GRACE NOTES Newsletter of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. Vol. 35 No. 3 • March 2019 President’s Letter From President John Schultz: The board has decided to have next year’s Burns Nicht at Woodland Hills on Burns’s birthday, January 25, 2020. The finan- cial results of the last few Burns Nichts has taken a toll on the Memphis Scottish Society’s finances. There appears to be enough Memphis in the treasury to allow one more try. Today social media is a Scottish great way to get the word out, but the Memphis Scottish Society’s web site (memphisscots.com) and Facebook page only reach people Society, Inc. looking for it. The key is for members on Facebook to share the Buns Nicht post when it becomes available. If you have connec- Board tions to traditional media let the Board know so those avenues can also be explored. President John Schultz 901-754-2419 [email protected] Vice President Sammy Rich 901-496-2193 [email protected] April 6th Is Tartan Day! Treasurer Debbie Sellmansberger National Tartan Day comes but once a year, so let’s have some 901-465-4739 fun with it. The Irish have had their St. Patrick’s Day, and now [email protected] it’s time for the Scots to have ourr day. Let’s all dress out and Secretary show off your tartan with pride! Just don’t walk over a sidewalk Mary Clausi grate like I accidentally did a few years ago (the cops roared with laughter!). 901-831-3844 [email protected] Members at Large Marcia Hayes 901-871-7565 [email protected] Kathy Schultz 901-754-2419 [email protected] March Meeting Program: Holly Staggs Presented by Sammy Rich and Friends 901-215-4839 [email protected] “The Kelpies” 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. March Meeting Program “The Kelpies” Sammy Rich and friends will introduce Scotland’s newest, most formidable public art works project known as the Falkirk Kelpies. A bit of history behind the Project, the designer and his inspiration for the sculptures. Of course there is a Kelpie Song and maybe a song about the Clydesdale horses which are a large part of the inspiration for this work. Special thanks to John and Margo Wright for providing much of the information on the project, and to the Caledonia Chorale for joining in the singing of the Kelpie Lullaby and even another song or so... (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. Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Pipes & Drums to Perform at Lyon College The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Pipes & Drums will be performing at the 40th Annual Arkansas Festival at Lyon College on 13 April. This will be the band’s first outing for an event like this. St. Patrick’s Day The Celtic Crossing St. Patrick’s Day Parade will be held on Sunday, March 17th, in the Cooper- Young district. Along with the Memphis Irish Society, both Wolf River Pipes and Drums and Phoenix Pipes and Drums, and the Scottish Country Dancers, will join the festivities to make the event even more memorable. Just because this parade is a celebration of being Irish, there is absolutely nothing wrong with we Scots joining the fun, so come along with us. Dive in—the green beer is fine! The parade route will be along Cooper Street from York Street south to Walker Street. Line up is at 1:00 pm and the parade will step off at 2 pm. This is always a fun event, so let’s have a good turnout. Just be sure to wear something green so you won’t get pinched! Erin Go Braugh! EDITORIAL STAFF Melissa Gibson Grace Notes Editor, (901-299-3170) [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 770028 want the material returned. [email protected] Memphis, TN 38177-0028 2 “Broken Ground” The Boy Who Never Grew Up (Atlantic Monthly Press), by Val Mcdermid by Roddy Martine New Insight to Scotland’s Role in World War II Scotland Magazine, January 2019 (condensed) (Book Review by Oline H. Cogdill, A.P.) The past is always in the present for Edinburgh At the heart of the small Angus town of Kir- Detective Chief Inspector Karen Pirie, making her riemuir, on the High Street, stands a bronze statue fifth appearance in Val McDermid’s expertly plot- of Peter Pan by the artist Alistair Smart. Sir James ted “Borken Ground.” As head of the Historic Cas- M. Barrie, creator of “the boy who never grew es Unit – that would be cold cases in the United up”, was born in 1860 in a traditional weaver’s States – Karenis used to investigations that aren’t stone-built house. His childhood home is today just old, but also give a glimpse of life in the past. transformed into a museum. As a result, the Karen Pirie novels turn the Barrie was one of sev- spotlight on bits of forgotten history. “Broken en brothers and sisters Grounds” has its roots in World War II in the who lived with their par- Scottish Highlands. In 1944, soldiers pulling out ents in two rooms above of their encampment were told to either burn or the weaver’s workshop. bury their equipment as it would be too costly to The wash house in the salvage anything. But two soldiers couldn’t bear yard is said to have in- to destroy the air of valuable American motorcy- spired the original Wen- cles that had just arrived, so they buried them in dy House. The charming protective boxes in the peat bog, planning to re- “puckish” statue in the turn one day for their treasure. They never got the town square is one of two chance, but now one soldier’s granddaughter, Al- commissioned works. ice Somerville, and her husband, Will, have come The first was erected at to claim their inheritance. Glengate in 1966, but, The peat bog protects anything buried in it, following damage, a re- including the perfectly preserved body of a mur- placement by the same artist was unveiled on a dered professional athlete whose body is found red sandstone plinth in the town square in 1994. along with the motorcycles. But this was a more Visitors flock to Kirriemuir from all over the modern crime as it is quickly determined that the world to pay homage to the magical world of the man disappeared in 1995, based on his expensive lost boys, Captain Hook, Tinker Bell and the croc- limited edition shoes. odile encountered by the Darling children. As Karen delves into the decades-old tragedy, Such is the international appeal of Barrie’s she is also drawn into a woman’s domestic vio- characters, that Kirriemuir locals have not held lence situation that seems to be on the verge of es- back on transforming the park on Kirrie Hill into calating. a fairy-tale interpretation of Neverland for kids. McDermid’s affinity for multilayered plots and Around 162 miles to the south is Dumfries, complex characters continues to excel in “Broken where Barrie was sent to school between 1873- Ground,” her 32nd novel 1878, and where Peter Pan Moat Brae House Trust Police politics and crime investigations soar has successfully raised £6.1 million towards a tar- in “Broken Ground,” but McDermid’s look at the get of £6.5 million for the redevelopment of the Highlands during World War II gives a new in- Georgian town house and garden where the teen- sight into Scotland’s role during the war. age Barrie played with his friends. On his return And beware of those peat bogs – you may to Dumfries in 1924, he admitted that it was here never return. that he had first encountered the Native Ameri- cans and pirates of his imagination. Barrie is believed to have based his character Peter Pan on his older brother David, who died The Queen Dances after being knocked over while watching a friend By Katie Bruno ice skating in Bothwell, Lanarkshire, the day be- fore his 14th birthday.