After a two year delay due to COVID, the Malad Valley Welsh Festival returned to mark its 16th year in fine fashion, with a full range of the traditional events over the weekend, including the seating of the 2022 Bard Lamonte John, Welsh harpist Kathy Clayton, the kids’ poetry competition, several impressive musical performances, the Quilt show, games, food, activities, and the 140th anniversary celebration of the Presbyterian “Little Church on the Hill.”

The Festival was supported and organized by the Malad Valley Welsh Committee chaired by Jean Thomas, and saw hundreds of attendees in attendance over its three days.

Seating of the Bard

Before the poetry portion of the afternoon was begun, the fiction winner was presented.  Former Bard Jan Crowther Myers read the work “Melancholy Air,” before it was revealed to be the work of Bob Crowther.  The story largely concerns a visit to Malad by a Welsh choir in 1915, after which the boat returning the choir to Wales tragically sank.  Crowther was named the Fiction Winner of the Festival. 

Cory Webster, Bard of the 2019 Welsh Festival, was finally allowed to relinquish his title as the reigning bard.  Due to COVID, he has been in the position since his anointing three years ago.  Webster, from the Haywire Ranch in Downey, “has been simply wonderful at sharing his time” with the Welsh Festival’s activities in the meantime, according to Jean Thomas.  Webster presided over this year’s poetry competitions, as well as last year’s awarding of the Scott prize.

In the tradition of the Welsh Eisteddfod, poets submit their work under a pseudonym, which is not know to any of the judges until the winner is announced at the seating ceremony.  The name is read out three times, after which the author raises and is escorted to the Bard’s Chair to be seated.  This year, the name “Llangyfelach Lad” was called out according to the tradition, until Lamonte John rose to accept the honor.  His poem “Coming Home” was judged the winning poem for the Bard chair.  Poet Leonard Morgan Hawkes's poem “Norman” was awarded the Patsy Price Scott prize.  Both are reprinted in this edition. 

Kids’ Poetry 

Competition

The kids’ poetry competition, which was open to school aged children across the valley, also awarded its prizes for the top three spots in each grade.  Out of the submitted poems, a number of semi-finalists (printed in the June 9 edition of The Enterprise) were selected by a panel of writers and former teachers, and invited to read their poems at last Friday’s afternoon session of the Festival.  Overcoming nerves and displaying an impressive amount of bravery, dozens of aspiring young bards read their creations to the crowd of friends, family, and poetry lovers.  

Named as winners in each grade were the following.  Second grade: Maggie Schow (3rd place), London Jones (2nd), Whitney Roe (1st); Fourth grade: Riggin Jensen (3rd), Ira Carter (2nd), Aubrey Price (1st); Fifth grade: Danette Layton (3rd), Zoe Bodily (2nd), Katy Carter (1st); Sixth grade: Jaxon Price (3rd), Aubrey Moss (2nd), Kayla Wilson (1st); Seventh grade: Cruz Carter (3rd), Emree Henks (2nd), Paityn Ward (1st); Ninth grade: Aubrey Corbett (3rd), Josh Pickett (2nd), Joe Willie (1st).  The winning poems from each group are printed in this edition on page 4.

Music

In addition to poetry, Wales is most notably associated with music.  Countless adages about the country make it clear that there is nothing more inherently Welsh than a love of singing and playing.  Following the kids’ poetry competition, Malad’s talented youth presented a range of performances in singing, piano, and instrumentation.  

The Malad Valley Men’s Welsh Chorus were on hand at a number of events to sing the Welsh national anthem, as well as other traditional songs.  The song “We’ll Keep a Welcome in the Hillside” was notable re-written to include “Malad.” 

Noted harpist Kathy Clayton highlighted the performance, with a number of pieces from Welsh composers John Perry and John Thomas.  During her performance, Clayton explained the history of the various types of harps used in Wales, and demonstrated how they were played.  

The Welsh Festival also featured a series of piano ensemble pieces, ranging from more traditional numbers by Brahms and Mozart, to an arrangement of Bach’s 5th concerto for four players on dual pianos, abd the theme from “Monsters, Inc.” 

Art

During the Festival, a display of kids’ artwork was housed in the lower floor of the building.  Pictures of dragons, drawings of cities, artistic renderings of flowers, and other creations displayed the creativity and skill of local students.  

Main street hosted “Art on Main” during the Festival, with a sidewalk chalk event, local art displays, and a beautiful presentation of quilt from the local quilters guild.  

Hall of Heroes

Lucille Washburn presented a detailed history on the “Hall of Heroes” in Cardiff during Friday and Saturday of the Festival, covering a number of iconic Welsh heroes throughout history up to the present.  Part of the Welsh Festival’s mission is to provide educational, as well as entertaining, material to those in attendance.  

Boudica (or Boadicea in the Latin chronicles) was a queen of the British Iceni tribe who I most famous for leading an uprising against the conquering Roman forces in A.D. 60.  According to Roman sources, after the uprising failed, she either poisoned herself or died of wounds sustained in battle, or illness.  During the uprising, Boudica’s forces managed to control a number of Roman cities, including modern Colchester and London.  

Hywel Dda (d. 949) is considered one of the most important of the “Kings of the Britons,” and is most noted for formulating what would become known as the “Laws of Hywel Dda, ” which codified the legal system of the island and were seen as compassionate and respectful of the rights of women.

Other important Welsh figures commemorated in the Hall of Heroes include Gerald of Wales (1146-1223) was an archdeacon and historian.  Much of his medieval writing survives to this day, providing one of the best sources of contemporaneous information on Wales of the time period.; Llewelyn ap Gruffudd (1223-1282) who was one of the last of the independent princes of Wales before the land was conquered by Edward I of England; Dafydd ap Gwilym (1315-1350), who was considered one of Wales’ greatest poets; Owain ap Gruffyd (1359-1415), also known as Owain Glyndwr, who was a Welsh leader who inspired and led a long resistance against English rule in the late middle ages.  He was the last native born Welshman to hold the title of Prince of Wales, which is now an honorific given to the oldest son of the British Royal Family.  His 15 year revolt elevated Owain to mythic status and led to a legend of his return during times of greatest need; Henry VII (1457-1509) the first of Tudor line of Royalty, and who was the last of the British Kings to win victory on the field of battle; Bishop William Morgan (1545-1604) who first translated the Bible in Welsh; William Williams (1717-1791), who was considered Wales’ premier hymnist, and wrote more than 1000 devotion hymns over his lifetime; Sir Thomas Picton (1758-1815), who was killed at the Battle of Waterloo during the Napoleonic wars.  Saint David stands at the center of the hall.

Historic LDS sites in Wales Jill Morgan, Professor from the University of Wales, spoke to the assembled crowd on a “Tour of 19th Century LDS Historical Sites in Wales.” Morgan now works for the LDS Church History Department, and has gathered a number of stories about sites across Wales that have significance to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She relates that after speaking to students in Marsh Valley at an informational session, she was asked “why do you sound like my grandma used to?”  

With a clear Welsh accent, Morgan explained that she first became interested in the topic of LDS history in Wales after coming across and article detailing an “Anti-Mormon Society” in an old Swansea newspaper.  As she had always heard that there weren’t any LDS members in Wales at the time, she wondered why there would have been any such society.

Her research eventually uncovered a vibrant and interesting history of the religion in the area, and began collecting documents and stories about what LDS life was like in Wales in the nineteenth century.  She uncovered a series of locations that had served as meeting places, baptismal locations, and missionary histories that had previously been little discussed.  The first LDS chapel outside the U.S., for instance, is now thought to be the one in Llenelli, Carmarthennshire.  

Morgan regaled the audience with stories about a number of fascinating places where baptisms were conducted, meetings were held, and meetings were held over the next hour.  She also took some time to give the audience some basic understanding of how Welsh pronunciation works, to an entertaining backdrop of people trying out the complicated “LL” sound, which doesn’t exist in English.

Morgan’s current work involves tracking down more stories and documents from descendants of those Welsh pioneers, and she encouraged the audience to contribute them to the church’s history department.

 Samaria

After having been delayed along with the Welsh Festival, Samaria’s events were also in full swing last weekend.  Open during the Welsh Festival, Heritage Square six miles outside of Malad is an amazingly restored labor of love.  According to Luke Waldron, the square is “the result of at least 26 Eagle Scout projects, at last count.  We’ve had boys do restoration, roofs, cabin chinking, landscaping, making paths, sculptures—you name it!” 

Samaria was first settled by John E. Price and his two sons in 1868, and would soon become an epicenter of Welsh settlement into Idaho.  By 1870, there were approximately nineteen Welsh families in town, which was larger than neighboring Malad for many of those early years.  

While visiting the area, church President Lorenzo Snow felt moved to name the town Samaria, in honor of the welcoming and generous spirit of the community.

Welsh was frequently spoken in town, and the manner of dress and local customs were also very much in keeping with those of the home land of many of the residents.  Welsh dishes such as bara brith, teisin thin, stone bake cookies, Welsh cakes, and a traditional dish made of liver, were also commonly eaten.  Ever since, the area of Samaria has looked forward to both St. David’s Day (the first day of March), and the celebration of the Eisteddfod, which the Welsh Festival has brought back.

By 1910, there were 428 residents of the town, primarily Welsh,  including the Morse, Williams, Davis, Price, Hughes, Roberts, Evans, Griffiths, Hawkins, Thorpe, Martin, Mason, Bowen, Jenkins, Noble, Hill, Roderick, Daniels, Davies, Jones, Mansfield, and Anderson families.  Today, the population of Samaria is around 150, though obviously its Welsh roots run deep.

Heritage square features several restored cabins, including those inhabited by the Samuel Deer Davis Family, John Evans Price, Mary Deer Davis, Richard and Viola Reese, and Benjamin Nichols.  Vera Ann Nichols is most famous as a matriarch of the Osmond family.  An antique sewing table still bears the graffiti of two well known descendants. 

During the Festival, traditional Welsh games and activities were taught, and the cabins were open to guided tours.  During the course of the weekend, Waldron, as he often does, met a number of people who turned out to have roots in the area, as well as new stories.  “This is what I love about the Welsh Festival,” Waldron said.  “Stories and people you would never expect!”

Presbyterian Church

The Presbyterian Church, “the Little Church on the Hill,” celebrated its 140th anniversary to close out the 2022 Welsh Festival.  The church has been an important part of the town and its history since it was first founded.  The celebration featured the Men’s Welsh Chorus, as well as memories from those who had been touched by its presence over the many decades.  See the full article on the service on page 14.