Special anniversary marking 40 years of celebrating town's rich heritage
Forty years of celebrating, preserving and promoting a town's rich heritage will be marked this weekend.
Horwich Heritage will celebrate four decades of existence on Saturday, May 24 from 10am to 1pm, with the opening of a special anniversary exhibition, which will run until July 31.
Both the Mayor of Bolton and Mayor of Horwich will be there, with faces past and present who have been involved with the group also attending.
The society was formed in 1985, in the wake of the closure of the Loco Works.
Starting from nothing, it has grown to the stage where it has its own heritage centre on Beaumont Road and 300 members.Stuart Whittle and Geoff Waine, the group's 'founding fathers' (Image: Horwich Heritage)
Chairman, Stuart Whittle, has been with the group from the start.
He said: "It is quite an achievement. You can feel both proud and pleased with the way things have progressed over the years, coming from no money and no home to where we are now.
"We are a fully-fledged heritage centre, we have over 300 members and have a lot of activities. We have every right to feel pleased with that."
Speaking about Saturday, he said: "It will be a tribute to everyone who has been involved over the years. Unfortunately some of those are not with us anymore.
A 'Wartime' theme at Horwich Carnival, 1992 (Image: Horwich Heritage)Read more: Fascinating insight into ancient history at exhibition - including Bronze Age dig
Read more: 'There were wild celebrations when news of German surrender was announced'
Read more: Celebrating Bolton's rich heritage at centre
"But our members have been able to energise us and we have a good community. We want to keep it going in this way for as long as possible.
"We have managed to recruit younger committee members and the membership is growing, so there is every hope and belief that this society can keep going for many years to come."
A visit to Horwich Loco Works in 2018 (Image: Horwich Heritage) The group will also be running events to celebrate its anniversary over the coming year, including walks, talks at the centre and a celebratory party at its AGM on June 10.
To keep up to date with goings on, visit their website here: https://www.horwichheritage.co.uk/
He added: "The success of Horwich Heritage has been built on 'many shoulders' over the past 40 years and in particular we should remember the outstanding service given by Geoff Waine, Norman Pendlebury, Terry Almond, Geoff Pollitt and committee members Jean & Ken Webster and Betty Ainsworth. Sadly only Betty is still with us.
"None of this success could have been achieved without the exceptional efforts of the society's committee and volunteers who ensure that the centre is open 6 days a week and that a steady stream of new speakers, events, exhibitions, displays and archive material is produced."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
On This Day, June 21: 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Iran kills nearly 50,000
1 of 4 | A concrete building is damaged in Walls, Iran, after a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck the region June 21, 1990. File Photo by M. Mehrain, Dames and Moore/NOAA On this date in history: In 1788, the U.S. Constitution became effective when it was ratified by a ninth state, New Hampshire. In 1942, German forces, led by Gen. Erwin Rommel, took control of Tobruk, Libya, in an assault on British forces. The North African city was a key port on the Mediterranean Sea. In 1945, Japanese defenders of Okinawa surrendered to U.S. troops. In 1964, Ku Klux Klan members killed three civil rights activists -- James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner -- and hid their bodies in unmarked graves. An informer led the FBI to the three men's graves 44 days later. In 1982, John Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the March 1981 shootings of U.S. President Ronald Reagan and three other people who were also wounded. Hinckley has been in a hospital in Washington, with permission in recent years to spend time outside the institution with his family. UPI File Photo In 1985, international experts in Sao Paulo, Brazil, conclusively identified the bones of a 1979 drowning victim as the remains of Dr. Josef Mengele, a Nazi war criminal, ending a 40-year search for the "angel of death" of the Auschwitz concentration camp. In 1990, an earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck northwestern Iran, killing up to 50,000 people. In 1997, Cambodia announced the capture of former Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot. In 2005, a Mississippi jury convicted 80-year-old former Ku Klux Klan leader Edgar Ray Killen of manslaughter in the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers. He was sentenced to 60 years in prison and died in 2018. In 2008, nearly 1,400 people, most of them on a ferry that capsized, were killed in Typhoon Fengshen in the Philippines. In 2011, a RusAir passenger plane flying from Moscow to Petrozavodsk in rain and fog crashed on a highway near an airport and broke apart in flames. Forty-four people died, eight survived. In 2020, the acoustic guitar Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain used during the band's 1993 MTV Unplugged special sold for more than $6 million. It set a new record for highest auction price for a guitar in history. In 2021, Las Vegas Raiders defensive lineman Carl Nassib became the first active NFL player in league history to come out as gay. File Photo by Kyle Rivas/UPI In 2021, Laurel Hubbard made history as the first openly transgender athlete to be selected to compete in an Olympic Games, qualifying for a spot on New Zealand's weightlifting team. In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration granted approval for GOOD Meat, the meat division of Eat Just, and UPSIDE Foods, to sell cultivated poultry in the United States. It was the first approval by the regulatory body for companies to produce meat by growing cells extracted from an animal's body.
Chicago Tribune
3 days ago
- Chicago Tribune
Monee's St. Paul church granted landmark status by county
A Monee church with roots dating back to the 1850s is being acknowledged as an official Will County historical landmark. The Will County Board Wednesday granted landmark status to the 110-year-old St. Paul's United Church of Christ, 5323 W. Margaret St., making it the 61th Will County site to be named a landmark since the program began in 1992. 'This is very exciting for the village of Monee,' said County Board member Judy Ogalla, who represents the area. While the church was dedicated during services conducted in both English and German on June 13, 1915, the congregation can trace its history decades earlier when German immigrants settled in eastern Will County. In 1858, 35 residents founded St. Paul's congregation, according to the church's history. Despite having little money, they built the original church structure in 1860 for about $1,045 and used adjacent land that was donated by one of the first church officers and village founders for a cemetery. The historic designation is extra special to Christina Holston, a member of the Will County Historic Preservation Commission, whose relatives were among the church's founders in the 1850s. 'St. Paul's has been the cornerstone of village life for many years,' Holston said. 'Community life was centered around St. Paul's.' The ground for a new church was broken in 1914. Members of the congregation placed important documents and the history of the church in a copper box embedded in the cornerstone, though only a few of the charter members who organized the congregation in 1858 were living and present at the ceremony, historical documents said. 'After the cornerstone ceremony the ladies of the church spread long tables in the basement and loaded them with fried chicken, boiled ham, potato salad, pickles, pies and all the trimming, serving over 4,000 until long into the evening,' the church's history said. Throughout the years, the church has been home to several organizations and events, Holston said. Both the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts met in the basement as did a quilting society and a knitting club that created handmade booties and blankets for new babies. The church has been a host for veterans breakfasts, pork chop dinners and Oktoberfest celebrations, Holston said. St. Paul's Cemetery, which is the resting place for about 100 veterans, including 17 Civil War veterans, is part of Wreaths Across America day, Holston said. St. Paul's Cemetery was named an official Will County historic landmark in 2020, and numerous of Holston's relatives, dating back to her great, great, great-grandfather, are buried there. 'It's been a landmark in the community for its entire life,' Holston said. 'Now it's officially being recognized.' Landmarking protects local heritage, boosts tourism, increases property values and helps the environment by reusing what already exists, according to the Will County Land Use Department. Property owners may qualify for tax credits and state and federal grants. There are four other Will County landmarks located within Monee Township, including the Monee Creamery, the Riegel Farmstead, the St. Paul's Cemetery, and the Henery Furst House. Nominating the site recognizes its importance to local history and its value to the Monee community, county documents said. Will County staff noted the church's exterior and interior are in good physical condition, and it is an example of gothic revival style, which was a popular architectural style for the times. 'It has a lot of meaning to the village,' said Ogalla, of Monee. 'The families have a deep appreciation and love for this building. It's just a focal point of this community that everyone can wrap their arms around.' She said the building and its congregation are welcoming. Holston said they hope to have a celebration for the historical landmark status later this summer or in fall.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Funeral celebrates life of much-loved D-Day veteran
The funeral of one of the last survivors of the assault on the D-Day beaches in 1944 has been held at Wiltshire crematorium. Cecil Newton, from the village of Aldbourne and died at the age of 101, was 20 years old on D-Day when he was part of a tank crew sent to attack a German blockhouse. His amphibious Sherman Tank was among the first to land on Gold Beach on 6 June. Described as "feisty, driven, a little bit mischievous", he was involved in the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations, and even had a French school named after him. Major Graeme Green, the regimental secretary for the Royal Dragoon Guards, described Mr Newton as a "great guy" who always had a "little glint in his eye". He added that Mr Newton was "driven to commemorate his fallen comrades". At the funeral earlier at North Wiltshire Crematorium, near Royal Wootton Bassett, a message was played from the Cecil Newton Primary School in Normandy. Mr Newton was a trooper in the 4th/7th Royal Dragoon Guards and a loader in an amphibious Sherman Tank crew. "I was never nervous. I was too young to be nervous. I hadn't got the imagination," he said in a BBC interview about D-day. Along with his crew, he was in action for just a few moments. "It was just off the landing craft into the water, an engagement with the blockhouse and then we sank," he said. More news stories for Wiltshire Listen to the latest news for Wiltshire Later in the war, in November 1944, he was severely wounded with a leg injury and was shot three times when his tank came under attack in a German village. He described himself as "exceptionally lucky to survive" the later attack. Amongst those he knew who died in the war was Mr Newton's brother Frederic - shot dead by two Germans who raised their hands to surrender, but then opened fire. In June 2024, Mr Newton travelled back to France to take part in the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations. He also visited a French school named after him and some of the places his comrades fell in battle. Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. D-Day veteran Cecil Newton dies aged 101 D-Day veteran says friends' sacrifice a 'waste of life'
