Opportunities to take the blinders off, to pause and wake up to what is really important in life are one of my favourite things. There is nothing better than coming across someone who does that for you, reminds you what a gift you sometimes forget in the mundane hum drum of life. Most people in Balranald, if not all would agree Connie Rasmussen and Myrtle Matarazzo are two of those very special people. They have immersed themselves into their town and community, spreading joy and happiness through Balranald and surrounds with their various endeavours. They make a list, and check it twice, the little Santas of Balranald. Connie and Myrtle are Balranald born and bred. They were born at the Balranald District Hospital, the original hospital before it was knocked down and replaced with the Multi Purpose Centre. With their father’s family originating from Sicily, Connie and Myrtle are second generation Australians. Their grandparents made the journey to Australia. Their mother was a Garner, with family ties in Hay. Their grandfather used to live in Hay when the family came out from Scotland. Their father was a central and beloved part of their family, and his loss a few years ago hit the family hard. Myrtle completed all but the last two and a half years in Balranald Central School, with the family moving to Cootamundra, where they spent four years. Connie stayed in Balranald, and by that time had already been married for one year. Connie’s son drives trucks for their company, transporting livestock across the country. Myrtle lived in Hay for a while after Connie married, with her parents. After this she travelled away with her now ex-husband to work in the mines, digging great big holes in the ground. They travelled to places such as Broken Hill and Kalgoorlie, before returning to Balranald around the same time as her son Sterling, who is now 26, was born. Connie has three children, one in Corowa, one in Adelaide and a son who lives in Balranald. The children who live locally have given Connie three grandchildren between them. Connie and her husband had taken on a truck driving business, and their son, a welder and fabricator, came home to help in the business. They have a busy and full life, Connie being active in the business, attending to the hobby farm, her role at Live Better, and taking every opportunity to enrich the lives of others. Their hobby farm is on Euston Road, and Connie revels in her life there. “The best thing is to sit on the verandah and look out at the back paddock, as far as the tree line, and enjoy the nothing, the peace and quiet,” she said. “We have no neighbours, it’s paradise.” Connie and Myrtle grew up on a farm, and spent a lot of time with their grandparents, and say they had a wonderful childhood. They both develop an avid love of cooking, which they say stemmed from their Nonna. “She used to cook with a wood fire, and no matter what we do, what we cook, we always say it just doesn’t taste the same as Nonna’s,” the pair laughed. There is nothing they don’t enjoy cooking. Up until about five years ago, Connie would religiously enter her cooking and wares into the shows, including the Hay show. After a time, she became a judge for cooking, judging baking, jams and preserves. Connie’s fruit cake is prolific around the district, at local and regional shows and even the Melbourne show. She has won many first and second prizes over her time, including first place for her crochet and knitting work in Melbourne. After a time though, she gave it all away, she felt she had had enough. “Fruit cakes are rather complicated to make,” Connie said. “They have to have a flat, uncracked top, and be perfect – a lot of work goes into them. "Thank goodness Myrtle had the café; we were able to sell all the cakes I didn’t feel were up to show standards.” Connie recalls one occasion when she entered two cakes in the show, both fruit cakes. A lady she knew was judging, and the rules are very strict; nobody can know the name of the person who entered each cake, out of fairness. The judge was going through the process; announcing each winner, second and third, and the reasons behind the decision. Connie ended up getting first and second in her category, and was happy to have won on merit alone. Connie also believes it important to give reasons why something placed or didn’t place, as she finds it valuable so people can improve or know what they are doing successfully. The many various activities Connie heads is amazing. She holds a knitting and get-together group at 3.30pm every second Wednesday after she finishes work. “It is a lively, fun group,” Connie said. “We are also getting more and more younger members, which is great to see. "I like to see this often-forgotten skill attracting interest with younger people. I am more than happy to teach them, and usually start with the basics to see what they know.” Connie can teach left-handed and right handed. When she was young and learning, she sat across from her paternal grandmother and copied every movement she made. Myrtle owned and ran Café Cassaro for close to 10 years. Her passions are cooking and riding horses. She closed Café Cassaro just before COVID hit, as she was tired of the long days. She would get up at 4am to start the day, prepping to make bacon and egg rolls workers could grab and go with their morning coffees. The workers would then be back for morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and even dinner. She closed the doors on Café Cassaro on March 19, 2020 and decided to take a year off and just do nothing, and by the ninth month she was begging Connie for something to do. “I was bored stupid,” Myrtle laughed. “I did everything I could do, got my garden in order, and everything, I was in need of something to do.” These days, Myrtle works for Iluka, as a cleaner. She truly loves her job, and gets along with the workers well. She often bakes sweets and cakes to take in. “Balranald has always been pretty lucky, we have always had something to boost the town; mineral sand mining, solar farms,” she said. “Iluka has been here three or four times now, and all of them leave a lot of money in the town.” Connie has been working for Live Better for close to nine years. Her main role is to organise transport for people to get to medical appointments, and her secondary role is to facilitate social outings. She has her calendar pre-booked with social outings, which she organises around that particular month’s medical appointments. One of Connie’s favourite events to organise are mystery trips, and they have proved quite popular. “After a while though, I ended up running out of mysteries,” Connie said. “So, then I had to think of something else. That’s when I turned straight lunches into dress-up lunches and days, and we really ran with that. "We did colour themes, Halloween, pyjama days, and all kinds of dress-ups. We would also have other themes – come as anything not normal. The last couple of years Connie and the group have been utilising these days as a way to make money for various causes. Sometimes when the group is on an outing, Connie will make a rule that they have to do something silly, to brighten the day, and all in the name of fun. “One time we had a rule, where everyone had to act like a kid, and play on all the equipment at the park,” Connie said. “We all had a great time.” Connie also likes the fact that when they venture out for lunch at different towns, they are supporting those small businesses. “For every dollar we spend somewhere, it is a dollar a local doesn’t have to,” she said. “We are indeed lucky in Balranald, we have a lot of outside businesses come in to support, and whenever a business closes it is not long until another opens, whether it is doing the same thing or something different.” Connie picks up and drops off her clients mostly in different order, so they can all see different parts of the town they may not have seen for a while, and to make a break with routine wherever possible. This year the pair are planning to do more food wise, rather than a lot of different little gifts. They always need extra hands, and will never turn down more helpers, If you ever have anything you would like to do to help, get in touch with these ladies. “We will continue to do it until we aren’t able to do it anymore,” the ladies said. “Two women burst into tears when we delivered their present. But we do not do it for accolades or recognition, we do it because we love doing it, it is what life is all about, giving to others. “While we are still alive and breathing, we do it, and think of what else we can do for others.” Myrtle feels uncomfortable being in the spotlight as she sees it, she would much prefer to be in the background. Connie speaks in her straightforward, factual manner. Connie learnt a pivotal lesson two years ago, and in usual Connie fashion, she has taken that lesson on with gusto. “Having a heart attack made me slow down and enjoy life,” she said. “I take a more Zen approach to life nowadays. I get done what I can, and if it is not all finished, it will get done tomorrow.” Delightfully sassy and bubbly, Connie counts herself lucky to have good volunteers to be there for her clients, both for good trips such as social outings, and sad ones such as medical appointments if the outcome proves to be less than positive. The organisation is in desperate need of volunteers though, with only four volunteers sometimes everyone is spread rather thin. If there are no volunteers available to transport someone, Connie shuts the door and will take the person in need of transport herself. “People come to know to call me on my mobile if they need me, or if they need to see me to book in ahead of time, as the office may be closed if someone needs to go away.” “It is so good of people to give their time, I never push my volunteers to take on more than they want, we are lucky enough to have them. If anyone would like to volunteer their time it would be greatly appreciated.” Connie aims to and is highly successful in being a lifeline to people, especially ones with no family members. People are really important to Connie, as is facilitating a free and independent lifestyle wherever possible. “Sometimes our clients want the freedom and the say to who takes them to appointments,” she said. “They feel, whether right or wrong, they are a burden to family sometimes, and don’t want them to take a day off work. “So, we keep an eye on what the appointment is for, and suggest family take them if it is an appointment where they might need a bit of extra support.” Over the course of the year, the pair scour stores looking for bargains so they can make bulk purchases. In the Christmas bags, the pair put items such as hot chocolate mix (they call this snowman soup), tissues, a hanky, soap, a cup, biscuits, Christmas decorations, tissues, razors and anything people donate. “We tell the recipients whatever they are not likely to use themselves, pass it on to someone they think could use it,” Connie said. The first year of the COVID pandemic, the pair tried spread cheer wherever they could, and went to give some goodie bags to the patients at the hospital. As highly valued as it was, the next year the red tape was just too much, so understandably the pair decided not to do this again the following year. “There are still so many tears, which is really touching,” they said. “It takes hours and hours to deliver all of the gifts. We begin at 8.30 am and often finish well after lunchtime.” The ladies keep a spreadsheet, to keep a track of who is still in town and the new people who may be added to their list. Connie has recently held a morning tea, which was free, to raise awareness about women’s health. For Jean Hale Women’s Health Week. A lot on their client sheet have diabetes and other health issues which need monitoring and attention. So, that morning they all tested each other’s blood pressure and talked about the importance of being proactive about health. The people who go to bingo often donate their items back to Connie to help and raise money. “They are really grateful and it is really lovely,” said Connie. “The clients are so generous, we had a pyjama morning tea, and we raised $145 just from that morning tea. Myrtle takes her cakes to the site for the crew, the majority of the time for free, but if there is a fundraiser on, she will ask for donations, and the workers at the site are quick to help. They can pick and choose what charity they follow, and they spread the love as much as possible. They even go to the lengths of cooking and crocheting butterflies for cards for their goodie bags. The thoughtfulness is greatly treasured by the recipients. Myrtle and Connie epitomise the spirit of a country town. Life is far more than things or status, it is about reaching out and letting people know they are thought of, loved and are not alone.
