On celebrating fifty years of married life he received a presentation from 1st Donegore Presbyterian Church to which they belonged. His reply reads as follows:-

 

Dear Friends,

We are deeply grateful to you for your kindness and we appreciate the generous spirit which prompted you to bestow on us these valuable gifts.

 

During our married life of 50 years, many changes have taken place and the old generation to which we belong has almost passed away, but we are glad to know that the young generation is in no way inferior to the old in the qualities of the head or the heart.

 

Our sojourn in foreign lands did not diminish but rather increased our affection for, and interest in, the old homeland and we were well pleased to settle down again among old neighbours and friends in the pleasant valley of the Sixmile-water.

You referred in flattering terms to the educational attainments of the members of our family. We have always made it our aim to give our children as good an education as possible, believing that, in so doing, we were providing them with one of the most effective weapons for fighting the battles of life.

 

We regret that, owing to failing health and domestic ties, we have not taken as prominent a part in Church work as we ought, but any little thing that we have been able to do has always been a pleasure to us.

In conclusion, may we all learn what someone has called the difficult art of growing old gracefully, and when life’s brief span is over may we all hear the Master’s  “Well done”.

 

Again thanking you for your beautiful address and costly presents.

We remain your sincere friends and well-wishers,

 

Samuel McConnell and Agnes McConnell.