SUNBEAM COLUMN

Grey River Argus, 3 June 1922, Page 8

SUNBEAM COLUMN

Greetings to all! Good thoughts to all the world! Good thoughts to our uncles! Good thoughts to To Wihoi and Dad! On Thursday morning of last week, just as I was finishing niy breakfast, a knock camo to tho door, and in came To Wihoi and Dad! I was delighted to see them and to meet our dear one. Sunbeams, our dear Sunbeam is a dear happy girlie. If you could only see her, you would love her dearly, and Aunt Flora, is very proud to know her. She was hero again to-day, so I’ve speut two days in her company in one week. I did enjoy it too. I am sure she will tell Dad that the little effort that I make every week has been fully repaid; in fact paid a thousand times, for who measures the price ot love, or even its value! It is a priceless gift, and Aunt Flora knows that To Wihoi has plenty of love and good thought for all. What a dear good mother and you and Alice have, Lily to make you a playhouse. Did you tell her how you loved her for doing it, eh! Brave little Eddie our guiding Sunbeam, how pleased wo all are you are not discouraged! Keep on. I send your mother my good thoughts. Elvina, I do hope vou and Rose spent a pleasant week’ end at Hokitika. Enid you are right; there was such a big vacancy when To Wihoi was away. Let us keep her by our good thoughts and our good letters. I do not find it hard work, Annie; to me it is beautiful work, and I love it. I would find it hard if I had no letters to reply to. Who could eall a labour so full of children’ beautiful love and thoughts hard —not Aunt Flora, oh dear, no. Tommy, I was in Hokitika last Saturday, and 1 called to see Dad’s grandma. I wish all Sunbeams would send her good thought, and for she is a grand old lady and loves us all very much. She needs all our good thoughts. Madge, To Wihoi is our star Sunbeams, so do not forget she has asked us all to send Uncle Ted our good thoughts, and ask him to write to us. Are you listening Uncle Ted? You are most welcome, Jimmy. What a big circle ours is now, and yet there is tons of room for every one who comes. Do write and tell me all about your farm. Hazel, dear, I must congratulate vou on your beautiful unselfishness, and tell you that the spirit of self sacrifice is a beautiful and rare gife. There never was any achievement, worth while without sacrifice. Our little Snowdrop from the snow clad hills of Omakau, what a good little Sunbeam you are! Do write often to Aunt Flora! And your, dear, dear mother, a Little Mother met our big Uncle Ted! What a grand meeting. Some day we will meet Uncle Ted, as ho has promised to visit the Coast—have you not Uncle Ted? I think if you only send dear Pansy our good thoughts, she would wiite again. She surely could not resist our volley of love and good thoughts. To Wihoi told mo to-day that Dad has a cold, so send him good thoughts, Olive, and it will help make him feel better, eh? That is tho first. I heard of cels being caught in those months Wattie! Did you try it to see if it proved true? Do write often as rve enjoy your letters. “These bairns of mine will never know how to find truth; they will merely grow up. They will wave their hats to the King, but kingships will bo but a word to them; they will chant when a lawver from the South wins the local seat, but they will not understand the meaning of economics; they will dust their old silk hats and march to the sacrament, but they will not realise what religion means. I should feel hopeful, for I am resolved I must help them to find another meaning to education. I believe in discipline, but it is self discipline that I believe in. I think I can say that I never learned anything by boing forced to learn it, but I may be wrong. When I speak kindly to a bairn I sometimes ask myself what I mean, (for I try to find out my motives). Do I want the child to think , kindly of me? Do I try to be popular? Am I after the delightful joy of being loved? Am 1 merely humanly brotherly and Kind? I have tried to analyse my motives, and 1 really think that there is a little of each motive. I want to be loved, I want the bairn to think kindly of me, but in the main I think my chief motive or desire is to make the bairn happy. No man, no woman, has the right to make the skies cloudy for a bairn, it is a sin against the Holy Ghost! ” Good thoughts to all. AUNT FLORA. SUNBEAMS’ LETTERS. Westland. My dear Aunt Flora, Uncles and Sunbeams. —Greetings to you, dear ones all. As you are aware, there was no letter from Te Wihoi last week. We had a misfortune, but don’t worry, it is wrong to be always complaining! My Dad says we should bear our troubles patiently, that we should rather seek out their cause than complain, and so grow ever braver and stronger. My dear Sunbeams, you will forgive me if you often find Te Wihoi missing. lon know one can’t do tin* impossible, and more so, seeing things are so mixed up. Sav no more about the chances of my leaving you. It will never be with my wish or fault, but should it come about, then say: “Te Wihoi is up against the impossible!” Greetings and love to Mum. Dear Sunbeams, we have been neglecting a brave and uncomplaining dear one. It is “Mum,” of the Sunbeam Column in the “Maoriland 'Worker.” Week after week, and month after month, as regularly as that paper comes out, there is her full column to tho little ones, but rarely ever a little letter to cheer her heart. Love and good thoughts to you, dear Mum,

always . Yes dear ones, and our Uncle Ted says that Mum is brave, I saw it in a letter from him in the ‘ ‘Worker.” [ don’t remember it all, but he said that “Although Mum was unknown to him, she was very brave. And no question, seeing that she has been holding the fort for so long, and through all weathers. Don’t forget her, dear ones, send her good thoughts: Mum needs them. You know, Sunbeams, at one time I used to think our dear Uncle Ted had gone “crooked,” but after reading that letter and other of his writings in the same paper, that fixed it. Our dear Uncle had not joined his big brother Massey or the “sane” Labour push after all! But why docs he not send his own little flock of Sunbeams just one letter? That’s what is bothering me! Maybe you bear us an ill-will, dear Uncle, and if so, why nut tell us? But even that will not save you now! Wo must have a letter from you, (mind, an absolute “must.”) so there now. Send us a letter, dear I'ncle. Ted. liemember, a letter from you just now would give our page such a lift forward. It would cause all your little ones to smile, it would encourage them all so much. A lovely letter from you would give our page a new start! Send us a letter, dear Uncle Ted, do it quickly and kindly. Mind there is no escape for you. Our good thoughts are going to win you, mind that. Love and good thoughts to you at nine always. A hearty welcome to you dear Elvina, to a place in our Sunbeam Circle; and you will help to brighten our page with your letters. You know, every little letter counts, every letter helps to brighten our page, and that should be the aim of every true Sunbeam. Good thoughts, and a hearty welcome to you. Dear Sunbeams, you 17a ve been very good to me, I can’t name you all, but I send you love and good thoughts. Love and good thoughts to you all. From SUNBEAM TE WIHOI. Te Na mu. Dear Aunt Flora, —Greetings! Greetings to all, especially to dear Te Wihoi! I am not writing this letter myself this time, Aunt Flora, for I want to catch the mail with this letter, so my sister is helping me. Nearly all our little pigs are dead. We do not know what is wrong with them. Well, dear Sunbeams, and Auntie, I think I will close now as it will soon be dinner time. Good thoughts to all the world. SUNBEAM JEAN. Te Na mu, Dear Aunt Flora, —Greeting, greetings, to you all, greetings to our dear Te Wihoi and Dad! It is very cold this morning, although we have not, had any frosts yet. This time last year the roads were white with frost. My sister and I have been digging our garden, and transplanting flower plants. We have very few flowers blooming and everything is looking very bare. Sunbeam Madge was up at our place last Saturday. I ■went home with her, and came back home Sunday afternoon. Well Uncles Aunt and Sunbeams, news is very scare up here, so I will draw this short letter to a close. Good thoughts to all the world. From SUNBEAM CLAIRE. Paroa, Dear Aunt Flora, —Greetings to you all, greetings to all the world. This is my first letter to your wonderful column. I enjoy reading the Sunbeams’ letters. The column does not seem the same without To Wihoi, and if Dad stops writing it would bo worse, but then what about Aunt Flora. I am Sunbeam Gladys’s sister, but I am not the Mary Ann that used to write. I wish she would start and write, because her letters were very interesting. I am glad to see “A Little Mother” writing again. Welcome to the new Sunbeam Snowdrop! I am giving you a riddle to sec if you can guess it: “Why is a school master like an enginedriver?” I think it would be a very grand idea if all tho Sunbeams would send riddles, and the other Sunbeams could answer them the next week. I see Eddie has not''stopped writing. I hope he does not stop as his letters are interesting; in fact all the Sunbeams'' letters are interesting. lam sorry Willlie has to milk four cows after his school is out, and cannot have a play with his mates. I hope Winnie will not stop writing just because she is shifting her residence. I am not like Sunbeam Claire as far as school matters go, as I am very fond of school. I find it very cold these mornings, as I have to travel by train to school, and it is not very pleasant getting up to catch the early train twice a week. I am very sorry Te Wihoi has left tho farm. We cannot hear any more about her pets. I like to read Sunbeams’ Madge and Olive’s letters. I will ring off now till next week. From SUNBEAM MARY ANN. (aged 13 years). Te Namu, Dear Aunt Flora and Uncles all, — Greetings to you and the Sunbeams’ I was delighted to see so many Sunbeam letters in the “Argus” last week. Welcome Sunbeam Elvina. lam sure Aunt Flora will be glad to see so many new Sunbeams joining our Circle, and I hope they will keep on writing. We. have just, finished our weeks’ holiday and we have to go to school to-morrow. Mv name is Lily, and I am nine and a half years. Dear Sunbeam Jim, did your Mum once live on Millerton? Because my Mum thinks she knew her! Good thoughts to all the world. From SUNBEAM LILY. Millerton. Dear Aunt Flora, —Greetings and good thoughts to you Auntie, and to Dad, and Te Wihoi, and all our Sunbeams, good thoughts! Welcome Sunbeam Jimmie. I like to see the boys

rolling up, as we have so few boys. The weather is lovely here now. I do hope you arc all having some of the sunshine. I am reading: “Just so stories for Children” by Rudyard Kipling, We have had the story in our corner how the elephant got his trunk. Well Auntie, I guess Dad is indeed our Dad, as Sunbeam Jack says, when ho cau I find time to write such cheerful letI ters every week whi n he is in such I groat trouble himself! 1 send good I thoughts to your Grannie , To Wihoi, and do hope she will be with you again soon. Good thought to Uncle Ted, ■ and Ned and Jim, and good thoughts i to Little Mother and to all the world. SUNBEAM EDDIE. i — Blaketown ! Dear Aunt Flora—Greetings to all the world at nine. I was very pleased to sec a letter from Dad, but I was very disappointed because Sunbeam Te Wihoi did not write. I think Jack was correct when ho said To Wihoi was our “Leading Star.” Good thoughts to our Uncles. I am sure we will worry them until they write a few lines to us. I send good thoughts to Sunbeam Pansy. I am sure she will write this week, after all the good thoughts we have sent to her! Dear Auntie, what a glorious letter you wrote on Saturday! I must close now with good thoughts to all the world at nine, also tho Russians. From SUNBEAM HAZEL. Westland. My Dear Auntie, Uncles and Sunbeams, Greetings to you all from Dad! My Dear Sunbeam Olive, you are very good, but dear one, what better, or more pleasant employment could occupy Dad’s mind than to come among the kiddies and have fine talks with them,' the very thing he has been yearning for so long that ho will grieve bitterly over having to part with the animals he loves so dearly. These is now no remedy. Yes, Dad is, and will be grieving sorely; but, dear ones, there is no consolation! Dad is looking forward to that leisure time when there will be no worry with animals, when there will be one continuous bathing in a quiet sea w’ith the little, ones; when we shall bo exploring all the deeps and shallows and shores of a lifetime past. Yes ,and wc shall also examine the thorny path you dear little one arc now ; about to enter on! When that time ■ comes along, all griefs will easily van- ■ ish? But that time is not yet. Dad ! can scarcely find leisure to drop you a line for weekends. He can see bumps and entanglements ahead, hut he is prepared to meet them all bravely, with the store of good thoughts you little ones have loaded ou him. Dad is now prepared to meet anything. Dear little Sunbeams, last week our dear Aunt Flora gave us all strict instructions to angle for a letter from our dear Uncle Ted; that we were to bait all our hooks with good thoughts; and Dad, being now, our own Dad, he also has to take a hand. Dear Uncle Ted, lift your left heel off from your right toe! Send the little ones a letter! We, of long ago, know that you are in -existence, but there are those little ones come in who know not Moses. They look on Uncle Ted as something of long ago. Send us a letter, Uncle Ted. Dad too loved you very dearly ,and docs still it you have not changed your creed (on earth, as it is in heaven). But how is poor old Dad to know whether you have changed'? Send us a. letter, dear Uncle, and that will settle it all. Good thoughts to you. Dad sends you good thoughts always. Love and good thoughts to all. From DAD Te Namu Dear Aunt Flora—Greetings to you and all the Sunbeams, also to our dear Uncles. Welcome Sunbeam Elvina! Keep writing, and do not forget our column, as some of our Sunbeams have done. Sunbeam Jim, I enjoyed reading your nice little letter, and I was very sorry to hear that you had fallen and broken one of your teeth. There is a big excuse for a little boy like you falling over, but I suppose you will think me clumsy if I tell you that I also fell over and knocked ouo of my front teeth right out! But you will get more teeth, whereas I will have to get a tooth from the dentist! Good thoughts to our dear Uncles, and I hope that they will soon drop us a line. Good thoughts also to To Wihoi and her Dad. Sunbeam Wattie has boon away for a few days’ holiday, so you must excuse him not writing this week. Good thoughts to all the world at nine. From OLIVE. Blaketown. Dear Auntie and Uncles and Sunbeams—Greetings to you and all the world! I send good thoughts to Little Mother. lam glad she. has cornu back to us again . I hope to see a nice long letter from Te Wihoi and also from Dad this week I am so pleased, Te Wihoi is coming to see us all. If wc only knew what day she were coming, we would be able to meet her and have a nice talk. 1 think I will close now with good thoughts to Uncle Ted and all the world at nin-e, from SUNBEAM ANNIE. Te Namii Dear Aunt, Uncles and Sunbeams all —Greetings once more to you all. A hearty welcome Sunbeam Elvina. Every week there are new Sunbeams to welcome to our column. I hope to sec a letter from one of our Uncles next week, as it is a hmg while since they wrote. Winter is now here. We have had. a few severe frosts. The frosts out here are like snow lying on the ground. Last winter you would think there was snow

on the tops of the trees I wish Sunbeam Mary Ann would write and tell us more about her parrot, as wc used to enjoy reading her little chats The j football season has started again. Wc i had our first match yesterday, but our I team was beaten. I was sorry to hear I you knocked your little tooth out Sun- [ beam Jim, but, never mind, you will j soon grow another one. I will close now with good thoughts to Dad and To Wihoi and all the world. From SUNBEAM MADGE. (15 years.) Millerton ! Dear Aunt Flora —Good thoughts to you Auntie, and to our Dad and Te Mihoi good thoughts I hope their Grannie is getting better. We have another Jim, so that- other Jack better come , back, as we have two Eddies. Good : thoughts Jack, and to Undoes Ned aud Ted and Jim, good thoughts. SUNBEAM JACK. • ) Paroa, Dear Aunt Flora, and Sunbeams, —= Greetings to you all. Greetings to .ill the world. Greetings and good thoughts i Io Uncle Ted, Te Wihoi, and Dad. Dear Aunt Flora,,,we must all try to get our dear Unde back again to our Col- < num. We must crowd him with good thoughts, and make him feel that he can keep away no longer. He intis! • write, I would like to meet Uncle Ted i very much, as Little. Mother did when she came off the boat at Lyttelton. What fine letters we will have now, that Little Mother has begun writing again. I I remember her writing before, but it is a .long while ago. I was very much surprised, Little Mother, when I saw that you knew me. I have no idea who you are, and have never heard of the place, before, where you live. My mother said she did not know who you

were, and she would be very pleased if you would give her the initials of your maiden name, next time you write. Another new Sunbeam, last week. Yes Sunbeam Snowdrop, you will keep on writing, won’t you, and help to keep the Sunbeam Column going. 11 is very cold out here, these mornings, and one can easily know it is winter. 1 will conclude now, with good thoughts to all especially Uncle Ted. From SUNBEAM GLADYS. Millerton. Dear Aunt Flora, —1 am nearly too late this week. I send greetings to all. We are having good weather—good for playing hop-scotch. I send good thoughts Io Dad and Te Wihoi and Uncles Ted and Jim, Ned, and yourself, and all Sunbeams. TOMMY.