Newspaper Article 1996 – Memories are made of this

Memories are made of this

Memories of cattle stampeding through the bar, old horse-racing identities and years of history are being relived this weekend at the Stortford Lodge hotel.

The hotel, a Hastings landmark since before the turn of the century, is closing at the end of the month.

It will be flattened by bulldozers to make way for a development on the corner which will include a service station and food outlets.

The site is owned by Mackersey Construction Ltd. The hotel is run by New Zealand Liquor, part of the DB group. A few of the regulars have organised something of a reunion for tomorrow. A big turn-out is expected.

Two will be Jim Tait and and Colin Britten who, they proudly admit, have been coming to the Stortford Lodge since their early teens.

But both hastened to add that their earlier visits to the hotel led to the consumption of nothing more than soft drink. Mr Britten used to work on a bread-run and would arrive with his boss on their horse and dray to deliver bread to the hotel.

“The boss would have a stiff drink and I would be given a combination of lemonade and ginger ale with some cloves to keep me warm,” he said.

Mr Tait, who has long been associated with farming in Hawke’s Bay, worked for a drover in his younger days at a time when everything sold in the Stortford Lodge saleyards was driven on foot.

Photo caption – Mr Britten and Mr Tait check memorabilia with Sue Gudgeon who manages the hotel with her husband Sid.