The Power of the Nuns
I have been receiving copies of your magazine from family members for the last few years. I decided to write and thank-you for such an interesting way of keeping up-to-date with what is going on, in and around Manchester.
I am a Mancunian by birth, and even though I live thousands of miles away in Charleston, South Carolina, the ties to the city of my birth, are still alive and flourishing in the family members still living in or around the Greater Manchester area. My parents, Norbert and Gertrude Smith were both raised in Lewis Street; a stones throw from the beautiful Corpus Christi Basilica.
I actually lived in Lewis Street, and attended Corpus Christi School. How many of you remember Sister Theresa? I was only three when Sister Theresa allowed me to start school. Early I know, but my Mother had three children eighteen months apart, so an exception was made. My earliest memory of school was having to have a nap. Not something I enjoyed, or so the story goes. One day, at naptime, I left school, and went to my Nana's house. I crossed Varley Street and arrived home…safely. No mean feat for a three year old.
No-body at home could persuade me that school was a good thing. (Quite ironic really, as I ended up teaching for ten years before I left for the States.) I was adamant that I was not going to nap, and my parents gave up persuading me otherwise. I attended Corpus Christi Church the following Sunday and was confronted by Sister Theresa. She smiled sweetly and asked very nicely if I was going to complete a full week of school that week. "Yes Sister," I replied, equally as sweetly, and I went back to school. Not a whimper…. Everyone had forgotten about the power of the nuns!
I was honoured to crown our Lady; a date I can't remember, but I'm sure ne of my Aunts could tell you, even today. (A boy called John Stanley was the cushion bearer) I attended the last service at Corpus Christi in May of 2007. I was lucky that it coincided with a visit to see my Father.
My Nana was Sarah Ann Whittaker nee Costa, and my Grandmother was Christina Smith nee Anderson, both were very strong individuals; good role models. They had lived near each other for years before my parents actually married, (a couple of houses apart, if I remember correctly, as did the Burke family who are also connected by marriage)
My parents left Lewis Street in about 1962 and moved to Chadderton. I was about seven and my brother and sister were six and five respectively. My Nana followed us a couple of months later after she 'broke up her home'. She lived with us until her death in 1979.
Sadly, Mum is no longer with us, but she left behind an amazing legacy. Although my siblings and I are no longer living in the same city, or even the same country, those bonds that tied us as children are still alive and kicking. We were never rich, but we had something that money couldn't buy; two wonderful parents. Regards to all family members and my fellow Mancunians.