CALENDAR Mother Lode Scots Publication

Sep 3-4 Pleasanton Games, Social Sep 3, 2:00

Sept 30—Oct 2, Decom- pression Campout Wee Tidings October 19— 6:30pm General Meeting November 11– Jackson Veterans Day Parade, VOLUME 15, ISSUE12 SEPTEMBER 2011 Time: TBD

November 16— 6:30pm General Meeting Words from the Chief December 10— 5:30pm Christmas Walk, Volcano

December 17— 3:00pm Christmas Party, Fiddle- bank account is solvent club banner and the two flags town OK – I am getting the motor enough to handle this drain, of (don‘t get picky home ready… Look out but of course if any of you on me now), and will be January 14—5:00pm Pleasanton campgrounds! I wish to kick in another ten dressed in our full peacock Burns Dinner, Fiddle- dollars it sure helps! town hope to see a lot of MLS colors. Sergeant-At-Arms members there, and don‘t Bob Edmiston will pipe us as Inside this Issue: forget our Saturday social It was also decided that our we march. It is very impor- gathering at the MLS tent website, as well as our news- tant to our club that we have Chief’s Corner 1-2 right across from ‗the pub‘ in letter, will be made available a large presence at this for commercial purposes, Vice Chief’s Corner 3 the glen of the clans. Gravy event! By that I mean we The Wonder Dog has been meaning we will now accept want members to attend and Nancy’s Notes 4 supervising the camper load- paid advertising. This is a march, wave at the crowd, ing so there is a lot of sausage revenue generator for the talk to people, get them in- Guest Columnist 5-6 and bacon and other such club, and certainly not an terested in what we are do- Celtic Cowboy Campfire 7 treats for me to cook across unusual situation for clubs to ing. And this is also impor- the few days of The Games. offer ad space for a fee. tant because this year our Greetings from Clan Cun- Marilyn McDanel will handle candlelight walk moves to ningham 8 Well we had a regular meet- the website and advertising Volcano which means our ing last week and handled a copy, which will be shared visibility in Jackson disap- Burns Dinner 9 number of matters that I will with Nancy Gray for inclu- pears other than this new detail for you here: sion in the Wee Tidings. exposure. We have twelve There are various issues to members already signed on As you know the effort to be worked out such as fees, to participate but we need secure our status as a non- and your board is working you! profit requires certain expen- on these. ditures, and a couple of This is a morning event, and months ago we asked for Vice Chief Jack Magee has should conclude perhaps members to donate ten dol- registered our group to around 11:00AM so you lars toward that effort. This march in the upcoming Jack- don‘t have to dedicate the has resulted in $250 (thank son Veteran‘s Day Parade on day to it. We will work on you!) and it was moved and November 11th. This is good getting organized for coffee passed that we will go for- news because it gives us and pastries or such once we ward using existing funds aug- great involvement in the lo- have a total member count. mented by the $250 and be- cal community, high visibility, So please send me a note gin processing the paperwork. and potentially a membership and get included! Just look The total cost is expected to effort as we put on a good at your calendars and book be approximately $450. Our display to attract newcom- the time, send me a note so I ers. We will march with our VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 2 can add you to the list. I see this as We had a nice presentation by Moving on we have an interesting a new annual event for us, and a guest Naida West, author of several piece this month from guest con- strong turnout is critical to such books regarding her ancestors and tributor Bob Matheson who took visibility by the public. their Celtic origins – Thank You an aggressive approach to acquir- Naida. ing new members for his group, The Fiddler‘s Jam is on September and shares this with us here. 17th in Fiddletown. Treasurer Stu- Also new member Malcolm Carden art has generously volunteered to will be creating an MLS Facebook That‘s all for now, I will see many host the MLS tent all day, but he page for us – once he gets a breath of you at Pleasanton, and many needs help and we need goods to from his duties with the San Fran- more at the soon-to-be Decom- sell. This is not a flea market or cisco Caledonian Club and their pression Campout only a month second-hand sale, it is essentially an Pleasanton Games. away. If you haven‘t registered ongoing concert where certain yet please do on our MLS web- groups can sell select items. In our And of course a fine feed was en- site. case and for the most part that joyed at the meeting, where Wade means things like baked goods. So Hurst and yours truly exchanged Yours Aye, Chief Kevin here we have another opportunity thoughts about our Brown Recluse for public exposure, fund raising, spider bites. You will note we both and new member recruiting … and have gray hair … I see a connec- it requires club participation to tion! work. Even if you don‘t attend we need your donations of baked goods or other that can be sold to As some of you know I am also raise funds. The Hurst‘s brought a Vice Chief of the Gold Country homemade dessert (I‘m sure Wade Celtic Society which covers basi- made it) to the meeting that would cally Nevada County although we be a great item for $1.50 have members in the Sacramento each. That kind of unique contribu- area as well. The GCCS hosts a tion can help us be a suc- truly wonderful Burn‘s Dinner cess. Brownies, cakes, cookies etc every year in an old gold rush all have appeal, but Paulette advises miner‘s foundry, and it sells out at to make sure everything is already 260 people without fail. This year in single serving portions because we had Golden Bough perform, and people don‘t want to buy an entire they did a terrific job. For the past cake. So for this I ask that you co- few years a table of eight has been ordinate with Stuart, and please – held in reserve for MLS members take the time to contribute and wanting to attend, and this has been help our club grow. enjoyed by various members. Last year I gave the Toast to The Las- The Nominating Committee has sies, and our Marilyn McDanel gave been established with Vice Chief the response. Well I guess I did a Jack and Treasurer Stuart handling poor job of it because as punish- the task. They will be contacting ment next year I will be the Master every MLS member to solicit your of Ceremonies. So keep this in ideas and opinions on board mem- mind as I again reserve a number of bers for 2012, but naturally you can seats for MLS members. This is also contact them with your sugges- your chance to enjoy some true tions. Please be involved in this gold country charm and a splendid effort! We need new faces and Burn‘s evening. If you would like to new ideas, and lots of club partici- bring your camper I welcome you pation to keep things rolling along. to stay on my land only three miles from Grass Valley. Hope to see you there!

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 3 Did you miss our last meeting on August 17? If so, you missed some- thing special. Joining the 'regulars' was new member Sharon Showalter of Vice Shakeridge Road, Volcano. Sharon is very personable, a 14-year resident Chief’s of Amador County, and very interested in genealogy. She learned of our Corner little group and said, "Why not?" Welcome, Sharon. We were also joined for the first time by members Malcolm and Maureen Carden, Mi- chael Sharp, and Nancy Gray. Malcolm and Maureen live in Sonora, and Malcolm is the 3rd Chieftain of the S.F. Caledonian Club. Michael has been a member for almost a year, and lives in Walnut Creek, and Nancy is editor of the Wee Tidings and lives in Alameda. Paulette and I invited Nancy to spend a couple of days with us so she could attend the meet- ing, and we really enjoyed her visit.

A potluck, generous with main dishes and a very delicious dessert made by Cheryl Hurst, was followed by a brief business meeting and a very interesting presentation by author Naida West. Naida spoke mostly of her award winning novel, 'Symon's Daughter: A Memoir of Elizabeth Symon Smith'. Elizabeth was the daugh- ter of a Scottish Presbyterian minister who immigrated to Utah, and is Naida‘s grand- mother. She also introduced her trilogy, historical novels of early California.

Did you also miss the (Celtic) Cowboy Campfire at Red Mule L-R: Naida West, Michael Sharp Ranch? What a great and Cindy Ferguson Chief Kevin and Vice Chief Jack time! There was time to roam the grounds and take in all the wagons and stage coaches by which we used to move about the Gold Country. We then enjoyed a fabulous barbe- que followed by the best show on this moun- tain. And MLS was a hit in their , cowboy hats, and boots. Our costumed competition - the Red Hat Ladies.

Yes, our activity dry spell has ended, and the fun is back in full swing. We have two information tents and our evening camping circle at the Pleasanton Malcolm and Maureen Carden & Wade and Cheryl Hurst Games Labor Day weekend. The Decompres- sion Campout at Lake Amador is September 30, Oc- tober 1 and 2. And we are set to march in the Jack- son Veterans Day Parade on November 11. So bring those out of the mothballs and come join the fun.

One more thing - the time has come to nominate can- didates for next year's officers. You can have a hand in steering the direction of this organization by saying, 'Yes' to me or Stuart when we call. L-R: Randy Short, Scottie Carr, Sharon Showalter, Bob Yours in brotherhood, Edmiston, and Stuart McNaughtan. Jack Magee, Vice Chief

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 4

NANCY’S NOTES

The dog days of summer are here. As the days shorten and the sun begins to set on our summer season of fun activities, I just want to remind everyone that there is still more fun ahead for the MLS in the month(s) ahead. The BIG Games are coming this weekend to Pleasanton. Please don‘t forget to stop by the MLS tent at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday for our social. There is plenty of finger foods and drinks galore, and a place to get out of the hot summer sun. Our tent shouldn't be too hard to find since it is located right across from the pub! So, do stop by! I hope everyone had a chance to register for the Decompression Campout. I for one plan to fish for some trout, and/or just enjoy whatever the lake has to offer. It should be a great time of food, music, drink, boating, fishing, hiking, and being with family/friends. The event is going to be held the last week- end in September at Lake Amador. Do hope to see as many folks as possible. I want to thank Jack and Paulette Magee for hosting me in their lovely mountain home. I had a great opportunity to relax and enjoy the ambiance, and of course, it gave me the opportunity to see the MLS business side in action. I posted some photos in Jack‘s article, so I hope this gives people an opportu- nity to put names and faces together—always a good thing, I believe. Thanks to Paulette for those great Celtic Cowboy Campfire photos, as well. Our guest columnist is Robert W. Matheson from Clan Matheson. His article is entitled ―Fishing for Young Members.‖ Always tough to try to ―snare‖ young members, but the social network may be a way to go. Hope you enjoy the column, and thank you Mr. Matheson! Hope to see everyone in Pleasanton!

Until next month! Nancy Gray

HAPPY BirtHdAY tO ………….. Adam Fraser, Happy 18th on the first Hugh Allen, 9-10 Kathryn Barstow, 9-04 Heather McNaughtan-Waters, 9-20 Wade Hurst, 9-06 Marla Edmiston, 9-29 Nash McVey, 9-07 HAPPY AnniversArY tO ………….. Heather McNaughtan-Waters, 9-01 Lois & Jimmy McDaniel, 9-12

Belated anniversary wishes to Chris and Nona Boyd, who celebrated in August. VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 5

The Guest Contributor’s Column

We welcome Robert Matheson as the guest contributor this month. He has been representing Clan Matheson on the West Coast for the last four years, ever since he complained to the Clan Chief that there was never a Clan Matheson tent at the Games he had been attending in Southern California. The Chief replied, "Well, there will be as soon as you start doing them." After a 44- year career in broadcasting, 25 years with the Department of De- fense, he recently retired as Director of Broadcasting at the American Forces Network Broadcast Center, March AFB, in Riv- erside.

Fishing for Young Members by Robert W. Matheson, Chief's Deputy Lieutenant, Clan Matheson Society, USA Branch

One of the smallest Highland Clans is Clan Matheson, and without having any Matheson aunts, uncles or cousins, it was easy for Bob Matheson to grow up and never know anyone else named Matheson.

Discovering the Clan Matheson Society in the Highlander magazine in 1981 started Bob's own excel- lent adventure of discovering his family's past. After attending local Games and commenting to the Society that he never saw a Clan Matheson tent, he was appointed the USA Deputy Lieutenant for the west coast. Now Bob sees a Clan Matheson tent every time he sets it up! While Clan Matheson's par- ticipation in the Highland Clans DNA Project brought in a steady stream of visitors, there was no rush of younger Matheson‘s. Not being satisfied with the attitude that "they'll come to us if they want to," Bob went fishing...fishing for new, younger Matheson‘s to join the Society.

Since any Matheson looking for their Clan tent at previous Games never found it, Bob mails a promo- tional flyer to all Matheson‘s in the area prior to any Games he attends. The flyer promotes an up- coming Games and also offers Clan merchandise. A young Matheson from Utah saw the flyer for Costa Mesa while visiting his mother in Orange County. He couldn't make it to the Games, but he sure wanted a Clan T-shirt. Rather than just take the order and send the shirt, the inquiry was fol- lowed up by a phone call that led to a follow-up phone call with his dad. That call resulted in his dad and two brothers attending the Games in Payson, Utah, to visit the Clan Matheson tent (which other- wise would never have happened). The entire three families are now actively involved in their Scottish heritage. Extending a proactive approach to today's social networks, a friend emailed Bob an invitation to join Facebook. Having minimal exposure to social websites, Bob set up his Robert Matheson Face- book page. Now it was Bob's turn to invite someone to be a friend, but who? Using the "search" func- tion, Bob sent a Friend Invitation to everyone else on Facebook named Bob or Robert Matheson, and about 20% of them accepted his invitation. One young Bob Matheson in the UK even commented "It's nice to know there are other Matheson‘s around." The lesson learned is that we‘re invisible to young Scots. They have no idea Clan Societies exist, and many know very little of their ancestry. It's up to us to find them and spark their interest in their Clan.

P A G E 6 VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 Some Facebook contacts can result in unexpected new and close friendships. The Bob and Robert Matheson‘s on Facebook often have Matheson friends, usually family relatives. Bob noticed one Matheson having a friend named Alejandro Guillermo Matheson in Argentina. Bob sent Alejandro a Friend Request and a message to learn more about his Spanish sounding name. It turns out that Alejandro Guillermo is Spanish for Alexander William. His ancestors left Scotland and settled in Canada, except one brother decided to go to South America. That was Alejandro's grandfather who married and raised a family, and who later taught Alejandro some Gaelic and whose Matheson Alejandro now proudly wears.

Bob's suggestion to other Clans: Go fishing for young members! Fish aren't going to jump out of the water to join you, and neither are young Scots. You need to go looking for them, engage them, and reel them in to your Society. VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 7 Celtic Cowboy Campfire VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 8 Greetings from Clan Cunningham

Hello Fellow Clansmen!

I am excited to share that Clan Cunningham is in the process of having a Chief appointed by Lord Lyon and there are two prospects. We hope that this process will be completed in the first part of 2012.

We are now International with members from Scotland, England, Canada, and New Zealand. This has been very exciting and started to take place after the Coming Home Clan Gathering held in Scotland in 2009.

In 2013 we will have our tri-annual meeting and elections held in the West Coast at the Pleasanton Games and hope to be able to introduce our new Chief to you. All are welcome to stop by the tent and visit.

We are very proud of all our membership and the contributions they make. We have come a long way.

Kelly Cunningham Clan Cunningham International Western Regional Director

VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 9 Upcoming Events—Burns Dinner

It may seem a bit too early to advertise the Burns Dinner, but it is never too early to plan ahead. The 2012 MLS Burns Dinner is going to be hosted by Carl and Marilyn McDanel at their home in Fiddle- town on January 14 at 5:00pm. Pertinent informa- tion is posted on the website. I hope everyone will consider this opportunity to salute Scotland‘s Poet!

Burns Dinner Menu

Cullin Skink A Traditional Scottish Soup of Smoked Haddock and Potatoes in a Creamy Based Chowder Served with Crusty Rolls and Herb Butters

Winter Salad

Prime Rib Slow Roasted to Perfection Served with Au Jus and Horseradish

Or Balmoral Chicken A Tender Chicken Breast Stuffed with Haggis Wrapped in Bacon and Baked Dressed in a Creamy Whisky Sauce

Neeps & Tatties

Fresh Winter Vegetables Coffee or Tea Appetizers and Desserts to be Brought by Guests BYOB! VOLUME 15, ISSUE 12 P A G E 10 www.motherlodescots.com

Chief Kevin Fraser [email protected] Vice Chief & Membership Jack Magee [email protected] Secretary Paulette Magee [email protected] Treasurer Stuart McNaughtan [email protected] Sgt. At Arms & Club Piper Bob Edmiston [email protected] Editor Wee Tidings Nancy Gray [email protected]

Mother Lode Scots

P. O. Box 45 Pine Grove, CA 95665