Winter 1999-2000 Red Wilson Named Scot of the Year 2000
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THE SCOTS CANADIAN Issue V Newsletter of the Scottish Studies Society: ISSN No. 1491-2759 Winter 1999-2000 Red Wilson named Scot of the Year 2000 ynton (Red) Wilson has ignited a spark honour our Scot of the L that hopefully will burst forth into flame Year and other Canadians across Canada. Single-handedly, he turned a of Scottish heritage. And it dream into a multi-million-dollar foundation is an event that you will --- a national history foundation to encourage not want to miss. the teaching and learning of Canada’s past. Along with Red Wilson Red’s turning his dream into reality made and other celebrity guests, him the unanimous choice as “Scot of the there will be the bagpipers, Year 2000” by the Directors of the Scottish Scottish dancing, music Studies Society. He will be honored at the and a magnificent array of Scot of the Year and Tartan Day dinner, draw prizes. sponsored by the Scottish Studies Society, at The dinner is a black tie Toronto’s exclusive Granite Club on or formal Highland dress Tuesday, April 4, 2000. The Granite Club is affair. Tickets are $150 located at 2350 Bayview Ave., just north of each or $1,200 for a table Lawrence Avenue East. of eight. To purchase This is the eighth Annual Dinner, held to tickets or a full table, celebrate Tartan Day (officially April 6) and contact Alan McKenzie, 580 Rebecca Street, Oakville, Ontario L6K 3N9, or e-mail him at Scots Wha Hae alanmck@cgocable. For further information, a desire to nurture and preserve contact John Macdonald at their heritage in Canada (416) 756-0345 or Neil Lynton (Red) Wilson at his Oakville home Fraser at (416) 920-6851. Photo by Peter Sibbald (courtesy of Macleans magazine) are invited to join As Chairman of Bell Canada Enterprises (BCE), the billion-dollar holding company for Bell original idea was to put in a small Canada, Nortel and many other interests, contribution and then look at who else might Wilson is one of Canada’s most respected be interested,” Wilson told Maclean’s when business leaders. Wilson anted up $500,000 he was named to the magazine’s Honour Roll of his own money to launch Historica, a for 1999. “I had no idea how big it would foundation with a goal of raising $50 million become.” to establish an endowment that would As a business leader, Wilson is acutely generate income for future generations to aware of the challenges Canada faces to its THE SCOTTISH STUDIES teach and learn about Canadian history. economic sovereignty. As BCE chairman, he FOUNDATION He then enlisted the support of fellow recently was involved with the sale of 20 per Canadian business Titans --- such as Charles cent of Bell Canada to Chicago-based a charitable organization R. Bronfman, Royal Bank’s John Cleghorn Ameritech Corp. (Scot of the Year 1998), Charles Baillie of Wilson maintains that the partnership is dedicated to actively supporting the TD Bank, publisher Conrad Black, essential to secure Bell’s future in a fast- television mogul Izzy Asper, frozen food changing industry, but he’s also the first to the king Harrison McCain and others who read acknowledge that the pressure for such alliances highlights the need to preserve a Scottish Studies Program like a Who’s Who in Canadian business. Bronfman liked the idea so much that his unique Canadian identity. at CRB Foundation is matching any dollars “We’re in danger of losing our sense of raised privately, possibly to a maximum of how great this country is, and how it came to The University of Guelph $25 million. be great,” he says ... “If you don’t know Charitable registration All for bringing back to life Canada’s where you came from, how do you know No. 119253490 RR0001 often forgotten and/or ignored history. “My where you belong?” speak to the club in early October. A further example of the cooperation with the University of Guelph brings me to the Letter from the Chair third theme of these notes. Our treasury, like our membership, also stands at an all time high, over $400,000 and all of those who -- the combination of these efforts has have contributed time, effort and money over resulted in the largest membership roster we the 15 years of the Foundation’s existence have ever enjoyed with over 155 new are to be commended in raising this large members since my last report. amount from a standing start. But after enjoying a brief moment of But our major goal remains the satisfaction about such results, we still must establishment of an endowed chair of face the reality that our membership is very Scottish Studies and it is now estimated that small compared with the number of people of it will take at least two million dollars to Scottish ancestry who populate Canada and attain that goal. Fortunately, the University the USA. As a result, our efforts to expand wants us to succeed in this objective as much must continue and at the next meeting of our as we do and we are currently in discussions Board there will be an extensive discussion with the development office at Guelph to as to what other approaches we might take in determine how our financial goals can be our efforts to increase our membership. integrated with the fundraising drive Without dwelling on the matter at great currently being planned by the University. length, let me say that, my opinion, our While such discussions are at an early stage, current working relationship with officials of if we are successful we may well see the the University of Guelph is excellent. As an Chair established much earlier than any of us example, the general arrangements, and the had hoped or planned. various presentations, at the Spring Now we look forward to a New Year, a new century, and a new millennium. The Colloquium on the theme The Immigrant Experience: The Scottish Diaspora were the past contains an abundance of Dr. Edward Stewart best in recent years in this series. It accomplishments by Scots and Scots Chairman, Scottish Studies Foundation certainly drew the largest number of Canadians. No doubt the future will give rise attendees that we have experienced. Scott to similar results. The Scottish Studies Moir, who runs the Scottish Studies office at Foundation, while giving emphasis to Dear Fellow Members, the University, and who organized the Scottish achievements, is still a young gathering, is to be congratulated. organization and the results obtained to date, The matters of which I speak in this letter Further, on three or four occasions over we acknowledge, have been modest. But we may strike a familiar note since all of them the last six months the University has are making discernable progress and the year have formed the basis of previous responded to a request for a speaker for a to come, hopefully, will see our organization correspondence with the membership. While “Our Club” luncheons that are held for the move further ahead. some might suggest that this shows a certain benefit of the Foundation. Thanks to each and every one of you for lack of imagination on my part, I would like Of particular note, in this regard, were the the support that you have given the Scottish to believe that it really reflects the decision arrangements made to have Professor T. Studies Foundation and best wishes for the of the Foundation, and its Board, to Christopher Smout, Historiographer Royal in year 2000. concentrate on particular initiatives in an Scotland and author of the major work “A Sincerely, attempt to demonstrate real progress by our History of the Scottish People 1560-1830” Ed Stewart organization. Thus, once again, I will focus on our efforts to build membership, our working relationship with the University of Guelph, and our fundraising efforts towards the goal of establishing a Chair of Scottish Studies at the University. We have now more or less completed our initial and modest advertising campaign aimed at the recruitment of new members. We have run two series of ads in the "National Personals" in the Globe & Mail, our ad in Scottish Life has appeared over the past few months, and, most recently, our pamphlet was included as an insert in The Beaver, Canada's history magazine. In addition, as you are aware, I have asked each of you help us in finding new members. While our membership chairman, Dr. Paul Thomson, reports that it is often difficult to ascertain which approach motivated new members to join our ranks, one thing is clear Ed Stewart, Prof. Smout, and SSF Governors Alan McKenzie and Neil Fraser at the "Our Club" 2 The Scots Canadian Fall Colloquium at Guelph examines Scots in exile he University of Guelph Fall Colloquium T was held on the 16th October 1999 at the Lifetime Learning Centre at the University. About 85 attendees were treated to "The Emigrant Experience - The Scottish Diaspora" through papers by illustrious historians from across Canada, the US, and as far afield as Scotland and England. The first topic Imagined Communities reviewed themes in literature, music and culture of Scots communities abroad. Emigrant Stories traced the history of individual families and groups as they settled Attendees at the Fall Colloquium browse books on sale in foreign lands. Scots of the Diaspora reviewed the activities of Scots dispersed Dr. Brown is currently finishing a book on The Death of Christian Britain: Understanding Secularisation 1800-2000 for Routledge (expected to be published in late 2000 or early 2001). He lives in a country cottage outside of Doune in Perthshire with Lynn Abrams, another historian from University of Glasgow, and two kittens.