Reason to celebrate

By Emma Sun
WELL-known Hallam resident Pauline Saunders is turning 80.
To celebrate, her family have organised a surprise birthday party on Sunday 11 September to be held at the Hallam Senior Citizens’ Hall.
Pauline has been very active in the community, after moving to Hallam in 1959 with her husband Ken and son Kenneth.
She was involved with the reconstruction of the local primary school and was on the school committee as the secretary for 12 years.
She was also responsible for starting up a preschool committee, which raised enough money to have Hallam Preschool built and worked with close friends to get the Hallam Carnival running for three years.
Her three children, Kenneth, Debra and Paul, attended schools in the area.
Pauline’s involvement in the greater community included assisting George Chudliegh in starting the Hallam Senior Citizens’ Club, volunteering at the Red Cross, running the Blood Bank at General Motors and helping tirelessly during the Ash Wednesday fires making sandwiches for the fire-fighters.
In her working life, Pauline was a postlady and then worked as the crossing lady at Hallam Primary School before retiring at the age of 60.
She was presented with a Rotary Paul Harris fellowship in 1989 and also received the City of Berwick Australia Day Seniors award in 1990.
Pauline’s surprise birthday party will start at noon and finish at 5pm. The guest of honour will arrive at 12.30pm. Her daughter Debra encourages all of Pauline’s friends to go.
“We would like to honour her achievements and bring together the many friends that she may not have seen for many years but has never forgotten,” she said.
“We hope (everyone) can make it.”