Margaret Matthews has been a familiar face in Blayney’s supermarkets for 57 years and on this Friday September 2, she will be counting the coins for the final time.
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Ms Matthews began her working life when she was a sprightly 15 year old on the 26th of November, 1959, in what was then known as James Bembrick and Son.
“It was one of those old-fashioned retails stores over where Ryan’s Bakery is now,” she said, “It soon became Permewan Wright not long after I began.”
At around the same time, about 40 years ago, Sell More Discounts had opened in the current location, but closed only ten months later.
“As soon as they were closed the company I was working for then bought the site because they didn’t want another supermarket to come to town,” she said.
There was one very small period though when Ms Matthews dabbled in local government.
“I applied for a position at Blayney Council and I got it,” she said, “I was there for one week, kept coming back in the second week and in the third week I was asking for my old job back.”
The store went through a number of iterations and has been a Tuckerbag, Half-Case and a Madden’s Markets, all with Ms Matthews steady hand behind the scenes.
Intensely private, Ms Matthews has had to deal with her own health issues in the recent past, but has found that the best remedy has been a positive attitude.
“You can’t just go and sit in the corner and moan and groan about your life, what’s the point of that, you have to get on with it with a positive mind.”
Ms Matthews volunteers with Can Assist and over seven years the group has grown to over 20.
“We’re a very active group because people always need our help,” she said.
After 57 years of mixing with staff at the supermarket it’s the companionship that she will miss the most but she has been slowly weaning herself off before this Friday’s finale.
“I had 36 weeks long-service and I have been cutting that out through work by working only three days a week,” she said.