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Tuesday 24 January 2012

Why Study the Past? Wisdom Wednesday



"The man,  who gives a proportion of his time to the study of the relics of years that are gone, will become a wiser and it may be reasonably concluded a better member of the community."

These words of wisdom were from George Webster, teacher of mathematics and an original member of my local history organisation,  Hawick Archaeological Society,  founded in 1856. 

156 years later in 2012,   the society is still very active in the town, though its historical emphasis has moved away from archaeology and antiquities which dominated its early discussions. A busy annual programme of lectures and publications  complements involvement in the local museum, in the commemoration of historical events,  and the placing  of plaques around the town to mark  local worthies. 

The society's  website http://www.airchieoliver.co.uk/  (Airchie Oliver)  has a  quirky title and reflects the way the society was known locally when people could not get their tongue around "archaeology", with Oliver a popular local surname.

Note:  Hawick, (pronounced Hoyk) is  a mill town famous for its  quality knitwear, and  is the largest settlement  in the Scottish Borders,  the region in the south east corner of Scotland.   See Hawick Common Riding.  

Below:  Hawick Among the Hills, with the Town Hall clock tower prominent in the  centre of the picture.

Wisdom Wednesday is one  of many blog prompts from  www.geneaology.com 
to encourage bloggers to write about their local  and family history.

1 comment:

  1. A meaningless irrelevancy I know, but our neighbour in Brisbane was born in Hawick. Funny how we associate places with people. Now you are linked to in my mind as well.

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