We've been saying it wrong *

Our last Saturday in England, Catlin drove us two hours north to Manchester to see the suburb of Openshaw. Robin went there a few years earlier and took many good pictures. Doug especially wanted to see it for himself. We don't have information on exactly where his family lived, but as they came from the Manchester area, we figured it very likely they could be from right around here.

First stop: Openshaw Park

which was kind of run down (and reminiscent of something from A Series of Unfortunate Events)

and had this unfortunately tree sculpture. It's supposed to show a man and woman dancing but is known locally as The Strangler.

The rest of town looked like this:

Our visit was all in all a little disappointing, but from reading some of the history, it's understandable why it is in this condition. From Wikipedia:

Openshaw is a ward of the city of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, North West England. It lies about two miles east of Manchester city centre. Historically a part of Lancashire, Openshaw was incorporated into the city of Manchester in 1890. Its name derives from the Old English Opinschawe, which means an open wood or coppice. The ward forms part of the specially designated New East Manchester area, and is undergoing extensive redevelopment under the East Manchester Regeneration Scheme^[2]

Openshaw was, during and after the Industrial Revolution, an area of heavy industry with most of its residents working in the many factories or Bradford Colliery. Socialism and Trades Unionism saw a fertile breeding ground in the area, and in 1910 the Openshaw Socialists were formed, with Keir Hardie (founder of the Labour Party) as their inaugural guest speaker. 

The ordnance works closed down after the end of the First World War, and the railway yards were closed and as a result, Openshaw has a population only a fraction of that a century ago. Nothing remains of companies such as Ferguson, Pailin & Co. (later GEC Switchgear), the English Steel Corporation, B&S Massey and Crossley Brothers, who employed thousands of people. There is very little industry in the district but Openshaw falls within the East Manchester Regeneration Scheme and new businesses are moving into the area. Openshaw is the 11th most deprived area in the UK as a result of massive de-industrialisation. 

*We were misunderstood by someone in London when we said our last name. When he saw it spelled, he said "Oh, Ow-pen-shoah" (that's as close as I can come to spelling it the way it sounded.) We practiced and practiced but can't get it to sound the same. Catlin has a friend who also couldn't understand her when she told her where we'd gone. She said she'd never heard of it before. But when she finally understood where we were talking about, she pronounced it completely differently!

Worm's Head and Rhosilli Beach

I think it always helps to look on a map. Now you can see where Worm's Head really is, on the bottom middle peninsula by the town of Swansea and is "within an area designated as the first Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in the United Kingdom."

The dot in the middle of the green area is Brecon, where some of the Ames relatives (Beavens) came from.

My first look at Worm's Head beach was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Despite the cold, I felt like I could stay here forever.

(Look at Anna's sweet face here)

The way down to the beach:

The way back up:

Several people have told me that northern Wales is much prettier than southern Wales, but I have a hard time believing that. This was perfect.

Chili Cook-off

Dad's birthday -- a good reason to have a family party. Chili was one of the foods he loved, so we challenged every to bring their best:

Novice chili maker Kyle infusing onion, garlic, and cilantro for his chili:

Mine:

Doug's chocolate Crio Bru chili in the making:

1. Kyle's Texas-Arizona Infusion 2. Kristen's Vegetarian Delite 3. Jenny's 5-Alarm Chili 4. Doug's Ch-Ch-Ch-Chocolate Chili 5. Kirsten's Nannie's Chili 6. Chrissy's Google Chili 7. Kevan's Southwest Experiment

The winners ----------- Kirsten took first place with her grandmother's special recipe and first-time chili maker Jenny came in second. Chrissy was just one vote behind to take third! The ladies killed it!

Barbara

December 27 is Barbara Lou Ames Hoopes' birthday. 
It seems like there aren't very many people left who remember her, so I think that as a family history lesson, we should mention what we DO remember and make sure it gets passed along. Tell your children and grandchildren:

She was the oldest of three children, first child of Leorin W. and Ethel Elizabeth Merritt Ames;
She was very pretty -- dark brown, almost black hair, green eyes, fair skin;
She often said that when she was young, she had an 18-inch waist, about 5' tall and 100 lbs;
She loved to sing and performed in public frequently singing duets with her sister Emogene (Genie);
She was a good artist, mostly doing pencil sketches of people;
She never finished high school due to frequent moves to accommodate her mother's health, but she was very intelligent; an old friend of her's (Bud Pead) has said she was brilliant at math and often helped him with his homework;
She was an avid reader, interested in Agatha Christie mysteries, Easter Island & Stonehenge and other archaeological interests, and gospel doctrine;
She was also interested in photography, yoga, and healthy diet (but no one's homemade fudge has ever come close to her's); 
She loved flowers;
She was a people watcher (and I believe still is...)

For several years we've either ordered Chinese food or made it at home on her birthday, as a way of remembering one of the things she loved. I invite everyone to do the same or find some other way of thinking about her, talking about her, or remembering her on this day! I know she is thinking about and loving all of us.

The stories that bind us

A niece and nephew both shared an article on Facebook this morning that caught my attention: The stories that bind us, by Bruce Feiler, [New York Times, pub. March 15, 2013.] It not only goes along with our study of The Proclamation, it also fits in with something I read a couple of weeks ago, I think in Reader's Digest: helping families bond -- younger generations with older generations.

The NY Times author asks "What is the secret sauce that holds a family together? What are the ingredients that make some families effective, resilient, happy?" There is a fear present in many families that our children may not be able to withstand the stress and challenges (and temptations) of today's world. The author discovered that the way to help children is through family stories.

“The ones who know a lot about their families tend to do better when they face challenges.” Psychologists developed a measure called the “Do You Know?” scale that asked children to answer 20 questions. Examples included: Do you know where your grandparents grew up? Do you know where your mom and dad went to high school? Do you know where your parents met? Do you know an illness or something really terrible that happened in your family? Do you know the story of your birth?

The Reader's Digest article suggests asking children similar questions:

Do you know the source of your name? 

Do you know which person in the family you act most like? 

Do you know which person in your family you look most like? 

Do you know some of the lessons that your parents learned from good or bad experiences? 

Do you know the national background of your family? 

The doctors doing the "Do You Know" study were blown away by the results, which showed the resilience of the children who knew the most family history. Then two months later, 9/11 happened. The researchers went back and reassessed the children in the study. Once again they found that “the ones who knew more about their families proved to be more resilient, meaning they could moderate the effects of stress.”

The stories don't always need to be positive, either. All of us can learn from someone else's struggles and even failures. They found that children who have the most self-confidence have what they call a strong “intergenerational self.” They know they belong to something bigger than themselves.

"All human beings - male and female - are created in the image of God. Each is a beloved spirit son or daughter of heavenly parents, and, as such, each has a divine nature and destiny." [Family Proclamation]

We all have a "premortal, mortal, and eternal identity and purpose." We can teach our own children, our nieces and nephews, and our neighbors that family stories are much more than something to laugh about. They bind us together and make us strong.

A side note: It's important to share histories from both sides of your children's family, where possible. It seems quite prideful and small to restrict your story-telling to the family you think is most 'worthy' of your time. There are wonderful lessons to be learned from each family. What if I had only told my girls about Hoopes, Ames, Rich, Stock, and Merritt stories, although I knew these stories so well? They would have missed knowing the Openshaw, Nielsen, and Olsen stories of Danish (almost) royalty and the Martin Handcart miracles. It has blessed my life to learn of my husband's family stories and they now hold a special place of honor in our own family story.