Scottish Society of Tidewater, Inc. SST Christmas Ceilidh & Silent Auction 2016

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1 THE THISTLEDOWN Scottish Society of Tidewater, Inc. CHRISTMAS 2016 SST Christmas Ceilidh & Silent Auction 2016 VOLUME 33, ISSUE NUMBER 3 Some real treasures were donated for this year s Silent Auction, raising over $450 for the Baird Scholarship. Jeanne & Bob Rider in the Christmas spirit! Musicians Sean Heely, Colin McGlynn, Connie Smith and Susan Heely inspired some Ceilidh dancing! More Christmas Ceilidh photos on pages 4 & 5

2 PAGE 2 THI S TL ED OWN CHRISTMAS 2016 About the Scottish Society of Tidewater, Inc. The Scottish Society of Tidewater exists to promote the preservation and study of Scottish culture, including music, language, art, history, folklore, dance, literature, athletics, and all other things distinctively Scottish among interested persons in the Hampton Roads, Virginia area and to cooperate with like-minded persons, groups and organizations here and abroad. A meeting is held on the first Wednesday of each month at the Church of Ascension Community Center, 4853 Princess Anne Rd., Virginia Beach, VA Social time begins at 7:00pm, and the meeting starts at 7:30pm. Anyone interested in Scottish culture and history is invited to attend. 301 E. Randall Ave., Norfolk, VA SST Executive Board President: Skip Hunter jwhunter2@cox.net 1st Vice President: John Bair ffgdoc@hotmail.com 2nd Vice President: Laurie Macpherson macphersonlaurie@yahoo.com Secretary: Marcey Hunter Treasurer: Ruth Fraser Board of Directors: Cliff Gimbert Donna Looney McGlynn Andrea McGlynn George Phillips Corey Roy Connie Smith Webmaster: Scott MacGregor Membership: Marcey Hunter marcey.hunter@nofolk.gov RHFraser@vbgov.com gimbert.est@verizon.net loontoon@msn.com andreamcglynn@yahoo.com gpphish@aol.com scottishcorey@yahoo.com caus10smith@hotmail.com SST Committees Newsletter Editor: Marcey Hunter mcgregr@exis.net marcey9@cox.net marcey9@cox.net A Few Words from the President M erry Christmas to all! It has been a busy year so far as we come off St. Andrew s month, the holiday season and move into the season of Burns. Thank you to Nancy McKay for another successful and fun Kirking at Knox Presbyterian, and please mark your calendars for the 2017 Kirking next November! It was great to see everyone at our annual Christmas Ceilidh and Silent Auction as well. Connie Smith organized the session musicians which included US National Scottish Fiddle Champion, Sean Heely, Josiah Skip Hunter our own Laurie McPherson Walker and Donna Looney organized a couple dances and the silent auction raised almost $500 towards the Baird Scholarship Fund! Thanks to all those who donated and purchased items! Speaking of the Baird Scholarship Fund, applications are being accepted until March 1st. The Baird Scholarship exists to assist people in learning about Scottish culture, society, music, art, language and history. If you are interested in applying or know of someone who might be a good candidate please submit an application! Past Baird Scholarship recipients include dancers, fiddlers, pipers, drummers, Gaelic learners and much more. Of course the fun is not done as I sincerely hope to see as many of you as possible at the Portsmouth Scottish Hogmanay walk on New Year s Eve. This year we will also be gathering at the Gosport Tavern in Olde Towne at 2pm for a pre-parade get together! I also would like to encourage everyone to attend the St. Andrews Society s annual Burns Night on January 21st. We will also have some great monthly programs coming up, such as a Scottish Country Dancing demonstration in February and a Scotch Whisky Tasting in March. For Tartan Day 2017 we hope to organize a public concert featuring our own local Scottish musicians. If you are interested in helping to plan or participate with this event please let your board know! This will provide a fun opportunity to share our shared Scottish culture with our local community and provide good publicity for the Scottish Society of Tidewater! Again I look forward to seeing all of you soon! Nollaig Cridheil agus Bliadhna mhah ur, Josiah Skip Hunter

3 PAGE 3 THI S TL ED OWN CHRISTMAS 2016 START YOUR NEW YEAR OFF RIGHT! Don t miss the Olde Towne Scottish Walk and Hogmanay Celebration! The 19 th Annual Olde Towne Scottish Walk and Hogmanay Celebration will take place on Saturday, December 31 in downtown Portsmouth. All events Free! Parking Free! All are welcome to participate in the Scottish Walk. Hear tales of colonial history. HONOR our Nautical and Military History. Thank our merchants for service in the Holiday Season, and wish all good luck For Auld Lang Syne. Special participants this year are: Pipers and dancers Revolutionary War Re-enactors Lighted Boat Display (weather permitting) Singing of Auld Lang Syne following the walk. 2:00 PM SST get together at Gosport Tavern, 702 High St. 3:30 PM Gathering Corner of Queen and Washington Streets. 4:30 PM Step off Behind the St. Paul s Catholic and Monumental United Methodist Churches. 5:30 PM Scottish Music & Dancing, Barons Pub, Bier Garten Don t Miss the 33rd Annual Burns Nicht Supper! Hosted by the St. Andrews Society of Tidewater Saturday, January 21, 2017 Princess Anne Country Club, 3800 Pacific Avenue, Virginia Beach Cash Bar and Social 5:00 pm - Supper 5:30 pm $60 per person includes a full course meal and Skip Hunter s famous Haggis! Interested? Please contact Stacy E. Apelt, sapelt@cox.net Reserva ons must be received no later than January 16

4 PAGE 4 More Christmas Ceilidh... THI S TL ED OWN CHRISTMAS 2016 Connie Wilder & Jim Dyer From left, SST president Skip Hunter, Connie Smith and Manny Willis Eleanor Unger, left, and Nancy Weller Kathleen Hoffman, left, and Donna Looney with their hardfought winning auction item. Well done! Bill Rust & Pat Mangum Quite the mother and daughter team! Andrea McGlynn, left, and Anne Mcgowan

5 PAGE 5 THI S TL ED OWN CHRISMTAS 2016 SST Vice President John Bair and his wife Merrie. From left, Ellen Barta & Nannette Emmerich. Slainte! From left Robin Willis, Gerri McDowell, and Manny Willis. Wee Juliette Dunphy, with Laurie Macpherson-Walker, center and Catriona Dunphy.

6 PAGE 6 THI S TL ED OWN CHRISTMAS 2016 SST Out and About Manny & Robin Willis, plus their nephew Andrew, during a recent trip to London. Cheerio! Dale & Laurie Walker at a recent Steelers game. Wow! At left, longtime SST members Nancy & CG Miller were recognized by the Williamsburg St. Andrews Society as the 2016 Scots of the Year for "outstanding service to the Community and Scottish Culture." So deserving! Group photo at a recent concert featuring national Scottish fiddle champion & Baird Scholarship recipient Sean Heely, hosted by Bart Tuthill. Great evening of great music!

7 PAGE 7 THI S TL ED OWN CHRISTMAS 2016 Eileen Walker with Àdhamh Ó Broin, Scottish Gaelic consultant for the series Outlander, at a recent party held in his honor. Above, congratulations to Catriona Dunphy who officially became an American citizen during an oath ceremony in Colonial Williamsburg. Yay, Cat! At left, it s hard to believe that it was once 100 degrees! But it didn t stop SST members gathering at the home of Laurie and Dale Walker to commemorate William Wallace Day. The newly formed Scottish Music Session at Pasha Mezza in Norfolk. The next session will be on January 1 in the afternoon.

8 PAGE 8 THISTLEDOWN CHRISTMAS 2016 Coastal Virginia Gaelic Athletics Association Celebrates a Successful 2016 Look how much they ve grown! The Coastal Virginia GAA is made up of the Hampton Roads Hurling Club and the CnamB Camogie Club. The men won two tournaments this year - the Coastal Virginia Cup and the Gov. Thomas Burke Cup (Raleigh). The women scored their first win in tournament play. Fall league has just ended, and they are gearing up for the Spring League and are working hard to bring back more trophies to the 757! And SST President Skip Hunter was recently elected as Chair of the Mid-Atlantic GAA. We re movin on up! COVA GAA hosted the Richmond Battery Hurling Club for a Hurl-o-Ween friendly game, complete with costumes. Fun!

9 THISTLEDOWN PAGE 9 CHRISTMAS 2016 I t's that time again! The deadline to apply for the Scottish Society of Tidewater s Richard & Olive Baird Memorial Scholarship is fast approaching. All scholarship applications must be postmarked by March 1. The purpose of the Baird Scholarship is to provide financial support toward the study of Scottish culture. This includes, but is not limited to, Scottish music, dance, language, literature, history, genealogy, politics and religion. Only applications relevant to Scottish culture will be considered. Applicants must be at least 12 years of age; there is no upper age limit. Preference will be given to residents of Hampton Roads; however all interested students are encouraged to apply. The scholarship is named in memory of Richard Baird, a long-time president of the SST, and his wife Olive. Both were very active in the Hampton Roads Scottish-American Community, as well as Clan Baird. If you would like to submit an application, please visit the SST website at or contact Marcey Hunter at or Marcey.hunter@norfolk.gov Time to pay membership dues! ATTENTION! Scottish Society of Tidewater Membership dues are due for Your support is CRITICAL if we are to continue to provide monthly meetings, programs, special events, a website, newsletters, etc., that keep you engaged and informed about the Scottish-American community in Hampton Roads. PLEASE DON T DELAY! If you ve already sent your dues in THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT! Renewal Forms can be downloaded from AND One will be ed to you soon. If you don t have , one will be mailed to you. SST Member Organizing a 2017 Trip to Scotland: Wanna go? L ongtime SST member Anne Korff is once again escorting a friends and friends of friends tour to Scotland in Anne has had LOTS of experience putting together trips to Scotland - this will be her 32nd trip since 1987! Starting date is June 16 and primary focus in on Orkney Islands. The tour will include a ride on the Harry Potter train, visits to battlefields and castles. If anyone is interested in more information, please contact Anne at akorff@verizon.net

10 PAGE 10 THI S TL ED OWN CHRISTMAS 2016 Rallying call to the Clans from the Galloway Gazette Dec. 11, 2016 T he Scottish Chiefs are sending out a rallying call to kilted clansmen to join them at The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo in August The theme of The Tattoo next year will be Splash of Tartan, where the performances will have a strong clan content in addition to its traditional military aspects. The organisers have invited the Chiefs to lead their retinue onto the esplanade at the start of the performance where they will take the ceremonial dram with the Pipe Major. The Tattoo have generously reserved tickets for the clans to buy for each performance to ensure that as many tartan clad clansmen attend as possible. Jamie Macnab of Macnab is co-ordinating the involvement of over fifty of Scotland s Clans and Families. He has more Chiefs committed than mustered for Bonnie Prince Charlie and expects more to join in once news gets further afield. Commenting Jamie Macnab, said: This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for clansmen not just to watch The Tattoo, but to be part of it. It has already generated considerable interest from Clan and Family Societies both in Scotland and abroad. We hope it will also attract those who aren t members of a clan or family association to put on their kilts and to join in on their own clan s night. Anyone who has a kilt and is interested in participating should info@clanchiefs.org.uk or go to the website to find out how to contact their own clan. Members of the 76th McDonald Highland Regiment of Foot participated in the recent re-enactment of the Battle of Great Bridge. The regiment includes SST president Skip Hunter and former Vice President James Taylor. During the War of Independence, the 76th occupied Portsmouth and surrendered with Cornwallis at Yorktown. You can meet the re-enactors at the upcoming Hogmanay Walk in Portsmouth.

11 THI S TL ED OWN PAGE 11 CHRISTMAS 2016 Calendar of Upcoming Events December 31, 2016 Olde Towne Hogmanay Walk 2PM SST Get Together, Gosports Tavern 3:30 PM Gathering Corner of Queen and Washington Streets. 4:30 PM Step off Behind the St. Paul s Catholic and Monumental United Methodist Churches. 5:30 PM Scottish Music & Dancing, Barons Pub, Bier Garten NOTE: THERE WILL BE NO SST MONTHLY MEETING IN JANAUARY! PLEASE JOIN US FOR THE HOGMANAY WALK! January 1, 2017 Scottish Music Session Pasha Mezze 340 W 22nd St, Norfolk 2 pm 5 pm January 21, 2017 Burns Nicht Supper Princess Anne Country Club 3800 Pacific Avenue, Virginia Beach Social: 5:00PM, Supper: 5:30PM For tickets, contact Stacy Apelt at sapelt@cox.net or phone February 1, 2017 SST Monthly Meeting Program: Scottish Country Dancing Church of the Ascension Community Center 4853 Princess Anne Rd., Virginia Beach Please bring a tasty snack to share and / or a food pantry item. 7 pm social time, 7:30 pm meeting. February 12, 2017 Scottish Music Session Pasha Mezze 340 W 22nd St, Norfolk 2 pm 5 pm March 1, 2017 SST Monthly Meeting Program: Single Malt Whisky Tasting Church of the Ascension Community Center 4853 Princess Anne Rd., Virginia Beach Please bring a tasty snack to share and / or a food pantry item. 7 pm social time, 7:30 pm meeting. March 18, 2017 St. Patrick s Day Parade Ocean View, Norfolk 10 am Kirking o the Tartan 2016 Knox Presbyterian Church, Norfolk Tina Gusthall, left, and Gerri McDowell Clan MacGregor in full force.

12 Scottish Society of Tidewater, Inc. c/o Marcey Hunter 301 E. Randall Ave. Norfolk, VA Sean Heely, left, with Colin McGlynn bringing some Scottish fiddle to the Winter Wonderland in Portsmouth.