Stories from St. Annes
Everyone has a treasured possession, an object that has a story to tell and means something special. Perhaps it’s a family heirloom that’s been passed down through the generations along with stories of your forebears. Maybe it’s something that has belonged to you alone and reveals something about your own life. It could tell a story about St Annes and its history, or its tale could relate to another country, culture or time.
A photo from the Stories from St Annes blog
The Friends of St Annes Library invite you to share the story of your special object as part of the Stories from St Annes on the Sea project. In collecting the stories shared by people who have a connection to St Annes, the Friends intend to build up the collective story of the St Annes community in all its rich variety. Community History Manager, Andrew Walmsley, has helped the Friends develop a blog, an on-line journal, where pictures of contributors together with their special objects and their stories can be shared so that everyone can experience this living archive as it grows.
Some members of the Friends have already shared their stories: Ian’s collection of glass slides tell the story of a journey his great uncle and aunt made to India in 1925; Anne shares childhood memories embodied in the wooden clogs she wore as a little girl; Andrew’s special object is his grandfather’s dog tag from WW I; the story of the silver box belonging to Seetha’s grandmother starts in India in the early 20th century; Paula’s story is about the well-travelled fiddle that links her father’s life in Europe and the United States with hers in St Annes today; and Tony writes about a Buddha that originally belonged to his grandfather and was a feature of his childhood.
To see how the stories look, visit the blog at http://anneslibrary.wordpress.com
To help you get started on your own treasured possession or story, you can download and complete the template of questions, attach it to an email and send to friendsofstanneslibrary@gmail.com. Or, if you prefer, you can print it out, fill it in and hand it in at the library. If you need any more help, or have further questions about the project, then please email friendsofstanneslibrary@gmail.com.