WGS Wales Trip May 10-15, 2006 Page Seventeen Home|Previous Page|1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 |Next Page

Brian Locking, playing the most wonderful sounding harmonica through an amplifier, it was the most haunting mystical sound of music, would remind your of some music we hear played on the Panpipe. He has CD’s out of his music, I wish I had one!.	Councillor R. Phillip Parry, Mayor of Caerwys presenting to Becky Wynn-Thill to the town of Caerwys, thanking the Wynne-Genealogy-Society for coming to Wales, to the hometown of Dr. Thomas Wynne who left Wales in 1682.
Mayor R. Phillip Parry honoring Becky Wynn-Thill, with a gift from the Parliament and Assembly of London, on the occasion of her coming to Wales and bringing the descendants of Dr. Thomas Wynne, who are all members of the Wynne Genealogy Society that she founded. The gift was a pair of silver cuff links with the Welsh Dragon engraved on the face. Becky Wynn-Thill presented these cuff links to her father Richard Lee Wynn, on Father’s day in America, June 17th, 2006. It was quite an emotional transition from Wales to America.	Mayor R. Phillip Parry, presenting to Becky Wynn-Thill a framed certificate, thanking the Wynne-Genealogy-Society for coming to Wales.
Becky Wynn-Thill, presenting to the Town of Caerwys, her book "Dr. Thomas Wynne's Legacy", which she authored with the Wynne Genealogy Society about Dr. Thomas Wynne and his legacy of descendants who came to America in 1682. Most of the WGS members in the audience wrote family stories and histories of their branch of Dr. Thomas Wynne's family in the book. In the audience were descendants of Dr. Thomas Wynne’s six children, 1st child Mary Wynne Jones: Alice Neff - Utah, Debbie Hunter - London, 2nd Child Tabitha did not go to America. 3rd Child Rebecca Wynne Dickinson, Joseph Dickerson – Maryland, was not able to attend due to family medical problems but was there in spirit. 4th child Sydney Wynne Chew: Joan Bretz - Pennsylvania, Merle Millheim - Pennsylvania, and Linda Shabo - Alabama. 5th child Hannah Wynne Humphrey; Amy Humphries – New Jersey, 6th child and only son Jonathan Wynn; Becky Wynn-Thill – Oklahoma/Texas, Joyce Quigley - Pennsylvania, Vi Grooms-Alban - Minnesota, Ida Lee Cann - Virginia, Betty Wynn McGehee - Kansas, Joyce Gail Wynn Stewart - Ohio, Sharon Underhill – Indiana/Florida, Susan Wynn Grove - Virginia, Susan Wright - Kentucky, Janet Beard – Texas, Mary Alice Shaw - Illinois, In Sprit Patricia Wynne Wilkey Gilstrap [deceased Nov. 7, 2002] – Nebraska.	Becky Wynn-Thill, presenting to the Town of Caerwys a marble engraved plaque from the Descendants of Dr. Thomas Wynne, thanking the the town for the hospitality it had shared with his descendants. Becky Wynn-Thill then turned and expressed to the town of Caerwys a heart felt thank you, for all the hospitality and friendship that the town had extended to the Wynne Genealogy Society. Expressing what a dream come true it was for us to have been able to come to Caerwys, and see the town and the home of their many times great-grandfather. She thanked them for all the wonderful memories that we would be bringing back to America, because of the wonderful people of Caerwys. Becky then expressed that the Wynne Genealogy Society and descendants of Dr. Thomas Wynne wanted to show their appreciation directly to the town. At that point the entire Wynne Genealogy Society, which was almost the entire front row, stood, turned to face the towns people and applauded the town for the wonderful wonderful hospitality they had extended to us. From on top of the stage, I believe that they were surprised and honored that we would do so.
The concert was concluded with the Welsh Men's Choir and the town chiming in with their Welsh Anthem, before every one disbursed.	We stayed and visited with the members of the concert. This is Cada Grove speaking to Gan Ainm a local singing duo.
Royal Oak Pub Friday Night May 12th, 2006. The town turned out to celebrate the Concert and also to meet the WGS Members. It was wall to wall people, there was the members of the Welsh Men's Choir singing, townspeople joining in, and everyone enjoying the wonderful company. The Royal Oak provided us with wonderful service and went out of their way to make us feel welcome.	Merle Millheim, Joan Bretz and one of the Welsh Men's Choir sharing a toast.
Vi Grooms-Alban, Merle Millheim, Joan Bretz meeting members of the town and the Welsh Mens choir.	Joyce Gail Stewart and Steve Griffith. Steve Griffith and his wife Gaynor were the host family of Joyce Gail Stewart and Ida Cann. Steve is also a member of the Welsh men's choir and had sung in two duets that night, as well as played the guitar.
Bodnant Garden Saturday, May 13th, 2006 The Bodnant Garden's is so beautiful, even though we came early in the year and the flowers were not all in bloom, it was still beautiful and worth seeing. I will not be making comments on the gardens because it speaks for itself. I will give you here the story of the gardens. It is situated above the River Conwy on ground sloping towards the west. Many of the trees were planted about 1792. The garden has two parts, the upper part around the house consists of the Terrace Gardens, as well as informal lawns shaded by trees. The lower portion, known as “the Dell”, is formed by the valley of the River Hiraethlyn, and contains the Pinetum and Wild Garden. The Second Lord Aberconway designed and constructed the original gardens between 1904 –1914 of a great series of terraces in the Italian style. The lower terrace from the house that has the long shallow pool is called the Lilly Terrace. The house that is there at the Lilly Terrace is called “The Pin Mill” originally constructed as a Garden House about 1730 at Woodchester in Gloucestershire. Afterwards it was used as a mill for the manufacture of pins, and later still as a tannery. In 1938 it stood in very squalid surroundings and was rapidly decaying. The 2nd Lord Aberconway bought it and removed to Bodnant the roof, the timbers, and all the carved and dressed stonework. He incorporated these in a new building, brick based and stucco-covered, like the original. The work was completed in 1939. The old staircase has vanished, and had to be replaced, while new side arches took the place of modern windows. Otherwise the building is unchanged. The garden has been extended from time to time and some 80 acres are open to the public. The Main house was built in 1792, and was refaced and altered about 1875. it is partly covered by Pyracantha Coccinea “Lalander”, which berries profusely in the autumn. Henry Davis Pochin, whose son-in-law was the first Lord Aberconway, bought Bodnant together with the surrounding estate of some twenty-five farms in 1874. Pochin retired to Bodnant after he bought the property. The Victorian conservatory was built in 1882, and “The Poem”, a mausoleum, as a last resting place for himself and his family, in the garden. No one knows why he called it “The Poem”, the name carved on the front of the building. Pochin had many children, most whom died in infancy. His daughter Laura inherited the property when Pochin died in 1895. Laura Married Charles McLaren, and had a son named Henry McLaren, in due course became the 2nd Lord Aberconway. He developed the garden until his death in 1953. Laura and Charles McLaren’s son Charles McLaren became the 3rd Lord Aberconway. Bodnant Gardens was the 2nd Garden accepted by the National Trust in 1949, the Main house is not part of the gift of the garden and the family continues to live in it today. Charles McLaren the 3rd Lord Aberconway died in 2003, but before his death he looked after the gardens for the trust. The Hon. Michael McLaren Q.C. is still involved in the Gardens. The main house was at our visit unoccupied with several broken windows, but still beautiful nonetheless.