NEWYDDION CYMREIG CAMBRIAN HERITAGE SOCIETY MADISON, WISCONSIN ______

St. David’s Day 2015 Dydd Gwyl Dewi Sant Volume 21 Number 1

St. David’s Day Observance Sunday, March 1 at 1:30 p.m.

Celebrate your Welsh heritage! The Irish have St. Patrick’s Day, and we have St. David’s Day on the first of March. We will gather at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2126 North Sherman Ave., Madison on Sunday, March 1 at 1:30 p.m. Members are encouraged to bring guests and family!

This event will have a prynhawn llawen (fun afternoon) followed by a tea (te bach). There is a lot of diverse talent in our community, so come prepared to perform (sing, read, dance, play music, yodel, etc.) or just to be part of the audience. If you can, bring a treat or snack for the tea; coffee, tea and milk will be provided. ‘Ti’n hoffi coffi?*

In place of a cover charge, we ask that you bring a non-perishable food item or donate money for the church’s food pantry. It is our way to, as St. David admonished the Welsh, to “do the little things.”

Show your pride for your heritage!

*Do you like coffee?

March 1, 2015

Wisconsin Welsh to Kick Off State Cymanfaoedd with the “Welsh Weekend for Everyone”

Saturday-Sunday, May 2-3, 2015

The Badger State boasts of having one gymanfa ganu every month from March through November. The first and biggest one is the State Gymanfa, which will be held this year on Sunday, May 3 at 2:30 at Peace Lutheran Church, 400 Hillcrest Drive, Beaver Dam. The gymanfa is the closing event in a weekend of fun and celebration. Let’s look at what else is going on….

Welsh Weekend for Everyone / Penwythnos Cymreig i Bawb Hotel with Special Rates Saturday May 2 Quality Inn & Suites 3:00-3:30 Registration ($10/$5 preregistration) 815 Park Ave, Beaver Dam 3:30-4:00 “An Eisteddfod? What’s That?” Call before Mar. 15, 4:00-4:45 Rugby workshop/ “How to Make a Proper Cup of Tea” for “Welsh Weekend 4:45 Te Bach (A Little Tea) Gymanfa Ganu event” 5:30-7:00 Noson Lawen (Welsh talent show) Rates (plus tax): 7:00 Dinner Break (hotel restaurant “Walkers” is excellent) Queen bed: $79.99 8:30 Pub sing (Welsh folk songs) at Quality Inn & Suites 2 Double beds: $89.99 2 Q’s + sleeper: $99.99 Sunday, May 3 King/King+sleeper: “ “ 2:30 Gymanfa Ganu Call 920-887-7171

Events take place at Peace Lutheran Church, 400 Hillcrest Drive, Beaver Dam, with the exception of the dinner and the pub sing. There is no need to register to attend the pub night gathering or the gymanfa ganu.

An eisteddfod competition for an essay (max. 750 words) or poem (max. 50 lines) will be adjudicated and a chair will be awarded at the Noson Lawen. Submit entries via email by April 15 using a pen name (ffugenw) to [email protected] (Mary Williams-Norton). The eisteddfod theme this year is Peacemakers (Heddychwyr) because the events are being held at Peace Lutheran Church. Go to http://wggaw.org to find the registration form and further information about the weekend, including eisteddfod rules.

The 83rd State Gymanfa Ganu will begin at 2:30 p.m. at Peace Lutheran Church. Director Rev. Tom White (North Fond du Lac) and organist Steve Jensen (Milwaukee) have led cymanfaoedd canu in Wisconsin and beyond, and all who attend this event are assured of a fine Welsh- flavored musical and spiritual experience. Of course there will be a sumptuous te bach after the gymanfa ganu!

Prize: Eisteddfod Chair

March 1, 2015

Other cymanfaoedd in the state and the region this year:

April 19 2:30 CHICAGO SPRING GYMANFA (Fair Oaks Presb., Oak Park) June 14 2:30 REWEY (Peniel Presbyterian Church) July 19 2:30 REDGRANITE (First Cong. Church/UCC, off Hwy 21) August 9 7:00 THREE LAKES (Union Cong. Church/UCC, 6993 Superior) September 6 2:00 & 7:00 NATIONAL GYMANFA GANU (Columbus, Ohio) September 20 2:30 WILD ROSE (Wild Rose Presbyterian Church) September 27 2:30 MANKATO, MINN. (Minnesota State Gymanfa) October 11 2:30 & 6:00 CAMBRIA (Cambria First Presb., Florence & Towyn St.) November 8 2:30 RACINE CHRISTMAS GYMANFA (Covenant Presbyterian, 40 Ohio St.)

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The Loss of Charter Member Kay Newton

Kay Newton passed away on January 5, 2015. She was very active with the Society from its inception until recently. She leaves her husband, Baxter, who resides at Oakwood Village Retirement Community, and six children and several grandchildren and great- grandchildren. A memorial service will be held in Madison in the spring. More information will follow in the next newsletter.

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Dianne McCarty Passes Away

Dianne McCarty of Aurora, Ill., pianist for the Cambrian Singers of Madison, passed away after a year-long battle with cancer on January 21, 2015 in Illinois. Some of our members will have remembered her for her appearances with the Singers and as accompanist at late night sessions in recent years at the North American Festival of Wales and for the NAFOW eisteddfod competitions. Her funeral took place in Aurora on January 26, 2015.

Dianne accompanied the Cambrian Singers starting in June 2014, driving two hours each direction for our monthly rehearsals, sometimes after having undergone chemotherapy sessions the same day. She was a cheerful, talented accompanist with an intense interest in Welsh things. She visited Wales several times, studied the language, and served in the Welsh Women’s Club at the local and national levels, the Cambrian Benevolent Society of Chicago, and received in March 2014 the St. David’s award in honor of her contribution to Welsh culture in the Chicago area. A graduate of the University of Evansville and with M.A. in music from Northwestern University, she served as music director and organist of Emmanuel Lutheran Church (Aurora) for 32 years. Unbeknown to us, Dianne ran marathons for a number of years.

March 1, 2015

Gwilym Williams Recuperating

Our friend Gwilym Williams experienced a heart stoppage recently and is recuperating at Oakwood Village East Rehab Center, where he is expected to be until the end of February. Visitors are welcome and cards may be sent to him at Oakwood Village East Health and Rehab Center, Room R4, 5833 American Parkway, Madison, WI 53718.

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Welsh Cookbook Sought

Wisconsinite Debbie Grunow’s grandmother, Ceridwen Ruediger, passed down a Welsh cookbook, Welsh Cooking (yellow and green cover with a Welsh love spoon picture) to her family a number of years ago. Debbie is looking for extra copies. Does anyone have this cookbook? Please call Debbie at 262-642-5936.

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Cambrian Heritage Society Now Has a Facebook Group

Found on Facebook! An item from Dylan Thomas’ "A Child's Christmas in Wales":

…and once I had a little crocheted nose bag from an aunt now, alas, no longer whinnying with us.

We now have a Cambrian Heritage Society of Madison group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/417484435128/

We encourage all of you who like to use Facebook and keep up with Society activities to join our Facebook group. Soon information about our St. David’s Day Celebration will be posted there as well as on the Society website (http:// madisoncambrian.org).

Questions? Call Robert Humphries at (608) 588-9078.

March 1, 2015

Society Celebrates Dylan Thomas’ Life

Thanks to presenters Nancy Priegel and Lincoln Jones Hartford, the Cambrian Heritage Society celebrated the poet’s 100th birthday with an excellent program on November 1 at Bethany United Methodist Church entitled “A Dylan Thomas Poetry Tour of Wales in Film and Word.” Lincoln here adds his thoughts to the subject and pictures from Wales, to echo the November multimedia presentation.

"To Dylan Thomas, words were everything." This is the line that introduces the second chapter of The World of Dylan Thomas by Peter Stevenson. I think that this small book is the most unusual introduction to Dylan and his works, but also the most agile and vibrant account. Considering the unusual life of Thomas, I have to say it is only appropriate. He is able to illustrate each of his sections with a Dylan poem. You can find this lively book available on Amazon for a small amount.

So this is key to understanding Thomas' poetry, i.e., the writer is first of all working, playing with words when he writes. Sometimes it is apparent that the poem is just playing with us, but other times he uses this same sound process to lead us to remarkable heights of poetic accomplishment. Consider the declaration of "and death shall have no dominion":

when their bones are picked clean and the clean bones gone they shall have stars at elbow and foot; though they go mad; they shall be sane......

though lovers shall be lost, love shall not; And death shall have no dominion.

And perhaps this thought was a comfort to himself as he considered his own disastrous life. He pondered his life and did not expect to live a long time. But his accomplishment of wondrous poems and delightful stories, shining plays are there to behold.

We have finished this year of attention and celebration of the centenary of Dylan Thomas. Since his poetry is like no one else's, it was interesting to see that indeed there are many people who know him and revere his writing, even those who have memorized his poetry, e.g., "Fern Hill." Because his reading of his poetry is available, that too has had a strong reaction. He called his voice the Welsh baritone singing voice. When he toured the U.S., women swooned over the strong and lyric sound that emanated from his small frame.

When we were able to combine photos of the places in South Wales where he lived as a child, and find these childhood characters in his poems and plays, and then watch his roaming as an adult, and then sometimes have people say "I have lived in those places," as we did in Madison at Bethany United Methodist Church, well we had a lively time.

So in the fall of 2014, people were able to hear his poems, and see his places and share their sense of his poetry in a circuit of locations in Wisconsin starting with Madison; then also at the small hotel in Coloma for one of their monthly poetry readings; after Coloma, at the library in Mauston where, with the help of librarian, Bridget Christensen, we were able to

March 1, 2015 present "A Child's Christmas in Wales" in both a delightful and convincing fashion, using real child actors. Good enough to go on the road. FINALLY at the Village Booksmith in Baraboo, under Annie's leadership we saw movies of both "Under Milkwood" and "A Child's Christmas in Wales."

Thanks to Mary Williams-Norton, whose strong leadership made possible all of this, and now will hopefully point us Welsh-Americans of the Wisconsin brand to a new and active sensibility of all things Welsh.

And shall we use the last two lines of “Fern Hill” for our closing:

Time held me green and dying Though I sang in my chains like the sea.

Lincoln.

Aberaeron. Photo by Lincoln Jones Hartford.

March 1, 2015

Gair o'r Gorffennol/A Word from the Past By Robert Humphries

When Welsh people came to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century, one of the greatest challenges they had to overcome was the length and severity of the North American winter. Not surprisingly, cold and snow were popular topics for the poets who contributed to the Welsh-American press. This poem, by "Mynyddfab" of Rock Hill, Wisconsin, describes the depths of winter and mourns the absence of greenery and birdsong. It was published in Y Drych in February 1886.

Y Gauaf The Winter

Gwae fi, death y gauaf dig—a’i rew-wynt Woe is me, angry winter has come—with its icy wind A’i oer awel ffyrnig; And its fiercely cold air; Wele’r werdd ddol a’r hardd wig, See the green meadow and the beautiful wood, A’u nodwedd yn wywedig. And their withered nature.

Ymadaw yn siomedig—wna’r adar, Leaving in disappointment—the birds Ehedant o’r goedwig; Fly from the forest; O’r meusydd ni cheir miwsig No longer is there music from the fields Yn awr ond twrf rhew-wynt dig. But now the roar of the angry ice-wind.

Oer yw gwae yr eira gwyn—a chuddia Cold is the white snow’s woe—and conceals Wych wedd dol a thalfryn; the meadow’s splendid face and the high hill; A mud wylo am ei Delyn And today in its cold affliction Yn ei oer glwy’ heddyw wna’r glyn. The valley weeps silently for its music.

Gair o’r Presennol / A Word from the Present

About Spring dark now they’ll soon be tripping stars to the brush like spotlights for the makings of a new nest in an umbrella sky tomorrow today, we cleaned Easter the bluebirds’ house I’ll play sits on the old fencepost Bach’s Tocatta and Fugue at the corner of the yard Creation to the brush reaching for its limits for the makings of a new nest

—Lincoln Hartford

March 1, 2015

Cambrian Singers Sing for Christmas

Did you know that the Society has had a singing group for 13 years that has been performing an expanding Welsh repertoire, including Christmas music? Led by Danny Proud, the group currently consists of Meg Skinner, Pat D’Aprix, Kit Reynolds, Mary Collett, Tim Hughes, and Wynn and Loree Davies, and Peggy Proud-Edwards. On Sunday, December 21st we visited Mair White and Kay and Baxter Newton and their family to bring them Christmas cheer, Welsh style. On Saturday, December 27th we visited David Proud, an original member of the group, at his residence at Stephenson County (Ill.) Nursing Home, where we were warmly received.

If you are interested in singing Welsh folk songs, hymns, and carols, please contact Danny Proud at (608) 212-3793.

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Welsh Courses in North America in July 2015

Cwrs Cymraeg Welsh Heritage Week July 19-26, 2015 in Portland, Ore. July 19-26, 2015 in Boston, Mass.

Intense Welsh language classes at Welsh language classes, cymanfa ganu all levels. Folk dancing, quiz and pub hymn sing class, Welsh folk song class, singalong, Welsh film, noson lawen, Welsh folk dance class. Pub night, and eisteddfod. Scholarships are Welsh film, noson lawen and eisteddfod. available. See www.madog.org or Staff from Wales. Scholarships available. www.facebook.com/cymdeithasmadog. See www.welshheritageweek.org.

March 1, 2015

CAMBRIAN HERITAGE SOCIETY MEMBERSHIP DUES

You can pay dues at the St. David’s Day gathering, or please mail this form to Mary Williams-Norton, our treasurer.

Cambrian Heritage Society: Membership Form

Name(s)______

Address______

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City ______State ______Zip______

E-Mail address (please print)

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Telephone number______

____ I / We wish to join the Cambrian Heritage Society as new members and receive its newsletter, Newyddion Cymreig.

_____I/ We wish to renew membership of the Cambrian Heritage Society and receive its newsletter, Newyddion Cymreig.

_____ I prefer to receive my Society newsletter at the email address above rather than by mail. (I understand that this saves the Society money and also provides the newsletter to me in color.)

______Enclosed are dues for the year ($10 for an individual, $15 for couples or families)

Dues enclosed $______Date dues sent: ______

Please complete this form and send it, along with your check payable to Cambrian Heritage Society to Society treasurer, secretary and website manager

Dr. Mary Williams-Norton W9866 Kent Road Poynette, WI 53955-9409

______I/ We plan to attend the Celebration of St. David on March 1

March 1, 2015

Cambrian Heritage Society of Madison c/o Danny Proud 114 Glen Hwy Madison, WI 53705

Cambrian Heritage Society of Madison c/o Danny Proud 114 Glen Hwy Madison, WI 53705

March 1, 2015