RECENTLY a lunch was held by members of the local Country Women’s Association (CWA) to honour the many years of service by Doris Lanyon before she left Hamilton one last time, having been her home since 1960.

There was no doubt among the other members she had earned the recognition given her long history with what has been described as the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia; CWA was founded all the way back in 1922.

When she moved to the area with her young family, the CWA had already been an important part of her life for some time, having joined in Berrigan, NSW in 1948 and despite moving to Sunbury and then Wycheproof in subsequent years, she always kept up her involvement with a local branch nearby.

For Doris, the appeal was the range of activities and the friendships that would be built along the way.

“CWA caters for lots of things,” she said.

“You’ve got handicraft, cooking, exhibitions (and) you get to meet the people in the area.”

When she arrived in Hamilton, she opted for the Grangeburn branch as their evening meetings suited her family situation better, and during this time she held all office positions.

With “about 17 branches in the district” at one time, she remembered how active the CWA kept her, especially when she was president of the Henty Group from 1977 to 1980, performing the role for an extra year and regularly attending annual general meetings.

Music was a big part of the scene too - Doris conducted the branch choir, with them often attending Performing Arts events; she also played the piano, and many a duet was performed with Shirley Neal (later, Baxter) - she said her preference was for classical music.

But perhaps her greatest recognition came from her marmalade - jams and preserves were her specialty and many times she would walk away with the prize for the best one at exhibition.

“Nobody else knew just what I did,” she laughed, admitting there was always a trick to getting the recipe just right.

With only about 18 months until she turns 100, Doris has been so active she was still driving until late last year but recently realised it was the right time to finish up - “I just can’t be by myself” - and will be moving to Linton, VIC with one of her daughters until she can find a suitable position in aged care.

Doris said she was sad to finish up with the CWA but was pleased her other daughter in Wangaratta had decided to get involved after retirement, also rising to the role of president.