CRAVEN'S bygone years have been brought back to life thanks to the vivid memories of some of the region's senior residents.

After a year collating memories and anecdotes, an exhibition and book called "Goose Grease and Gas Lamps", has finally been completed as a record of Craven's history for future generations to enjoy.

The reminiscence project was launched this week by Emmerdale's Paul Loughran, alias Butch Dingle.

He officially opened the exhibition, at Craven Museum, Skipton, with help from 96-year-old Gladys Shuttleworth, the oldest resident to have her memories recorded for the book.

Mr Loughran said: "It is a good idea because as time passes things are forgotten but if you write things down they are preserved for an up and coming generation.

"It is something useful for a community to remember what has gone before. The past always forms the future if we remember it."

The stories of residents' childhoods, work, family life, shops and holidays are illustrated by a collection of art work by Enid Dunsby.

Mrs Dunsby's paintings were originally done to help her grandchildren understand what life was like when she was a child. She said they could not believe or understand the past through words alone and so she painted a series of 12 pictures to illustrate her stories.

One of the paintings showing a lamplighter doing his rounds at dusk adorns the book's front page.

Mrs Dunsby said: "I am tickled to death. I am really surprised so many have been used."

The reminiscence exhibition has been put together as a joint effort between Craven Voluntary Action and the Craven Museum.

A £3,000 grant from the Local Heritage Initiative - a scheme run by the Countryside Agency and co-funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Nationwide Building Society - helped get the scheme off the ground.

Dee Pollitt, volunteers' co-ordinator at CVA, said: "I was aware that many of the people I came across through my work have had very interesting lives, and many of them had worked in mills or shops that no longer exist or lived in housing that has now been demolished.

"Others had faced very difficult conditions working on farms in remote rural areas. I felt that this grant from the Local Heritage Initiative was an ideal opportunity to record these memories for future generations to enjoy."

The book includes memories of wartime. Joan Cuthbertson, born in 1935, recalls: "Wallpaper was not usually available during the war, so a mottled effect was created on top of the lime by dabbing on another colour like pick with a soft brush or a piece of lace curtain.

"In spite of the war and restrictive rationing, no-one went short of anything. Some people like my dad kept allotments, and vegetables were shared with the rest of the community.

"Nothing was ever wasted. If anything was left over from the meat or fish my mother used her skills to make the would-be waste into delicious pies. Goose grease was put into jars. It was used like Vick and rubbed onto chests when people had colds. It was also taken as medicine on a spoon, but this was unpopular with some."

Veronica Fletcher, born 1924, added: "I joined the Women's Land Army and worked in Otterburn, Lancs and Clacton-on- Sea! I milked and did a lot of work with horses (no tractors). I earned 10p an hour and often worked a 70-hour week in haymaking and also milked three times a day."

The museum exhibition, which as well as pictures and captions includes tape-recorded interviews, will run until January 6. It will then be taken on a tour of Craven.

The accompanying book priced at £4 is available from CVA on 01756 701056 or Hudson History in Settle on 01729 825773.