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| April, 2011 |
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President's
Message
APRIL is the month that we celebrate
the NATIONAL TARTAN DAY! April 6, 2011.
I sincerely hope that you will choose
to wear your own Tartan that
day—what a great way to start a
conversation that will let you share
your proud heritage with your
co-workers and friends. Enjoy letting
others know that you are aware of your
roots and proud of who you are. While
others flaunt their heritage, we Scots
are usually more sedate. So maybe it is
time for us to speak up and sign
out!
We had a successful Games in 2011 and
we are already working on improving
them for 2012 as we build up to our
50th year in 2014. We need to grow all
aspects of our Scottish Community so
that our 50th Anniversary will not only
be special, but SPECTACULAR!
Remember that "Many Hands Make Light
Work", so plan to come out and help
make the Games the highlight of the
year—your year. There are plenty
of little jobs that you can do without
"over-doing". We have gained a nice
group of young folks who have taken
over the heavy jobs and we are so
grateful to have them working with us.
Things are looking rosy these days so
come and enjoy the fellowship with your
new family of younger Scots.
Jean Latimer, President
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Tartan
Day
Tartan Day is
celebrated on April 6—a special
time for Scots in Canada and the United
States to honor the Scots who have
helped to make both countries great. In
Canada it has been celebrated since
1993, with America following suit in
1998. The date April 6 was chosen as
this commemorates the date that the
Declaration of Arbroath was signed in
1320. The Declaration of Arbroath was a
declaration of Scottish independence,
and set out to confirm Scotland's
status as an independent, sovereign
state and its use of military action
when unjustly attacked. A small excerpt
states: "Man has a right to freedom and
a duty to defend it with his life."
This declaration is important in
American history because the American
Declaration of Independence was modeled
on that Scottish document.
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How the Date
of Easter is Determined
Easter is a moveable feast meaning it
is not fixed in relation to the civil
calendar. The first Council of Nicaea
in 325 established the date of Easter
as the first Sunday after the first
full moon following the vernal equinox
in the northern hemisphere.
Ecclesiastical, the equinox is reckoned
to be on March 21 even though the
equinox occurs astronomically speaking
on March 20 in most years. The date of
Easter therefore varies between March
22 and April 25.
Secular customs, such as the Easter
Bunny and Easter egg hunts have become
part of the holiday's modern
celebration and are often observed by
Christians and non-Christians alike.
HAPPY EASTER!
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Some Scottish
Surnames
MackLam - MacLam -
MacClain
There is very little data on this
surname as to whether it is Irish or
Scottish. The name appears to be tied
in with Clan Lamont. Various spellings
include: MacLam, MacLamb, MackLamb,
MacLum and MacClain. Lamont is
pronounced LAMont in Scotland not
LaMONT as in North America. With soft
spoken Gaelic speakers it would be easy
for English clerks not to hear the last
syllable and write something akin to
MacLam or MacLamb. Whether the name is
Irish or Scottish, one would guess
Scottish, but there isn't any reason
why the name didn't migrate to Ireland
at sometime over the centuries like so
many other Scottish names. Some
families with the name MacLam could
also be from MacLaine, since any name
can be altered with new spellings
especiall y when being translated from
Gaelic to English.
Hutchison - Hutchinson
There are many variations of the name
Hutchison. They include Hutcheson,
Hutchinson, etc. It is a patronmy
meaning "son of little Hugh". Its many
various spellings can be explained by
the fluidity of spelling in past
centuries. The minister or clerk who
listed a person's name in he 1700's was
of course literate but the spelling was
not necessarily fixed and consequently
it varied from parish to parish. On
looking at parish records one can see
that in certain areas the name became
entrenched one way while in the next
parish it could have a completely
different spelling. So if a person
moved from parish to parish, they could
well be recorded with two different
spellings. Towards the 19th century
families took a certain form and that's
how it has come down to us today.
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Celtic
Nations
The Celtic nations
are territories in North-West Europe in
which that area's own Celtic languages
and cultural traits have survived. The
term "nation" is used in this context
to mean a generally defined region that
is associated with a common identity,
language or culture. It is not
synonymous with "sovereign state", but
rather with traditional territories or
countries.
The six territories recognized as
Celtic nations are Brittany, Cornwall,
Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and
Wales. Limitation to these six is
sometimes disputed by people from
Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia
(including Northern Portugal). Until
the expansions of the Roman Republic
and Germanic tribes, a significant part
of Western Europe was Celtic.
Each of the six nations has its own
living Celtic language. In Wales,
Scotland, Brittany and Ireland these
have been spoken continuously through
time, while Cornwall and the Isle of
Man have languages that were spoken
into modern times but later died as
spoken community languages. In both of
the latter regions, however,
revitalization movements have led to
the adoption of these languages by
adults and produced a number of native
speakers. Ireland, Wales, Brittany and
Scotland contain areas where a Celtic
language is used on a daily basis.
Generally these communities are in the
west of their countries and in upland
or island areas. In Wales, the Welsh
language is a core curriculum
(compulsory) subject which all pupils
study. Additionally, 20% of school
children in Wales go to Welsh medium
schools where they are taught entirely
in the Welsh language. In Ireland all
school children study Irish as one of
the three core subjects up until the
end of secondary school and 7.4% of
primary school education is through
Irish medium education which is part of
the Gaelscoil movement.
Of the six languages : Gaeilge
(Ireland), Cymraeg (Wales), Brezhoneg
(Brittany), Gaelg (Isle of Man),
Gaidhlig (Scotland) and Kernewek
(Cornwall), three belong to the
Goidelic or Gaelic branch (Ireland,
Isle of Man and Scotland) and three to
the Brythonic or Brittonic branch
(Wales, Cornwall and Brittany).
The tern "Celtic nation" derives from
the studies of the 16th century
scholars George Buchanan and Edward
Lhuyd. Lhuyd traveled extensively in
Great Britain, Ireland and Brittany in
the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
Noting the similarity between the
languages of Brittany, Cornwall and
Wales, which he called "P-Celtic" or
Brythonic, the languages of Ireland,
the Isle of Man and Scotland, which he
called "Q-Celtic" or Goidelic and
between the two groups. He concluded
that all six languages derived from the
same root. He theorized that the root
language descended from the languages
spoken by the Iron Age tribes of Gaul,
whom Greek and Roman writers called
Celtic. Having defined the languages of
those areas as Celtic, the people
living in them and speaking those
languages became known as Celtic
too.
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Caerlaverock
Castle
For centuries Caerlaverock Castle has
stood guard over the border between
Scotland and England. Built in an
unusual triangular shape and set in the
middle of a wide moat it is one of the
country's most spectacular
fortresses.
The story of Caerlaverock, near
Dumfries, is deeply interwoven with
that of the Maxwell family who built it
and own it to this day. Records of the
family date back to early 12th century
Roxburghshire where Maccus, son of
Undwin, was granted estates at Melrose
by the king. He also built a church at
Maxton. However, it was his grandson
Sir John De Maccusewell who chose
Caerlaverock as the principal seat of
the family in 1220 following another
grant of land.
It was here, behind ever more
impressive fortifications, that the
Maxwells remained for hundreds of years
despite a series of sieges. When King
Edward I of England pitched an army of
3000 against the castle in 1300, it
managed to resist for a while, even
though there was a garrison of just 60
men.
Later conflicts often revealed the
Maxwells to be astute politicians,
assuring their own survival through
turbulent times by swearing loyalty to
whoever seemed to offer the best
prospects for security. By the 17th
century the family's fortunes reached a
peak when as a staunch supporter of
Charles I, Robert Maxwell was created
the First Earl of Nithsdale in 1634. He
went on to build a fine new house
within the walls of his own castle. In
this case the Earl's political judgment
proved flawed as the country collapsed
into civil war. Despite this he
resisted a Covenanting army for 13
weeks in the summer of 1640 before
being forced to surrender.
Afterwards the castle and residence
fell into elegant decay. Visitors were
attracted to it as a romantic retreat,
among them was Robert Burns who carved
his name on the gatehouse in 1776. Now
in the care of Historic Scotland, the
Caerlaverock Castle has many visitors
enjoying the exhibition on siege
warfare, cafe, picnic area and
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April
Celebrations
Apr 2 Jim &
Donna Groves—Anniversary
Apr 3 Johnny Trimble—Birthday
Apr 4 Danene
Richardson—Birthday
Apr 5 Steven Smith—Birthday
Apr 5 Paul Bell—Birthday
Apr 10 William Reeves—Birthday
Apr 10 Charles McLane—Birthday
Apr 15 Sharon
Naughton—Birthday
Apr 15 Frank Kempe—Birthday
Apr 16 Virginia Davis—Birthday
Apr 16 Michael
McClanathan—Birthday
Apr 19 Bob & Alma
Anderson—Anniversary
Apr 21 Glenda King—Birthday
Apr 21 Janice Bryson—Birthday
Apr 21 Leatha
Ferguson—Birthday
Apr 22 Pam Allan—Birthday
Apr 22 Paige
Macmillan—Birthday
Apr 22 Patrick & Rena
McDonald—Anniversary
Apr 23 Robert & Vanne
Cowie—Anniversary
Apr 24 Kim Duprest—Birthday
Apr 24 Pat Minnis—Birthday
Apr 25 Nancy Kaib—Birthday
Apr 26 Bobby Hoeck—Birthday
Apr 26 Ellen Martin—Birthday
Apr 26 Norman
Lawrence—Birthday
Apr 28 Jerry
Williamson—Birthday
Apr 28 Kathy & Gerald
Ridlehoover—Anniversary
Apr 29 Stephen
Chernin—Birthday
Apr 30 Ann Fowler—Birthday
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Know the
Clans
District Tartan:
Fort William
From District Tartans by Gordon
Teall & Phillip Smith Jr.
District
Tartan: Fort William
Fort William takes it name from a stone
fort built at Inverlochy under William
II of Scotland (III of England) who
reigned from 1689-1702. It replaced an
earlier temporary structure erected by
General Monck. Prior to the building of
"Fort" William the settlement was known
as Maryburgh. The fort was one of
several government fortifications along
the line of the Great Glen, others
being Fort Augustus and Inverness.
Permanently garrisoned during the late
seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries, these forts were intended to
assist in the pacification of the
clans. The Gaelic name means simply
"The Garrison".
Today Fort William is a small town on
Loch Linnhe at the western end of the
Caledonian Canal. It is popular with
tourists and has a number of
industries. The nearby mountains,
dominated by Ben Nevis, provide both
minerals and hydro-electric power and
during the winter months ski-ing. The
town is the home of the excellent West
Highland Museum, which has many
interesting exhibits relating to the
history of the area. Fort William is
linked by rail to Glasgow by the scenic
West Highland Line, which extends
westwards to Mallaig. This northern
section is the route for nostalgic
steam-powered express trains which are
very popular with tourists.
The Fort William district tartan was
first included in Wilsons of
Bannockburn 1819 Pattern Book. The
tartan colors are mostly gray and black
with a thin green stripe.
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Caledonian
Society Officers
President: Jean
Latimer—602-867-6507
1st Vice Pres: Tim
Wallace—480-821-6163
Treasurer: Lisa
Scott—602-218-6645
Games Chair: Jason
Temple—602-920-5445
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 Irish Cultural
Center located at 1106 N. Central
Avenue, Phoenix. Come join us, or log
on to www.arizonascots.com or call 602-431-0095
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The
Caledonian Society of Arizona
General Meeting
Minutes
March 10,
2011
The meeting was called to order at
6:55pm by President Jean Latimer with
the Pledge of Allegiance and the
Flowers of the Forest in memory of
Helen Ritchie Krcina, who at her death
was 85 years young.
MINUTES: Jean called for a motion to accept the
minutes of the February meeting as
written in the Desert Highlander
Newsletter. John Kilpatrick made the
motion and Dan Miller gave the second.
Motion passed.
TREASURERS
REPORT: The report was taken
from an e-mail from Susan Wallace, who
is traveling. While it is not yet
complete our current cash flow shows us
with $13,930. Jean stated that we would
be taking a different approach to
working up the budget for 2012, as our
income figures were poorly stated and
we have a much better account of where
the monies came from this year.
GAME
INFO:
- 1.) It was noted that we had the
President of Clan Wallace, USA at
our Games and there was some doubt
as to whether he was recognized
during the Opening Ceremonies.
- 2.) Jason Temple reported that
the clean-up at the park was coming
along nicely and he would meet with
Brian tomorrow.
- 3.) Looking ahead to the 2012
Games, one big item will be the
possible date change to the last
weekend in March.
ANNOUNCEMENTS/INFORMATION:
- 1.) Jean announced that she had
been in contact with some folks in
Payson who are trying to put on a
Scottish Festival—to honor
Tartan Day—on April 2, 2011.
National Tartan Day is April 6.
They are not charging for Clans to
put up a tent for the day and since
Scots love "FREE", we will aid them
as much as we can including a
posting of their event in Coming
Events in April on the web site.
- 2.) Jean introduced Mark Clark
and Joseph Wehunt who are trying to
put together a small band that
would mostly play Celtic music.
Jean invited them to play for us
during the April gathering so they
can get our folks to help spread
the word about them.
- 3.) The Board has voted to
celebrate Tartan Day at our April
meeting with a "Thank You" to our
Area Chairs. NO BUSINESS MEETING.
Just a fun get together.
- 4.) Jason reported his thoughts
regarding the 2011 Games. He felt
that while we got through them,
they could and should be much
better and he has some definite
ideas on just how to do that.
There being no other business, the
meeting adjourned at 8:50pm for
refreshments.
Submitted by: Jean Whyman, Acting
Recording Secretary
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