| About five years ago the Glen Rock Carollers came to Sheffield England where we shared our traditions of singing Christmas
carols. This was our first opportunity for a return visit to the carollers we provided hospitality for. |  |
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Glen Rock is typical American small town beginning to be impacted by
commuters from the big cities. It is about 10 miles south of York and close
to Shrewsbury (very confusing!) Although the carollers only sing on one
night of the year, there are traces of them all over the town with their top
hats, cloaks and canes |
| Even the bench outside the library has carollers
worked into its back. It is the thing that puts the town on the map! |  |
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We commented on our admiration for the contribution made by the two
Roosevelt presidents to the national parks system and they took us to the site of the old Conservation
Corps camp set up in Glen Rock. These camps were the idea of Franklin Roosevelt
and provided work for the many unemployed in the 1930s after
the 1929 crash and recession. Our host's father came to the town with that
corps, met a local girl, and stayed. |
| Late on Christmas Eve they have a warm-up concert,
then on the stroke of midnight they begin their tour all round the town,
stopping frequently to sing a few carols. This continues for
almost seven hours and they end up at this tree just yards
from the crossroads where they started. |  |
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We were shown all sorts of memorabilia both of the town and the carollers
who have been singing for over 160 years. This is a painting of some of
them. Very reminiscent of the painting I have of the Grenoside Sword dancers
who by tradition dance on New Years day in Sheffield. We did dance for the
Glen Rock Carollers when they came. |
| A photograph of the carollers probably dating from the
1930s seen on the library wall. |  |
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The railroad runs through the middle of the town although I don't think it
does today. At its peak over 180 trains a day passed through. |
| Our host's wife works at the York Strand and Capitol
theatres and we were privileged to have a guided tour of this historic
building. The main hall holds about 1500 people. |  |
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It has been well restored with many of the original features particularly in
the ceiling. |
| The Capitol theatre is used for films and has its own
Wurlitzer which rises out of the floor. Although we couldn't hear it this
looked to be a magnificent instrument. We must come back some day. |  |
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There cannot be too many of these still in working order, nor many people
who can play them. York is indeed fortunate. |
| The seats all looked comfortable and the capacity
struck me as being appropriate for the catchment area. I suspect they still
struggle to make ends meet though. |  |
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We even got to see inside the projection box with what seemed to me to be very
modern equipment. However I gather it is one of the few places left which
can project a 70mm film and that getting such films is becoming an
increasingly difficult task. Given that the cinema we have in the village in
France has closed because of similar difficulties one wonders what the
future holds. |
| But the bank of supporting sound equipment looks very
impressive. I remember projecting films in a similar sized cinema with a lot
less sophisticated equipment than this. |  |
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The screen in the Capitol theatre from the balcony complete with its
Wurlitzer organ.. |
| We paused to look at some of the detail work in the
theatres. This would be irreplaceable today since finding craftsmen who
could do this would be difficult, to say nothing of paying for them. |  |
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The glass chandeliers do get cleaned occasionally but it is a major
exercise. These too are relics of a bygone era... |
| as are the friezes on the walls depicting who knows
what. All part of making an evening at the theatre a sensual experience. |  |
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Back in Glen Rock we called in at the local church which has some
interesting painted glass windows. We also met the pastor who is also an
Army chaplain. He was one of the most thoughtful and articulate Americans we
have met and our conversation with him on a wide range of difficult subjects
was a real treat. |
We went out to dinner with our hosts and their wives and thoroughly enjoyed
our brief visit to Glen Rock. As with so many of the ordinary people we have
met, we gained from our conversations and we hope to meet up with them again. |