NEW YEAR’S EVE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 68, 2 January 1936, Page 4

NEW YEAR’S EVE.

OBSERVANCE IN ASHBURTON. QUIET AND UNEVENTFUL. Although many of the customary features of the observance of New Year’s Eve were preserved, the celebrations of the beginning of the New Year in Ashbutron were of an uneventful nature. Several residents have declared it was the quietest New Year’s Eve they remember. A fairly large, crowd was in town during Tuesday evening, when the late closing night was observed. Hymns were played by the Salvation Army Band, after which the Ashburton Pipe Band played through the streets and on the reserve in East Street. Shops appeared to be doing good business, but after they closed at 10 o’clock the crowds soon dispersed, leaving very few in the streets at midnight. Crackers were noticeable in streets and in private premises throughout the evening, and the chiming of midnight on the Post Office clock was the signal for a loud volley. One or two parties in houses could be heard singing “Auld Lang Syne,” but otherwise all was quiet. The absence of church bells and railway engine whistles at midnight was particularly noticeable. There appears to have been little gate-lifting or other acts of vandalism this year. The only act noticed so far is damage to a footpath rail for bicycles in Burnett Street. Watch-night services were held in the Ashburton Baptist Church and in the Salvation Army Hall. The service at the Baptist Church was fairly well attended, the Rev. L. P. Bryan giving a short appropriate address, while several others gave testimony. Many Ashburton residents appeared to be away on New Year’s Day, the streets being deserted.