Stalwart honoured as women gather

STILL TOGETHER: The Te Ore Ore Centre Women's Institute come to Lorna O'Brien at Lyndale for their meeting. From left June Sanson, June Dayle, Ada Hazlewood, Betty Matthews; rear, Lorna O'Brien, front; Ellen McLauchlan and Olga Nicholson.PHOTOS/ LYNDA FERINGA

Women's Institute membership is only a fraction of what it was in its hey-day, but loyalty dies hard.

WI Te Ore Ore Centre member Lorna O'Brien, 93, joined the institute in 1948, shortly after getting married.

There were nearly 50 members then, but on Monday six of the few remaining members elected to hold their monthly meeting with Mrs O'Brien at the Lyndale Villa.

Mrs O'Brien might be frail, but there is nothing wrong with her mind. Last week the Times-Age was invited to the meeting by the rest home staff, charmed by the idea of the institute coming to Mrs O'Brien.

But everyone had the day wrong, except for Mrs O'Brien.

She thanked the reporter for the unexpected visit, but she knew it was the wrong day; she hadn't had her hair done.

Mrs O'Brien said she would usually attend the monthly meetings, formerly at the Lansdowne Presbyterian Church hall, but nowadays at people's homes.

"There's only about seven or eight of us," she said.

"We have an elderly lady, she's 98, she still comes.

"That's why we still have these get-togethers.

"If we close down, we would lose our members."

The branch's name is a combination of two branches - Te Ore Ore and Masterton Centre, which merged when numbers were dropping.

The afternoon included the presentation of a 50-year badge to member Ellen McLauchlan.

Recreation officer Barbara Caffell said the villa runs a "really diverse" recreational programme and they welcomed the attendance of the WI.

"We love having the community come in.

"It's bringing the outside in, when people can't get out."