Doris Hodgson's Memories
This article was written by Ian and Vera Black in September 2008. Their Aunt Doris was visiting Britain from Canada, and returned to Lindal and Marton to re-visit the places where she spent he childhood. Doris Hodgson was from a family of sixteen children, but only eleven of them reached adulthood. Her family lived at Moor Cottage in Marton, and then at another house on the corner of Silver Street and Tarn Flatt. Her parents had moved to London Road in Lindal by the time of their golden wedding in 1952, described in the newspaper clipping below.
TIP: Please click on each picture to see a larger version.
Doris Hodgson returns to Lindal & Marton
Doris Hodgson celebrates her 93rd Birthday on 20th September 2008. Doris who
emigrated to Canada at the age of 70 to be with her daughter and
grandchildren is currently on a visit to Britain to be presented with a
medal for her services in the land army during the war.
Doris was born and brought up in Marton, the 6th child of a family of 11 children. Her parents were William and Mary Anne Park. Her father was an iron ore miner, an underground manager, employed by the Duke of Buccleuch.
While she was in the country, she chose to take a nostalgic journey back to Marton accompanied by her daughter and two of her nieces, all who were greatly entertained by stories of how life was all of those years ago when Doris was a child. Doris related stories of how when she had occasion to visit her elder married sister in Ambleside, there were no buses and she would get a train from Lindal to Lakeside, and continue the journey by steamer to Waterhead Ambleside. It was also of great interest to learn that she was present in Lindal when the first horse drawn buses were introduced.
Doris first attended school at Lindal and Marton School, but she and her brother John were accepted at Dowdales School, and were among the first pupils from Lindal and Marton School to attend. It came as quite a surprise to her family when she informed them that the only method of getting to and from school in those days was on foot, quite a walk! Doris was very pleased to visit the school and described in detail how it was back in the days when she and her brother John were pupils, it had of course altered a great deal since her day. It was a great thrill for her when she saw some of the pupils in their uniforms in the town; she even managed to have a chat to one or two of them as they had lunch in a local café in Dalton.
On our return journey the group had a brief visit to Ulverston, where Doris explained to the family how in her younger days the local people would attend the hiring fair twice a year at Whitsuntide and Martinmas, and put themselves up to be hired. It was something of a shock to be told that those up for hire could be as young as 12 years old and would have to live in with their employers, who in many occasions were quite some distance from their homes, and visits back home were quite infrequent.