‘This great event should be on TV says A. A. MacLeod at PT celebration By BERT WHYTE “J wish this great victory cele- bration of Pacific Tribune sup- porters could be televised so that Toronto readers of the Canadian Tribune, who are now in the middle of a financial campaign for their paper, would become inspired by this magnificent de- monstration.” A. A. MacLeod, former Ontario MPP, said to me last Saturday night at the PT smorgasboerd-dance. We were watching 400 people jamming the dance floor: in the next room the smorgasbord was still in full swing (some 600 people were fed during the evening). _ The 300 Press Builders, Honor Press. Builders and press work- ers who were on hand for the 6.30 p.m. smorgasbord broke into cheers when it was announced that the 1953 Pacific Tribune drive for $17,500 had gone over the top. They cheered again and gave PT editor Tom McEwen a etanding ovation when A. A. MacLeod, guest speaker at the “selebration, said “You have done a fine job for yours paper, and that is as it should be, for you have a magnificent paper. I _ think we should pay tribute to Tom McEwen and the members of the PT staff for the tremen- ‘dous job they are doing in pro- ducing a paper which should be in the hands of every worker in B.C. That’s the task that faces you now, to win new readers for the PT during the coming weeks and months.” The enthusiastic guests ap- plauded time and again as PT business manager Rita Whyte paid tribute to outstanding press clubs and press workers, and an- nounced -that a final tabulation showed that during the drive 290 supporters had become Press Builders (by raising $25 or more) and 30 had become Honor Press Builders ($100 or more). Tom McEwen presented the Honor Press Builders seated at the head table with token gifts on behalf of the paper. Top HPB was Bill Hreherchuk, who raised more than $500. McEwen also presented a cor- sage to Mrs. Henni Bell, who was celebrating her 75th birthday; and chairman Bert Whyte pres- ented a similar corsage to Mrs. Mary (‘Ma’) Flanagan, veteran worker in the progressive labor movement who is returning to Toronto later this month after an extended visit to the Pacific Coast. HPB Bill Stewart led the de- mand that ‘Ma’ Flanagan sing BILL HREHERCHUK “1 want to thank all the peo- ple who gave me donations dur- ing the PT drive.” Wearing o’ the Green. “I will, on condition that you sing a Scot- tish song,” she told Bill. So when ‘Ma’ finished her song, Stewart broke into | Belong to Glasgow and the audience joined in sing- ing the chorus. A big fon was given to the many volunteer workers who worked all day long in the kit- chen preparing the sumptuous smorgasbord spread. And when the first sitting was over and the dancing began, these volunteers and others continued working until 11 p.m., setting table after table in the adjoining hall and washing thousands of dishes. x * * Winner of the shield presented annually to the top Vancouver press club was the Grandview club, which raised $1,000 on a $700 quota. (Past winners: 1945, Grandview; 1946, East End; 1947, Grandview; 1948, Grandview; 1949, West End; 1950, Central Burnaby; 1951, Advance; 1952, Grandview.) The provincial PT shield was won by Nanaimo, which in the face of terrific odds (there are more than 1,700 jobless in their city) surpassed their target of $1,000., (Past winners: 1948, Brookswood; 1949, Sointula; 1950, Campbell River; 1951, Nanaimo; 1952, Campbell River.) Honorable mention went to Advance press club in the city and to three Surrey clubs — White Rock, Port Kells and North Surrey—in the province. “Tom McEwen. “Dozens of clubs and indivi duals did outstanding work, Rita Whyte. “I cannot possib pay tribute to them all, but look at the — final tabulations shows that the majority of press clubs deserve praise the devoted, consistent efforts | their members.” Clubs which topped their drive targets include A. E. Sn Building Trades, East End, ectrical, Fairview, Forest + ducts, Georgia, Hastings East, Kitsilano, Niilo Makela, Philip Halperin, Point Grey, D. Dock, Victory Square, West South Burnaby, Vancouw Heights, Youth, Campbell Ri Courtenay, Ft. Langley, § Arm, Victoria and North vaq ver. The total of 30 Honor Builders is the highest ever * corded in a Pacific Tri ribune drive. ‘Despite difficulties caused ! unemployment in many \ tries, our supporters cl through again this year, ee have every year in the et sal “We on the of the paper pledge that in the coming year we will do our power to produce 4 Pacific Tribune.” ‘ Building Trades Dry Dock .... GREATER VANCOUVER > PB’s HPB’s 1 Turned In $ 811.15 225.00 269.00 407.70 — 413.65 533.35 470.31 _ 286.00 235.00 -] oe eee OMAHA A _ Nn w& — Ld ’ ONnNnNRDNRDA— VO Dea — aba 4 Se eeeeeen # Sustaining fund goes over top with Honors List TOP VANCOUVER CLUB Grandview press club mention: Advance, Forest Products, Kitsilano, Point Honorable Grey, Victory Square, South Bur- naby. TOP PROVINCIAL CLUB Nanaimo press club Honorable Campbell River, Courtenay, Fort Langley, Victoria, White Rock, North Sur- rey, North Vancouver, Victoria. mention: / TOP HONOR PRESS BUILDER Bill Hreherchuk (Advance) HPB’s: Harry Seland (Forest Pro- ducts); John deWever, Frank Pol- itano, Nick Stoochnov (Grand- view); Kay Rankin, D. G, (Hast- ings East); Tom McEwen, Rita “Whyte, Bert Whyte (Kitsilano); Lena Lipsey (Point Grey); Hal Griffin (Capitol Hill); Bill Stew- art (Dry Dock); Nigel Morgan (Victory Square); May Leni, Rhea Dear ,West End); Dusty Greenwell (Electrical); Alec Ku- cher (South Burnaby); J.S., V.S., - Mr. and Mrs. E., A Friend, (Van- couver); Grace Tickson, Walter Tickson, Mort McQueen, Irving Mortenson, W. C. (Nanaimo); Nancy Hamilton (New Westmin- ster); Dorothy Lynas (North $17,544.57 PROVINCE Press Club Alberni Britannia Campbell River _ Copper Mountain Courtenay Fernie-Michel-Natal .... Fort Langley Grassy Plains Haney District Kamloops Kimberley Lake Cowichan Mission New Westminster North Vancouver Notch Hill Powell River Princeton Prince Rupert North Surrey Port Kells Vernon Victoria Tom McEwen‘s Column Provincial Miscellaneous GRAND TOTAL Turned In $ 227.00 99.50 175.00. 32.00 210.72 — 2.00 24.00 409.20 148.25 52.40 97.28 120.00 62.25 120.50 22.00 19.50 1,071.69 12.00 355.32 796.93 75.50 60.00 35.00 75.00 40.00 75.40 43.00 52.15 142.50 158,04 $17,544.57