Marge Glucina's 100th birthday....
Marge and her father Bill were avid sailors taking full advantage of the waterfront, racing together in the "mullet boat" class. She also had her own smaller sailing boat called "Sea Foam". In her younger years Marge trained as a nurse and she loved her ballroom dancing. She met her husband to be, George Glucina, when they were dancing at the Orange Ballroom in Newton Gully. They were married 24th December 1938 and moved to Carter Rd, Oratia. After raising sufficient capital they purchased 11 acres of land in Parker Road, Oratia. They started market gardening, but in 1952 their entire crop of tree tomatoes was wiped out. Desperate for a job, George went to work for Harold Bassett, who had a business on his property next door and he started melting scrap metal and making bronze ingots in Harold's foundry business. George was an entrepreneur at heart and after 12 months with borrowed equipment he started his own business, installing a melting furnace in their packing shed. The business eventually became New Zealand's largest non-ferrous ingot manufacturer from recycled scrap and still exists today as Glucina Alloys Ltd (and actually employs grandsons of Harold Bassett). For 10 years George ran the business together with Marge helping him pour and knock out the ingots. She was not averse to getting her hands dirty (and burnt on occasions!) During her time at the Parker Rd home, Marge had a beautiful garden and was particularly proud of her roses. She is an excellent cook and was a great provider to her husband, ensuring that they were always immaculately dressed. Marge loved her only child Clare (the Alsatian!), but seriously, although they did not have children of her own, she happily had neighbour's children, that she treated as her own, staying with them, including Tony and Jim Trubuhovich. Tony and Jim and later John Burrows were taken on as shareholders in the business. Marge never drove a car in her life, although on one occasion Tony Trubuhovich put her in the seat of George's 1965 automatic Chev car and she drove 3 metres up the driveway! This was the total extent of her driving in 100 years! Marge would go every Thursday to town with her husband in the delivery truck and get dropped off at K' Rd to go shopping. George would then meet Marge later in the day to have a regular massage with Mr Ling and then something to eat at the Versalko diner in K' Rd. George was an avid amateur radio operator and Marge and George would communicate on a weekly basis with friends all over the world. George's call sign was ZL1DK. In later life they enjoyed overseas travel to Europe and North America to attend radio conventions and to stay with "radio ham" friends. George and Marge also travelled New Zealand extensively with their U.S. visitors. In later life George and Marge moved to 31 Chelverton Terrace in Red Beach where they built a new home on the cliff edge. They continued to pursue their interests of gardening and their amateur radio communication with the world, as well as ball room dancing (which they would often do just at home!) Friends and family are very thankful for the high level of care that all the staff have given to Marge in the years that she has been at Fairview Care Albany. Everyone is looking forward to celebrating Marge's 100th birthday on Monday 11th November 2013.
|
|
