Tartan
of the
Month:
MacKenzie
Tartan
of the
Month:
MacKenzie
Local personality Helen Mann enthralled over thirty members and guests at the June 23 meeting with a talk on her unique family background.
A young Seaforth Highlanders lance-corporal from the poor Gorbals district of Glasgow serving during World War II was sent to Shanghai where he met a young White Russian émigré. They married and Helen, their only child, was born back in the UK just after the war ended.
The story really began when Helen's maternal grandmother arrived in England from Manchuria when Helen was four years old. Her grandmother was then 69 years old and spoke Russian, Chinese, Japanese, French and German, but no English. She effectively raised Helen while the family moved around the world on military service. Helen learned Russian of necessity at this early age, and her childhood memories of strange tales from strange lands eventually came back to interest Helen. Her grandmother remained with the family for the rest of her life and is buried on the Clyde Coast of Scotland.
When Helen retired after 34 years at the British Consulate in Houston and an M.B.E., she decided to devote two years to tracking down her grandmother's family. The Society was honored to hear this first presentation of her research, and what a tale it was. Starting from a privileged life in early-twentieth-century Russia, the family went through the disruption of WWI, flight to the Manchuria region of China to escape from the Bolshevik revolutionaries, the Chinese Revolution, the invasion by Japan and the turmoil of WWII.
Helen illustrated her talk with artifacts and photographs that were the prized possessions of her relatives all through this period. Everyone present was totally absorbed by the presentation and there were lots of questions.
Thanks so much Helen. Good luck with the ongoing project and hopefully with your book based on it.
We are delighted to honor Helen and her family by making Mackenzie, the tartan of the Seaforth Highlanders, Tartan of the Month for July.
The Society takes a summer vacation during July and August. We'll be back at St Thomas Episcopal School in September with a presentation entitled "Building the Flag". More details soon.
June 24, 2008
Captain Alistair Macnab's presentation "Scotland's Merchant Venturers" at the June 2 meeting was extremely well-received by over thirty members and guests including a number of present and former seafarers and shipping executives. Alistair was on top form, impressing the audience with his knowledge of his topic and the way he linked it to the success of the Port of Houston with some pointers for the future. One nice aspect of the meeting was the number of questions from the audience who were clearly fascinated by the topic. Capt. Macnab fielded them all deftly. Most interestingly Rosemary McBride, native Houstonian born in 1920 came forward with a moving eye-witness account of the early days of the Port in the period before WWII when business was slow in coming.
The Games went extremely well this year with excellent cool weather. Congratulations to Mel and Jeanette Douglass on a great event. I would like to thank Society members Ardeth Brodie, Mark Monroe, Cheryl & Walter May and Sharon & Jim Monteith for their hard work setting up, manning and taking down the H&T booth. The effort was well worthwhile. We were in a prime location with a lot of traffic and interest as well as quite a few new members and more potential sign-ups.
Please send ideas to our new Program Chair Dr. Gordon Macleod at gordymacus@yahoo.com.
The main discussion at the business meeting last time was the location of memorabilia related to the Society and how these should best be collected, maintained and exhibited. The idea of storing this material electronically and perhaps making it available on the website seemed to get a positive response. In particular we are keen to locate as many photo albums from past Heather & Thistle Society Burns Suppers as possible. Any thoughts and materials are welcome. This is a topic for discussion at future meetings.
We are delighted to honor Alistair Macnab for his great presentation at the last meeting by having Macnab as the June Tartan of the Month. Check it out at www.heatherandthistle.org.
June 9, 2008
Simply Scottish presented a selection of Burns and other Scottish songs to about 35 members and guests at the April 28th meeting.
H&T member Dave Hutton from Perth (vocals) and Julian Tribe from Oxford (guitar/vocals) began singing together here in Houston about two years ago. On Dave's own admission the content and style of the presentation was heavily influenced by the fact that his mother began dragging him round the Scottish folk music scene in the 1970s and both became groupies of the Corries, who were just then emerging as the leading group in the field.
Sadly this was one of the last live gigs for Simply Scottish. Dave Hutton and his wife will soon be relocating to Atlanta. We're sorry to lose the Huttons and wish them well. For that reason and to thank Simply Scottish for their performance we are delighted to feature Dave's tartan the Malcolm as Tartan of the Month.
April 29, 2008
At the Society's March meeting, the Houston Highlanders Pipe Band ceremoniously piped in then-current Chieftain Ken Sorrels and the newly-elected Office Bearers for 2008-2009.
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Past Chieftain Jack Hume performed the installation ceremony and the Highlanders played a selection to celebrate the new team and wish them well. The highlight was Highland Cathedral - always a favorite among the membership.
top of pageThe highlight of the February meeting of the Heather and Thistle Society was the guest performance by the Pipe Band and Highland Dancers of St. Thomas' Episcopal High School. As always these youngsters put on a great show to talent and enthusiasm. They are preparing for their own Gala Performance at the Toyota Center in Houston April 18. http://www.stes.org. The performance at the H&T was sponsored by our Program Chair Mark Monroe. This was Mark's last meeting in this role, and we thank him for his contribution. His programs were most entertaining.
The Society elected its new slate of Office Bearers for 2008-2009 at the meeting:
Chieftain: | Robert Boyd |
Sub-Chieftain: | Melvyn Douglass |
Sergeant-at-Arms: | Ardeth Brodie |
Secretary: | Carmelita Orr |
Treasurer: | Walter May |
Congratulations and good luck to the new team.
top of pageThe Society hosted the Annual Conference and AGM of the Robert Burns Association of North America (RBANA) on the cruise ship Carnival Ecstasy March 3-8. A group of 70 attended, about half of whom traveled to Texas from the U.K. and Canada. Chieftain-Elect Robert Boyd welcomed everyone at an opening party.
The first day at sea saw adverse weather with 12-15' waves, but the business part of the conference was held without a hitch. After a day ashore at Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico, RBANA delegates met for a cocktail party addressed by the ship's Captain and toasts followed by a formal dinner. As the group picture shows, this was an impressive sight and caused quite a frisson on the ship. Next day was ashore in Cozumel.
On the last day we steamed back towards Galveston, again in rough seas. However that day was the highlight for many. We heard two distinguished speakers: Les Strachan from Virginia led a seminar on the question of Burns's contemplated immigration to Jamaica, and Bill Dawson from Alloa Scotland, incoming President of the Robert Burns World Federation, spoke on the topic of the women in Burns's life and their influence on his work. Both were first-class sessions.
In addition the Heather & Thistle Society gave a presentation on the making of a Burns video performance. Finally Jim Cunningham from Ontario led the annual Dr. Jim Connor Memorial Robert Burns Quiz, won for the third year in succession by Les Strachan after a run-off with incoming RBANA President Frank Campbell of Florida and H&T Past Chieftain Ted Hirtz, a US Director of RBANA.
A participation ceilidh and trophy presentation rounded off the official event and hearty renditions of Flower of Scotland and Auld Lang Syne could be heard in the dining room after dinner that night!
The Ladies and Gentlemen of RBANA before Dinner in Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico
St. Thomas Episcopal School Pipe Band and Highland Dancers
Monday February 25 at 7:30pm
This promises to be one of the highlights of the year. Thanks to Program Chair Mark Monroe's generous sponsorship, the five-time World Junior Pipe Band Champions will entertain us, and the school's award winning highland dancers will also perform.
Please make every effort to come along and encourage your friends to attend this free show.
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Dear Conference Attendee Preparations for the cruise are going well. This is to give everyone the time and place of the first few events so that we can all find our bearings when we board ship.
Welcome Meeting: 6:30 PM Monday March 3
Registration: 9:00 AM - noon Tuesday March 4
Directors' Meeting: 10:00 AM Tuesday March 4
AGM: 2:00 PM Tuesday March 4 All Dinners: Reserved seating at 8:00 PM in the Windsong Dining Room. NO SKEAN-DHUS PLEASE - WILL BE CONFISCATED - SECURITY RISK!! |
Please pass this information on to anyone in your group who does not have access to Internet or e-mail. I look forward to seeing you aboard ship! If you need to urgently contact me before the cruise, please email our webmaster: robin@clanmills.com.
Robert Boyd |
The Society's 55th Annual Burns Supper and Ball on January 19, 2008 went very well.
Chieftain Ken Sorrels welcomed over 500 guests who were entertained by the Houston Highlanders and St. Thomas Episcopal School pipe bands and by dancers from the RSCDA and St. Thomas. Awards were presented to Allison Wilkes for her ten years' service in organizing the table decorations at the Burns Supper, and to Past Chieftain Zoë Alexander and "wee Jimmy" McVey in memoriam for their services to the Burns Club.
Past Chieftain Bob Gilbert and his crew did their usual great job piping in and toasting the Haggis. British Consul General Paul Lynch toasted the US President and the ongoing special relationship between the two countries. Sub-Chieftain Robert Boyd's light-hearted toast to the Immortal Memory of Robert Burns was well received, as was the double-act between Past Chieftains Becci Himes and Aaron Buchanan toasting the Lads and Lasses respectively. Tenor soloist Charles Wharton excelled with his renditions of Star of Robbie Burns and Red, Red, Rose.
The evening ended with participation country dancing and ballroom dancing. A great time was had by one and all.
On Sunday afternoon about 25 members and friends gathered before the Burns Bust in Hermann Park in cold but sunny weather to remember the Bard. Chieftain Ken Sorrels opened the service and there were contributions by Past Chieftains Jack Hume, Ted Hirtz and Bob Gilbert and by Sheila Helme, John Wiesehan and Robert Boyd.
Robert Boyd's Immortal Memory Address: 
click here.
Josh Mullet's Photos: 
click here.
October 23, 2007
Barbara Zoë Alexander
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Past Chieftain Zoë Alexander was killed in a car crash near Austin on October 4, 2007 at the age of 59. The tragic accident occurred as she was driving home from her job as a legal secretary in Austin. The Society offers sincere condolences to her family. She is survived by her mother and stepfather; two sons and their wives and five (soon to be six) grandchildren; and by two sisters and a brother. Zoë was an active member of Heather & Thistle during the late 1980s and the 1990s and in 1994 became Chieftain, at the time only the second lady to do so. She was a stalwart member of the Society's Burns Club and its annual performances gave Zoë the chance to exhibit her talents as actress, guitarist and singer. In addition to these talents she made jewelry. But above all she will be remembered for her poetry and other writing. See her delightful website www.renaizance.com for examples of her work. The site also gives Zoë's own description of the new life she had established for herself since moving to the Austin area ten years ago. |
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A Memorial Service for Zoë will be held at her home on Saturday October 27 at 2:30 PM. Those interested can get driving instructions click here. | |
October 10, 2007
The first meeting of the year got us off to an excellent start. 33 members and ten guests attended, many of whom wore or brought memorabilia from their own or a family member's service.
Jack Hume introduced a documentary film on a US Air Force WWII daylight bombing raid on the city of Kassel in Germany. The film included both US and German footage of the action and interviews with survivors from both sides, including Heather & Thistle Past Chieftain Don Whitefield. A second film showed an extended interview with Captain Whitefield, who was lead navigator of his B24 bomber, the second lead and one of only three of thirty-five planes in his group to survive. In the interview Don Whitefield explained how he picked up on a navigational error over Kassel by the lead plane but was helpless to prevent a turn by the whole group into unprotected territory, which led to this catastrophe; the largest group loss in 8th Air Force history. Captain Whitefield went on to complete 30 bomber missions and subsequently returned to service as an instructor at Ellington Field near Houston during the Korean War. The highlight of the evening came when the hero himself took the stage to take questions. It truly was an inspiring performance.
Thanks to Program Chair Mark Monroe, Jack Hume and of course the Whitefield family for putting on a memorable evening.
September 29, 2007
