June, 2010

In this Issue:

 President's Message  Coming Events
 Officers 2010- 2012  June Celebrations
 Membership Meeting Items  Know the Clans
 Scots and the American Civil War  Caledonian Society Officers
 Newsletter Changes  General Meeting Minutes
 The Magic of Time  Important Dates in May
 Your Name in Gaelic  Shepherd's Pie Cookoff Winner


President's Message
Greetings Fellow Scots:
 
It is with a great fondness for the Caledonian Society of Arizona that I have taken on the job of President for the upcoming term. I sincerely hope and pray that each of you have a like fondness for our organization and that you will set aside any past upsets or arguments and will come back to join us in our efforts to carry on the work. Your knowledge of the past works is an asset that we can all learn from and put to good use.

As you know, we have had a disastrous year financially due to the horrible storm that ruined our Games weekend. We were on target for a most successful Games before the storm. However, the costs were all still there for two days and the income was for only one day. You can “do the math” on that very quickly! We will be doing a lot of fundraising this year in order to have working capital for the 2011 Games. I truly hope you will feel the need in your hearts to join-in and help us rebuild--for the good of all Scots who cherish their heritage. We look forward to seeing you at the meetings as we go forward to build our strength in numbers.

Our first Fundraiser was May 22nd, at the Irish Cultural Center. In the words of John Good “It was a lovely day!” We had a Shepherd’s Pie Contest, Bake Sale, Silent Auction and 50/50 Raffle. The food was very good and the entertainment was fantastic. We had Highland Dancers from Elizabeth’s School, the Scottish Country Dancers and John Good and friends to play and serenade us. We are very grateful to all of these talented people for their participation. Thanks also to Mary Moriarty of the ICC for letting us use their facilities. Also, many thanks to Jackie and Mike Carro, Sue and Tim Wallace for their gigantic efforts, both in setting up and clean-up after, as well as everyone who participated. We had between 55 and 60 folks in attendance.
 
Best regards,
Jean Latimer



Caedonian Society Officers — 2010-2012

President: Jean Latimer………..........602-967-6507
1st Vice Pres: Tyler Cramer……...….574-344-1314
Treasurer: Lisa Scott…………….....…..602-218-6645
Games Chair: Leslie Grant………....…602-509-1184
Recording Sec: Jean Whyman…......602-956-6424
Corresp. Sec: Kay Morneau….…......480-503-0341
Trustee: Alan Ramsdell……….…....….480-969-8400
Trustee: William Wallace…………......480-838-7055
Past President: Elizabeth Grant.......602-509-1146
Newsletter Editor: Jo Ramsdell….....480-969-8400



June Membership Meeting

Please join us for our June meeting on Thursday the 10th. Our new officers will be taking office and we want to welcome them and also show them our support. They will be very busy developing programs for the coming months and would welcome your in-put.

 


Summer Vacation
There will be NO membership meeting in the months of July and August. Have a relaxing summer and join us on September 9 for our first meeting of the fall.


Scots and the American Civil War
By Walter J. Taylor

The American Revolution has been called a Presbyterian war because of the great number of Scots, both native-born and those of the blood, who were involved. The same could be said of the American Civil War. During the hostilities, as so often before, Scots fought on both sides in a devastating conflict.

Because Scots were one of the largest ethnic groups in the American south, the southern army would have been ineffective without them. Scots in considerable numbers also fought gallantly to preserve the Union, not only those of the blood but also recently arrived immigrants. Additionally, many of the leaders and prominent personalities in the war were of Scottish lineage, including Jackson, Stuart, Grant, McClellan, McDowell, Pettigrew, Gordon, Buchanan, Campbell, Johnston, MacKenzie, McPherson, Wallace and many more.

At the time of the Civil War, North Carolina was the state with the strongest Scottish heritage. The state supplied the largest number of men to the southern armies (about 125,000) with the possible exception of Virginia. Local units gave themselves fanciful designations, such as the Highland Boys, the Highland Rangers, The Scotch Boys, the Scotch Greys and the Scotch Tigers. North Carolina also sustained by far the highest losses; 40,000 North Carolinians did not return home and an equal number were probably wounded. One can assume that a very large percentage of the soldiers, the wounded and the dead has Scottish roots.

Much has been written about the fighting qualities of the southern soldier. A few historians attribute these qualities to the Scottish heritage of so many of the men. Even the famous “Rebel Yell” may have come from the old clan cry. Look at the Confederate battle flag and you will see the St. Andrew’s cross with the colors changed! One of the two battle flags of the 39th North Caroline Infantry was an exact replica of the St. Andrew’s flag except for small red corners. Torn by shot and shell, it is on display at the Department of Archives and History in Raleigh.

The Gettysburg Death Roster of Confederate Soldiers, compiled by noted historian Robert K. Krick, contains three-and-a-half pages of Scottish “Mac” names, plus 20 dead named Wilson, 19 Walkers, 11 Campbell, 10 Stewarts/Stuarts and a host of others.

On the Union side, soldiers of Scottish descent were largely recent immigrants, which brings us to the 79th New York Highlanders, one of the most colorful outfits to serve on either side during the war. The 79th had been specifically organized as a Scottish Highland unit and recruited soldiers from among Scottish immigrants living around New York. Under the command of Colonel Thomas McLeay, it became a unit of the New York State Militia in 1859. Contrary to regulations, the Highlanders adopted the Scottish Highland army dress; their kilts were of the Cameron of Erreacht tartan. When the Civil War commenced in 1861, the regiment proceeded south and joined what was to become the Federal Army of the Potomac. By this time, the regiment also included a good sprinkling of Irish and English New Yorkers.
 
They were a stubborn, cantankerous, hard-drinking lot, but superb fight men. They sustained heavy casualties at First Bull Run where their commander, Colonel James Cameron was killed. The 79th had always elected their own officers, and when Colonel Isaac Stevens was assigned to replace Cameron without the Regiment’s approval, a minor mutiny ensued. As punishment, the men’s tartan and colors were taken from them. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and the men went back into the battle line with Stevens at their head. It was at this time that they also decided to adopt the standard Union blue uniform.

The Highlanders were involved in many battles. Altogether 502 men of the 79th were casualties out of a total enrollment of 1,385.

The Navies of both sides were fully engaged in the fighting, and here too Scots played a role. One prominent navy man of Scots lineage was Admiral Franklin Buchanan from Maryland, who commanded the Confederate ironclad Virginia (previous known as the USS Merrimack) up until the day before her famous battle with the Federal ironclad Monitor. Buchanan was absent during the battle for good reason; he had been sidelined by a bullet wound incurred in battle the previous day.

A number of other Civil War personalities of Scottish blood--both combatants and non-combatants--are worthy of mention. Among them is Alexander Gardner, an associate of Thomas Brady, the famed Civil War photographer. Some historians believe that Gardner took many of the photos for which Brady received credit.

Allan Pinkerton, another man of Scottish descent, conducted Union intelligence operations and organized the Federal Secret Service. On occasion he guarded President Lincoln.

Wilmer McLean gained a measure of notoriety because Lee’s surrender took place in his farmhouse.

The Ulster Scots, or Scotch-Irish, were the main players in “the Civil War within the Civil War,” a mean and nasty little conflict fought in Southern Appalachia. Though many mountaineers would have preferred to sit the war out, there are no neutrals on battlefields. Neighbors were pitted against each other and, even within families, members were on opposite sides.

In the end, no other group was as deeply involved on both sides of the Civil War as the Scottish-Americans. The American Civil War is as important to our Scottish heritage as Bannockburn Culloden, Bonnie Prince Charlie, William Wallace and the Ladies from Hell. On battlefields north and south, hallowed ground was soaked with Scottish blood.



Newsletter Changes


If you received the May edition of the Desert Highlander on your computer, you may have noticed that the copy you received in the post was a little different. This was our first attempt to sent the newsletter via email and there were a few glitches that had to be worked out.

At first the full six pages of the May edition were sent out, but it proved to be too long. Our email allowed 20,000kb for one email and the six pages was over 22,000kb. We did a little editing and cut the email edition down to five pages and that seems to have worked. If you did not receive an email edition and you have requested that you be on our email list, please let us know—anjrams@cox.net—and we will be sure that your email address is added.

We do need more people on our email address list in order to make any significant saving on our postage expenses. So sign up now by sending us your address. Future editions will be exactly the same, although a bit shorter than usual.



The Magic of Time


Who was the first man to measure time, and what ideas did he envision? We will never know of course, but it ust have been an exciting new idea. For time is a wondrous thing. We cannot see it, touch it, sense it or hear it; we know not from whence it comes or to where it goes, and yet it dominates our lives, and everything that we do!

Perhaps man first noticed time in the rising and setting of the sun, and by watching the moving shadows was able to produce the first sundial—of which prehistoric examples still exist. Or perhaps by watching the burning of a candle, he endeavored to mark the passing of time by the regular shortening of the candle, or he had the idea of making a sand-glass to measure how long it took for all the sand to fall. For man needed to gain knowledge of the mystery of time and to record its passing.

One early form of time measurement was the clepsydra or water clock—a timepiece which measured the flow of liquid in or out of a vessel. It is known that an inlaid bronze water clock was presented by the King of Persia to Charlemagne in AD 807.

Although there are no true records, it is assumed that the first mechanical clocks appeared at the end of the 13th century and were no doubt weight driven. Monasteries and churches sought particularly for the regimentation of time, and it is probable that it is to the Monks that we owe the invention of wheeled clocks, maybe as early as the 12th century. In the 14th century large clocks were known to have appeared on steeples and St. Pauls Cathedral had a clock in 1286.

But whosoever made the first mechanical timepiece deserves our everlasting gratitude, for what would our lives be without a clock in our home and a watch on our person. The introduction of spring driven clocks was a great step forward, although many problems arose. For instance, when tightly wound a spring is more powerful and the clock runs faster, but as it ran down the clock ran more slowly. For some 600 years clock-making skills improved the accuracy and efficiency of clocks, and it is generally accepted that the peak was reached in Victorian times when every gentleman had a pocket watch.

The coming of the electrical clock relieved clockmakers of many of their mechanical problems. Their degree of accuracy would have been unbelieveable to early clockmakers. And now the invention of the quartz movement has brought simplicity, low cost and accuracy to a point which it is hard to believe can be improved upon.

How much time has passed by while reading this article? Time has conquered us, and made us a slave as it passes on its mysterious way.

 



Your Name in Gaelic
Adam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Adhamh
Andrew . . . . . . . . . . . . .Aindreas
Charles . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tearlach
Christopher . . . . . . . . . Gillecriosd
David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Daibhidh
Donald . . . . . . . . . . . . . Domhnull
Edward . . . . . . . . . . . . .Iomhair
John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iain
Michael . . . . . . . . . . . . Michell
William . . . . . . . . . . . . Uilleam
Ann . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anna
Catherine . . . . . . . . . . . Catriona
Elizabeth . . . . . . . . . . . Ealassid
Helen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eilidh
Margaret . . . . . . . . . . . .Mairearad
Mary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mairi
Sarah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Morag
Susan . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Siusaidh




Coming Events
Jun 4-6 Arlington, TX—Games
Jun 10 Membership Meeting
Jun 26-27 Vista (San Diego) CA—Games
July 31 Games - Enumclaw, WA
Aug-7-8 Games - Monterey, CA
Aug 14-15 Games - Highland Ranch (Denver)
Sep 4-5 Games - Pleasanton, CA
Sep 9 Games - Estes Park, CO
Oct 8-10 Games - Ventura, CA
Oct 14 Membership Meeting
   



June Celebrations

Jun 1 Matthew & Mandy Beatty-MacDonald—Anniv
Jun 2 Tim Wallace—Birthday
Jun 3 Dr. David Hawkins—Birthday
Jun 5 Gordon & Dee McClimans - Anniv.
Jun 5 Wolf-Dieter Klose—Birthday
Jun 5 William Wallace—Birthday
Jun 5 Cherise Beatty—Birthday
Jun 6 Genie Smith– Birthday
Jun 6 William & Norma Wallace—Anniv.
Jun 7 Douglas & Linda Hilton—Anniv.
Jun 10 Sandie Stephenson —Birthday
Jun 10 Jeannette Laurie —Birthday
Jun 10 Alan & Jo Ramsdell — Anniv.
Jun 10 Jackie Rice—Birthday
Jun 12 Don & Bobby Hoeck — Anniv.
Jun 12 Glenn & Ruth Anderson — Anniv.
Jun 12 Robert & Patricia Goyer — Anniv.
Jun 13 Ben & Kathy Howard — Anniv.
Jun 13 David Mathieson—Birthday
Jun 14 William McKillop — Birthday
Jun 14 Dorothy Thayer — Birthday
Jun 18 Foster & Peggy Burton — Anniv.
Jun 18 Bob & Nita Gilbreath— Anniv.
Jun 18 Matthew Beatty—Birthday
Jun 18 Bob Anderson—Birthday
Jun 19 Ellie Robb — Birthday
Jun 20 Donald Lynd—Birthday
Jun 22 George Kirk — Birthday
Jun 23 Glenn Anderson — Birthday
Jun 23 Jerry and Pat Minnis — Anniv.
Jun 26 Donald and Suzanne Lynd—Anniv.
Jun 27 Robert & Muriel Kremb — Anniv.
Jun 29 William & Linda Johnston — Anniv.
Jun 29 Lash McDaniel — Birthday
Jun 30 Vanne Cowie—Birthday


New Members

Helen Blair
7516 E. Hermosa Vista Dr.
Mesa, AZ 85207
480-807-4024
Clan: Blair


Know the Clans
District Tartans — Argyll
From District Tartans By Gordon Teall & Philip D. Smith, Jr.

Argyll the “high land of the Gael”, is the part of Scotland that points like the fingers of a hand south across the seas to Ireland. Only twelve miles separate the Mull Of Kintyre and the coast of Ulster. Around the fifth century, the Gaels moved east to Carrick and Galloway and north to Argyll where they founded the Kingdom of Dalriada. Expanding north and east through Argyll, the Scots assimilated the earlier Picts and brought their language and culture to all of the north of Scotland. Argyll is a land of green peninsulas, high mountains, fertile valleys and majestic lochs. Argyll is often identified with the Campbells, whose chief is the Duke of Argyll.

The first record of the Argyll district tartan is in the 1819 Kay Pattern Book of Wilsons of Bannockburn when it is referred to as “No. 230 or Argyll”. Amongst this firm’s accounts for 1789 there is an “Argyll tartan” mentioned and, though one cannot be certain, this may well have been the same sett
.
W.& S. Smith were the first to illustrate this tartan in their 1850 publication in which it is called “Cawdor Campbell”. They give the Earl of Cawdor as their source and it is reasonable to conclude that the sett was accepted as “Campbell of Cawdor” by that date. The pattern was worn by the 91st Argyillshire Highlanders as “Campbell” between 1865-81. As a consequence it became identified with the County of Argyll, from the inhabitants of which the regiment was raised.

In W. & A. K. Johnston’s The Tartans of the Clans and Septs of Scotland in the text to “Dunblane”, the Campbell of Cawdor tartan is called “Argyll District tartan”. This sett has a feeling of being a truly old one, since it is similar to several patterns from other parts of the west coast and islands.

 
District Tartans--Caledonia

The very name Caledonia conjures up pictures of Roman soldiers striding northwards towards the land of mountains, lochs, forest and glens they failed to subdue. To sailors, the Caledonian Canal, cutting through the Great Glen from Loch Linnhe to the Moray Firth, encapsulates so much of what is typical of Highland Scotland.

The “Caledonia” tartan was popular in the eighteenth century and appears in a number of guises. Romantic stories are told of its origin but in reality little is definitely known. It is a suitable tartan for anyone who wishes to be associated with Scotland and is the choice of a number of pipe bands.





Caledonian Society Officers

President: Jean Latimer………..........602-967-6507
1st Vice Pres: Tyler Cramer……...….574-344-1314
Treasurer: Lisa Scott…………….....…..602-218-6645
Games Chair: Leslie Grant………....…602-509-1184
Recording Sec: Jean Whyman…......602-956-6424
Corresp. Sec: Kay Morneau….…......480-503-0341
Trustee: Alan Ramsdell……….…....….480-969-8400
Trustee: William Wallace…………......480-838-7055
Past President: Elizabeth Grant.......602-509-1146
Newsletter Editor: Jo Ramsdell….....480-969-8400


Society Meetings

Regular membership meetings are held the second Thursday of each month at the Scottsdale Senior Center, 1700 N. Granite Reef Rd., Scottsdale, Az. beginning at 7:30. Come join us or call 602-431-0095 or log on to www.arizonascots.com

Drop in at our last meeting before Summer Vacation on Thursday, June 10, 2010.
We hope to see you there!



The Caledonian Society of Arizona
General Meeting Minutes

May 13, 2010
 
The meeting was called to order by President Elizabeth Reich at 6:55pm, in Scottsdale Senior Center. After bidding everyone Welcome, she led the Pledge of Allegiance. After a brief explanation of the tradition, she called for a moment of silence for The Flowers of the Forest. The minutes of the April meeting were approved, as printed in the Desert Highlander Newsletter.

The Treasurer, Lisa Scott, reported that we have approximately $4,000.00 in the bank account. Because of our limited funds, we decided to dedicate tonight’s raffle money to the Joe Leonard Memorial Fund. We collected $55.00 and gave it to Sandy Sanderson.

In between the business being conducted, we were entertained by several of Elizabeth’s dance students. They were Anna Scott, and the MacFarlane sisters, Lizzie, Darby and Angelica. The Carden family was in attendance and signed up their daughter to start taking lessons.

We had three guests at tonight’s meeting: Diane Rodriguez and Wayne and Casey McIntosh. Welcome to all--we hope to see you again as members.

By-law Change: Elizabeth reviewed the proposed change of the By-Laws to change the Board Officer list from two (2) Vice-Presidents to one (1) Vice President and one (1) Games Chairperson. The change was published in the last Newsletter and so with little discussion, Maddie Foreman made a motion to accept the change and Lisa Scott gave the second. The motion passed by fourteen to one.

New Officers: Elizabeth then introduced the new Officer Slate for the upcoming term. They are: President, Jean Latimer; Vice President, Tyler Cramer; Treasurer, Lisa Scott, Games Chair, Leslie Grant; Corresponding Secretary, Kay Morneau; Acting Recording Secretary, Jean Whyman; and Trustees, Alan Ramsdell and William Wallace.

The Board has decided that we need to raise more money to cover our Operating Expenses and so we are switching from Door Prizes to Raffles. Tickets will be sold at each meeting. Currently the only Income we have for Operations is the annual dues and they do not cover even half of what we spend each year. We will separate the Operating Budget from the Games Budget.

We are having a Fund Raiser at the ICC on May 22nd, for the Games Budget that was so devastated by the storm on Sunday of the games weekend. We will be doing more Fund Raising throughout the year to enrich our coffers.

There was no further business and the meeting was adjourned to enjoy some refreshments and time to visit.

The next meeting will be a picnic, so watch the web site for more information on this fun event.
 
Respectfully submitted by: Jean Latimer, Recording Secretary

 






Important Dates in May
June 14 Flag Day
June 20 Father's Day
June 21 First Day of Summer
June 24 Quebec National Day
   
 



Shepherd's Pie Cookoff Winner
Congratulations to Alison Glenn!

Your winning recipe entitles you to bragging rights for one full year!  Your Shepherd's Pie was the bomb!  Great job!

You can check out Alison's recipe and view photos of the event here.