Pictured 50 years ago in The Impartial Reporter on June 11, 1964 are Charles (now the well-known Enniskillen actor, Charlie Lawson, who is set to return to Coronation Street) and Mary Lawson admiring flowers in the grounds of Tempo Manor, home of Sir John and Lady Langham, which was open to the public on Saturday afternoon. Charles and Mary are the children of Mr. and Mrs. Q.Y. Lawson, Little Derryinch, Enniskillen. 25 YEARS AGO - June 22, 1989: Sizzling temperatures - Anyone who had decided on a “stay at home” holiday this year were obviously enjoying the benefits during the past week. On Monday, Fermanagh was one of the hottest places in Northern Ireland and Europe, recording a sweltering 27.8 degrees Celsius or 82 degrees Fahrenheit. It was hotter at our little inland resorts at Smith’s Strand and Muckross, than it was on beaches of Corfu, Majorca, Malaga and Rhodes. Fermanagh’s temperatures which climbed steadily over the weekend to reach Monday’s peak, put many of the popular holiday destinations in the shade. On the same day, Majorca was a fair 25 degrees, Malaga, a sunny 27 degrees, Nice, a fair 20 degrees, Rhodes, a fair 24 degrees, Tenerife, only a sunny 25 degrees.

Steakburger of the year award - As steakburgers sizzle on barbeques across the Province, Pat O’Doherty from Enniskillen can take a lot of pride in knowing his are the best. The Belmore Street butcher’s recipe has won him the Northern Ireland Steakburger of the Year award. The competition was organised by the Institute of Meat and there were 300 entries from butchers and meat processors throughout the Province.

Principal ready for a rest - After 17 years as principal of Tempo Controlled Primary School, Mr. John Kilpatrick has retired. A native of Coalisland in Co. Tyrone, Mr. Kilpatrick attended Queen’s University and Stranmillis Teacher Training College. During his career he was on the staff of schools in Portadown and Dungannon before being appointed headmaster of Coalisland Controlled Primary School, a post he held for 13 years. He became principal at Tempo in 1972.

Summer fun - A week long ‘party’ begins tomorrow (Friday), as Lisnaskea Festival gets underway. For thousands of people it will be an opportunity to “let their hair down” and join in the summer fun. It has been six years since the town last hosted a festival but Lisnaskea Chamber of Commerce which is organising next week’s event has put a lot of effort into making sure it will be an unforgettable experience.

Hotel development ready for the weekend - The new conference facilities at the Killyhevlin Hotel open this weekend for private functions. The facilities are flexible as they can be used for wedding receptions, dinner dances and private functions as well as business conferences. This week, workmen are putting the finishing touches to the new Lisgoole suite and the extensive grounds are being landscaped.

50 YEARS AGO - June 18, 1964: Hubert Brown, M.B.E. - MAP - Everyone I’ve met is delighted at the award of the M.B.E. to Hubert Brown, It is the only honour to come to Fermanagh on the Queen’s Birthday, and a most deserving one. It is in recognition of the good work which Mr. Brown, who is County Welfare Officer, has done outside his normal duties, for instance in child welfare and as British Legion pensions officer. He is one of our best after-dinner speakers and has a great fund of amusing anecdotes. Hubert is the fourth son of Mrs. Rebecca Brown, of Lisbellaw, and the late Mr. John Brown, and was educated at Portora. On the outbreak of war he joined the North Irish Horse, was commissioned in the R.A.S.C. and served throughout the North African campaign. He was appointed County Welfare Officer when the Welfare Committee took over some of the duties of the old Board of Guardians, and served on various bodies.

Lay-up Old Colour - Torrential rain hit Enniskillen on Sunday to mar the town’s most important day of the year - the occasion of the laying-up of the old standard of the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. But the rain did not stop the people of Enniskillen turning out to see King Leopold III, of the Belgians, Colonel-in-Chief, of the regiment, and his arrival for luncheon at Enniskillen Townhall. There the ex-King, accompanied by Princess Liliane, was received by Lord Brookeborough, Her Majesty’s Lieutenant for Co. Fermanagh.

A Trio - MAP - My paragraph last week about Eddie Elliott of Monea, who is 41, being our youngest Council Chairman, has had a quick follow-up. Scarcely had the paper come of the presses when Irvinestown’s new Council elected 40-year-old Francis B. Gage, of Ardess, for another three-year term, and Lisnaskea completed the hat-trick by picking a newcomer to the field of local government, Jim Brady (42), as Chairman in place of Fred Patterson, who has kept the seat warm for the past 18 years.

Lisnaskea’s Choice - MAP - The new Lisnaskea Chairman will have plenty of lively meetings ahead of him, and is like his immediate predecessor, a lawyer. He is the eldest son of Mrs. Alice Brady, of Tempo, and the late Charles Brady, who was a revered school master in the village. His brother Walter, is Deputy County Surveyor of Fermanagh. Mr. Brady married Dr. Margaret Charlton of Eaglemount, Lisnaskea, where they now reside.

75 YEARS AGO - June 22, 1939: Methodist Pulpit Changes - The final draft of the Methodist stations - There are not many changes locally. Some of them are - Rev. F. M’Ivor, Brookeborough to Irvinestown; Rev. John Montgomery, Cavan to Newtownbutler; Rev. Edgar Battye, to Blacklion; Rev. Wm. Buchanan, to Brookeborough, and Rev. G.W, Farley, to Springfield. Rev. F.J. Kellett, B.A., who was changed last year from the Irvinestown circuit to the County Leitrim, will come back again to Fermanagh. His new station is Swanlinbar, in which circuit lies the Florencecourt district.

Garden Fete - Clogher Cathedral parish church funds and Queen’s Institute of District Nursing benefited by a garden fete organised by Colonel and Mrs. Gledstanes in their beautiful demesne grounds at Fardross, near Clogher.

Sir Travers Clarke’s Appreciation - General Sir Travers Clarke, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., Colonel of the Inniskillings, in a letter to the Town Clerk of Enniskillen in relation to the recent visit of the Inniskillings in connection with the laying up of the old colours of the 1st Battalion says: - ‘I am writing on behalf of the Inniskillings to thank the Urban District Council for their very kind and generous hospitality to us on 11th inst., and to say how excellent we thought were all the arrangements. It was a day that will always be remembered by the Regiment.” A letter in a similar strain has been received by Sir Basil Brooke, M.P., chairman of the County Council.

Note These Dates - Letterbreen sports, Wednesday, 28th inst. Picnic at Belleisle, Wednesday, 28th inst. Carnival and sports at Necarne, Thursday, 29th inst. Water gala and dance in Enniskillen, Wednesday, 19th July. Magheracross sports, Thursday, 7th Sept.

Dean MacManaway Smells Fire - The congregation at service in Enniskillen Cathedral, on Sunday evening last, were surprised when the Dean, the Very Rev. H. MacManaway, having finished his sermon, suddenly announced that he smelt something burning. There was no smoke anywhere visible, nor did the members of the congregation smell any burning. He asked the men present to feel in their pockets to see if by any chance a box of matches had become ignited. After a short pause the Dean resumed the service. When the service had concluded, Mr. Robert Harron discovered that the electric flex to the reading lamp in the pulpit was defective, and the rubber coating had melted, the smell of which alarmed the Dean.