Kansas Snapshots by Gloria Freeland - December 12, 2025

Cynefin

During the almost 40 years I've known hubby Art, we've typically visited his hometown of Appleton, Wisconsin, twice each year - usually in the summer and at Christmas time. A common feature of those trips as we visit relatives, shop for groceries, go to the post office or any other routine outing, is his referencing small events from his life - pointing to a home on Packard Street where an elderly woman would invite him and other youngsters in to see her parakeets; drawing attention to the A. Fredrick barbershop where he received his first not-at-home haircuts; a two-block area that now is Linwood Park, but as a kid was dense woods with a first-class pollywog - tadpoles to us Kansans - pond; the parking lot by the water tower where Santa Claus would drop into town on a helicopter as Christmas approached; his uncle Pete's home, built by Pete and his dad - Art's grandfather.

His comments have often made me think of the many connections like these he has in and around the city.

Long ago, I suggested he plan a "tour" of the area for other family members so this heritage isn't lost. After years of coaxing, this past fall he decided to do a trial run, focusing on his great-grandparents' time and before. He made a digital map that showed various locations of homes, farms, businesses, churches, and cemeteries within a few miles of Appleton. He concentrated mostly on relatives on his mother Donna's side. One day, we were taking e research trip for my Eben Rexford column and Art's cousin Kris was joining us. Art decided to tack on the trial tour with Kris as his guinea pig.

We began about noon. Art had previously sent Kris the map and a descendancy chart showing family relationships. He explained that all except one family had come from the Mecklenburg area of northern Germany, and most had emigrated for economic reasons. One had come to keep their boys out of Europe's seemingly continual wars, only to have three of them fight in the Civil War, with one being killed and another seriously maimed.

Between stops, Art regaled us with stories. One involved a truck with recently-harvested cabbages. A few had fallen off and Donna insisted they pick them up. She liked nothing better than to get something for free! Another involved the time a tornado blew two church outhouses into the air and set them down neatly on nearby fence posts.

We had to take a break from the tour to meet my Rexford contact, which led us near Art's dad’s hometown. While not a part of the planned tour, he pointed to a place where a railway once crossed and mentioned his dad's grandparents had lived nearby and the train would stop each morning and evening after transporting his dad’s cousins to and from the school in town.

A bit farther, we passed Woodhill Farm. Art mentioned it was still in the Vaughan family and had been founded by Art's great-grandfather's brother Evan. It was named after their home in Wales.

Almost seven hours had passed when we rushed back to Appleton to meet Art's cousin Jeff and his wife Lorraine for supper.

Kris said she enjoyed the tour.

I'd never thought about where our ancestors were buried. One of the things I liked the most was seeing Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ellington and learning Bup [their grandfather's nickname] and Granny had been married there. I'd previously seen wedding photos of them, but they were all taken inside. I'd never wondered about where their wedding took place. ...

She was also amazed that her sisters Marcy and Lisa and brother Dave now live not far from where one of their great-grandparents had lived.

This tour and previous trips in the area had left me struggling to find a word that described this connection Art has with the place he grew up. English has adopted so many words from other languages that I was sure there was one, but it kept eluding me.

And then, quite by accident, I found what I had been searching for. I had looked to see what our Welsh choir friends had been up to and discovered a group of them had performed at a local elementary school. A posting by our friend Simon about their visit said:

Yesterday we got the chance to do something very special! We were invited to visit St Anne's Catholic Primary School in Wrexham and sing for the children! This term, the children have been learning about Welsh culture and have been exploring both old and new Welsh artists. They have also been learning about "Cynefin" - a Welsh word that doesn't translate neatly into English, but it carries deep cultural meaning. Cynefin roughly means "place of belonging" - the environment, community, and experiences that shape you. It's about feeling connected to a landscape, culture, or group in a way that feels natural, familiar, and rooted. ...

In 2016, I wrote about the Welsh word "hiraeth", a word that is near to the English word homesickness, but is also a bit more. I probably had been motivated by knowing mom's passing was near.

While hiraeth is about sadness and longing, cynefin (kuh-NEV-in) is a Welsh word that speaks directly to what I had been looking for here. Cynefin is about feeling comforted and connected.