People: MARTIN KOVACS
Lyn Mitchell can not imagine a better place to live than Collie, and via the Collie Lions Club has dedicated herself to giving back to the community she loves. Both of Lyn's parents were born in Collie. Her grandparents came from Wales and England, and like many Collie families, hers has strong ties with the coal mining industry.
Lyn has fond memories of growing up during a more relaxed and carefree era. "I think Collie is the best place in the world," she said. "I was born in Johnston Street, and then we went to live in Wilson Park. As kids, we ran free out there. We really had a good life. We used to swim. We generally played in the bush, or went tadpoling." For Lyn and her friends, it was a case of making the most of every last minute of daylight. "Our parents weren't on tenterhooks like the parents of today are," she said. "We came home when it was dark. We knew we had to be home for tea at night."
Lyn was among the first students to attend Amaroo Primary School after it opened in 1950 and to this day retains strong ties with her former classmates. "There's 11 of us who still meet every couple of months," she said. "We now meet in Mandurah as it is midway to Perth and a central area." Lyn attended high school through to the age of 15, and like many of her peers at the time then entered the workforce. She secured an office job at the Ampol depot, and also worked for a haberdashery in Throssel Street, before returning to her studies at TAFE and undertaking a teacher's assistant course.
Upon gaining her qualifications, Lyn returned to her former primary school at Amaroo, where she worked for over 20 years as an education assistant. At the same time, Lyn and husband Bill (who passed away at the age of 83 last year) were raising a family. The couple had two children, Janine and Chad, and Lyn is now kept busy with both grandchildren and great-grandchildren. She also keeps active via her work with Lions, having been associated with the club for 39 years. She is a Melvin Jones Fellow and was inducted into the WA Lions hall of fame in 2017. Lyn was a charter member of the Collie Lioness Club in 1985, and then the Collie Wellington Lions Club in 1992, and has been a member of Lions in its current form since 2012. "We started off as Lionesses," she said. "When numbers started dwindling for both the men and women, we decided to join up and become one club."
Lyn has used Lions as a vehicle to promote the importance of literacy. "We were looking for a project when we first started, some community service that we could be involved in," she said. "There were a number of us who joined a group called Adult Literacy, which is now called Read Write Now. I took on coordinating that and we still do it today."
Read Write Now provides a range of tutoring services for adults, including for people seeking to improve their reading and writing skills. "It's confidential one-on-one tutoring," Lyn said. "As the coordinator, I interview people and decide who would be a good tutor for them. We have mainly tutored English as a second language over the years. You form nice friendships with people."
Having previously been a Lioness president, Lyn knows she has a busy year ahead as the Lions president. She will be balancing her responsibilities with Read Write Now along with other Lions' initiatives, including organisation of the Christmas pageant. Lions again took over running of the pageant this year, only 12 months after relinquishing duties due to a lack of resources. Resources remain an issue, but the club is determined to keep the tradition going in 2024, and is calling for volunteers to assist in any way they can.
Lyn said serving the community is a rewarding experience and encouraged anyone seeking to give something back to put their hand up, with Lions also providing a ready-made social network. "Most of all it's friendship," she said. "We are a family."