Tam Kernewek in the Months Ahead
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Tam Kernewek “ A bit of Cornish” Volume 28 Issue 1 Spring 2010 Mineral Point Students Find Their ‘Twins’ from Redruth have come to Mineral Point in the years between those visits. The trips have com- bined heritage, history and fun into one attractive and effective package. Since the beginning of the student exchange program, approximately 50 youth from each side of the ocean/ ―pond‖ have had the opportunity to explore the homeland or the destina- tion of their ancestors. Typically the trips include several days in school or school related activities and tours of local and area historic sites and museums. Youth who have gone to Redruth, for instance, have visited places such as Gwennap Pit, Poldark Mine, Carn Brea Castle, Come to Good Quaker Church, the Eden Project and have an evening at Murdoch House where they are entertained, educated about the Cornish Migration and fed traditional Cornish Mineral Point became the destination for fare. large groups of immigrants from Cornwall in the early 1800s and of those and later immigrant groups a significant number came from the area of Redruth. Local cemeteries tell the story. Though many Cornish moved on to other areas of mining, even now about 30% of the population of Mineral Point can trace their ancestry to these early Cornish immigrants. However grandparents and great grandparents have passed on. A first priority of Twinning was to reestablish personal ties with their home (‗ome). In 1999 a Twinning Charter was officially signed by Redruth, Cornwall, deputy Town Mayor Chris Lawrence, Town Crier, Alan Jewell, Mayor Greggory Bennett and Glen Ridnour of Mineral Students at Gwennap Pit Point, Wisconsin, and all members of both Twin- ning Committees. The strength of the historic A minimum of six students, maximum of twelve, relationship existing between the two communities plus two adults has been found to be the manage- Cornish AmericanHeritage Society has been preserved and enhanced by the student able group size in terms of host family, travel ar- exchange program. The first group of students rangements and funding. All lodging is with vol- from Mineral Point went to Redruth in 1999 and unteer host families. Often students from the host alternate years since then. Students from 1 families become part of a group making the trip to Min- stronger. My daughter, Mary Kate, and her Cornish host, eral Point or Redruth. ―The youngsters find it so easy to Emma-Jane, now correspond weekly through make friends that hosting by both groups has been suc- Skype. They really enjoy being able to communicate cessful‖, says Alan Jewell of Redruth. How successful? through video chats.‖ So successful that a couple who met on the student ex- Students wishing to participate in the exchange change have become engaged. submit an autobiography with their application, must be Glen Ridnour of Mineral Point remarks that the in good academic standing and approved by school offi- student exchange is ―the best thing I have ever been in- cials and understand that the visit operates as a school volved with.‖ It has ―more than lived up to our Twin- approved activity and therefore operates under the code ning objective of reestablishing personal connections be- of conduct established by the Mineral Point Public school tween our town and Redruth. We have had constant vis- system. All applications from students are reviewed by its back and forth between students and even sometimes the Twinning Committee along with input from school families, coming for a holiday visit, summer vacation officials. One of the adults accompanying the youth on visits, and [now] a wedding in the works! The internet the trip is a faculty member. Each student must partici- came along just as we were beginning this project and it pate in trip fund raising activities and organizing a com- has greatly expanded and eased the connections‖. munity potluck supper when a report, usually with a slide Kristin McCoy, one of the adults who made the show, is presented to the Southwest Wisconsin Cornish trip to Cornwall in the Spring of 2009 writes ― The trip to Society and various local groups. Cornwall was a fantastic experience. The people we met and the places we visited were beautiful. It will always hold a special spot in my heart. Having the students visit [ Credits to Alan Jewell, Glen Ridnour and Kris McCoy Mineral Point in October only made the bonds feel for information; photo credits: Kris McCoy] (top of next column) 2 [From the President‘s desk] Happy St. Piran‘s Day! We are eager for you to share with all our readers news of how you and/or your society celebrate(d) the occasion. And, with the arrival of March, the deadline for submissions to the Steven R. Curnow competition is drawing nigh. Entries should be sent to Vivianne T. Bradley, 265 Penwith Lane, Burnsville, NC 28714 and must be postmarked no later than midnight of March 31st. CAHS is grateful to the Greater Kansas City Cornish Society for their generous contribution of $ 300 to the Steven R. Curnow Fund in honor of Don and Polly Whitman. When a second prize is awarded in the competition, it will be designated as the Don and Polly Whitman Award. Colin Roberts, secretary of Bewnans Kernow, a new partnership of Cornish cultural organizations, tells us that many conversations recently have focused on the fact that in Cornwall knowledge of the richness of activities of the Diaspora is often somewhat ad hoc. They would like to be more structured in informing themselves about Cornish happenings overseas. Colin is please to advise us all that the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies (FOCS) has volunteered to develop a page on their excellent website devoted to overseas activity They will promote events, report on events and put up newsletters received from you all. The webmaster is George Pritchard and you may email him your content at: [email protected] . The visit of students from Redruth, Cornwall to Mineral Point, WI, in October 2009 marked the tenth anniversary of the Student Exchange program sponsored by the Twinning Associations of the two towns. Congratulations on the success of this activity unique to the Sister Cities of Mineral Point and Redruth. Planning for the 16th Gathering of Cornish Cousins in Mineral Point is underway and more information about specifics of the event 22 – 25 September 2011 will be appearing in Tam Kernewek in the months ahead. I think you‘ll enjoy reading about Francis Shawn Bawden‘s project involving places in California with Cornish names. It sounds to me like a project we all could undertake in our own state or province. My hips and knees will no longer cooperate to allow me to pursue ‗cemetery crawling‘, reading and recording inscriptions on tombstones, but I can manage delving through mapbooks, and street directories for Cornish names and research the connection(s). How about you? Your CAHS officers reside in five different states, from Maryland to California, Florida to Michigan and Wisconsin. E-mail al- lows us to ―meet‖ online for discussion and decision-making, but very rarely are we all physically in the same location. So when we were all in the same place in Grass Valley we had the opportunity to take a photograph of us all to share with members. Tommi From left to right: Dick Baker, WI, Historian, Flora ―Tommi‖ O‘Hagan, WI, President, Ronald Carbis, MD, Treasurer and Membership Chair, Carolyn Haines, MI, 2nd VP/newsletter editor, Nancy Heydt, FL, 1st VP/Education, Jan Davis, CA, Secretary 3 CORRESPONDENCE FROM SOCIETIES and looking for like societies and organisations to become COUSINJACK WEBSITE Friends of the CGMP. It is hoping that interested groups, in the preservation of this unique project, will make a do- Visit the National Archives at Chicago's Facebook Page. nation on a regular basis or whenever they can help. An- other way to help is via sponsorship of a CGMP overhead. For event updates, highlights from our holdings, and rapid news Without guaranteed financial support, the CGMP will not stories, become our fan on Facebook. We are listed under Na- be able to continue recording all Cornish born migrants tional Archives at Chicago. Ensure you never miss out. High- who moved to all corners of the world. It would also lights so far include shopping in 1945, winter fun in U.S. Forest cease to be an asset to the history of Cornwall. NOTE: Service photographs, and a few draft cards of people you may CAHS donations cover the phone bills for CGMP. recognize: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/ National-Archives-at-Chicago/198814218768 In December the CGMP were delighted when further vol- —————————————————————————-- unteers offered to broaden the aspects of the project Did you know? Another change was to make the CGMP electronically The rustling noises often heard around the Tamar Bridge after available. The CGMP are now delighted to promote its the sun goes down are rumoured to be caused by Cornish piskies new email address [email protected] . CGMP sliding down the bridge supports. Printed in the CASA Decem- was able to design a web page ber 2009 newsletter from the Thames Valley Cornish Assoica- www.cornishmigration.org.uk and this has provided added tio interest to the project. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The CGMP is very grateful to its sponsors: From Don Gummow, a new CAHS member: The CAHS sponsors the telephone account, Bob and He writes that as he was looking over the ‘other’ Tommi O‘Hagan, Vancouver Cornish Society, Keweenaw Cornish site category of the CousinJack.org web- Kernewek, the Cornish Connection of the Copper Coun- site he was reminded of a web site that he has try.