During the first week of February, the Hawks Museum received a phone call from fan Ron Pontin enquiring if the museum would be interested in receiving some video footage of recorded Hawthorn games. 

An avid supporter since 1929, 92 year old Ron mentioned he would like to visit the Museum along with his wife, 87 year old Shirley.

A visit to the Museum was arranged, with Ron bringing along two boxes of video footage from the 1980s through to the late 1990s.

After the Museum tour, the young-at-heart couple began reminiscing about their Hawks connection, with Ron explaining how as a young boy he worked as a Baker’s assistant delivering bread so that he could earn some money to purchase his membership. 

Ron asked if the Museum had a copy of The Hard Way (the story of Hawthorn Football Club), and opened the book at page 71. He proudly pointed, saying “that’s us!” to a picture of the crowd.

The photo was of a Collingwood player arguing with Hawthorn supporters.

Ron went on to explain how the Hawks crowd gave a mouthful to Collingwood because of their rough-house tactics.

Ron can be clearly seen with their son wearing the beanie that his mother had knitted.

While the Potin’s were were viewing the Hawks collection, the Club’s youngest member of the Friends of the Hawks Museum group arrived to rejoin Friends for 2011, and to buy her new Hawks Forever badge. 

Eight year old Kiara Gerada has been a Friend for three years and brought along a friend of the same age, Jonathan Azzopardi.  

Ron was so touched by the dedication of the two young Hawks fans that he immediately enrolled himself and his wife Shirley as Friends of the Hawks Museum, who for the first time had both its youngest and oldest Friends sign up in the one afternoon.