MOTHERS AND SONS.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17751, 1 July 1929, Page 9

MOTHERS AND SONS.

BANQUET AT Y.M.C.A.

HAPPY SOCIAL GATHERING. The idea of holding “mother and son” and “father and son” banquets is a happy one. Such gatherings have a very important influence. They bring parents and children together in an atmosphere outside the home. They help to knit a closer bond between them where such is possible, and they have the effect of widening the outlook of the child by helping him to realise that other children have mothers and fathers who are just as great and important to those children as are his own parents to him. They also create a desirable social atmosphere and give the youngsters what is probably their first taste of the community spirit outside school.

On Saturday night nearly 200 mothers and sons attended a mother and son banquet at the Y.M.C.A. rooms at Hamilton. His Worship the Mayor, Mr J. R. Fow, presided over what proved to be an exceedingly pleasant evening. Long tables spread with delectable food tempted the healthy appetites of the youngsters. The lengthy programme opened with grace said by the Mayor. The boys hardly needed His Worship’s injunction to make short work of the eatables, and soon the tables were conspicuous for the number of empty dishes. The toast of “The King” followed. Several toasts were proposed by boys, whose brief addresses were commendable in spirit and excellently delivered. “ Our Mothers.” The chief toast of the evening was that of “Our Mothers,” which was entrusted to Knowles Louden, who said he had much pleasure in calling for what he assumed to be the most important toast of the evening, that of “Our Mothers.” No words of his could express the full meaning of the word mother and the -wonderful depth of a mother’s love. Mother was in greatest demand in every home. In fact mothers were so important that he had only heard of two people who did not have a mother, and they were Adam and Eve. (Laughter.) “When we are in trouble and in pain,” went on the speaker, “we always look to mother for sympathy. Whenever we lose anything the first thing we do is to yell, ‘liey, mum, seen my socks?’ or something to that effect. Of course I am not saying anything against dad. He comes in handy when we want some cash, but no one understands us like mother. (Laughter and applause). During the war the word which was caught on the lips of many a dying soldier was mother. The first thing a baby learns to say is ma-ma, so that shows us the importance of our mother. That reminds me of a verse, running: And when I look up yonder Two faces I would see; I want first to see my Saviour, Then have mother come to me. Now sons, I ask you to rise, charge your glasses and drink to the health of “Our Mothers.” In replying on behalf of the mothers, Mrs F. D. Pinfold thanked Knowles Louden for saying such nice tilings. She hoped all the boys agreed with it and meant what they said. Mothers thought sometimes that the boys did not appreciate the sacrifices made by them. Time would come when the boys would grow up and then they would understand what mothers did for their children. There -were worse things than being tied to a mother’s apron strings. (Laughter.) Boys could learn a great deal from their mothers, who were probably wiser than they thought. Mrs Pinfold then asked mothers to drink to the health of their

sons. The Four Square Programme. A short address on the Four Square Programme of the Y.M.G.A. was given by Mr Cable, who said that when a boy \vas enlisted as a member of the Y.M.C.A. he was asked to do so on one side of the square, which comprised the intellectual, physical, service and devotional sides. It was sometimes found that a boy was lacking somewhat on the physical side, although lie had enlisted on another side. Attention was then devoted to developing his physique by gymnastics. On the other hand the intellectual side might be found somewhat lacking. The boy was then given the advantage of the library and other means of study. The same attention was paid to the service and devotional sides. The boys were encouraged in the matter of service to their friends and in the wider sense to their nation, their Empire and the world generally. Mr V. T. Drew, secretary of the Auckland Y.M.C.A., spoke to the gathering, remarking that the boy was supremely important and had become more so since the war. It was often said that boys would be boys, but it must also be remembered that boys would be men. The question was ‘‘what kind of men?” It was necessary, however, for a boy to become the right kind of man to be healthy, kind and good. The whole of human nature was really four square. Recognising this fact, if we found a boy developing along one side-alley we must realise he was lopsided- An even balance must be maintained. Either one of the sides could be overdone to the disadvantage of the other sides. A boy who did not develop along the foursquare principle was not going to be the man he should.

The speaker dwelt upon the importance of home influence. The home was the key to the whole position. In the home the boy should get his basic education —truth, justice, thrift, uprightness, honour and respect. In the home he should be also taught to work, he should be taught cheerfulness and sacrifice. Growth of Y.M-O.A. Movement. Mr Drew went on to review the growth of the Y.M.C.A. movement, which from a weekly meeting in a small room in London had developed into a vasty worldwide organisation. The Y.M.C.A. could not take the place of the home, however. It could only supplement the good that was taught in the home. To the boys present he pointed out the value of school learning. What they earned in the future was dependent largely upon the amount •of learning they got now. School days were habit-forming days. They should therefore make sure that the habits they cultivated were good ones. Amongst the habits they should cultivate were those of decision, of courage, concentration, tidiness, and thoroughness- They should get it out of their minds that the only kind of work worth doing was that in which one could wear a white collar. They should remember that the man who returned home with a blackened face had been

doing just as honourable work, and perhaps more so, than the man with the collar. He counselled the boys to be "regular boys.” In conclusion, the speaker made an appeal for assistance for the Hamilton branch of the Y.M.C-A., where help was badly needed.

In proposing the toast of “Our Homes,” Robert Green said: "To all of us this toast must appeal, for there is no' place like home. There is always the element of freeness there, and although we admit how line it is to have a holiday away from home, to visit other places and to meet new friends, we are always glad to return home once more.”

Of course mother often says she gets tired of being in the house, and when we all roll home from school she says we get on her nerves. Let me therefore give a bit of advice to all the boys here to-night- Always cut the firewood and fill the coalscuttle, dig the garden and weed the .yard, clean the boots and shake the mats, wash the dishes and peel the potatoes, and you will find that home is heaven on earth. (Laughter.) Our homes are what we make them; therefore let us do our best to make them bright, happy and cheerful for all.” The Church. The toast of "The Church” was proposed by Ralph Fear, who said: "To mv mind the church is just a larger home, and what our home means to us as families, as mothers and sons, .so the church is the home of God. As the home is the place where love is shed about the members of the family, so the church is the place from which the love of God is shed abroad to the community. The church has stood through the centuries and stands today as the sweetener of community life. Who could imagine the world without churches? The church has stood and still stands the champion of righteousness and goodness against evil. From the earliest beginning the forces of evil have arrayed themselves against the church and in all- ways tried to stamp her out by persecution, but she has stood firm and has won out, and to-day she stands the pride of the people. The church has always stood for right against wrong, for the weak against the strong, and for the uplift of mankind and the glory of God. We look forward to the time when all the churches shall unite and form the great united church of God, when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that the churches’ Lord is Lord indeed.”

In the absence of Rev. L. T. Rogers, the Mayor responded to the toast of “The Church.”

Mr C. L. Mac Diarmid( one of the directors) thanked those who had helped to make the evening a success and those who attended that night. Special thanks were due to the ladies’ auxiliary and to the “gym. girls,” who had on that occasion given their services as waitresses. Thanks were also due to the Optimists’ Club for their services as doorkeepers and masters of ceremonies and for assisting in the merriment of the evening. The speaker concluded with an appeal for membership.