The Citizen, 1998-09-09, Page 25ON THE JOB
From mailing to logging hours at the computer Marian Hallahan puts a good deaf
of time into her work as secretary of the Huron Pioneer Thresher Reunion and
Hobby Show Association.
Congratulations
to the Huron Pioneer Association
on their 37th Reunion
Make Cook's your supply and service centre.
Crop
Planning
Soil
Analysis
Seed
Supplies
Fertilizer
Programs
Elevator
Facilities
Crop Care
Centre
Chemical
SuoPlies
Market
Information
PLANNING IS THE KEY TO REACHING
YOUR FARMING GOALS!
Before you make any decisions for 1998 or 1999
talk to the folks at Cook's.
Walton Atwood Amberley Parkhill
887-9261 1-800-786-1476 356-2292 395-3601 294-6256
Division of Hensall Centrailia Kirkton 262-2410 Parrish Cr. Heimbecker, Limited 228-6661 229-8986
Huron Pioneer Thresher
& Hobby Association Inc.
37th
jzInnirersary
1913 76 H.P. Sawyer Massey
Owned and restored by John Mackay, Ridgetown, Ontario
FRIDAY, 8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Admission: $4.00 per person
Elementary Student Activity Day
Senior Citizens Day
Admission for Senior Citizens $2.00 (Friday only)
SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, 8:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M.
Admission:- $4.00 per person
CHILDREN'S RATES FRIDAY - SUNDAY
Children 12 and under: $1.00
Children 12 and under when
accompanied by an adult: FREE
Members must have 1998 membership
Sept. 11, 12 13, 1998
Blyth Fairgrounds, Blyth, Ontario
-Welcome to
EXCEPTIONAL VALUE!
A THRESHER'S DREAM
At Rice's you'll find a huge
inventory of quality work clothes
including: striped overalls,
engineer caps, work boots,. coveralls
RICE'S STORE
Conc. 12, Hullett Twp., 2 miles east of Hwy. #4 (519) 523-4426
771E CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1998. PAGE A-S.
1998 HURON PIONEER THRESHER REUNION & HOBBY SHOW
Blyth-area woman has been keeping minutes for 17 years
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen staff
You could say it's a prime example of
why you should never miss a meeting.
In 1981, Simon Hallahan, one of the
founding members of the Huron Pioneer
Thresher Association, announced that the
job of being secretary-treasurer was
getting to be too much work. Marian's
husband, Frank, Simon's nephew,
suggested she might take on the role of
recording secretary.
She did and has never left.
When Marian was a young girl living in
Auburn, she knew very little about the
annual Thresher Reunion in Blyth, but as a
Hallahan it would become a way of life.
Married in 1969, the couple moved to
their Blyth-area farm.
Though Marian began attending the
annual steam and hobby show each year,
she was not actively involved. Then when
her children arrived, for a few years she
stopped entirely. "They found the whistles
scary. They would cry and fuss. It was just
easier to stay home," she said.
When the eldest child turned four,
however, Marian said he was always
ready to spend time with Grandpa Dan
(Hallahan), so he went with him. "I just
started tagging along after awhile. I started
to meet people and just wanted to keep
going back."
When her husband volunteered her for
more active service, Marian wasn't too
alarmed. "I wasn't working then and
thought that it would be a good way to get
involved in the community."
In the early days the job entailed the
recording of the minutes at meetings, then
in 1982, Marian began sending out notices
to members. ''From there it has just
blossomed," she says.
Membership in those days stood at
about 350 families. Today 450 notices are
mailed with the Association having 820
paid members.
As the workload increased, Marian also
decided to take on another challenge —
returning to school. In 1983 she enrolled
in the RNA course (now RPN) at
Wingham hospital. She graduated in 1984
and is now employed there part-time.
That same year the club incorporated
which was an exciting, yet mildly
terrifying time, she says. "It was
something that not everyone gets to
experience. You learn rules and
regulations, deal with so many levels of
bureaucracy, and the rules keep
changing."
Unfortunately it contributed to the
position becoming almost another part-
time job. So in the early 1990s Marian
announced at a meeting that she would
like to quit. "I thought maybe it was time
to move on. People get stale, there's new
blood, new people with fresh ideas. I
wondered if I had come to a standstill and
it was time for me to move on."
Essentially, it was request denied. "They
said, 'No way.'," Marian stated.
The idea of just sticking to her guns and
walking away never occurred to her. "You
can't just leave something like this
hanging. You're obligated and /the older
you get the more I think you care about
that."
While the job description has remained
the same there is no question that the
magnitude of the job has changed. "I do
put a lot of hours to this in a year. It's not
CONTINUED ON A-6