The Way We Were

Established in 2009, ‘The Way We Were’ brings history alive and gives primary school pupils a new understanding of times gone by. In this project, groups of older people from the Third Age exhibit artifacts from earlier times and explain to the pupils how they are used.

The exhibition includes a carbide bicycle lamp, fire bellows, fountain pen and ink, medicine bottles, wooden wash board, and an early hot water bottle which was heated by lit coals placed within. The exhibitors have dipped into their own childhood and show today’s children their early school report cards, a penny catechism, a baby’s bottle with a teat at both ends (for cleaning). Many items recall a very different way of life, such as a brass weighing scales used for weighing eggs, an essential piece of equipment for the local shop when buying eggs from the farmer’s wife. The star of the show is the delph chamber pot, which baffles the children who cannot guess its function.

Helping to foster contact between old and young is particularly important at this time of demographic change. Bringing older and younger people can help break down barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding between the generations.