Two More From Disneyland Paris - Weathervane Wednesday

 These two weathervanes were photographed in Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

We spotted lots of weathervanes at Disneyland Paris, and these two were located very close to each other in Fantasyland.  The first one is a scrollwork vane located on a clocktower above the Au Chalet de la Marionnette restaurant.  This is a fast food restaurant where families enjoy burgers and hotdogs. Our family had lunch here.  We were unable to get a photo without a bird on this weathervane, because as soon as one bird left, another would alight on the weathervane!  Scroll down to see another view of this weathervane. 

The second weathervane is actually a typical weathercock above the windmill that is now a snack counter, where we paused for a rest and an icecream treat.  If you are familiar with the old "Silly Symphony" short cartoons produced by Disney in the 1930s and 1940s, you will recognize this old windmill from the film "The Old Mill".  This weathercock appears to be copper, with a lovely brown patina.  It is located between the Small World ride and Alice's Curious Labyrinth.  In the 1990s there was a small ferris wheel behind the windmill, but it was removed in 2000.  Scroll down to see a photograph of the Old Mill. 

Last month I featured several more weathervanes from Disneyland Paris - Tinkerbelle, a pirate, several with Aladdin themes, two from the Peter Pan story, and two featuring Mr. Toad! 

For the truly curious:

From the Disneyland Paris website, The Old Mill:   https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/dining/disneyland-park/the-old-mill/  

From the Disneyland Paris website, Au Chalet de la Marrionette restaurant:  https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-gb/dining/disneyland-park/au-chalet-de-la-marionnette/ 

Click here to see 500 more weathervanes featured on Weathervane Wednesday:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Two More From Disneyland Paris - Weathervane Wednesday", posted June 28, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/05/two-more-from-disneyland-paris.html: accessed [access date]). 

A Mayflower Themed Weathervane in Dorking, UK - Weathervane Wednesday

Dorking, Surrey, England is the birthplace of William Mullins, a passenger on the ship Mayflower in 1620.  He brought his family to the New World – including his wife Alice, and his teenaged children, Joseph and Priscilla Mullins.  Yes, that Priscilla!  The one who married John Alden, and made famous by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his 1858 poem The Courtship of Miles Standish. This terribly romantic poem is pure fiction, but also quite a bit of famous Americana.

We know a lot about Priscilla, but not too much about the rest of the Mullins family. Two older children stayed behind in England (William and Sara).  Priscilla survived the first winter in New England, but both her parents and her brother died during the “starving time”.  William dictated his will to Governor John Carver before he died, and it was written down. We know some details about his life from that will, which still survives today, including the fact that William Mullins was a cobbler, and he brought a large number of shoes (21 dozen shoes and 13 pairs of boots!) on board the Mayflower. Alice, his wife, has no known maiden name.

I was lucky enough to visit Dorking in 2017 with a tour sponsored by the General Society of Mayflower Descendants. We saw the house where the Mullins family lived, which is marked by one of England’s famous blue plaques seen at historic sites.  Dorking is about 35 miles from London.

Just recently a local artist created a fantastic art installation for Dorking. This is a fantastic weathervane installed near the William Mullins house.  The ship Mayflower is featured on the weathervane, the William Mullins house, as well as sea birds, and sea creatures such as a whale and an octopus. What a wonderful tribute to the Mayflower, as well as a fun thing for descendants and Mayflower cousins to visit!  It is one of the most elaborate weathervanes I have ever seen!

This new weathervane is entitled “Mayflower Weathervane” and was created by the Fire and Ice Gallery. It was installed in March 2023.

 For the truly curious:

A blog post about the new Mayflower weathervane: 

https://newleatherheadliving.wordpress.com/2021/03/21/fire-and-iron-gallery-commission-celebrates-dorkings-mayflower-heritage/ 

Caleb Johnson’s page about William Mullins:   http://mayflowerhistory.com/mullins-william 

Wikipedia’s article on William Mullins:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Mullins_(Mayflower_passenger) 

My blog post about visiting Dorking in 2017:  https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/10/along-pilgrim-trail-william-mullins-of.html 

A “Weathervane Wednesday” post about another weathervane (a “weathercock”) I spotted while in Dorking:   https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2017/11/weathervane-wednesday-ancestral-church_29.html 

Click here to see more than 500 more Weathervane Wednesday posts:    https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday  

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To cite/link to this blog post:  Heather Wilkinson Rojo, “A Mayflower Themed Weathervane in Dorking, UK – Weathervane Wednesday”, Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 21, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/06/a-mayflower-themed-weathervane-in.html: accessed [access date]). 

Peter Pan themed weathervanes from Disneyland Paris - Weathervane Wednesday

 These two weathervanes were spotted in Fantasyland at Disneyland Paris.

These two delightful weathervanes can be seen above the ride "Peter Pan's Flight" in Fantasyland. This is the most popular ride at Disneyland Paris, which surprised me because it is a three minute family ride for all ages.  At Walt Disney World in Florida the thrill rides like Space Mountain are more popular. You can find this ride at most of the Disney parks including California, Florida, Paris, Tokyo, and Shanghai.  

The two weathervanes are a pirate ship and a crocodile, which are both featured in the Peter Pan book and the Disney movie.  They are cut out of sheet metal with details similar to the animated versions in the cartoon film. The higher weathervane is the pirate ship, which can be seen from quite a distance in Fantasyland, and from near the Pirates of the Carribean ride in Adventureland.  The crocodile is more difficult to see since it is on a lower roof around the corner from the ride entrance. The crocodile is featured in the last scene of the ride.   

For the truly curious:

Peter Pan's Flight attraction at Disneyland Paris:  https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-usd/attractions/disneyland-park/peter-pans-flight/   

Peter Pan's Flight on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1D4RT9hlz8Y   

Click this link to see almost 500 Weathervane Wednesday posts:

https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/search/label/Weathervane%20Wednesday    

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "Peter Pan themed weathervanes from Disneyland Paris - Weathervane Wednesday", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 13, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/06/peter-pan-themed-weathervanes-from.html: accessed [access date]).  

The Rye, New Hampshire Quilt Project

Here is a project that I missed hearing about during the COVID pandemic.  If you have ancestors from seacoast New Hampshire this will be of interest to you, too. 

During the pandemic the Rye Historical Society created a virtual exhibit on an 1890s autograph quilt signed by many residents of the town.  This exhibit included the story of the quilt and close up images of the quilt and the autographs. There are 64 individual quilt squares and hundreds of names. 

The Rye Historical Society has built a webpage with a search engine where you can enter your ancestor's surname, and it will find names on the quilt that match your search.  You can also scroll through the blog posts entered weekly starting on 2 September 2020 and view each of the 64 individual quilt squares and read a transcription of the names on that square. If your ancestor or relative's name is on the quilt, the Rye Historical Society wants to hear from you.

Click on this link https://www.ryenhhistoricalsociety.org/rye-family-stories to see if your ancestral name is included on the quilt.  If you find a family name, click on the button at the bottom of the page and enter the information you know about that family member.  

Rye, New Hampshire celebrates its 400th anniversary this year, commemorating the fishing settlement at Odiorne Point founded by David Thompson in 1623.  Rye has a long history, and many of the founding families and their surnames are embroidered on this quilt.  Did you find your family name on the quilt, too? 

For the truly curious:

The Rye, NH Quilt Project website:    https://www.ryenhhistoricalsociety.org/the-quilt-project   

A page with the full list of names on the quilt:   https://www.ryenhhistoricalsociety.org/rye-family-stories 

The Rye, NH Historical Society webpage:   https://www.ryenhhistoricalsociety.org/  

Rye, NH Historical Society Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/ryehistoricalsocietynh 

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To cite/link to this blog post: Heather Wilkinson Rojo, "The Rye, New Hampshire Quilt Project", Nutfield Genealogy, posted June 6, 2023, ( https://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2023/06/the-rye-new-hampshire-quilt-project.html: accessed [access date]).