More than 20 members attended a Phoenix Scottish Games planning meeting at Chase’s Diner in Alma School Road last month. Chairman Paul Bell outlined the significance of this being the 55th year of the Games being staged, and some of the special arrangements that are being put in place, including a Games specific website www.phoenixscottishgames.com

Additionally, the event's information tent is to be renamed the Jean Latimer Tent in memory of the Society’s late past president.

Paul said there would be changes to the layout and positioning of the Scotch tasting tent and the genealogy tent, as well as other alterations which it is hoped will make the weekend experience better for all.

Society member Shirley Blahak completed a quilt that will be auctioned off to raise funds. The border has 62 squares of different clan crests, including that of the Society, and the quilt contains Scottish Games images including pipers, dancers, and heavy athletes.

The next planning meeting will be on Thursday 13 September at:

Old Chicago Restaurant, 5695 West Bell Road, Glendale, at 6.30 pm.

Catalogs will be available for medals and trophies.

Scotland's Hidden Gems - The American Monument on Islay
Iain Lundy

Tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world flock to the Scottish island of Islay – and for very good reason. It is a whisky lover’s paradise. World renowned brands including Bowmore, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich, Lagavulin, and Ardmore are produced here, and impressive whitewashed distilleries dot the windswept isle.

But if you travel to Islay’s most southerly tip, a peninsula known as The Oa, you will find a striking and poignant memorial to a double wartime tragedy that links Scotland and the United States.

The American Monument stands close to the edge of 300ft high cliffs, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean where the tragedies happened.

The monument marks the sinking of two US troop ships near the end of World War 1. The first, the SS Tuscania, was sailing from the east coast of America to Britain in February 1918, when she was torpedoed by a German U-boat seven miles off the Islay coast. More then 200 US service personnel and 60 British crew members were killed.

Britain and its allies were by this time well used to the war’s industrial-style killing, but the US was not. The incident caused shockwaves among the American people. It was the biggest military loss of life in a single day since the Civil War 50 years earlier – and worse was to follow eight months later, just weeks from the war’s end.

On 6 October 1918, another troop ship HMS Otranto, was carrying military personnel from New York when she sunk in a collision with another vessel in Machir Bay, off Islay’s north west coast. This time 351 US servicemen died along with 80 British crew members.

In 1920 the American Red Cross erected the 32ft high monument to commemorate the sinkings. It contains a plaque with an epitaph taken from a work by American poet Theodore O’Hara, “On Fame’s Eternal camping ground, Their silent tents are spread. While Glory keeps with solemn round, the bivouac of the dead.”

At the foot of the monument is a plinth with a tribute by President Woodrow Wilson that reads, “to the memory of his fellow citizens who gave their lives for their country in nearby waters, 1918.”

The victims of the Otranto tragedy were buried in a military cemetery at KIlchoman, overlooking Machir Bay. The US servicemen were repatriated to America in 1920.

Islay is reached from the Scottish mainland by ferry from the west coast port of Kennacraig. The monument is a 25-mile drive from the landing point of Port Askaig.

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Research Your Scottish Ancestry

The Scottish Courts : Maze of Records by Robert M. Wilbanks IV, B.A. Chief Genealogist & Historian, C.S.A. genealogy@arizonascots.com While the predominant U.S. records for genealogical research were created at, and can generally be found in, one location, the County Courthouse, Scottish genealogical resources do not necessarily have the benefit of a ‘one-stop shop.’ The equivalent of a County Courthouse does not exist in Scotland, or England, which instead have many various levels of local courts, formerly or currently in existence, where various records may be found. Additionally, the Scottish Court system operates differently and independently from the court system of England and other parts of the United Kingdom. In Scotland, for the most part, the buildings that house courts of law are simply called “courts” or “court buildings”. But that isn’t necessarily always the case, depending upon the type of court, its specialty function, and/or if in fact it has a formal designation. Like in the U.S., there is also a distinction between Criminal Courts, courts related to criminal activity, and Civil Courts, courts related to daily legal requirements of property, person, various activities etc., ie. lawsuits, business, land, probate (called confirmation in Scottish courts) and more. As always, it is incumbent upon the researcher to know the county of residence of an ancestor, learn about the ever-fluctuating jurisdictional lines and sub-levels of jurisdictions within that county, the different types of courts, the types of records generated, whether those records still exist, and where they might be accessible today. While in modern times, the Scottish court system has mostly been somewhat simplified at the local level, the changing dynamics of Scottish history, and its separate yet intertwined relationship with England, can make identifying and locating genealogical resources of Scotland extremely complex. There are many different courts, and courts within courts. Therefore, a specific court must be identified according to the period of historical time, the various levels of jurisdictions for that time, the relevancy of the type of record required or desired, and much more. Just to be clear, most historic records might be centralized for access, such as at a National Archives, in the case of Scotland called ‘National Records of Scotland’; resulting from the 2011 merger of the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS) and the National Archives of Scotland (NAS). However, in any aspect of genealogy, in order to understand how the records are organized and then locate them at the resource facility, it is still necessary to know the locality, the courts system for that locality, the various sub-levels of jurisdiction, and what records are associated with the specified courts and/or jurisdiction. Because of this varied and unique circumstance of the Scottish Courts, and the types of records generated accordingly, it will be more beneficial, in future articles, to discuss in detail the specific types of Scottish resources that most benefit genealogists, and there identify the proper associated court or courts, and where those records may be located today. This is another of a series of articles in which I show you the basics of searching for your family history, discussing the use of family records, public records, and online resources nationally and internationally, etc. The previous articles are now available on the Genealogy Section of this website.   See “Genealogy” in the menu options at the top of the web page.

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Arizona strongman Andrew McCreery was given a surprise 50th birthday present – a kilt and entry to the heavy events at the Portland Highland Games in Oregon.

Two years on, and Andrew, who with his wife Denise runs the d’Vine Gourmet food and beverage store in Chandler, is about to take part in the World Championships in Germany.

His meteoric rise from rookie heavy eventer to World contender has come thanks to a grueling training schedule. Andrew is a member of the Rio Salado Heavy Scottish Athletics team and believes his fellow athletes and coaches helped him achieve his success.

He said of the first Games in Portland, “Somehow at the last minute my wife called up and convinced the organizers to allow me to come in and compete, never having tried it before. I found out at 10pm the previous night and I had to be on the field at 8 in the morning ready to throw - sober.

“The first event was unique to the Portland Games, it’s a 96lb river rock that you throw as far as you can. I set the record for my age group at the event in my first Games. This was just pure power, the power side of things I have, but not the technique. I remember getting to the weight over bar, which is a 42lb weight that you throw over a bar and I honestly thought they were kidding. I thought it was a Candid Camera moment.

“It was such a fun wonderful event, what has kept me coming back has been the camaraderie on the field, the sportsmanship, the sense of even though we are competing, we are not against each other, we are all on the same team in a way.

“At this point, in preparing for the World Championships, it’s all I think about. I train every day, all I think about is throwing. The Worlds will just be my 10th competition, and I’m only two years into the sport. I qualified at the Phoenix Highland Games, and you need to qualify in three events, the stones, the weight for distance, and then the hammer. I qualified in both the light and heavy hammer events by just two inches.

His wife Denise said the shop had mixed Scotch whisky with chocolate for the whisky tasting tent at this year’s Games and planned to do more for the coming year. She said, “I was thrilled because I had never done that before. We practiced and made some proprietary chocolates to go with the flavors the Scotch guy had recommended. Who knew that Scotch and chocolate were such a great combination?

“I find that the smokier the Scotch, the creamier the chocolate. Dark chocolate can be a little harsh and acidic to go with the smokier Scotches. So if it’s a harsh smoky, heavy Scotch, go with creamy milk chocolate. If it’s a sweet, caramely whisky, go with a dark chocolate, they complement each other nicely.”

Irish Arts Summer Camp
Kelsey Kelleher

The Irish Cultural Center and McClelland Library in Phoenix last month held its first Irish Arts Summer Camp. Ten campers learned about Irish music, dance, theater, art, and language, and produced an original show, ‘The Punny Tail of Finn McCool and the Salmon of Knowledge.’ Current Arizona Colleen and Rose, Kelsey Kelleher, helped lead the week-long camp. She describes the success and stimulation of the camp.

Alongside the amazing Diane Ahern, fantastic volunteers, and ten specialty teachers, I had the pleasure of leading the camp, and providing a fun, educational experience for the children. With over 60 pages of carefully constructed curriculum, we kept our campers busy. Topics covered included the Book of Kells; the basics of stage design; instruments such as the harp, bodhran, and tin whistle; acting techniques; Irish phrases; Irish Dance steps; and a daily vocabulary challenge.

It was exhausting, but making everything run smoothly was a huge challenge, and it was one of the most fulfilling weeks of my life. I never imagined the connections I would make with these sweet, talented, imaginative kids. My heart swelled when I saw their eyes light up and when one showed excitement for our Irish culture. It is my passion to involve the younger generations in our Irish community. To hear kids express interest in continuing what they learned in camp, taking classes through the Academy of Irish and Celtic Studies, and coming to more events brought tears to my eyes and joy to my heart. I was particularly touched when one camper told me, "This is the best camp I've ever been to, Miss Kelsey. And I've been to a LOT of summer camps."

The audience was delighted by the final performance and many parents stated how pleased and impressed they were with our program. The kids created their props, set pieces, costume pieces, and t-shirts, and created music, dance, and theatrical numbers to the script I wrote.

I am so incredibly proud of all the campers and everyone who has put their time, effort, and energy into planning this summer camp over the past two years. We couldn't have done it without the kind funding from the Irish Government through the Irish Consulate in San Francisco. Thank you to everyone who supported our program and made this possible.

COMING EVENTS and Highland Games in Arizona and Nearby

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