How many out there remember in St Patrick's the silver collection? No pennies were allowed, stipulation was your contribution had to be a silver coin. People used to joke about Mickey Sharkey from Hilden, to comply with the stipulation he deposited on the collection plate a Republic of Ireland silver threepenny piece. I'm sure it is not true, just a rumour or joke at his expense. Quite a number of people were capable of that in the Lisburn of long ago.
Donald

Donald It was also said of the bold Mick that a bag of coal lasted him for years,when asked how this was possible? it was said that when he felt the cold he threw the bag on his back and ran up and down the stairs with it a few times, but just like you I don't beleive it either Regards Ted

Donald,

I being a member of Lisburn parish for years, do not remember a silver collection, but one, of what every one could afford.
You maybe mixing up a weekly door collection for the building of a school which was 6 pence per family, if the family could afford it. The school was duly built,in the sixties, St. Patrick's Ballinderry Road still going to-day.

As you can note I am house-bound with a very sore back to-day, that is why I can read ur postings.
Who was ur Aunt Cassie? I am curious from Barrack St?.

Katie

Katie
The silver collection was taken up in St Patrick,s, then there were envelopes distributed around the doors and collected. ( Easter ??? ) Then it was read from the pulpit, street for street, house for house how much was in each envelope, some people said it was next thing to extortion.
The school collection was another thing, I remember reading that the Government would have paid for the school to be built but wanted a say in managing it, which certain people did not find acceptable.
Donald

Katie
Me again, Barney and Cassie Watters lived somewhere in Barrack street. If my memory serves me right then a sister of Cassies also lived there. Barney at least worked all his life in Hilden mill, Cassie I,m not so sure. He was a tall ,red faced man , due to high blood pressure and I seldom saw him without a cap ( as most men in Lisburn then )
Donald

Donald,

Yes, I remember the October collection and they did read out the names street by street, those days are gladly gone.

Can't say I know ur Aunt and Uncle, ru sure it was Barrack Street?, don't be angry, but I can recall everyone in the street, not like my friend Tom.

Katie

I worked alongside Mickey in Barbour's "Big Office" He was a very clever man, worked in Kilos etc long before they came into use here . The orders from abroad came in & he converted the weight into Lbs. ozs. etc before they were sent on to be made up. He read the papers every morning (got the lend of them) & was very clean as I used to see the back of his neck as he bent down to lift the paper from my desk. One day Billy Caves set the paper alight as Mickey sat on the toilet reading it. When he was about to retire we gave him a present of a new cap(his was in tatters) which he said he would wear for "Good " He got his dinner in the Canteen every day -a bowl of soup with 2 potatoes in it costing 2d, even after he retired., the nurse made sure he got his dinner. A learned man was our Mickey, had a cultured voice, left a fortune when he died. Lived in the back row Hilden. My grandfather got him a start in the Mill. Great characters in Lisburn then. Pat

We lived 2 doors up from Mickey before we had to vacate the house as my father left the mill. Leathems lived between us, he worked in Mackies, she in Gracey's, Mickey's house and Ned Alexander's were the only two without electric. Who remembers Ned Alexander? He lived at the top of the back row, spoke so fast no one could understand him. On the other side of us lived a Christian gentleman, Billy McCann who worked in the machine room in the mill. Johnny ( Ton ) Traynor who ran a shebeen at Christmas, Lynn , Spence, McArdle, Smith, McCormick, Sheridan, to name but a few lived there.
Donald

The older I get the more I dream about places of my childhood and youth. Last night I wandered through Hilden mill and saw old faces and people " ready for coming back " the expression used by my Gran to describe people who had been dead for quite a while. Then later I climbed the solid wooden staircase in the office building at Mackies and saw the old hammer which was displayed there. It had been taken from the shop floor and was in a display case at the bottom of the stairs. Beano do you have any idea why it was there?
Donald

Donald
Knew them all except Alexander, might have known him by sight. Hilden was a great wee village, a German name, funny u should have ended up in Germany. We considered calling this cottage Hilden but did,nt. Pity about the Wee Park,not a flower to b seen now, deserted & decayed, it used to b a showpiece. Pat

Donald Pat et all. Regarding Hilden Mill. Teesie Sheridan worked there all her life. In fact she was still working well into her late 70s. She decided to retire and approached her boss, George Orr. She said, I'm thinking of leaving, could I have my redundancy?". George roared with laughter and said he couldn't do that BUT they lifted a collection for Teesie and I think she got quite a tidy sum.

Even after she left, she went into the mill and collected orders from the girls in her room. She would go into town and get their "messages", which they collected at home time.

Teesie's sister, who was childless, looked after Teesie's grandchildren, who went to Hilden School. Each morning they were dropped off at a certain time and Aunt Mary would be standing at the front door waiting for them.

One morning Aunt Mary wasn't there. The door was knocked several times, then quite loudly - nothing. In a panic, the niece and her husband ran down to the mill, into the nurse's office. They explained that they couldn't get an answer and were worried that something was wrong. Teesie was sent for as she had a key to her sister's house. By this time, some of the labourers plus the personnel officer had gathered. In those days people genuinely cared for each other. Soon, a long line of people were seen, heads bent, heading up to Aunt Mary's house. When they arrived, Teesie didn't want to go in first. The nurse volunteered, so up the stairs they all went. When they got to the top of the stairs they heard snoring. Sheepishly opening the door, they all looked in. Mary was sound asleep. They all crept downstairs again and the children were taken over to school. At lunch time they called as usual for their lunch. Mary was there, large as life, full of beans.

Apparently, what happened was that Mary hadn't been sleeping too well and had mentioned this to her neighbour. Neighbour gave her a sleeping tablet which knocked her out for the count. No-one ever told Mary that half of the mill had been in her house and saw her asleep in bed. I hope if any relatives are reading this, they don't mind this story.

Hi Everyone and Ann,

As u know, I knew the Sherdian's well, I remember Pamela telling me that story, I think Mary was told later and was not pleased. Tessie and Mary were the heart of corn,
I used to love meeting the two of them, by the way they are Paddy Taggart's aunts, though both r dead now (R.I.P) Many a time I was in their houses as I was friendly with Pamela. Happy days again.


Katie

Hi Donald,

Regarding the hammer, it belonged to a man called Ed Turner who worked in the "Foundry" at Mackies for 50+ years. After Ed's retirement his son presented the Hammer to Stewart Mackie saying it was the only one his father ever used and thought it should be displayed.

Beano

Mary, like her sister Teesie,both very hard working and Godfearing ladies lived in Bridge St then moved to Mill St. I think she moved into a house vacated by Mrs McCurley, beside Davie Edgar after her husband Ned died. She spoke of everything in the diminitive form = Wee Joe, wee Shemie, a wee race up the town etc. Funny but when I think of Hilden it seems much bigger than it really was. When I return and look at the area where the houses stood then I realise how small they really were. My brother and I moved into an already overfilled 3 small bedroomed house, Gran, Granda, and 5 aunts and uncles, also my great uncle Ned and my dad came for dinner each day. Hard to imagine. The aunts went into the scullery ( today working kitchen )to smoke after a meal as it wasn,t the done thing for women to smoke in the presence of their father. Oh how times have changed

I remember hearing somewhere that Mickey Sharkey,s parents were very well to do people who owned property around Chapel Hill where the Parocial house was or is.
Donald

Donald,
U r right, Mickey's father had shares in the Mill. I'm sure Mickey never touched them when his father died. The fortune he left was in money only. It would have been millions in todays cash. Hen