Members of the Book Group celebrate the publication of The Oakengates Book, an oral history based on interviews and discussions in which people of Oakengates tell their stories and memories.
What was life like ‘in service’ and in the furnaces and mines? How has it changed in the home and in the community? Have things got better?
As Nancy Mulliner says, ‘we may be a little better off now, but this was never got without a fight’.
Over 100 people were involved in The Oakengates Book, either in interviews in their homes or at the weekly meetings in the Oakengates Community Centre. More than 2000 books were sold with over 500 sent all over the country and abroad’. The subtitle of this oral history, In the words of Oakengates People, indicates a feature of the book. The words of those involved speak for themselves and there is no editorial commentary.
The TCA worker in this project was Gray Woodruff
Photo by Martin Humphreys
telfordcommunityarts.org 