the histle w ’ s S o c i e t y December 2008 Membership t A n d r e o f L o s a i n t A n e S g e l Dues T h e s a message from John Benton, M.D., President Hogmanay here's little of the will celebrate the bard’s 250th A guid New Year to ane an membership dues are Tyear 2008 left. It's anniversary (invitations will be a and mony may ye see! payable by January 31, been a busy one, and mailed soon and I encourage you Dues notices were 2009. there's much yet to do to sign up early to avoid mailed to all members ‘ere the dawn of 2009. disappointment). In February we November 18. If you did not Our new monthly newsletter, had our AGM at Jack and Barbara receive a notice or have The Thistle , has had a very positive Dawsons' home in La Canada. Be mislaid it a copy may be reception from our members and it be noted that AGMs are more downloaded and printed has provided The Society with an like a ceilidhs! from the Saint Andrew’s While New Year’s Eve is effective method to communicate In May, there was our annual Society website: celebrated around the world, with and inform our members. The reception for new members, www.saintandrewsla.org. the Scots have a long rich Thistle is also mailed to an ever hosted by our Membership Chair Membership dues are the heritage associated with this growing list of sister organizations Vickie Pushee at her home in society’s principal form of celebration—and have their own accross the country and overseas, Brentwood. Our Annual Garden revenue and your prompt name for it, Hogmanay. allowing us to exchange Party was held at the home of payment will help ensure we There are many theories about information and ideas with our long-time member Barbara Grant. will be able to continue to the derivation of the word brethren no matter where they may Our Society inaugurated its improve the benefits and Hogmanay . The most likely source be. Our 77th Burns Night Dinner, membership tent at the Seaside services our members seems to be the French. Homme planned by our Secretary, Peggy Highland Games held in Ventura deserve. Thank you. est né or Man is born. Steiner, was held in January at the in October. These games are The Beach Club in Santa Monica. organized by our vice president Hogmanay Traditional The 78th celebration in 2009 John E. Lowry, and his wife, Nellie. Celebrations promises to be a gala event which Kilts, Cannon, Please see MESSAGE, page 2 Historians believe that we Canines, Cavorting, inherited the celebration from the Cabers, and Quaffing In Gear Vikings who, coming from even were all to be had at the Please see HOGMANAY , page 4 6th Seaside Games. For a This is the second of series of articles devoted to cars. Not just any full report see page 5. cars, but those owned by members of the Saint Andrew’s Society that may be regarded as representative of the Golden Age of Motoring. Each issue, this column will feature a member’s own automobile love affair. Kirkin O’ The If you have a love affair to reveal, contact the editor. Tartans Ford’s Model A, by Jack Dawson, Trustee There are a few objects that we I think, the flesh given to those assume to be extensions of our old phantoms, personal freedom, bodies: a car, a motorcycle, a individual liberty.” Jack & Barbara Dawson with their Model A in boat…What then is the car? It is, Pontus Hulten, 1984 Switzerland during their trip in 2001. 2008 is the 80th anniversary and Henry thought they could sell car was needed and in less than a Saint Andrew’s members celebrated the annual Kirkin, October 26 at the of Ford’s Model A. Henry Ford them forever. However, it became year miraculously designed and Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church. introduced the first mass produced so obsolete that many dealers put into production the Model A. Pictured above (L-R): Alan MacDonald, Vickie Pushee, Jack car, The Model T, in 1908. By 1926 switched brands or went broke. About five million Model As were Dawson, John Lowry, Dave Moffett. he had sold about fifteen million Ford finally acknowledged a new Please see FORD’S MODEL A, page 2 2 the thistle december 2008 Board of Trustees Boxing Day Calendar of Events John Benton, M.D., President January 24, 2009 Despite its name, Boxing Day, which is celebrated on Robert Burns and St. Andrew’s Day December 26 in Great Britain, has nothing to do with pugilistic Annual Dinner Dance. competition. Nor is it a day for people to return unwanted Christmas The Beach Club, Santa Monica. presents. While the exact origins of the holiday are obscure, it is February 22, 2009 likely that Boxing Day began in England during the Middle Ages. John Margaret Annual General Meeting Lowry Steiner Boxing Day is celebrated in Great Britain and in most areas settled by March 14, 2009 Vice President Secretary the English (the U.S. is the major exception), including Canada, Annual Scottish Heritage Day Australia, and New Zealand. Outdoor sports such as soccer, horse May 3, 2009 racing and hunting are popular on this holiday. New Member Reception Some historians say the holiday developed because servants were Date TBA required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As Garden Party David Moffett Mary servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers Treasurer Corcoran, Ph.D October 25, 2009 would present them with gift boxes. Reduced to the simplest essence, Kirkin O’ The Tartan its origins are found in a long-ago practice of giving cash or durable Full details for all events may be goods to those of the lower classes. Gifts among equals were found on the website, exchanged on or before Christmas Day, but beneficences to those less www.saintandrewsla.org fortunate were bestowed the day after. Jack Douglas Message, from page 1 Dawson Fairbanks Church Alms Boxes We're planning more for 2009, Another theory is that the boxes placed in churches where including an evening devoted to parishioners deposited coins for the poor were opened and the Highland Dancing, and a day contents distributed on December 26, which is also the Feast of St. devoted To Scottish Heritage. The Stephen. As time went by, Boxing Day gift giving expanded to Thistle and our website will keep Alan J. David include those who had rendered a service during the previous year. MacDonald MacPherson you informed! In the meantime This tradition survives today as people give presents to tradesmen, Seasons Greetings to you all and a mail carriers, doormen, porters, and others who have helped them. Very Happy New Year. St. Stephen's Martyrdom The Feast of St. Stephen also takes place on December 26. St. Victoria J. Howard Pushee Standing Stephen was one of the seven original deacons of the Christian John Benton Membership Immediate Contact John Benton via email at : Past President Church who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the taverman hotmail.com poor. For the success of his preaching and his devotion to Christ, St. 1@ Stephen was stoned to death by a mob. As he died, he begged God is the official publication Ford’s Model A, from page 1 The Thistle not to punish his killers. of the Saint Andrew’s Society of Los Angeles. It is published four times a In the familiar Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas' gifts of sold. There are still over250,000 still year. Deadline for each issue is the flesh (meat), wine, and firewood were made to a poor man whom he registered. I and my wife, Barbara, first day of March, June, observed struggling through the snow "on the Feast of Stephen." have a 1931 closed cab pick-up and September & December. Submit articles and photos to the editor at: a 1930 Briggs Town Sedan. The truck [email protected]. s William Shakespeare is England’s national is great for parades and we or The Editor bard so Robert Burns is Scotland’s. And occasionally use it to haul stuff. The Saint Andrew’s Society, Los Angeles Anearly 250 years after he was born into a sedan is our touring car and has 12240 Ventura Blvd., Suite 101 Studio City, CA 91604 poor Ayrshire farming family the universal appeal taken us through Switzerland, CONTRIBUTORS of many of his poems and songs endures. Germany, Austraia, Italy, Denmark, John Benton, Cynthia Benton, In 2009 the 250th anniversary of the birth of Norway, and Sweden. This fall we David Cargill, Jack Dawson, John Lowry, Alan MacDonald, Robert Burns will be celebrated. The Bard generates travelled with twenty other Model A Victoria Pushee, Ian Skone-Rees, Editor in the region of £200m every year to the Scottish owners to Nova Scotia (New economy. Not bad for a man who left debts of £14 when he died. Scotland), but that’s another story. 3 Saint Andrew’s Society of Los Angeles Scotland’s Influence in the United States The Scots were a valuable addition to a developing world. society, and these Scots played a crucial role in the early Their past experience of working in the harsh conditions of rural development of the New World. Most headmasters of the schools Scotland, combined with their hard-working Presbyterian in the new colonies south of New York were Scottish or of upbringing, made them an ideal people to help build America in Scottish ancestry.