Bryn Mawr, PA– November – Advance Advice?

[Larry124]

My daughter and her boyfriend and I are in the advance planning stage for a kilted “Pub Crawl” through the town of Bryn Mawr*, Pennsylvania before the end of November.
To visit a half dozen establishments on foot.
College and post-college-age suburban bars and taverns.
At least four kilted gents, hopefully six or more. All relative newbies.
Same number of lasses.

Any advice?

* The name Bryn Mawr (pronounced brin mauer) means "big hill" in Welsh and takes its name from an estate near Dolgellau in North Wales. This was the farm of Rowland Ellis, who emigrated to Pennsylvania from Dolgellau in 1686 to escape religious persecution.

Until 1869 and the coming of the Pennsylvania Railroad, the town was known as Humphreysville. The town was renamed by railroad agent William H. Wilson after he acquired on behalf of the railroad the 283 acres that now comprise Bryn Mawr.

Home of Bryn Mawr College. Alumnae include actress Katharine Hepburn. Notable former faculty includes Woodrow Wilson.
-- Wikipedia

[McClef]

* The name Bryn Mawr (pronounced brin mauer) means "big hill" in Welsh and takes its name from an estate near Dolgellau in North Wales. This was the farm of Rowland Ellis, who emigrated to Pennsylvania from Dolgellau in 1686 to escape religious persecution.

Now I must confess that I was surprised about the history of the name as I always assumed it was named after the town four miles up the road from me - Brynmawr, Gwent.

But of course there is a slight difference given that one is written in two separate words and the other isn't.

Interestingly some of our male voice choir sheet music shows that it was published in Bryn Mawr, Pa!

I have a cousin who lives in North Wales, Pa, so he isn't far away.

[Larry124]

The area near Philadelphia, PA in which I live is Montgomery County, Lower Merion Township. Part of it was originally designated “The Welsh Tract”, then “Welsh Valley”

The Pennsylvania Railroad agent believed that Welsh or Welsh-sounding place names sounded more distinguished (true, true ) so my town of Athensville became Ardmore and my sub-division became Haverford ("goat crossing"). We also have a Narberth and a St. David’s,

My favorite: ”Gladwyne was settled in 1682 by Welsh Quakers. It was near the Welsh Tract, and was known formerly as "Merion Square". It was given its new name in 1891 in order to imitate the stylish Welsh names of adjoining towns, although the name is meaningless in Welsh.”

[pipesndrumsnun]

My only advice for pub crawling...wear knee pads! Going through the entire town on your knees could be quite painful!

[Larry124]

I expect to be crawling after “just enough” whiskey. Twice. int: int:

“Kilt Don’t:
Highland athletes excepted, if you’re wearing kneepads, it’s a skirt!

[KiltedHuntsman]

Hey! I go to the Bryn Mawr Hound Show every spring! Keep us updated on dates/time/where. I'll tag along! Mebbe we can plan a Burns night outing this January...

[kiltedinUSMC]

oh if only I were back in my beloved PA instead of soaking up the sun in Southern Ca I wish I could be there

[RockyR]

The reason PA's (especially Philly area) accent is so "hard" is b/c of the Welsh. While Boston (aka "Bah' sten") and New York (aka "New Yawk") have soft r's, Philly has HARD r's (as known by abyone who has been teased for saying "wood-er" instead of WAHter).

There are actually a lot of welsh settlements around here and a heavy Welsh influence on the way we speak.

All that being said, I (and everyone I've ever heard) pronounce the town name Bryn Mawr as "brin mar"

[Larry124]

...I (and everyone I've ever heard) pronounce the town name Bryn Mawr as "brin mar"

True and more. I most often hear it as “bren mar”.

To mid-west telemarketers (May they fall on their dirks and puncture their sporrans!) my town of “Have-er-ford “is “Haev-er-ferd”.

Pity us. Every Philadelphia area child has to learn a pronunciation for the Schuylkill River*. “SKOO-kull”
And hopefully avoid picking up the accent of Gilligan's Island’s Thurston J. Howell III which is still heard at the Devon Horse Show and the Merion Cricket Club.
BTW years ago the Horse Show grounds was the site for a wonderful Highland Games.

Ah the good old days… “Katherine Hepburn …She stood out, it seemed to me at the time, as a kind of attractive freak, all because of her accent which was that of a well-schooled, upper-middle-class New England girl just out [asked to leave local rumor has it] of Bryn Mawr, a college of high academic standing, but also notable for breeding well-bred, upper-class young women.”
--BBC “Letter From Ameriica”, Alistair Cooke.

*The Delaware Indians were the original permanent settlers of the area around this river, which they called Ganshohawanee, meaning "rushing and roaring waters." The river was later named Schuylkill by its European discoverer, Arendt Corssen of the Dutch West India Company. One explanation given for this name is that it translates to "hidden river" and refers to the river's confluence with the Delaware River at League Island, which was nearly hidden by dense vegetation. Another explanation is that the name properly translates to "hideout creek", with the corresponding form in modern Dutch being Schuilkil.
An early restoration of the river was funded by money left for that purpose in Benjamin Franklin's last will.
--Wikipedia

[Ian.MacAllan]

. . . To mid-west telemarketers (May they fall on their dirks and puncture their sporrans!) . . .

May all objectionable telemarkers suffer that fate at least.

The deaths of both Hepburn and Cooke are grievous losses to Western arts.

But the mispronunciation of place names is ubiquitous. I still smile at the memory of the very proper Bostonian assuring me that in "Bahs'n", "Iowa" is pronounced "Ohio". and of the actor in that movie about the Tuskegee Airmen who said he was from "Iowa, OTT-umwa".

.