Unsuspected Talents Shown At Staff Show

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29071, 7 December 1959, Page 15

Unsuspected Talents Shown At Staff Show

Some members of the staff & of Canterbury Agricultural c College are men of parts. $ Farmers listening to a dissertation on creep grazing of j lambs at a field day or a re- £ view of changes in college education would probably not suspect that the lecturer was ‘ in his spare hours a cabinet- , maker of no mean ability or , even an expect in such a t homely art as jam-making. ' The ninth annual staff show < held at the college on Saturday j showed that this is so. t The show proved too that the £ wives are as talented and versa- < tile as their husbands and that j their children promise to equal i them in their skills. The raspberry jam making i champion of the college this year ‘ is the college director, Dr. M. M. , Burns, and on the basis of assur- , ances to show officials and the i nrotestations of the exhibitor himself there is every reason to j believe that the rich red jam , was indeed the product of the 1 director’s hand. < Dr. Burns explained after the 1 show that he had made the jam ‘ in April or May, that no pectin had been used in its manufacture ; and he strongly denied sugges- < tions from the women over whom ' he had triumphed that the jam , had been reboiled shortly before the show. He said that his only i regret was that some of the : lustre had been taken off his win ! in that Professor I. E. Coop, head of the animal husbandry department and raspberry jam making champion for a number of years. ' had now withdrawn from the contest. Dr. Burns also took second nlacing in the class for “other jam.’ 1 An enthusiastic amateur strawberry grower. Dr. Burns also carried off a first ticket in this section of the show, but his success here as a former director of the fertiliser manufacturers’ research association was not unexpected. Visitors to the college at the recent field day who espied a netting enclosure, closely locked, with round red strawberries sitting on black plastic will also not be surprised at his win here. Woodwork Class Four members of the college at present attend a weekly lesson in woodworking at the Lincoln District High School, and between them the college and the sister scientific organisation, the Crop Research. Division, are strongly represented in the class. A year’s work at the class had gone into a coffee table with beautifullyrounded legs which won first prize in the handcraft section for Mr V. R. Clark, a technical officer in the animal husbandry department, who is closely identified with current sheep research at the college. Second prize went to Mr G. Meijer, Whose home is in Holland, with a child’s cot. A member of the plant science department, he also applies his knowledge in a practical way in the Vegetable and fruitgrowing field, where he earned second highest points , closely behind Mr D. Wilson, a member of the farm staff. Another member of the District High School woodworking class, Mr John Glazebrook, who is head of the horticulture department at the college, filled third place in the handcraft section with a bookcase. His versatality was also demonstrated in a second placing for bottled fruit and a third prize certificate for fruit jelly. Dr. I. D. Blair, head of the microbiology department, was reported to be unable to find a truck large enough to carry a combination bookcase and china cabinet that he has built at the woodworking class, but i he is best known at the staff show for prowess in flower growing. For ! the first time in nine years he did ! not win the prize for most points for flowers, being narrowly defeated by Dr. A. E. Henderson, head of the wool department at the college. Expecting defeat on this occasion. Dr. Blair jokingly observed that a campaign had been developing at the college involving the use of scientific methods and the liberal application of fertilisers to flower growing to bring him low. At the prize-giving ceremony, the show chairman, Mr Glazebrook, said that Dr, Blair's long run of suc-

cesses must surely be unprecedented, and he suggested that the committee might consider making a presentation to him in recognition of it. Mr D. Haggitt, the stud shepherd, gained most points in the photographic section of the show. Women’s Part But the women of the college were not outdone by the men. Quite the most outstanding feat of the day was the single-handed performance of Mrs G. Gibbs, wife of the maintenance foreman, who accumulated 84 points to win the prize for the family gaining most points. Fiftysix of these points were gathered in the decorative section, but until a few years ago Mrs Gibbs had not tried her hand with flowers at a

show. One of the most interesting aspects of the show was an exhibition of water colours done by wives who attend a weekly lesson in water colour painting at the local ‘district high school. Visitors to the college were impressed with the obvious talent of Mrs L. Stark, whose husband is the manager of the college’s poultry unit, and of Mrs Burns, one of whose paintings was of her husband. Dr. Burns. In the children’s section, quite surprising ability in domestic art was shown bv some of the boys. For instance, Douglas Blair was a prizewinner for chocolate fudge, and earned placings for scones and queen cakes. Commented his father: “You can guess his mother was not far away when he was doing this.” A children’s party was held in conjunction with the show. A highlight of this was the arrival of Father Christmas with a load of presents, under escort of Constable P. McGrail. of Lincoln. Earlier about 70 children between nine and 13 watched Mr W. Johnston, Wool Board instructor, shear a few sheep, and then they sat down in the refectory to a party meal of fruit salad, ice cream, cake, sandwiches, sweets, and soft drinks under the supervision of Mr F. Malins, chief steward, who was helped by secondary schoolgirls. At the same time, Mrs J. D. Mackay, wife of the warden, entertained the younger children. The following is a summary of awards—prizes were presented by Mrs Burns:— Flowers: Dr. A. E. Henderson (27 points) 1, Dr. I. D. Blair (24 points) 2. Vegetables and fruit: Mr D. Wilson (30 points) 1, Mr G. Meijer (28 points) 2. Decorative: Mrs G. Gibbs (56 points) 1, Mrs F. Malins (41 points) 2. Home produce: Mrs G. Lindsay (21 points) 1. Mrs E. Martin (13 points) 2. Handcraft: Mrs R. Langer (13 points) 1, Mrs G. Gibbs (11 points) 2. Photography: Mr D. Haggitt (23 points) 1, Mr S. Challenger (15 points) 2. Children.—Five to eight years: Jane Thomson (16 points) 1, Christopher Berryman (13 points) 2. Nine to 12 years: Douglas Blair and Lois Wilson (equal) 1. 13 to 16 years: Judy Moir (29 points) 1. Winsome Chesney (22 points) 2. Special prize for children, five and under: lan Charlton 1. Child gaining most points: Judy Moir. Family gaining most points: Gibbs (84 points) 1. Blair (68 pointsl 2.