Catch up with Morpethians who have moved away from their home town for foreign shores
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WELCOME to ‘Where in the World’. This part of the site catches up with Morpethians who have moved away to live and work in different countries. Many of them keep in touch with events in their home town via our website, while others have the newspaper posted to them by ‘snail mail’. We’d love you to tell us about your life overseas. Don’t worry if you are not the world’s greatest writer — simply e-mail us at morpeth.herald@northeast-press.co.uk and we will send you a list of questions to answer from which we can compile the article. If you have photographs you can e-mail them to the same address or post to us at the following address: Where In The World, Morpeth Herald, 17 Newgate Street, Morpeth, Northumberland, England NE61 1AW.
25/11/2004 -STUART DIXON |
Stuart Dixon |
MORPETH ex-pat Stuart Dixon called on years of experience in Sunday morning football to scoop a top honour for managing a women’s team in the States.
Stuart, who left Morpeth for a new life abroad three years-ago, beat off strong competition to win a coach of the year award at one of the USA’s most prestigious colleges.
The 33 year-old emigrated when his wife Justine — granddaughter of the founders of Swinney Brothers Engineering at Morpeth — got a job promotion at Pfizer.
The couple moved to the community of Kalamazoo, which is two hours from Detroit and Chicago.
“On my arrival in the States I was unable to work due to my work visa so I took up a voluntary coaching position,” said Stuart.
“I took several coaching exams and talked my way into the Kalamazoo College Interim Head Women’s position last July.”
Stuart’s experience of playing in the Morpeth and District Sunday League — his previous teams include Sour Grapes, M2, Morpeth Hearts and Morpeth Juniors — took over and things went from strength to strength.
He said: “Nominations for the coach of the year is conducted by each of the
Conference members’ head coaches.
“The vote is given to the coach that has made a major contribution that season. I was voted just ahead of the coach that won the league to acknowledge the work I had done with the team I’d inherited.
“To finish as high as fourth in this league takes years of good recruiting but my assistant and I had no input on recruits so, as college entry places were filled, we had to work with the players we had.
“We had some good players but had to forge a very strong team unity to compete. We conceded 15 goals all season and had ten clean sheets.
“It was nice to receive such an award, especially one voted for by your peers.”
Kalamazoo College is a prestigious liberal arts college with yearly fees of
$31,000 a year.
It ranks in top ten in the USA for academics and has had a strong soccer program as it was nationally ranked.
Stuart’s team plays in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the oldest Collegiate in the States, formed in 1888.
The award means there could also be some more exciting challenges ahead for Stuart.
“I have received a few new offers from various colleges and clubs once my
interimship finishes later this month but I have not made any decisions yet,” he said.
He has no regrets about leaving Morpeth — but admits he does miss a few home comforts.
Added Stuart: “Living in the USA is hard with soccer being the third sport behind American football, baseball and basketball.
“We miss our families of course, but also the small town atmosphere Morpeth offers — being able to walk down the historic streets and knowing people by name a well as Simple things like Greggs pasties, fish and chips and Tap and Spile beers.
“The weather is brutal too, we will have permafrost from early December through to March and the average snowfall is high.
“Our neighbours tell us stories of having to jump out of a first floor window to get out of the house the snow was that deep but we haven’t seen that yet!
2/1/2003 -MIKE JOHNSON
OUR Where in the World series continues with the story of Mike Johnson, a former staff nurse at Morpeth St George's Hospital, who now lives in the eucalyptus-covered Blue Mountains of New South Wales, Australia.
HOW MIKE’S AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE CHANGED HIS LIFE
I WAS born in 1947 and grew up in Stobhillgate, attending Stobhillgate Primary School before moving on to Newminster Secondary Modern and then Chantry when it opened.
Our family attended Morpeth Methodist Church in Howard Terrace, where my Mum was a regular member until she moved away in 1996 to live in a nursing home near my sister in Worcestershire.
After leaving school in 1964 I started work at St George's Hospital as a cadet nurse — my Father was a nurse there also, and on reaching 18 I was promoted to student nurse. I graduated in 1969 and became Staff Nurse.
Towards the end of 1969 a workmate and I decided that it might not be a bad idea to get on the assisted passage scheme and have a two-year holiday in Australia. My brother had gone out earlier in the year with his family and things seemed to be going well.
We did all the paperwork and were accepted, leaving Southampton on the ‘Fairstar’ in February 1970 for the three-and-a-half week cruise to Australia.
We landed in Freemantle, Western Australia, and within the first couple of days we both had jobs in the health profession at Royal Perth Hospital. We rented a flat a short distance from the centre of Perth.
We stayed there until December 1970 and then decided to move on. We both had 1957 Ford Zephyrs by this time and we drove them across the Nullabor to Adelaide — and what an experience. When I left home driving from Morpeth to Newcastle was a hassle!
To cut a long story short, we arrived in Sydney where we both joined the Commonwealth Police Force and eventually ended up in Lithgow, New South Wales. My friend subsequently returned to the UK and I remained in Lithgow, marrying a local girl.
I am still here and still working, hopefully for not much longer — retirement is looking good. Pam and I have no children but our Maltese terrier keeps us busy.
Lithgow is about 100 miles West of Sydney on the outskirts of the Blue Mountains. Katoomba, a favourite tourist spot, is about 20 minutes away.
The main industries here over the years have been coal mining and power generation. Quite a few miners from the North East were recruited to work the mines in this area, and the Geordie accent is quite prominent.
Our lifestyle over here is fairly different from what I was used to back home, more of an outdoor lifestyle. I guess the weather has a lot to do with it, although here in Lithgow we do experience the four seasons, sometimes in one day. Winter usually brings a fall of snow.
Sport plays a big part, and the facilities are very good. The choices here are a lot wider than I can remember there being at home, although things might have improved by now.
Distance over here doesn't seem to matter. I mentioned before that to travel from Morpeth to Newcastle was a bit of a hassle, but now we think nothing of driving to Sydney to see a show and then driving home afterwards.
We have a regular train service between here and Sydney, about a three hour trip, right through the heart of the Blue Mountains.
Lithgow itself is quite a popular tourist destination. We have the world famous Zig Zag Railway a few minutes out of town, three well stocked lakes with brown and rainbow trout, and a couple of the lakes are popular with power and sail boating enthusiasts.
We are surrounded by National Parks and only an hour's drive away from the popular wine growing area.
I still have a couple of cousins living in Morpeth, at Kirkhill and Pegswood. Since locating the 'Herald' website I spend quite a bit of time catching up on all the local happenings. In my early days out here my parents used to send me all the Morpeth Heralds so that I could keep in touch with local events.
I certainly miss my family and friends back home but I don't think I could leave this way of life and return for good. We really love coming back to the UK for a visit though, it's a lovely country for a holiday.
31/10/2002 - BRIAN ALLEN
| POLICEMAN Brian Allen and his family left Morpeth 25 years ago to start a new life in Australia. Now he is retired and hoping to renew old acquaintances in his home town.
MORPETH MAN WHO BECAME A JP ‘DOWN UNDER’
I HAVE just discovered your website and your ‘Where in the World’ page and have read some of the contributions of others.
I was a Police Officer at The Kylins when it was the headquarters of Northumbria Police. I was a crime scene examiner travelling all over the County. My wife Pauline used to work in the printers at HQ.
In 1977 we decided to come out to Australia with our family and we have been out here ever since, but with the scent of the Northumbrian moors ever in my nose we have been back home twice to renew old acquaintances and see old friends and it was nice to know that we were still remembered.
Our three children (as they were then) went to Goosehill School and also to Newminster. Their names were Andrew and Sandra and Jennifer Allen.
Since coming out here I have been in the South Australian Police and when I retired I became a Justice of the Peace, sitting in the local magistrates’ court as a lay magistrate.
If there is anyone out there who still remembers us lot then I would be pleased to hear from them.
BRIAN ALLEN
‘Northumberland’
3, Vistula Court,
Hackham West,
South Australia 5163. |
29/10/2002 - JENNIFER WALLUM
| MANY of our readers will know Jennifer Wallum through her fundraising appeals in the 'Herald' for the people of the Philippines. Mrs Wallum and her husband, Jan Peter, now have a permanent home close to Mount Pinatubo, which caused massive devastation when it erupted a decade ago. The couple still have strong links with Morpeth through the town's Anglican churches, Morpeth Lions and local schools. With their help, the EVA Foundation has built two new schools for the Aeta people, as well setting up an award-winning ecotourism project. |
Jennifer Wallum | |
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HOW MORPETH HELPS THE NEEDY IN THE PHILIPPINES
I WAS born Jennifer Gordon-Russell, and attended Morpeth Girls' High School between 1958 and 1965 while living at Netherton Training School in Stannington, where my father was a housemaster.
I worshipped at St James' Church, and spent my spare time competing in the Area and Northumberland Athletics Teams. A keen singer, I won the Rosebowl for best soloist at the Wansbeck Music Festival on two occasions.
In 1965, I left the town to study at Durham University, then moved on to Iran, Sweden, St Vincent in the West Indies, the British Virgin Islands, Thailand and the Philippines.
I met Jan Peter in Iran — he is originally from Sweden. We almost met years earlier when he was staying with an Ashington family on an exchange trip and went along to watch the Area Sports Meeting. I was competing on the day — and I won!
In 1976, I was the main collector for the Qashq'Ai of Iran Exhibition, part of the Islamic Festival of Great Britain.
I moved to the Philippines because of my husband's work, and became Teacher, Founder and President of the EVA Charity Foundation in Manila.
The area we live in now is like the up-market housing estates you find in the UK, but with a hot sticky climate and armed guards.
I don't have any remaining family in Morpeth, but my sister lives in Blyth and we have some very close friends in the town.
We keep in touch with our next-door neighbour Helen Irvine, our great friends Les and Gaye Sage, Carrie Angus, the Rev Maureen Chester and Robin Cooper of Morpeth Lions, who all write to us regularly.
Occasionally we have a visitor from back home, such as when Patrick Chester 'dropped in' to help us with our charity work.
And, of course, we always read the Morpeth Today website to make sure we're up to date!
I miss our little house in Morpeth, cool walks in the lovely countryside by the river, and the friendly shopkeepers. But I don't miss the parking problems one bit.
I never lost my passion for singing, and in 1982 I sang as the Merry Widow for the Royal Performance Bangkok, Thailand's Rattanakosin celebration.
I'm very proud to say that I received an MBE at Holyrood in 2000, presented to me by the Queen for my work with local people in need in the Philippines.
For more information on Morpeth's contribution to the EVA Foundation, type 'Philippines' into our 'Herald' news archive. |
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The first Morpeth Aeta School |
The latest Morpeth school in the Philippines |
CAROLINE KINTSLER
| CAROLINE Kintsler’s life overseas began in a coal camp in Appalachia, eastern America, in the 1960’s. Thirty years on Caroline and her husband, John, are both retired and return to England often to visit relatives. This is their story... |
Caroline Kintsler | |
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LIVING IN THE USA — THINKING OF MORPETH
I WAS born Caroline Whittle in Ashington. After much travelling around England we settled in South Terrace, Morpeth, where I attended St James Church of England school, which is now a parking lot!
At the age of eleven I moved on to Morpeth Girls’ Grammar School hoping to become one of Miss Gendall’s ‘young ladies’. I attended St James Church and joined the Presbyterian Youth Fellowship. I left MGGS at 17 to take commercial courses at Wallsend Grammar School.
Morpeth Rural District Council Offices in Dacre Street provided my first full time employment as a typist clerk. After my marriage I moved to Ashington and became clinic clerk at the Child Welfare Centre there.
We moved to the USA when my husband obtained a position with a coal company in Kopperston, West Virginia. Some years later I moved to Beckley, where I trained to be a nurse and worked in local hospitals.
Beckley was at one time the centre of a coal mining area but since the decline of that industry, it has become a tourist area and whitewater rafting and skiing are the main attractions. There are a number of large hotels here catering for tourists and people passing through from the North on their way to the Carolinas and Florida beaches.
We also have a coal mine which is open to the public. One can ride into it on a tiny train and see the old workings and other items of interest.
We also have an open air arena where actors come each year to perform plays such as ‘Hatfields & McCoys’, which is about a long standing feud between two ‘hillbilly’ families.
My husband, John, and I are both retired and enjoying the freedom to come and go as we please. We often visit North Carolina, where my two daughters live. My son, Simon, lives in Texas with his wife Christy. My daughter Samantha is married with three children and my daughter, Rebekah, is getting married in October. We have all been to England many times to visit our family. My son is coming over this month to introduce his bride to his Grandmother, Doris Whittle.
I keep in touch with my Mother by telephone and letters. I also talk to my brother Michael through instant messaging and e-mail. My brother, Franklin, is hoping to come over here for a visit and to attend my daughter’s wedding.
I enjoy clicking on to Morpeth Net brought to us by my e-mail friend Dave Pope. I love to look at all the pictures of Morpeth on this site. Also through Morpeth Net I found the Morpeth Herald site www.morpethtoday.co.uk and love to read it every day. It keeps me in touch with everything going on in the area. (I still think they shouldn’t charge for parking in a grocery store parking lot!)
I still miss Morpeth after 30 years in the USA. No matter what some people say it looks very beautiful to me. I didn’t realise until I had been gone a while just how pleasant the North East is. I can think of nothing I was glad to leave behind. |
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Caroline and John's home |
The Tamarack Visitors’ Centre, near the Kintslers' home where you can browse and buy the work of local artists and craftsmen |
