Grace Notes Newsletter of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc.

Vol. 36 No. 7 • July 2020 President’s Letter The board has started planning for Burns Nicht. In this we are looking at two major factors: COVID-19: Will the expected second wave late in the year mean a return to restrictions that would cancel Burns Nicht? We need to try to minimize the expenditures at risk in case of a can- cellation. Financials: We have settled in at between 100 to 125 paid Memphis tickets. In the last few years this has resulted in a significant loss Scottish or a minimal profit. This is not sustainable. Having attended all 37 Burns Nichts, Kathy and I remem- Society, Inc. ber the early modest Burns Nichts where all the program was by members and the only costs were the venue and meal. Board The board is considering the possible use of a church meet- ing/fellowship hall. Our first Burns Nicht was in the fellowship President hall at Idlewild Presbyterian Church. John Schultz The board welcomes suggestions from the membership. 901-754-2419 Please email them to [email protected]. [email protected] Our meeting will again be a Zoom virtual meeting on Mon- day, 13 July, at 7:00 pm. The Zoom code will be sent by email by Vice President Sunday the 12th. (If you have a problem receiving emails or can- Mary Ann Lucas not access the internet at that time on Monday, let John [901-754- 901-725-1879 2419] or Mary Ann [901-725-1879]) [email protected] Treasurer Debbie Sellmansberger 901-465-4739 [email protected] Secretary Sammy Rich 901-496-2193 [email protected] Members at Large The Tennessee Genealogical Society has upgraded our platform! Shari Moore Effective July 1, 2020, non-members will be able to register for 731-610-7528 our exciting Webinars for $5.00. It is a great way to try our of- [email protected] ferings before becoming a member. Be sure to visit us at: https:// Kathy Schultz www.tngs.org/Events. 901-754-2419 [email protected] July Meeting Program: Holly Staggs presented by Mary Ann Lucas 901-215-4839 [email protected] “GAMES NIGHT!!!” See page 2 for further information

Tennessee Tartan. Created by the Heart of Tennessee Scottish Celebration as a State tartan. Passed by Tennessee Public Acts 1999, Chapter No.82, Senate Bill No. 73. The source of the tartan 2526 was: Bill Bickford of the Tennessee Tartan Committee. JulyProgram “GAMES NIGHT!!!” Presented by Mary Ann Lucas, with a little help from ZOOM

Everyone should bring smarts, vocabulary, speed, and, of course, LUCK (especially if you’re Scotch- Irish). Prizes are likely (by mail), fun is guaranteed, and all are hereby enlisted to disprove that Scots never laugh. Notice to Program Presenters: John Schultz requests that if you plan to use his computer equipment for your presentation at the monthly meeting, please contact him at least a week before the meeting so he knows to bring his equipment and can work out any bugs ahead of time. His phone number is 901-754-2419. Flowers of the Forest Clifford Eldred McWhorter, 94, formerly of Millington, TN passed away on June 15, 2020. He was born November 19, 1925 in Birmingham, AL, the son of Clifford and Lou Ouida McWhorter. He attended UC Berkeley, Yale, and finished seminary at Sewanee. Clifford served in the Army for one year in 1949. In the mid 50’s Clifford was ordained as an Episcopal Priest and served the Church for over 50 years. He met Dorothy Van Sickler while she was in nursing school and were married in 1957 at Calvary Episcopal Church in Fletcher, NC. In the 1960’s Clifford fought for civil rights and often acted as a liaison, bridging the gap between communities. When Clifford and Dorothy moved to Millington, TN, he became the Rector at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, where he remained until retirement. He later joined St. John Orthodox Church where he cher- ished his Eastern Orthodox faith and his church family. He loved his Scottish heritage and was a loyal member of the Memphis Scottish Society. Melissa Gibson, 62, passed away on June 23, 2020, after a long battle with cancer. As a main stay for the Memphis Scottish Society, she was a long time Board Member serving in various positions, including President. She was active in multiple functions for yearly Burns Nicht Galas, and also for all the other events throughout the year. Melissa was the editor for the monthly “Grace Notes.” She loved music and sang with the our Caledonia Chorale, and taught music to students in Sheffield Elementary School. Melissa loved to travel, was an avid reader and loved history. She was a strong supporter of WKNO radio and TV and helped them at fund-raisers. Melissa, we are going to miss you very much. Funeral services have not yet been announced.

Editorial Staff

Sue Malone Grace Notes Editor, (901-385-1938) [email protected] Grace Notes is the official publication of the Mem- phis Scottish Society, Inc. It is published monthly. George Malone Like the Society itself, the credo of Grace Notes is Publisher, (901) 385-1938 “to foster education and promote understanding [email protected] of things Scottish.” to foster education If you have something of interest to readers Gavin Anderson and promote understanding of this newsletter, please submit a typewritten Circulation Editor, (901-485-8270) of things Scottish manuscript to the editorial staff. If the article or [email protected] notice is very brief (30 words or fewer), e-mail

or just use the telephone. Grace Notes will accept Karen English and publish good quality photographs. Please address all correspondence to: Circulation Editor, (901-396-9134) The deadline for all submissions is the fourth Grace Notes [email protected] week of each month preceding the month of The Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. publication. Please include a self-addressed [email protected] stamped envelope with each submission, if you Submissions P.O. Box 383092 want the material returned. [email protected] Germantown, TN 38183

2 All Aboard the Falkirk Wheel By Forbes Inglis, britishheritage.com/travel/falkirk-wheel, 2 April 2020 (Condensed) Most tourists to Scotland have visions of tar- shape of a Celtic double-headed spear or ax, the tan, highland games, castles, the clans, and other propeller from a Clyde-built ship or perhaps part historical features, but more and more people are of the skeleton of a fish. To others, it looks for all visiting the Falkirk Wheel—the world’s first and the world like a giant bird, pecking at scraps as it only rotating boat lift. Originally derived from an- performs its task. cient Greek and 19th-century ideas, the concept The remainder of the structure is simply an aq- combines art, engineering and the latest technol- ueduct to carry boats to and from the Union Ca- ogy to show off the best of modern Scotland. nal. It has a beauty all its own as the arches above As Scotland’s industrial output expanded fol- it, which are there simply to add symmetry, are re- lowing the Industrial Revolution, the traditional flected in the water to appear as a complete circle. way of moving goods around cheaply and quickly It gives the impression of another tunnel that ap- was by canal. By the 1830s some 200,000 passen- pears to end in midair. gers and 3.3 million tons of goods were carried on Each gondola, the parts of the Wheel that canals annually. carry the barges or provide the counterweight, The principal waterways in central Scotland, has watertight doors at each end, just like a lock. the Forth & Clyde Canal and the Union Canal, The difference between the Wheel and a conven- connected Glasgow and Edinburgh and met near tional lock system is that rather than water being Falkirk. That the Union Canal was 115 feet above pumped in or out, the gondolas are lifted or low- its counterpart, however, was a major problem. ered so that the water in them is level with the wa- Originally, this difficulty was overcome by install- ter in the canal. When the watertight doors open ing a system of 11 locks spread over almost a mile. again, a barge can simply sail in or out. But passing through the locks took about eight The science behind the Wheel is quite simple. hours. Now, the Wheel raises or lowers boats from The weight of the barge-carrying gondola and its canal to canal in around 15 minutes. load is counterbalanced by the weight of the water With the advent of the railways, canals fell out in the other gondola. An intricate system of cogs of use and the locks were eventually dismantled raises or lowers the gondolas—holding around in 1933. As the 20th century drew to a close, how- 132,000 gallons of water in total. Each gondola, ever, they began to be used again for purely recre- whether carrying barges or simply filled with wa- ational purposes. British Waterways, the company ter, weighs approximately 275 tons. responsible for the canals, decided that the Mil- Despite the weight involved, the efficiency of lennium should be marked by an iconic project the structure means that the power used for a sin- that would be a memorial fit for the occasion. The gle turn is no more than that required to boil eight outcome was the Millennium Link, an ambitious domestic kettles. (Those who recall their school project to restore the canal system and reconnect physics and Archimedes Principle will remember Scotland’s two largest cities at a cost of around that an object, in this case, a boat, displaces its own $135 million. weight of water, so the two gondolas are always The Wheel, costing $28 million, is the Link’s equally balanced.) Everything about the opera- central feature. Standing around 38 yards in height, tion, from keeping the gondolas level to the differ- the Wheel is made up of almost 1,320 tons of steel ence in the height of water between the gondolas and 14,000 bolts. The northernmost section of the (which cannot exceed three inches), is controlled Wheel, the only part that actually moves, is an im- by computer. pressive structure, variously said to represent the Visitors taking the short Wheel tour board one of the two covered barges, appropriately called the Archimedes or the Antonine, after a short in- troductory talk. The Wheel turns and visitors are lifted, almost without being aware of it. Then, the barge or barges (the gondolas can carry more than one at time) sail off along the Union Canal. The barge continues through Roughcastle tun- nel, specially built to allow the Antonine Wall, which runs over it, to remain undisturbed. This tunnel also acts as a gauge by only allowing boats of the required breadth to pass through. Any boat too wide to go through the tunnel would be un- able to sail through the narrower parts of the canal it would encounter further on. (Continued on Page 4) 3 (Continued from Page 3) U.S. Astronaut First to Play The Falkirk Wheel Bagpipes in Space www.scotsusa.com, November 7, 2015 Once through the tunnel, the barge turns and (thanks to Mary Clausi) makes the return journey through the tunnel and If it was your life dream to be the first to play along the aqueduct into the gondola at the “dead bagpipes in space – sorry. Kjell Lindgren is the end.” From that vantage point, high above the first to gain that accolade as he played “Amazing surrounding countryside, the Wheel gently low- Grace”, on board the International Space Station, ers the gondola, initially giving the passengers the as a tribute to a colleague. feeling they have dropped off the end in what the The bagpipes were made by McCallum Bag- official brochure describes as “the most memora- pipes, based in Kilmarnock, Scotland. Kenny ble yet gentle of white knuckle rides.” The whole MacLeod, the proprietor was delighted that his trip takes around 50 minutes. pipes became the first to be played in space. An excursion to the Falkirk Wheel is a truly Kenny Macleod told BBC Scotland the 42-year- unique experience. Although Queen Elizabeth old astronaut got in touch two years ago to say opened the Wheel, security problems prevented he was going to the space station and wanted to her traveling on it. So, if you visit, you can always play the pipes while he was there. boast of taking the trip Her Majesty was denied. Lindgren hails from the Midwest, but spent most of his childhood in England. He is a gradu- ate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, in Colorado The Oldest Inhabited House Springs, and Colorado State University, in Fort (Scotlandtraveloholic.co.uk) Collins. Lindgren received his medical degree in Scotland from the University of Colorado and began Nestled in the secluded, idyllic Scottish Bor- working as a flight surgeon at NASA’s Johnson ders is Traquair House, a grand mansion that is Space Center, Houston, in 2007 before being se- said to be the oldest continually inhabited house lected as an astronaut in 2009. in Scotland. There are six astronauts currently in space Traquair House is more than 900 years old and on the 45th expedition to the International Space has been visited by an unbelievable 27 Kings and Center. Queens. King Alexander I (1078-1124) was the first In a video recorded in the last few days, Mr. Scottish monarch to reside and hunt at Traquair. Lindgren said all of them had come into contact When Alexander I stayed there, Traquair with Dr. Hurst during their training and were House was a remote weekend retreat for the King, “shocked and saddened” to hear about his death. but upon the tragic death of Alexander III at King- Dr. Hurst worked for US engineering company horn and the ensuing succession crisis, Traquair Wyle Science as a research scientist and instruc- was suddenly thrust onto the frontier in the Tweed tor. Valley, guarding against Edward I, “Longshanks,” and his wandering eye for the Scottish crown. In the centuries following, Traquair House switched hands between the Scots and English a number of times. Traquair is an unbelievable size. In the house there are an astonishing 50 rooms, including ‘The King’s Room’ where Mary Queen of Scots stayed in 1566 – she left some personal items behind, which are still there today!

Astronaut Kjell Lindgren

Bagpipe Joke My neighbour knocked on my door at 2:30am this morning. Can you believe that 2:30am?! Luckily for him, I was still up playing my Traquair House Bagpipes. 4 Robert the Bruce’s Wandering Heart From Wikipedia At the end of March 1329 he was staying at ter Logan, were welcomed cordially by King Al- Glenluce Abbey and at Monreith, where St. Nin- fonso. In August 1330 the Scots contingent formed ian’s cave was visited. Early in April he arrived at part of the Castilian army besieging the frontier the shrine of St Ninian at Whithorn. He fasted four castle of Teba. Under circumstances which are or five days and prayed to the saint, before return- still disputed, Sir James and most of his compan- ing by sea to Cardross. ions were killed. The sources all agree that, out- Barbour and other sources relate that Robert numbered and separated from the main Christian summoned his prelates and barons to his bedside army, a group of Scots knights led by Douglas was for a final council at which he made copious gifts overwhelmed and wiped out. The surviving mem- to religious houses, dispensed silver to religious bers including Sir Simon Locard of the company, foundations of various orders, so that they might recovered Douglas’ body together with the casket pray for his soul, and repented of his failure to containing Bruce’s heart. The heart, together with fulfil a vow to undertake a crusade to fight the Douglas’ bones, were brought back to Scotland. In “Saracens” in the Holy Land. Robert’s final wish accordance with Bruce’s written request, the heart reflected conventional piety, and was perhaps in- was buried at Melrose Abbey in Roxburghshire. tended to perpetuate his memory. After his death It is said that, following these events, Sir Simon his heart was to be removed from his body and, changed his surname to Lockheart, later Lockhart, accompanied by a company of knights led by Sir as the only holder of the key to the locked casket. James Douglas, taken on pilgrimage to the Church He added a heart and fetterlock to the family coat of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, before being of arms, and the motto Corda Serrata Pando: “I interred in Melrose Abbey upon its return from open locked hearts”. the Holy Land: In 1920, the heart was discovered by archae- “I will that as soone as I am trespassed out of ologists and was reburied, but the location was this worlde that ye take my harte owte of my body, not marked. In 1996, a casket was unearthed dur- and embawme it, and take of my treasoure as ye ing construction work. Scientific study by AOC shall thynke sufficient for that enterprise, both archaeologists in Edinburgh demonstrated that it for your selfe and suche company as ye wyll take did indeed contain human tissue and it was of ap- with you, and present my harte to the holy Sepul- propriate age. It was reburied in Melrose Abbey chre where as our Lorde laye, seyng my body can in 1998, pursuant to the dying wishes of the King. nat come there.” On the memorial at Melrose Abbey, where Robert died on 7 June 1329, at the Manor of Robert the Cardross, near Dumbarton. Apart from failing to Bruce’s heart fulfill a vow to undertake a crusade he died ut- is buried, the terly fulfilled, in that the goal of his lifetime’s inscription is struggle—untrammelled recognition of the Bruce from a 1375 right to the crown—had been realized, and confi- John Bar- dent that he was leaving the kingdom of Scotland bour poem. safely in the hands of his most trusted lieutenant, Translation: Moray, until his infant son reached adulthood. Six “A noble days after his death, to complete his triumph still heart can no further, papal bulls were issued granting the privi- ease without lege of unction at the coronation of future Kings of freedom.” Scots. The king’s body was embalmed, and his ster- num sawn open to allow extraction of the heart, which Sir James Douglas placed in a silver casket A Rare Scottish Hummingbird to be worn on a chain around his neck, with Sir Simon Locard holding the key. When a projected international crusade failed to materialise, Sir James Douglas and his company, escorting the casket containing Bruce’s heart, sailed to Spain where Alfonso XI of Castile was mount- ing a campaign against the Moorish kingdom of Granada. According to John Barbour, Douglas and his companions, including Sir William de Keith, Sir Kenneth Moir, Sir Simon Locard, Sir William de St. Clair and John de St. Clair of Rosslyn and the brothers Sir Robert Logan of Restalrig and Sir Wal- 5 Extreme 19th Hole CairnGorm Phone Box’s From Wikipedia Connection Intact Rampantscotland.com, 2016 The Extreme 19th Hole is the highest (400 me- A campaign to save the UK’s highest telephone ters or 1,300 feet) and longest (361 meters or 395 box has been successful yards) par three golf hole in the world, located at The traditional red box at the skiing base sta- the Legend Golf & Safari Resort in the Entabeni tion on CairnGorm is at 2,150ft (655m) in a popu- Safari Conservatory, Limpopo Province, South Af- lar area that has some of the country’s strongest rica. The hole was conceived by the property own- winds and lowest temperatures. ers, Peet and Mart Cilliers, along with Graham Workers on the mountain were shocked to dis- Cooke of the UK, and David Riddle. cover the plan to remove the phone only when a The tee, located at the top of Hangklip Moun- ranger entered the box and saw a note from British tain, is accessed only via helicopter. Because of its Telephone (BT) saying it was to be scrapped. height, a tee shot takes almost 20 seconds to land. A The move prompted a spotter is given a rough direction via radio to look campaign to keep it on safety for the ball. The fairway is seeded with Cynodon grounds. Mobile reception grass, and has been landscaped to direct the ball can be poor and hill walk- towards the ers claim the presence of the green, which phone box could be the differ- has been ence between life and death. shaped to re- The box, located above the semble the ski resort’s Coire Cas car park, continent of has become a tourist attrac- Africa. The tion. The campaign to save green is sur- it comes weeks after BT an- rounded by nounced it would be remov- a large waste ing thousands of telephone bunker. boxes from across Scotland. The 19th About 700 of the boxes, is an addition which cost more than £300 to an 18-hole each to maintain annually, Signature Golf Course designed by professional were not used to make a single call in the previous golfers, including Pádraig Harrington, Trevor year. Immelman, Sergio García, Bernard Langer, , , , K. J. Choi and . Scots Come To the Aid of Their As of March 28, 2015, no one had scored a hole- in-one, but fourteen golfers had managed a bird- Fellow Man ie, including Lawrence Ahmed and professional cricketer Franklyn Shortly after take-off on an outbound evening Stephenson, who was Air Canada flight from Glasgow Airport to Toron- the first to do so. Of to, the lead flight attendant nervously made the professional golfers following announcement in her lovely Scottish to try the hole, Pád- brogue: raig Harrington was “Ladies and gentlemen. I’m so very sorry, but the first ever to score it appears that there has been a terrible mix-up by par, while Raphaël our catering service. I don’t know how this has Jacquelin, Justin Rose, happened, but we have 103 passengers on board Sergio García and K. J. and unfortunately, we received only 40 dinner Choi have all carded meals. I truly apologize for this mistake and the bogeys. Other notable inconvenience.” par scorers include When the grumbling of the passengers had American actor Mor- died down, she continued: “Anyone who is kind gan Freeman and For- enough to give up their meal, so that someone else mula One Champion can eat, will receive unlimited, free drinks, for the Lewis Hamilton. duration of our 7 hour flight. Her next announcement came about 2 hours Let’s see Scotland later: “If anyone is hungry, we still have 40 din- top this! ners available.” 6 Calendar of Events Mondays Thursdays Wolf River Pipes & Drums, MSSI Scottish Country Dancers: 6:00-9:30 Contact: Band Mgr, 7:00 pm at Riveroaks Reformed Kenny Hiner: 494-4902 for info. Presbyterian Church [email protected] 1665 S. Germantown Road

Tuesdays Last Thursday of the Month Memphis Phoenix Pipe Band Board Meeting: 7:00-9:30, St. Luke Lutheran 5:30 pm at Riveroaks Reformed Church Presbyterian Church 2000 Germantown Pkwy. 1665 S. Germantown Road Rick Clausi: 831-3843 for info. Monday, July 13 MSSI Monthly Meeting: 7:00 pm, via Zoom. Scottish - Celtic Program: “Games Night!!!” Radio Shows presented by Mary Ann Lucas

Sat, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. “Strands of the Celtic Knot” Robert Campbell, host WEVL–FM 89.9

Saturdays, 7-8 p.m. The Thistle and Shamrock” WKNO-FM 91.1

Sundays, 7-8 p.m. July 11: New Summer they fear each other; they fear each “The Thistle & Shamrock,” Sounds other because they don’t know each WMAV–FM 90.3 other; they don’t know each other The flow of music is never-end- because they have not communi- ing and an early summer harvest cated with each other.” ~ Martin of new recordings yields some Luther King, Jr. great music. Fiona handpicks some of the best new sounds from this summer. In January 2005, Scotland’s big- gest cathedral was filled to ca- pacity as Gaelic psalm singers July 18: Alan Reid at met and sang with the Mount Swannanoa Zion CPCA Church Gospel Scottish singer, songwriter and Choir from Alabama to explore former Battlefield Band member the connections and contrasts in Alan Reid visited Traditional the performance styles and tra- Song Week at the Swannanoa ditions of African-American and Gathering. We hear highlights Hebridean psalm singing. We from his many remarkable musi- revisit this unique musical gath- cal encounters with artists from ering and the creative exchanges the worlds of Irish music, gospel it still inspires. and Bluegrass, including Cathy Jordan, Dr. Kathy Bullock, and Tony Ellis. August 1: Season of Light Celebrate the summer and the green earth in music that cel- July 25: Salm and Soul ebrates the long hours of sun- “People fail to get along because shine in northern places.

7 Williamina Fleming

In the 1880s, the director of Harvard Observatory was often frustrated with his staff and supposedly said, “My Scottish maid could do better!” So, he de- cided to hire her. Williamina Fleming ran a team for decades, classified thousands of stars, and discov- ered white dwarfs and the Horsehead Nebula.

Next Monthly Meeting - Monday, July 13, 2020, at 7:00 pm, Zoom Program: “Games Night!!!”

MSSI Board Meeting - The last Thursday of the month, 5:30 pm, at Riveroaks Reformed Presbyterian Church, 1665 S. Germantown Road

GraceNotes

The Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. P.O. Box 383092 Germantown, TN 38183

www.memphisscots.com