From Our Files

THE Westmorland Gazette has helped to revive the old tradition of Westmorland step dancing.

For many years the steps were left in the minds of only a few people, but two years ago a letter published in the Gazette asked if anyone could remember the sequences.

As a result, some interested people got together and exactly one year ago a successful revival day was organised by Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre.

An article in the Gazette about the new interest in step dancing prompted the offer of a room for meetings.

Since then the step dancers have been gathering regularly at the South Lakeland School of Dance, Kendal.

"Whatever happens now, step dancing in this area has been revived.

There are people who are able to teach steps and so the tradition will not die," said Mrs Elliott, who was largely responsible for reviving the interest.

50 Years Ago -April 19, 1952-Visitors flock to Lakes

WITH spring-like weather through the weekend, and glorious sunshine on Monday, when temperatures reached the 70s, Easter in Lakeland was one of the best for many years.

The many thousands of people who flocked to the national park area for the first holiday of the year constituted a record and they saw the district under ideal conditions.

Although traffic reached record proportions on Monday - in the evening vehicles were moving across Levens Bridge at the rate of nearly 3,500 an hour - no serious accidents were reported in Westmorland.

The trek to the Lakes began last Thursday afternoon.

On Good Friday and on Saturday hundreds of cyclists and hikers made their way to the Lake District and scores carried camping equipment.

Sunday's traffic was the heaviest since August and the brilliant sunshine again brought out holidaymakers in full force.

100 Years Ago-April 19, 1902-Folk song novelty

THE most striking novelty introduced in the Westmorland Music Festival competitions was unquestionably the folk song.

Collections of folk songs have been made in many manners since Walter Scott planned and carried out his Border Minstrelsy.

His plan was to carry on the hunt for old songs himself and by means of friends and helpers who could take an interest in the quest.

But it was without any public or extrinsic document.

In the folk-song contest a new method and new motive are provided.

It is known that an indefinite number of popular local songs exist which would have been repeated from generation to generation, but never published.

Some of these are worth preserving and it has now been proved that the Westmorland Music Festival may be the means of discovering and preserving them by the process of competitive selection.

It is not stated that the Festival Committee will undertake to print them; but somebody at all events should take care to collect them.

150 Years Ago-April 18, 1852-Moderrn education

THE opening of a new and commodious building giving increased facilities to the education of the children of the poor on Fell Side, in Kendal, a district where such labours are peculiarly called for, was celebrated by a tea party in the building.

The building is a striking contrast with many of the squalid tenements which lie around the neighbourhood.

A large number of friends of the undertaking assembled in the school room, which was decorated with flags and devices to partake of tea, the children having previously been treated with a plentiful repast of tea and currant bread.

After the meeting of the teachers and friends broke up, the children to the number of nearly 300, formed into procession and marched through some of the principal streets with a variety of flags and banners and upon their return were amused by the spectacle of a fire balloon which had been kindly prepared by Mr Isaac Whitwell.

This aerial voyageur was sent out amidst tumultuous applause of the children.

Unfortunately, it met with a fat

e frequent to fire balloons, it surged on one side with the wind, burst into flames, and fell in fiery fragments within a minute or two of its rise.

The children, however, were consoled by a treat of oranges and currant bread which wound up the festivities of the day for them in a very pleasant manner.