Junior Red Cross. Junior Red Cross. Junior Red Cross.
[wptb id=6381]1989 – 2003
Written by Jo Addis
Jo “Brown Owl” Addis in 1993.
Junior Red Cross (JRC) was a part of the school program run by Mrs Lesley Langley with her year 4/5 class. After Mrs Langley left the school I was asked if I would be interested in running the group after school for the older children as I was no longer running Girl Guides for the older girls.
I placed a notice in the school newsletter advertising a meeting for children in years 6/7 and parents to see if there was any interest. Thinking no boys would be interested I got quite a surprise when all the boys came running in and no girls to be seen anywhere. When I asked where the girls were they said still at school, they are not interested. The boys told me they had a better idea than starting a JRC Group, would I start a Boy Scout Group for boys only. After quite a lively discussion with the boys telling me why I could and me telling them why I couldn’t, they reluctantly agreed to be part of the JRC Group with the girls.
Our group was the only JRC Group in WA run after school and Head Office in Perth had quite a few problems accepting the situation. They sent the JRC Coordinator down from Perth to see how I ran the group. They were pleasantly surprised to find we held a meeting and activity day once a month. At the start of each year the children elected their President, Secretary and Treasurer. At the meetings they would decide what they would do to raise money for Red Cross which was the main purpose of the branch, what they would like to do after the meeting and if there were any other organisations they could help.
The main activity for raising money was bagging sheep manure and selling it to people in the district. Car washes were very popular until water restrictions. Street stalls, walk-a-thon and bike-a-thons were another way they raised money. Other activities the children took part in (as a community service) were; making emergency toilet bags and story books for the Katanning Hospital. When they took them into Katanning they were given a tour of the Hospital.
Helping the Tidy Town Committee by cleaning rubbish along the side of the roads and painting the main street curbs. The children raised enough money to put two seats and a table in the RSL Memorial Park. Some of the most popular activities were learning how to light an outdoor fire and cook on the coals, damper was very popular with lots of butter and honey. Each June we held a cake decorating competition. I would ask someone in town to judge the best one or two depending on how many cakes there were. There was fierce competition between the boys and girls. Over the years the boys have won more than the girls. Craft and indoor/outdoor games were popular.
Junior Red Cross Boys (from the Filmer Family collection)
The Katanning Police came and visited the group twice over the years and talked to the children regards behavior and what was expected of them as they grew up and answered questions about policing. Then they allowed them to look through the Police car and use the sirens. The Red Cross used to help the Katanning Police organise a Blue Light Disco in Nyabing at Easter and Christmas. After a few years the Police donated around $200 worth of sporting equipment for the Nyabing School.
At the end of each year I took the children (along with my helper) to a fine restaurant in Gnowangerup or Katanning for dinner. This was a special occasion for the children. They dressed in their very best clothes (boys had to wear a tie). Sometimes a boy would turn up and say he had forgotten his tie but when I pulled one of Garth’s out of my bag they produced their own out of their pockets. They sat boy, girl around the table. Boys held the girls chair for them, poured the drinks for everyone and ordered the girls meal for them. The children always looked forward to this dinner. They always received lovely comments from the restaurant staff for their dress and good manners and were asked to come again.
We were taken to these dinners on a school bus driven by a local bus driver. Over the years the Nyabing group raised more money than any other group in WA. I enjoyed working with the children over the years, watching them develop and grow into fine young adults. I could not have run the group without the help of many Nyabing ladies over the years. Sadly at the end of 2003 I closed the JRC because Perth made it too hard to keep going. We were the last in the Great Southern to close.
MEMORIES:
“After we left the Restaurant in Gnowangerup our bus was stopped by the police for a Random Breath Test. The look on the policeman’s face was priceless when he saw a bus load of children. The children talked him into making the bus driver blow in the bag and they teased Cheryl (driver) all the way home”. Brown Owl
“The night Cameron was sick on the bus all over the two children sitting next to him and we called into Max and Beryl Bennett’s Chook Farm and cleaned them up and rang his Mum to come and pick him up”. Brown Owl
“I remember one of the police visits the boys spending the afternoon drooling over the blonde policewoman who came out. They all got a surprise when they were looking through the Police car, one of the boys tried to be smart with his talk, she became very stern and told him she was going to take him back to the Katanning Police Station and charge him.” Brown Owl
“I really enjoyed the days when we got to do some cooking, the food was always tasty. The fact that we got to meet up once a month after school and just muck around was great. It was out of school so didn’t have to worry about teachers.” Karlie Jenkins
“Forming a Committee, President, Secretary and Treasurer and the students ran their own meetings. Constant sheep manure drives. Cake decorating competitions. Painting the town curbs white – always wanting to be in the group outside the shop and Faye’s as they would give us lollies. Tidy Town when we used to walk along the roadside collecting rubbish. Red Cross Dinner – every group that went through Red Cross had a photo taken by the old grader then piled in a School Bus to go to Gnowangerup to go to dinner.
Brown Owl (Jo was always referred to as Brown Owl even out of Girl Guides). Used to make the boys pull out chairs for the girls and order their meals for them and the many fund raising ventures.” Jessica Tuffley
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