6th July 1972
WELCOMED WITH A BANG

Tuesday went with a bang at Pontefract Boys School for 17 American guests from Morristown, New Jersey. A special fireworks display, barbecue and party at the school celebrated American Independence Day for the guests, eight boys and seven girls aged from 15 to 17 years and two leaders, Mr. Stephen Davies and Miss Francine Dent. The school also held a 4th of July morning assembly. The American students are guests of the Pontefract School who went to Morristown at Easter as part of an education exchange visit. After a three-week stay at Pontefract, the U.S. students are to visit London, Bristol, and Cambridge.

Yesterday they were guests at a Pontefract Rotary Club lunch. Other highlights of their visit will be tours around W.R. Wilkinson and Co. Ltd., Pontefract Castle, and trips to the Yorkshire Show, Selby Abbey, and the Lake District. On the last day of their stay in the town a civic reception at Pontefract Municipal Offices is planned for 21st July.

Although in Pontefract for only a few days one student already has a complaint. Nancy Marinaccio says; "In Morristown around this time of year the temperature is around 80 to 90 degrees and we usually walk around in shorts and tops. I doubt we will be able to do that here." But she agrees with her friend Nancy Stier, who says; "This country is beautiful, it’s just like we see in the movies. No-one expects a place to be as lovely as the postcards show them but the countryside really is picturesque."

This is the first trip to England for all the students and the girls say it will mean getting used to many customs. One member of the party is staying at the home of the school headmaster and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. B. Haworth, who were able to solve their guest’s first problem. On seeing boys practising cricket at the nets she asked; "What are those boys doing over there with that big thick stick?"

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