Welcome To The Award Winning Joint Website of Saline, Michigan, USA and Brecon, Wales, UK
Saline - Brecon
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Brecon - Saline
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Saline |
Brecon |
| Photos copyright Doris Kays Kraushaar | |
Celebrating The 43rd Year of Our Relationship as Sister Cities / Twin Towns
The small communities of Brecon and Saline formed the the
first Welsh-American sister city relationship in 1966. The bonds between
the two towns have grown into a close and active friendship and expanded far
beyond a mere relationship between government officials. Over 4,000 trips have
been made by residents of these two communities to share their cultures and
their families. This joint web site is designed in part to share the history of
that relationship with the public but it also functions as a part of the
relationship itself. Here, citizens of Saline and Brecon who have not been able
to be part of a travel exchange can learn about their sister city on separate
home pages for each community. Those who have made visits can use the site to
keep abreast of local news and events, including the events that are part of our
sister city activities. As The Mayor of Brecon says, quoting from The Mabinogion,
"A fo ben, bid
bont." - "Whoever would be a leader must be a bridge".
To hear the long-standing toast to our friendship, click
here.
Click History to see a photographic history of our
sister city relationship. Click Brecon Home to
go to photos, information and links about Brecon, Wales. Click Saline
Home to go to photos, information and links about Saline, Michigan. You can
also go directly to the Saline-Brecon
Friendship Guild portion of our site. New additions to the site are
always listed below on this home page.
Saline Celebrates Brecon Night 2010
The Saline Brecon Friendship Guild held its annual Brecon Night (formerly Pub Night) celebration on Friday. April 23, 2010. The evening featured the final auctioning of the right to possess the "Bowley Bust" for good luck for the next year. Entertainment was provided by the Bethlehem United Church from Ann Arbor, with their rendition of traditional Welsh hymns and folk tunes. A silent auction also helps to raise funds to support local sister city activities. For photos of the evening, click here.
Arthur T. Bowley, MBE dies at age 93
Arthur Bowley, the man who was regarded as the "father" of the Sister City relationship between Saline and Brecon, passed away peacefully on May 31, 2008 at his home in Brecon. He was 93 years old. Arthur served on the Brecon Town Council for over 25 years and was the Mayor five times during his tenure. He was recognized by the Queen with the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. Services are at St. David's Church in Brecon on June 7, 2008.
The Saline City Council adopted a special Message of Condolence to the Bowley family, stating:
Arthur earned the respect and admiration and high regard of all those with whom he came into contact, and our community, as well as Brecon, have sustained a great loss in his death.
The people of Saline have very fond memories of Arthur and the good times we have enjoyed in his company and will forever remember him as a very kind, generous man who loved his family, his many cherished friends, his town and the people of people of Brecon. We will miss his wry wit, sense of humor and sparklin smile.
We are all very proud and blessed to have known such a warm, wonderful man. He will be sadly missed by all of us who knew and loved him.
You can hear Arthur quoting from The Mabinogion, by clicking on "A fo ben, bid bont." - "Whoever would be a leader must be a bridge". He was indeed both a leader and a bridge between our two communities. You can read about and review photos of some of the many activities of Mayor and Mrs. Bowley in our sister city events, going back to 1978, by clicking on the following links to our history:
1974 - 1984 The Circle of Friends Expands
1986 The 20th Anniversary Celebration
1991 The 25th Anniversary Celebration
1996 The 30th Anniversary Celebration and Saline Celtic Festival
1998 32nd Anniversary in Brecon
2001 The 35th Anniversary Celebration
2004 Saline Soccer Visit to Brecon
Last UPDATED April 30, 2010