Locals recall tall tales

Press, 17 March 1982, Page 33

Locals recall tall tales

The tale of the "Night of Rejoicing" when Sheffield won the local football shield, is one of many stories which have been recalled by locals celebrating the centenary of the Sheffield Hotel. Mr Bonnie Alderson said it was about 1935 that the local team was victorious and. naturally, that called for a celebration. Six o’clock closing notwithstanding. the celebrations went on far into the night, until the inevitable happened and the police arrived. "The funny thing was there had always been a fair bit of after-hours drinking going on. but the seven* who were picked up that night were ones who were not very often involved." said Mr Alderson. The "Night of Rejoicing" became part of the district folk lore, and a local poet wrote a long verse about the event, which finished something like this: "As to the fate of that unlucky seven. “If we don’t meet in prison “We might meet in heaven.” After-hours drinking always seemed to have been something of an occupational hazard for Sheffield Hotel proprietors. The majority of patrons were farmers whose day’s work was not finished by 6 p.m., and to oblige these customers with an afterwork beer, the publican needed to stay open later in the evening when 6 p.m. closing was the law. A former publican. Mr Jim Palmer, said there was never a 6 o'clock swill at Sheffield, simply because the farmers were still out working at that hour. He said the police exercised a certain amount

of tolerance towards country pubs opening after hours. At a get-together recently, a group of locals who have been frequenting the Sheffield Hotel over the years, recalled some of the people and incidents which had given the hotel its colourful history, such as: • The publican . who was never licensed, but ran the hotel for six months. (His name does not appear in the official list of publicans.) • The big lump of Malvern coal decorated with magpie droppings which adorned the bar for many years. • The publican' who lost his licence for serving school children. • Teenage boys sitting under trees near the pub. waiting to have drinks brought out to them by an understanding legal-age drinker. • When the pub was run by a trio known as Carlyle. Cohey and Dando. "One held the licence, one had the money, and one was the hanger-on."' • When you could get drunk on half a crown — the publican would shout every third drink as a matter of course.

• The farmer with a wife and daughter belonging to the “white ribbon” (temperance) brigade, who used to imbibe too freely after the monthlysale day and sleep in a friend’s granary.

• The local character who was picked up in an after hours round-up by the police, and gave his address as the Waimakariri River bed. The police thought he was being facetious, but Laurie Shaw did in fact live in a tent made of sacks in the river bed. earning a living by-

catching rabbits. • The time when one tardy husband was summoned home by his wife firing a shotgun' through the hotel window’. • The publican who was struggling to make ends meet, would run out of beer and have to buy in bottles from a neighbouring hotel. • Three local boys let themselves into the hotel through a trapdoor which had been left unlocked, started to help themselves to top shelf drinks only to find their whole act being witnessed by the publican who was in the bar with the local constable. • Stories abound regarding Peter Vickery, who was reputed never to walk home in a straight line, and claimed the impossible feat of having ridden his bicycle up the water race. He'used to help farmers using the community sheep dip which' was located near enough to the hotel for frequent refreshment stops.' with the usual result of Peter himself ending up in the dip.