CHRISTMAS CHEER PARTY

Taranaki Daily News, 23 December 1932, Page 6

CHRISTMAS CHEER PARTY

CHILDREN OF UNEMPLOYED.

TREAT GIVEN AT STRATFORD.

Anyone passing the Stratford Town Hall between 5 and 5.30 yesterday afternoon would have observed several long queues of happy children with beaming and expectant faces, outside the main door. No wonder they • looked happy, small' wonder they were waiting impatiently for those big double doors to open, for inside was a huge Christmas The Stratford churches had combined to give the Stratford unemployeds children a first-class Christmas treat, and they certainly succeeded. Twenty tables, piled high with good things stood in the hall. Not only to the “inner man did the tables appeal, but to .the eye as well. On each well-stacked board stood a .tree fern, decorated .with paper flags and with streamers from the top-most branches to the comers ,of the tables—a feast of colour as well as of ■ delicacies. In the centre of the hall hung greenery gaily bedecked with silvery ornaments which glistened and sparkled, reflecting the gay colours of • the surrounding decorations. Strings of bright paper flags radiated like the spokes of a wheel from the chandelier to the various parts of the. hall, giving the effect of a huge sum with outflung beams of light. On the stage the curtain was down, and in front of it stood a wireless set. jAt about 5.45 p.m. the doors were thrown open. In the children streamed to take their places at the tables set for them. They were arranged according to age, and in next to no time, from the youngest to the eldest. Paper caps of many hues were soon put on, and everything went with, a swing. -Suddenly there-was a hush, and thei} screams of delight. The meal was finished, and the curtain had gone up. What a sight , for . young eyes! A huge Christmas tree, its branches festooned with ribbons and gaily. coloured lights, stood in the middle of the stage. The talk rose to a crescendo as excited voices made wild guesses as to what would fall to their lot. Soon they would know and they were marshalled into two lines, boys on one side and girls on the other. Up they came to the stage, where Father Christmas was waiting to give them a present. Each child was presented with a gift suitable to his or her age, and bags of sweets were distributed to all. The children then played, about the- hall until a. little after 8 o’clock. The ladies in' charge were Mesdames Masters, Jardine, F. Hale, Russ, Moore, Thomson, R. Tyrer, Curtis, McL, Young, Sanne, Erickson, Webley, Furrie, Robinson, Liddell, Gaw, Sayers, J. Power, McGregor, Malone, Skuse and Beale, Misses Bremner, Masters (2),. Young, Sutherland, Moore, Gee, Smart, Harris, Cornyns, - Pollard, Hardy Jones, Jardine, Hoole, Thomson, Falstaff, Russ, .Earrow, Erickson, Ritter, Furrie, Brown, Penn, Broad, Cook, Masters, .Harper, Pemberthy, Sheahan,. Sbutheram, Power, Bremner, Morrison, McGregor, Uniacke, Lyons, Malone, Whittle, Foster, Adams, Sutton, Porritt, Cutfield and . Carryer.,

ATHLETICS AT ELTHAM. ELECTRIC LIGHT CARNIVAL. The Eltham Amateur Athletic Club has concluded arrangements for holding an electric-light carnival at Taumata Park on February 2. So as to give the necessary flood-light, 33 100-candle-power electric lights will be placed round the track, and it is believed that arrangements will be made to leave this lighting for the - band contest. A special feature of the gathering will be a 220 yards invitation short limit handicap. For this invitations have been sent to S. A. Black (New Plymouth), N.Z. Olympic representative, C. Jenkins, Wellington, champion and runnerup to Elliot in the 220 yards championsliip ■at Auckland, T. K. Cambie (Hawera), M. Prince (Eltham), -A. L. Thompson’(N.P.), F. Young, (Stratford) and probably a leading, runner from Wanganui. Mr. J/ Whiting will be hdn. secretary for the meeting.

PERSONAL ITEMS. - Mr., E. Casey, cliief engineer of. the New Zealand Railways, and Mr. Howell, district engineer at. Wanganui, visited Eltham on Wednesday. Mr. and Mrs. R. V. Kay will leave Stratford on Saturday morning for Wellington, where they will reside in future. , Mr. and Mrs. F;. Nolan, Stratford, will spend a holiday at Gisborne and Rotorua. ■ ’ • ELTHAM THEATRE. A SPECTACULAR ROMANCE. Patrons to-night will receive a treat in the screening of “Madam Satan,” a really spectacular romance, by the great Cecil B. De Mille, creator of the wonderful “Ten Commandments” picture. It has a rather simple story of marital differences, against a background of colour, clever dancing, great ballets, and tuneful songs. A really wonderful feature is the mid-air break up of a giant Zeppelin, and used for . a ball in the clouds, and the descent of the guests by parachutes. Reginald Denny and Kay Johnson, supported by Lillian Roth, and Roland Young, are the principals in a huge cast, numbering thousands. A really gigantic production.