Comments on: The Pied Piper of Dudley Port

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 22:59:39 +0000

Debbie, how wonderful to hear from a granddaughter of Hettie! I have a few other bits of information that I’ve gleaned from the Millennial Star (the church’s publication in England during those years) and one or two other sources, which I’ll pull together for you in the next little while. Maybe you’d be willing to tell us a little about her life after this time with the neighborhood Primary children — anything you could tell us would be new and welcome. I like her, the way she seems to do what needs to be done, regardless of the difficulties, and I hope that characteristic served her well in adult life.

By: Debbie

Debbie — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:07:16 +0000

Hettie was my maternal grandmother – I wonder what other writings and stories you have found. My mother has told me of occassions of persecution because of her and her fathers religious beliefs. Also of the meetings held in Handsworth when the church was struggling in numbers following the men being drafted for war. Grandma came from the East coast and I have memories of her there holidaying in a caravan as well as of her at home in the midlands

By: Justin

Justin — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:45:55 +0000

Great story. Her name is also a kick to say!

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:30:44 +0000

Maurine, and all — Hettie wrote up her experiences, I’m guessing at the request of some missionary who helped her, and sent them to the mission president.

Yesterday, by coincidence, I found a follow-up report in the Millennial Star telling what Hettie’s Primary had grown into after another couple of years. There is a picture, too! I’ll post that as a sequel in a few days. It may not be too strong to say that Hettie’s private effort brought Primary to all of Europe, not just Britain, in addition to having specific local consequences. Stay tuned.

By: Maurine

Maurine — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 05:34:46 +0000

Ardis,as usual, this is a wonderful story. I loved it. Were you able to find out who the missionaries were who may have helped Hettie with her teaching? Where did you get your information for this special account?

By: Ardis E. Parshall

Ardis E. Parshall — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:39:21 +0000

Today was a hard day — your comments have gone a long way toward making it a better day. Thanks.

Researcher, I hadn’t thought about (duh) GoogleMaps covering Europe. I looked at my mission field and was able to get down to street level (not house front views but an aerial view where the individual buildings were very distinct) and pick out some of the places I had lived. Amazing to have forgotten that we lived so close to the major highway in one place, and had such a large park around us in another. Really cool.

By: Mark IV

Mark IV — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:30:04 +0000

Thanks! One of the remarkable things about the church is that it continues to produce such people.

By: Joey

Joey — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 20:21:09 +0000

Amen to Ray in Comment 2.

By: Researcher

Researcher — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 19:40:07 +0000

Here is a map of Dudley Port, which looks like it is as far from an actual port as you can get in England. I've really been enjoying the series of stories about Saints who lived outside of the Western United States.

By: BruceC

BruceC — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 16:51:02 +0000

This is wonderful. It reminds me of a Sister Missionary in Macau who baptised a whole primary. Even today the “Elders are not as skillfull” when it comes to teaching children. In Sister Harper’s case it is good to know that some of the parents were eventually interested too.

Again, I think about your possible source. Was it a letter she wrote to a general authority perhaps? First hand sources can be very exciting.