patriotic fund. Mr. Grigg closed "a'much appreciated Address, by declaring the Carnival open.

. The South Canterbury , ■ Regimental Band then gave a selection, and in; a; space;of. time the ladies were busy pushing their wares with all the business acumen they could command. .The refreshment stalls were, presided over by (1) Mesdames N. March and iPearsmij (2) ;Missfes,G\ Dawson and M. Smith, (8) ■'Misses ,G.. Blee and M. Dawson, (4)1 Misses A. Bruce and M. Blee, while Mrs: AY. Biddick, president of the Society, sat at the receipt of custom. The produce stall \vas presided over by Mesdames Muir and Frewj: novelty, Misses N. March and E. Houston; sweets, Miss M. March and ,T. Biddick • soft drinks, /Messrs W. Dawson and C. Patterson; guessing, Miss Minnie Smith ; duck pond, Mr. L. Soal. . ■ -':'

! At every stall good business ■ was done. A cohsiderable amount of farm produce, consisting of . t chaff, ■ oats and wheat, 'togetiier' with a rlihe of sheep, was disposed of by Bandsmen Vi Cullen and L. McDonald, of Ashburton, at very satisfactory prices,.' viz., chaff 6s 6d, oats 17s 6d,' wheat 40s per bag, and sheep 31s 6d. ■ .. By six o'clock, all'the produce had been disposed of and ; high tea was served and extensively patronised,'the ladies being kept busy to near eight o'clock. In the evening a concert was held in. the woolshed, and a programme of, extraordinary merit was presented by the Ashburton Male Choir, under the leadership of Mr. L. Watt, . who also acted as pianist. The programme consisted of concerted items, quartettes and choruses by the choir, and solos by Messrs Brown, Templeton, Coker and Porter. Several action songs were also given by the girl and boy members of the Red Cross Society. Every item was well received and -encores were in demand, and the whole concert proved a veritable treat. Mr. Grigg presided, and the concert closed with a verse of the National Anthem. It should be stated that during the afternoon the South Canterbury Regimental Band gave musical selections which much enlivened the proceedings. The whole Carnival was concluded by a dance under the able direction of Mr. Reeves, M.C., the music being supplied by- Mr. Gluyas and family. All parts of the County of Ashburton were well represented, at the £ay s function, and the proceeds should prove very satisfactory. Too much praise cannot be given to Mrs. W. D. Dawson, the secretary of the bociety, to whose efforts very much of the success (was due.