A Few Thoughts

By Alice St. Clair

All my adult life, the piercing wail of bagpipes has made me yearn to go back to a place I’ve never visited. It’s rather difficult to explain, but something stirs in my being when I hear this music. It beckons me to an ancient past.

On April 13, Tom and I attended the Loch Norman Highland Games at Rural Hill near Huntersville. It was a grand celebration of Scottish heritage and culture. Highland Games have been held since midieval times. The chieftain of each clan would select the strongest and fittest warriors to represent that clan on the field of honor, and they would compete in various games of skill and strength.

In addition to the sports aspect, there were stations of all the various clans, Highland dancing, food booths, and merchandise vendors selling all things Scottish, from kilts to coffee mugs, earrings, swords, belt buckles and beyond.

An absolute treat for me was found at the Tartan Station. My ancestral link to Scottish Highland heritage is from the McLaughlin family. That is the surname of my paternal grandmother. I did not locate the “McLaughlin” tartan, but I found four tartans of Clan MacLachlan, which is another spelling of the same clan. I do know names were switched around back in the days when the first settlers were coming to this country, and in many cases, a family stuck with the name somebody wrote down when they got off the ship. So that’s a pretty good explanation of how it was changed from one spelling to the other. I had no idea what my ancestral tartan looked like, or indeed, if there even was a tartan. So this was a treasured piece of information to have.

I have always been fascinated with speech and words, and a brogue accent is particularly interesting. We stopped to ask one of the volunteers where the Highland cows could be found. “No, I really don’t know where the COOS are,” he said. “Do ya have a wee map?” I love to hear that accent, and feel drawn to it, just like sound of the pipes.

Unless I win the Power Ball or sell a kidney on the black market, I most likely will not get to visit Scotland in person. (I don’t gamble and I plan on keeping my vital organs). But for one day, I got a wonderful taste of a people that helped to build this great country. They have held fast to their traditions and their culture and are happy to share it with all who are interested.

I can’t wait until next year!!!

Alice St. Clair