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NEWSLETTER OF THE SCOTTISH SOCIETY OF TIDEWATER Tidewater Scots Volume 21, Issue 3 May-Jun 2005
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| A Few Words from the President |
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At the general meeting in June, it was suggested that we rename the Richard Baird Scholarship to the Richard and Olive Baird Scholarship. Of course that will require a change in the bylaws and will not become official until March 2006, when voted on by the society at the annual meeting. But most of the June meeting attendees thought it was a great idea, and a fitting way to honor both Olive and Dick for their many years of service to the SST. Speaking of bylaws, I have appointed a committee to study the current bylaws, and determine if changes need to be made. I expect they will be hard at work this summer and fall. They will be seeking the input of all SST members soon. I would like to welcome John Wallace to the Board of Directors. I know that his proven experience in all things Scottish will be a great help to the board and the Scottish Society as a whole. The board is working to ensure we have a great picnic in September. Please mark your calendars for Saturday 10 September, at the Cedar Lakes Condos in Chesapeake. Stay tuned for details! This may be "last minute," but a great time can be had at the Tidewater Irish American Society’s 25th Anniversary Celebration, which is set for Thursday, June 16, 2005, 6:00 p.m. It will be at Murphy's Irish Pub at the oceanfront, 2914 Pacific Ave., VB. Tickets are $25/person and include a sit down dinner (prime rib or salmon), a memento gift, and entertainment. Tickets can be bought by mail. They need a check and the entrée choice in advance. They will mail the ticket(s) or hold in WILL CALL, whichever is preferred. No tickets will be sold at the door. It continues to be an honor and a privilege to serve as your president. I have every confidence that together, we can make this the best Scottish Society in the region. Yours Aye,
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An Elegant Affair: Newport News Police Pipe & Drum Corps Hosts Successful Fundraiser |
| by Lynnette Gilmour |
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Members of The Scottish Society of Tidewater, The St. Andrews Society of Tidewater and The Tidewater Irish American Society attended the luncheon, organized by Arthur and Anne Korff, friends of the band.
Honeyman presented Tom Crouch, President of The Newport News Police Pipe and Drum Corps, with a letter of recognition from The Ayr Pipe Band Society (www.ayrpipebandsociety.co.uk), of Ayr, Scotland. The Society also sent a flag with their crest on it as well as stickers and a cap. This gesture of fraternity and encouragement was greatly appreciated by the Newport News group and will serve to foster relations between the two organizations in the future.
Kate Herr and Edward Owens, both of Richmond, treated guests to a performance of traditional Scots-Gaelic tunes. Herr has been singing “forever” but only discovered Gaelic singing about a decade or so ago. She has competed nationally and abroad in Gaelic singing. Owens declares that with the combination of his Welsh name and his Glaswegian mother, he inherited a marvelous musical tradition and fell in love with the Gaelic and Gaelic singing. Both singers put on an impressive performance!
The afternoon was capped off with a silent and live auction of an assortment of Celtic items, including a handmade quilt, and the drawing for the winners of the scholarship to NAAPD. Tom Crouch (piper), Steve Daily (drummer) and Nick Brazzelle (piper) will attend the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming this summer. Crouch made Honeyman, Graham, Herr and Owens, honorary members of the pipe band at the end of the festivities. All present enjoyed a delightful afternoon of Celtic culture for a great cause! |
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| Member News |
Do you have news to share with your SST family? If so, please send it to Marcey at marcey9@cox.net.
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| Flowers of the Forest |
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Olive B. Baird
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| SST Announces Baird Scholarship Recipients for 2005 |
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One of the recipients is Dr. Edward Brash. Edward will use his scholarship to help offset costs to attend The Gaelic Arts College in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia this summer. You may recall that his wife Lynnette was awarded a scholarship in 2004 to attend the school. In fact, the Brashes hope to make their attendance at the Gaelic Arts College a family affair - Edward’s daughters, Sarah and Olivia, as well as Lynnette, will all attend the school this summer, studying Scots Gaelic, fiddle, and step dancing.
The third recipient is Caroline Root, of Boulder, CO. Caroline is currently a student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and is enrolled in the Celtic Studies program there. She will use her scholarship to help pay for her tuition at the Gaelic Immersion program at St. FX. Caroline’s goal is to one day teach Scots Gaelic to students in Scotland.
The Scholarship is named in memory of Richard Baird, a long-time member and former president of the SST. His wife was Olive Baird, who was also very active in the SST. Next year’s applications will be mailed in January. Applications are also available for download from the SST website. |
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| SST Elects New Board Member |
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John has been a member of the SST and The St. Andrews Society of Tidewater for many years. He has served on the Board previously, and has held the office of Vice President. He has also served as the president of the Scottish Society o Richmond. John is also the President of the Clan Wallace Society Worldwide. Other candidates were Debbie Clark, Melissa Colton, and Bob Rider. It was a hard decision with so many good candidates. Thanks to all of you for your willingness to serve the SST. Special thanks to Larry McCauley for his tireless service to the Scottish Society of Tidewater. In Larry’s words, he is "resigning from the board, not the Society." Thank you, Larry! Congratulations, John! |
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| Will a Spell-Check Check Gàidhlig? |
| by Andrew Heavens (adapted from Wired News, May 21, 2005) |
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Scottish Gaelic, one of the Western world's least spoken languages, could get a boost toward survival from Microsoft. Speakers of the ancient tongue - used by just 58,650 people and falling - plan to ask Microsoft managers to include a custom spell-checker with the language in the Office Suite. Campaigners said a Gaelic spell-checker could help reverse its slow decline. The number of Scottish Gaelic speakers has fallen 11% in the last 10 years to an all-time low, according to the latest U.K. census figures released in February. Most were concentrated in rural areas in the north of Scotland. Allan Campbell, chief executive of Bord na Gàidhlig, or the Gaelic Board, in Inverness said a spell-checker would give students and other speakers the confidence to overcome centuries of dominance by Scotland's English-speaking establishment. "One of our main problems is that there are thousands of people who speak the language but can't read or write it," said Campbell. "It wasn't encouraged in school." Gaelic folklore is full of old stories of teachers literally beating the language out of children. "Over the years, Gaelic speakers were taught that it wasn't really a worthy language," said Campbell. "It was just something for consenting adults in private." "The idea of having a spell-checker would be a huge boost for people who feel their Gaelic is not up to scratch." A spell-checker, he said, would give people more confidence to use the language in everything from school essays and e-mails to business and government correspondence. It would also standardize Scottish Gaelic spelling, which, until recently, varied from region to region. If Microsoft gives the go-ahead for Scottish Gaelic, supporters will have a head start on the process of actually building a spell-checker. They will be able to build on an engine that's already been developed for Irish Gaelic and released by Microsoft in February. A team from the European Language Institute, which specializes in writing dictionaries for all languages used by local governments in Europe, has already started developing a database of 65,000 Scottish Gaelic words for a trial version. Leo McNeir, who is leading the language team, will need to build his lexicon up to 250,000 for the final version. After that, Microsoft would test it to make sure it doesn't clash with any of its software packages. If the testing period for Irish is anything to go by, that could take up to two years. "This would be a real coming of age for Scottish Gaelic," said McNeir. "It would be a rite of passage for what is a lovely, lyrical, delicate language." |
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| "The Gaelic Corner" |
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Going to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games? Be sure to check out the North Carolina Gaelic Mod |
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The North Carolina Gaelic Mòd will be held on Saturday July 9, 2005 in Linville, North Carolina in association with the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. The Mòd will start at 3:00pm on Stage Number Three behind Donald’s Ceilidh Tent. What is a mòd? A mòd is a Gaelic song competition for anyone who feels like they want to try their hand (or voice!) at singing a Scottish Gaelic song. In addition, An Comunn Gaidhealach - America (ACGA) will present the Grandfather Mountain Gaelic Song and Language Week, from July 3 - July 8, 2005. There are classes for beginner, intermediate, and advanced Gaelic speakers and singing classes covering a range of traditional Gaelic song forms, including waulking or milling songs and mouth music. Other activities will include a cèilidh, a silent auction, viewing Gaelic videos, and mountain hikes. The workshop ends just as the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games are getting underway down the road at MacRae Meadows on Grandfather Mountain. For more information, go to www.acgamerica.org. |
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| Half Way To St. Paddy’s Day |
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The Police Emerald Society of Tidewater & The Newport News Police Pipe and Drum Corps are sponsoring a "Half Way To St. Paddy’s Day" Pub Crawl on Saturday, September 17. It starts promptly at 6:00 p.m. Cost: $20 (includes motor coach transportation, admission to all pubs, and Guinness & Harp on the bus—munchies too!) The bus will leave Norfolk, and head toward the oceanfront to Murphy’s. The plan is to hit as many Irish pubs in the area as time allows, with entertainment along the way! A block of rooms has been reserved for bus revelers at the Clarion James Madison Hotel, at Granby & Freemason Streets, Norfolk. Rooms are available for $65. Call 757-622-6682 & ask for "Police Emerald Society" rate, by Sept. 3, 2005. For more information send Tom Crouch an e-mail at waylon23703@aol.com. All proceeds will benefit The Police Emerald Society of Tidewater, The Newport News Police Pipe and Drum Corps, and Project Children—a non-profit organization that brings Irish Catholic and Protestant children to the U.S. every summer to live together with American families in a peaceful environment. |
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| Confessions of a Plunker |
| Part Three of a Series |
| by Skip Doot |
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So it was Big Francie and I ventured into the world of plunking. It was a new adventure for both of us: no experience, no guidance, no references, but somehow we found our way. Pooling our lunch money was most resourceful in that we could buy our comic books and swap them. Finding arenas to satisfy our idle time was no mean feat; after all we had six hours to kill and also had to circumvent the explorations of the truant officer, known in those days around town as the School Board Man. Charlie Shaw was his name, an elderly man – a description I hold these days in high reverence. Charlie would be notified by local schools of the absence of students, and their corresponding addresses. He would make his rounds every day, but his rounds would vary, and his sojourns to my house only occurred on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This complicated matters, for when we plunked on Mondays or Wednesdays it meant we also had to plunk the following days in order to cover our tracks. We covered them in a way that would make other plunkers proud. Rushing back home from school on Charlie's day of rounds, I would climb in our front window and slip back into the living room bed, waiting fully clothed for Charlie's appearance around 10:30 or so. When his knock came I would yell, in my sickest voice and he would come to the window, see me there in bed, just my head showing, make a notation on his clipboard, and off he went. Five minutes later I was up and out, the rest of the day was mine. Why did I climb in the front window you might ask? Simple, the front door was always locked. People in Scotland did strange things. Most of them were obsessive about keeping the front door locked. The strange part about it, though, was that their windows were left unlocked and any family member returning home without a key simply lifted up the window to find the key deposited there! This innovative (?) strategy of mine had its drawbacks at times. On occasion my mother would return unexpectedly, arriving before Charlie. She, too, never carried a key. Indeed, she would be the one who left it under the window, so when she did come back her arrival would be signaled when she lifted the window to procure the key. Damn! This gave me about a minute and six seconds to get my clothes off before she came in the front door and discover her "sick" offspring. (Upon reflection, my acting days probably began with these episodes.) Unfortunately, I was forced to go through with the sham, which meant spending the whole day in bed. Shoot. Plunking can have its drawbacks. Of course she wrote a note for me to take to school explaining my absence. That was an exercise in futility, for I had to throw it away and write my own note. After all, I couldn’t have school officials comparing her note with the others I had written. Hey, I hadn't graduated yet, but I wasn't that daft. My mother’s surprise appearances not withstanding, Charlie's departure left me with the rest of the day for plunking, but his routine surely caused a crimp in the overall scheme. Later in the year the highlight of this conniving ploy became most memorable. Unbeknownst to me Charlie retired and the job fell to a younger man. One day, just as I was climbing through the window – literally! – I felt a tap on my derriere. On my hands and knees, I turned to see this strange face, but the clip board he was carrying was the giveaway. Apparently Charlie, in his old and aging way, took longer to make the rounds than his youthful replacement. "Are you Skip Doot?" he asked. I didn’t miss a beat. "No, I'm his brother, Jim," I replied. "And where is Skip?" he continued. "Oh, he is down at Granny’s with my mother. He is sick," was my rejoinder, with a face that would have made Pinocchio proud. No reply or further questions were forthcoming: he simply made his notation and left. Phew, that was close. I swear all of this happened. You can't make this stuff up. Fortunately Charlie's retirement and the appearance of a new School Board Man came about at a time when my plunking days came to an end, but that is a story for later. Meanwhile, back to Francie and the earlier days of plunking. To be continued... |
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| Williamsburg Scottish Festival - Update |
| September 24th 2005 |
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The Board of Directors for the 2005 Williamsburg Scottish Festival are hard at work planning the September 24th event. Here are some updates: The Board recently made a site visit to Jamestown Campground. Larry McCauley is serving as assistant Field Marshall, and will be helping with field set up. The entertainment has been finalized: performing this year will be Neil Anderson (formerly of Seven Nations), Poison Dwarf, Jim & Holley Lawrence, and Paisley Close. On the Friday night prior to the festival, there will be the traditional Balmoral Reception at the Westpark Hotel on Richmond Road. Those of you who have attended in the past know what a special event this is. Don’t miss it! Invitations will be mailed out soon, and all SST members should receive one. Don’t forget about the Friday night bonfire Ceilidh at the campground, with food & beer vendors available. There will be a "calling of the clans" later in the evening, after the Balmoral reception. Sounds like a smashing good time! There are plenty of campsites, and you can reserve one now. www.jamestowncampsites.com The Board is also working hard to make sure the festival offers more seating for attendees. There will be many more picnic tables, and they will be amply scattered throughout the festival site. |
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A Few Notes from Pictou County, the Highland Heart of Nova Scotia |
| Beloved Celtic Musician in the Fight of His Life |
| by Nancy Montgomery |
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The ice has left the ponds, the rhubarb is ready to be pulled, and lobster season is in full swing here along the northern seashore. Lobsters are plentiful but pricey. John Allan Cameron, the Celtic godfather, was recently feted in Halifax by over a dozen East Coast artists. They included Ashley MacIsaac, the Rankin Family, Catherine MacKinnon and Mary Jane Lamond. John Allan, a native Cape Bretoner and cousin of Natalie MacMaster, has recently been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia and bone marrow cancer. Some of you may not be familiar with John Allan's music, but he was singing Celtic with his 12-string guitar long before Celtic was cool. For many years I heard him play his fiddle or sing renditions of Rise and Follow Charlie, Mairi's Wedding and The Skye Boat Song at the concerts at the Antigonish Highland Games. Two more fund-raising concerts are also planned soon in Cape Breton for this much-beloved Gael, who opened the door and made people listen to his music and come to love it. He taught many of us about our Scottish history and certainly has been a major catalyst for the Celtic music revival. We owe this troubadour much. Please keep him in your prayers. |
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| Report from the Field: SAMS Post 76 |
| by Larry McCauley |
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Scottish American Military Society Post 76 is rolling along. The Post has gained three new members, which brings our membership up to 23 members in good standing. Upcoming events include a dinner meeting at Conklin’s Pub on Thursday June 23rd. SAMS Post 76 will once again be presenting the colors at the Williamsburg Scottish Festival. We are in the process of forming a ceremonial color guard. Anyone who is interested please contact either Randy Dedrickson or Larry McCauley. Upcoming meetings and events:
No meetings in November or December. But we are planning a Christmas party. Anyone who would like to help plan that please contact me at my email lmccaule@bellatlantic.net.
Members of SAMS Post 76 participated in the Memorial Day wreath laying ceremony at the Tidewater Veterans Memorial at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. They laid a wreath, designed with a St. Andrew’s Cross, to honor Scottish-Americans who have given their lives in service to our country. Thank you, SAMS Post 76 |
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| Scottish Society Members DAR Officers |
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On Saturday, May 14th 2005, four members of the Scottish Society of Tidewater were installed as officers of the Lynnhaven Parish Chapter of the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution. Well done, ladies! |
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SST Members Enjoy a Memorable Night at the Virginia International Tattoo |
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About thirty members of the SST attended a spectacular showing of the Virginia International Tattoo on Saturday, April 23 at Norfolk Scope. This year’s Tattoo included a special tribute to World War II Veterans, and included 750 artists. A crowd favorite was the Pipes and Drums of the 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment from New Brunswick, Canada. Also performing were the Old Guard Fife and Drums Corps, from Fort Meyer, Va., the Band of His Majesty the King’s Guard from Norway, and the Quantico Marine band. There were also Highland and Irish dance performances. SST members were offered discounted ticket prices, and many took advantage of it. Some of the attendees were Jane & Walt Brown, Larry McCauley, Randy Dedrickson, Harry Neeson, Nancy & Dave Montgomery, and Manny & Robin Willis. In addition, the SST organized an informational table. Manning the table on Friday and Saturday nights were Marcey & Skip Hunter, Manny Willis and Mike McNeal. SAMS Chapter 76 also had an informational table, manned by Larry McCauley and John Maxwell. Both tables enjoyed steady traffic, and many membership applications were distributed. |
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| Old Scottish Customs - The Seaside Life |
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Adapted from: Scottish Customs by Sheila Livingtone. 1996. Barnes & Noble, Inc. |
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As anyone who lives in Hampton Roads can attest, water is an important part of our community. From the shipping industry to our recreational activities, the impact of the sea, the bay and area rivers on our daily lives is sizable. So, too, was the sea an integral part of the Scottish life for coastal villages. Here are some of the old customs that indicate just how important the sea was to their daily existence. Fishing has always been a dangerous and uncomfortable way of life and this may explain why ritual has been observed throughout the centuries, giving the fishermen and their families a sense of security which can be equated with safety. The building and launching of a boat and the actions of the crew, on land as well as at sea, were tied to customs and beliefs that were deep-seated and of extreme importance. When building a boat, the choice of wood was important - sacred or magic wood being best. It was believed that boats made of she-oak sailed faster at night, and the use of aspen or other crossed woods had to be avoided at all costs. Even the grain of the wood was studied: swirling shapes foretold disaster, while knots shaped like fish promised successful fishing. Boats were always referred to as "she," and this led to the belief that it was unlucky to sail with a woman aboard because the boat might be jealous and take revenge. When nets were being mended on land they were sprinkled with whisky and the crew members were given a dram when the task was completed. No woman, especially a bare-footed one, should step over the nets or they could not be used. In St. Monance, on the Firth of Forth, the nets were washed in a magic spring dedicated to St. Monan because it was believed that iron in the water toughened them. When boarding a vessel, the crew boarded the boat from the right side, and the boats always left harbor in a sunwise direction -even if it was more awkward. A silver coin was spat on and tossed over the bow for luck and no-one could ask where they were going. If a salmon leaped in front of the boat, the boat would turn back and not set out again until the next day. Curlews were an omen of death or shipwreck, and seagulls were thought to the be souls of the dead who had drowned at sea. Swallows were a sign of good weather. The words "fish" or "fishing" were avoided, and the first fish caught was generally thrown back to placate the sea god, Shony. While at sea, egg shells could not be left in two but were always crushed so that witches could not use them to raise storms. Wives never washed clothes on the day their men went to sea as the action might wash them away. If fire was carried three times around the fishing boat on Hogmanay, it brought luck. In Shetland, if a "Gude’s Poor" crossed the path of the fisherman (that is a simple or crippled person), it was a good omen. In Auchmitie, a fishing town near Arbroath, the womenfolk carried their men on their backs to and from the boat. There were two distinct problems at sea - either the wind was dangerously fierce, or unproductively calm. Not surprisingly, some customs were used to calm the storm and others to provide a wind to fill the sails. To calm the waves, a hand was waved gently in the opposite direction from the swell of the waves. Figureheads on ships were usually bare-breasted depictions of women as this was thought to calm the waves. If a wind became too calm, it was permissible to whistle and gently bring up a wind. On Barra, fisherman called out to St. Brendan to stir up the wind, and a steel-bladed knife was stuck in the mast of the direction from which it was desired the wind should blow. "What emerges starkly is the people’s ambivalent attitude to the sea. The sea was the great mother: she gave them, sometimes lavishly, sometimes stingily, from her stores of fish, whale, salt, tangle, driftwood. Winter after winter she hurled freighted ships on the rocks and crags; while the cargoes of rum or wheat or apples lasted, life in this island and that was a long winter festival. But the sea did not give for nothing; another of her names was "the widow maker." From time to time, the sea took a single life herself, or at a stroke the whole ship’s crew. And this was her due. Therefore, a man struggling in the sea needs look for small help from those on shore; if he got to land, good and well; if he drowned, the sea was taking what was hers. In fact, it was dangerous and foolish to try and save a sea-embroiled man; the would-be rescuer was sure to suffer grievously for his presumption". George MacKay Brown, from Glimmer on Cold Brine: a Scottish Sea Anthology. 1998. Aberdeen University Press. The folk of the Shetland and the Orkney Islands have many tales of these beings who are seals in the sea, but who can sometimes shed their seal-skins and become as other men and women. There are tales of these Selkies in the Western Isles as well, and even on the Scottish mainland. Legend has it that there were three brothers in the clan country of the Macraes, who lived at Carr on Loch Duich, and they were said to have married Selkie women. Two of the brothers hid their wives’ sealskins when they discovered that their wives were Selkies, having found skins which the wives had tucked away. But the wives found the hiding places and disappeared into the sea waves, never to be seen again. The third brother found a wet seal-skin which his wife had failed to hide after one of her afternoon disappearances, and picking it up, he folded it and left it on a chest, saying to his wife that "someone" might have need of that skin from time to time. She stayed with him through the years and finally, in old age, disappeared into the sea. She had given him a son, who would often swim out to the rocks and stay there through the night, and many of the fishermen would speak of the beautiful young male seal on the rocks on a moon-lit night. As the man came to his old age and could fish no more, his son always kept him in fish, and finally when the man died, the son was seen stripping down and plunging into the waves.
Tha ‘n cuan dhomhsa mar fhear-eolais
For me the ocean is like a friend Donald MacKechnie, Am Fear-Cuiul, |
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| Taste of Whisky |
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Cuideagh O' Corn O' Uisghe Beatha "Tasters of the Waters of Life" |
| by Marcey Hunter, Scribe |
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Aberlour - A Speyside Whisky
The temperate climate and the many rivers make this fertile area an ideal region for the production of barley, and therefore whisky. The surrounding mountains were historically very important, as they were considered as a safety place for the moonshine distillers when the clandestine distillery was still important.
When it was first built, Aberlour sourced its water from the ancient well in the distillery’s grounds, used a thousand years before by St. Dunstan to baptize his flock before he went on to become Archbishop of Canterbury. The distillery now relies on spring water from Ben Rinnes. The plentiful rain and snow that falls on "The Ben" is filtered through layers of peat. The mountain itself is made of granite, which being very hard gives only trace elements to the water rather than minerals. As a result, the water that emerges from the ground is very soft.
The Aberlour 10-year-old has won praise and a number of awards for being a supple, creamy and faintly spicy whisky. It is ideal as a dessert or after dinner beverage. The Aberlour 15-year-old single malt is available through the Virginia ABC, and sells for about $50. Slainte! |
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I know each of you are saddened to learn about the passing of Olive Baird. I did not know her well but I know she was a true Lady. She will be missed by her friends, her church, her DAR sisters, and of course this society.
A "Festive Luncheon & Elegant Auction" was held on Sunday, April 10, 2005 at The Pointe Plaza Hotel in Newport News to benefit The Newport News Police Pipe and Drum Corps Scholarship Fund. The fund was established to send promising pipers and drummers to a one-week intensive camp, held at The North American Academy of Piping and Drumming in Valle Crucis, North Carolina. The NAAPD donated the cost of tuition for the scholarship winners, and the scholarship fund itself will cover travel, room and board.
After a delicious lunch, guests were entertained by the wit and humour of native Glaswegian, Mr. John Honeyman. Honeyman has lived in the U.S. for many years, but retains his brogue, thick as ever. "I worked in sales for most of my adult life and the accent gave me instant recognition over the telephone. I didn’t dare lose it!" He shared anecdotes from his years as a youth soccer coach for young Americans when he moved to the states. He compared the determination of the novice yanks with that of the eager members of The Newport News Police Pipe and Drum Corps, and encouraged them in their endeavors to form a Police Pipe and Drum Corps for the Hampton Roads area.
Honeyman also introduced a fellow flower of Scotland, Paisley, to be exact, Graham Rutherford. Mr. Rutherford will be teaching in Kempsville schools for the next three years and is sure to be seen at future society events.
A highlight of the afternoon was a recital by Brendan Konouck, Pipe Major of The Newport News Police Pipe and Drum Corps. Konouck has played the pipes since he was a youth and is well known for his solo and competition piping awards. His skill was evident in the tunes he played, and of course closed with a rousing rendition of "Scotland the Brave."
The Scottish Society of Tidewater mourns the passing of long-time member, Olive B. Baird. Olive and
her husband Dick were active in the SST for many years. Dick had served as SST president from 1984 - 1991. The Baird Scholarship was established in his memory
The Scottish Society of Tidewater announced the recipients of the 2005 Richard S. Baird Scholarship at the June meeting.
Tom Crouch, the president and founder of the Newport News Police Pipe and Drum Corps, was awarded a scholarship to help pay for his attendance a the North American Piping and Drumming Academy in North Carolina. Tom is a gifted piper, and hopes to improve his piping skills at the academy.
The purpose of the Baird Scholarship is to provide financial support toward the study of Scottish culture. This includes, but is not limited to, Scottish music, dance, language, literature, history, genealogy, politics and religion.
John Wallace was elected to serve on the Board of Directors for the Scottish Society of Tidewater at the June meeting. John will serve the remainder of a two-year term that was vacated when Larry McCauley resigned his position.
The Aberlour Distillery is at the heart of Speyside, one of Scotland’s five whisky-making regions. The Speyside area is a region with an extraordinary concentration of distilleries. It is named after the river Spey, which waters the area, together with the other important river, the Livet.
Aberlour dates from at least 1826, but it was probably active before this date. The distillery was founded by James Gordon but was transferred to its current location by James Flemming in 1879. It was expanded in 1945, when it was purchased by Campbell Distillers, now owned by Pernod Ricard.
The key signature flavors of Aberlour can be discovered and enjoyed in Aberlour 15-year-old Sherry Finish. It is matured for a minimum of 15 years in a combination of sherry and bourbon oak casks, then finished in new oloroso sherry casks to develop its generous and rewarding flavors. It is said to have a "beautiful balance of sherryish nuttiness, anise, and empathic orange-flower."