HEARTH-FIRE CLUBS.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume V, Issue 1367, 1 July 1918, Page 2

HEARTH-FIRE CLUBS.

COUNCIL ON SATURDAY NIGHT. A very interesting ceremony took place in" the Choral Hall on Saturday night, being a couueil of the Hearth-fire Civ.bs in connection with the girte' department Of the Y.W.0.A., and the presentation of honours won by members. The clubs of this name aim to teach girls to be perfect home-makers, ami as the hearth is. so to speak, the heart of the home, so the clubs get their name. There arc a number of groups of "Hearth-fires,'' each one having a different name, and honours are awarded periodically to those who have qualified themselves in branches of useful knowledge ami home industry, rules of health, and so on. The club aggregating the greatest number of honours holds the banner <f the combined groups for the time beiag. There were a large number of promising young home-makers at the Choral Hall on Saturday night, their ages ranging from 12 to just under 20 years. They sat on rugs on the floor, in groups, while at a table in the centre stood fheir leader, Miss Elsie Batehelor, reading out the" achievements of each girl as her name was called and she came up to recieve her honours. Some of them were quite surprising. A youthful "Hearthfire" who could just have about completed the 12 years which made her eligible for membership, was given honours for a quite comprehensive knowledge of cookery, including different w, ■ of utilising what many housekeepers regard as waste products, such as stale bread, left-over meat. etc. She had also done a quantity of sewing, could swim, could rerow r objects in deep water, could walk 'for five miles without living, could (dan meals, and was possessed of many other accomplishments such as go to the making of the good, all-round girl. Honours in a'! were awarded as follows: For learning and practising rules of health, I'.Ol; home craft, 274; hand craft, camp craft, Nature era!'', ami miscellaneous, IOTj; tr.tnl USD. The banner for the current

term was won by the "Norla" group, who were very proud of carrying off the honours of the evening, while the others, spurred with a healthy spirit of rivalry, vowed amongst themselves to turn the tables another time. Before the evening ended Miss N. Bardie, the girls' department secretary, spoke briefly to the girls on the future ! plans and programme of the department, and mentioned that Miss Owen, 'the general secretary, was expected back ifrcm Australia at the end of July, after la six months' furlough. It was arranged to give her a welcome from the ! girls' department early in August, and ;Miss Hardie gave the girls directions and advice about the arrangements to Ibo made, and how to set about, them. I The evenng (dosed with the National j Anthem, followed by the Benediction.