Te Awamutu Rural sales specialist Noldy Rust 027 255 3047 | rwteawamutu.co.nz YourC community newspaper for over 100 years Thursday, October 22, 2020 Rosetown Realty Ltd Licensed REAA2008 BRIEFLY Community heroes Altrusa Te Awamutu is calling 100 years young for nominations for a newly created recognition award for our local community heroes. If you know of an individual or group that you think could do with a special thank you for making a difference in the Te Awamutu community please submit your nominee and why you think they deserve a big thank you to [email protected]. Each month Altrusa will recognise a community nominee and profile them in the Te Awamutu Courier. Kihikihi Ukuleles Kihikihi Ukulele Club meets next at the Kihikihi Bowling Club on October 27 and fortnightly thereafter. Beginners class starts at 6pm, for more information contact Vanessa vanessa. [email protected] The club jam follows at 7pm, beginners are welcome to join in. For more information contact Angela, 870 2649. 2020 Light Party off The Light Party 2020 has been cancelled due to health and safety concerns of large groups gathering during the Carolyn Farrell celebrated turning 100 surrounded by fellow residents at Camellia Rest Home and one of her daughters, Karen Howard. Photo / Caitlan Johnston pandemic. Organisers will be back with a bigger Light Party for 2021 - so mark the calendars. Birthday girl shares ‘virtual’ party with family Pa¯terangi PTA quiz Caitlan Johnston reach the milestone age. school in Eastport, Maine – each day working for the Government in their Pa¯terangi school PTA is “Family who are in Chile were up crossing the border by boat across the Radar Research Lab. holding a Quiz Night n her 100 years, Carolyn Farrell past midnight on the call with us and Friar Roads bay. She lived in Asbury Park – a sea- fundraiser on Saturday, has ventured to a lot of places everyone sang her ‘Happy Birthday’. “I had to walk a mile to the ferry side resort town in the state. October 31 at 7pm at Waipa¯ and had some very interesting Mum got to see them all which was and then catch the boat over and then “This was probably the most inter- Workingmen's Club. jobs, from a radar research brilliant,” says Carolyn’s daughter, walk some more to school,” says esting job I ever had, and the one with All adults welcome, $10 per Icentre handling top-secret files to Karen Howard. Carolyn. the most responsibility,” she says. person, teams of 4-8. escorting war brides across America. “She’ll be talking about all this for Carolyn was very bright. She was in charge of a group of Prizes for best dressed — it is Last Friday was her 100th birthday days now.” She won a two-year scholarship to workers in the Camp Evans Library Halloween, so get creative. and she celebrated by having a morn- Carolyn was born in Maine, the college, known in New Zealand as and they sorted top-secret reports. ing tea surrounded by her fellow furthest northeastern state in Ameri- university, and attended Colby Col- What she loved a lot about New residents at Camellia Rest Home, can right on the border of New Bruns- lege in Waterville, Maine. Jersey is that “you could go out National comp where she has lived for the past two wick, Canada – this is where she grew Here she majored in science and dancing every night of the week if Kihikihi is hosting the Table years. up, on an island called Campobello was within the top 10 students for you wanted to”. Tennis New Zealand National The next day she also had a “vir- occupied mostly by fisherman and chemistry. Some of the hotels in Asbury Park Country Clubs Tournament at tual” birthday party with her family their families. After the scholarship money ran were taken over by Royal Navy crews the Te Awamutu Events who live in Alaska and Chile – for Her parents were Charles and Eva out she had to leave college because while they waited for their lend-lease Centre this weekend. them it was still her birthday because Batson and she was the youngest of she and her family could not afford ships that the Americans were build- Spectators are free, play starts of the time difference. four children. the tuition fees. ing for Britain. at 9am. “I’m darn lucky,” said Carolyn She started her schooling on the When World War II broke out when asked about how it feels to island but eventually went to high Carolyn got a job in New Jersey continued on A2 KAWASAKI KL250 STOCKMAN 0% FINANCE 1/3,1/3 1/3,1/3 1/31/3 REPAYMENTREPAYMENT OFFEROFFER $2433 ALUMINIUM JOINERY PER PAYMENT GLASS & GLAZING NO ADDITIONAL FEES $7299 Including GST SEE IN STORE FOR TERMS AND CONDITIONS Te Awamutu PROUD TO BE LOCAL, PROUD TO SUPPORT LOCAL 07 870 2455 2 Te Awamutu Courier Thursday, October 22, 2020 Party to mark 100 years Circulated free to 14,045 homes in continued from A1 Te Awamutu and surrounding districts. “They would come out often to the CIRCULATION 14,045* United Service Organisation PHONE: 07 871 5151 evenings and they were mostly all good dancers because they had POSTAL ADDRESS: learned properly,” says Carolyn. 97 Sloane Street, PO Box 1, “That was a fun place to live at Te Awamutu 3840 the time.” OFFICE HOURS: She then got a job with Red Cross America and worked in Monday - Wednesday 10am - 2pm various roles with the organisation, Closed Thursday, Friday, Public Holidays including working with returned DELIVERY QUERIES: 0800 111 200 servicemen and learning about their mental illnesses, reviewing EDITORIAL applications for leave, writing Dean Taylor (Editor) disability reports and then working Ext: 67705 0274 819951 on the war bride trains. [email protected] War brides were the wives of Carolyn worked various jobs Caitlan Johnston Ext: 67710 men who had married overseas throughout WWII including for while away for war and their wives Red Cross America working with [email protected] had moved to America. war brides and returned Jesse Wood Ext: 67713 “A lot of that work involved servicemen. [email protected] travelling with them by train right SPORT across the country to get them to [email protected] where they were going to live, which was perhaps with the family ADVERTISING of the husband,” says Carolyn. Sarah Verran 021 345 951 Carolyn remembers one of the [email protected] ladies she dropped off was met by CLASSIFIEDS a man on a horse and she wondered where he was going to Tania King Ext: 67708 store all her bags. [email protected] She was then sent to Japan to Carolyn met her husband Des while she was working in Japan with the We welcome letters - preferably via email. work for the Red Cross, servicing Red Cross; he was there with the New Zealand Air Force. They should be under 300 words and troops from England, New Zealand, must have the sender’s name, address Australia and Canada. friend had arranged for Carolyn to schoolteacher, but when Des went and phone number. No pseudonyms It was in Japan that she met her meet him where he was on duty, back to the Air Force they moved are accepted and names will only be husband Herbert Desmond Farrell and she says “that was the around a bit, living in Fiji and (Des), who was in the Royal New beginning of it all”. Singapore. withheld in special circumstances at the Zealand Air Force. They married on October 9, In 1973, when Des retired from Family photo taken during their discretion of the editor. Letters are not She had met him while out 1947, in Yokohama and Carolyn the Air Force they moved as a time living in Fiji where Des was usually acknowledged and may be edited, dancing one night. briefly returned home to America family to Seattle. Karen moved assigned with the Air Force. abridged or discarded. “There were these two boys and before moving to New Zealand. back to New Zealand later that We’re online at a girl sitting at a table and I went They had two daughters – Karen year, Susan stayed and currently ago. nzmecommunitynews.pressreader.com over to them and asked them if and Susan Stewart, both born in lives in Alaska and Carolyn and Des and Carolyn’s eight they wanted to dance, one of the New Zealand. Des moved back to New Zealand grandchildren and 16 great- chaps was Des,” says Carolyn. They lived in Palmerston North, in 1998. grandchildren are spread across About three days later Des’ where Carolyn was a Des passed away three years New Zealand, America and Chile. 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