Hot on the heels of Yenda’s 100th birthday celebrations the town’s preschool celebrated its own milestone, marking half a century since it opened its doors with an enormous party on Friday.
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More than 200 people turned up for the special occasion but despite there being more than 50 years of history from day one to now there are some things that definitely haven’t changed over the intervening years.
It was a fact that quickly became obvious as the preschools current crop of students took to the stage on Friday, treating the crowd gathered to a special performance of songs.
“It was really funny,” director of the preschool Christian Callinan said on Sunday.
“A lot of the kids were very entertaining, that certainly hasn’t changed over the last 50 years.”
The passing years have seen many Yenda residents pass through the preschool, something that was an obvious delight to all who attended the celebration thanks to the extensive montage of school photos on show.
It was a rare chance for the visitors of all ages to enjoy a walk down memory lane, that constantly proved a popular feature of the celebrations.
“The photo display had photos in it all the way from 1967,” Mr Callinan said.
“People spent a lot of time there reminiscing, saying things like ‘look that’s you’ or ‘that’s your uncle’, everyone really loved it.
“People could stand there and have a really good chat about the olden days.”
As a past teacher at the preschool for 20 years Kay Mosman, who wrapped up her time there in 2008, had many stories and memories to share of those olden days.
Ms Mosman made a special speech to the crowd gathered on the night before having the honour of unveiling a special plaque to mark the monumental milestone.
“In her speech she said a bit about how much she loved the place,” Mr Callinan explained, highlighting how preschools for many retain a special place in the hearts of many, whether teachers, other staff or students.
Ms Mosman also paid tribute to past preschool teacher Nora Leeson who sadly passed away on Tuesday night, making a moving nod to her contribution over the years.
Mr Callinan said the open day was an overall success for the preschool’s community with visitors not only enjoying a look at how things have changed over the years, but treated to jumping castles, cake, roller racers and face painting throughout the day.
“It was a really great day,” he said.
“We were very happy with the amount of people who came, there were a lot of people there, and with how everything went.”
