Dr. bruce macgregor whyte

As Daughter of Bill, my life stopped in that moment. I was on a flight from San Francisco to Virginia by 2 pm, and every single responsibility I thought I had was suddenly waylaid by this looming disaster. As I write this several days later, I am in the Food Court at the hospital where my father is still recovering, but is not out of the woods quite yet.

Thus, I implore you to wait patiently for the Spring issue in April, which will contain all the goodies I had intended for this Winter issue. As always, please remember that The Ard Coille is only as good as the submissions we receive, and this is your newsletter. Please send or any and all news, photos, information, etc to me for inclusion in the next issue Newsletter Editor Adrienne Tomkins For more information on our Society, visit our website at: The views and opinions expressed in any of the articles within this publication are not necessarily the views or opinions of the ACGS.

Page 1. Even though it was a Mini-Gathering it was still a whirlwind affair for those responsible for putting the event on. Bruce Whyte were also members of the local host committee. Yes, they had double duty. Participants began arriving at the host hotel in Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. Within hours old friends were greeting one another at the bar, in the hotel lobby, the restaurant and almost any place where they could sit down, have a wee dram and visit. The agenda was a full one and the members of Council worked hard to provide good input and serious discussion about the various items on the agenda.

On Friday evening the gathering participants enjoyed a Chieftain s Reception and Ceilidh. After welcoming the guests, I turned the entire affair over to those attending. The Chieftain s Reception is primarily a meet and greet where old friends come together in Clanship after another year and new members and first-time attendees are welcomed and taken under the wing of the old hands. I encouraged everyone to work the room like a politician and they did just that. A Ceilidh was added to the Chieftain s Reception this year.

Preceding each tune, Matt spoke about the technicalities of each piece of music and the history behind the music. Everyone in attendance enjoyed themselves and some said they were sad the evening had to end.

Thad Osborne. White flowers were placed on a ceremonial wreath as the names of Society members who had passed away during the year were read by the Chaplain. Page 2. As usual, attendees donned their very best Scottish attire. The women were lovely, the men handsome and the children were all beautiful and well behaved. The guest speaker was noted Gaelic Scholar, Dr.

Michael Newton. He gave an outstanding presentation on the history of the Gaelic language and peoples, incorporating the story of Clan Gregor, their music, their poetry and writings into that Highland history. He even sang several of the old Gaelic tunes a cappella. Then it was over.

Everyone had a great time, visiting with old friends, making some new ones, and reflecting upon this new window that had been opened by Dr. Newton into the shared heritage of the members of the American Clan Gregor Society. The business of the Society had been conducted, important decisions made and yes, we are making plans for the Gathering October It will be held in Norfolk, Virginia. We hope to see you there. The moons on the lake, and the mist s on the brae, and the clan has a name that is nameless by day.

Many years ago I happened upon a lovely old MacGregor tartan kilt on Ebay that was just my size. It was a vintage kilt, nice heavy weight cloth. This was before I was making kilts myself, and as someone who wore kilts on a near-daily basis for work, I was looking for a way to inexpensively expand my kilt wardrobe.

So I placed the one and only bid on this beauty. And I won a wonderful vintage MacGregor kilt for a pittance Problem is I'm not a MacGregor. Nor do I claim to be one. I don't wear this kilt that often any more -- partly because my kilt wardrobe has expanded quite a bit since I learned to make my own.

Partly because it is an older kilt and I don't really want to wear it out. And partly, yes, because I'm not a MacGregor and therefore the tartan doesn't have any personal significance to me. But back when I was starting out, it was a good decent kilt that I found at a price I could afford.

Sure, for the same price I could have gotten a cheap poly-acrylic Asian import, but because I wasn't too picky on the tartan, I was able to have a nice, well made, authentically Scottish kilt to wear. Anyway, that's how I acquired said kilt. A gaggle of MacGregors were walking past me and saw me in the kilt.

They called me over, and told me they were gathering up for the parade of the clans, and they invited me to march with them. I thanked them and respectfully declined, because, as I told them, I was not actually a MacGregor. I had purchased the kilt second-hand. They didn't blink an eye. In fact, they said they didn't care if I was a MacGregor or not, they wanted all the MacGregor tartan kilts they could find on parade I still had to decline their offer because I was needed elsewhere.

But such was the reaction of a large group of Scottish-American clansmen to someone not of their clan wearing their tartan. On this occasion I was wearing my Armstrong kilt, which as I explained earlier in this thread I have maternal ties to.

Lady Fiona's maiden name was Armstrong, and when I met the couple that started a conversation on its own. In any case, the MacGregors were going to be staying in the area for the next week, and I invited them to come see the Scottish Tartans Museum during their stay.

They graciously accepted, and a few days after the Games I had the opportunity to play host to the chief of the MacGregor clan and his wife. What kilt did I wear to welcome them? My old vintage MacGregor kilt During his visit we had a rather lengthy conversation about tartans. Sir Malcolm is actually one of the few clan chiefs who has taken the time and effort to study the subject of tartan and has some rather well formed opinions on the tartans of his clan I admitted to him frankly that I had no blood ties at all to the MacGregors, but that I decided to wear the MacGregor tartan that day in honor of his visit.

He had no problem with me wearing it, in fact he was honored. If you look closely in the photo, you may notice that the MacGregor is actually wearing - gasp - trousers He had dressed comfortably for the car trip, and actually joked when we were taking the photo that anyone looking at it would assume that of the two of us, I was the clan chief Point is that this native Scot, this Highland chief no less, and one who cares enough about the history and traditions of his own clan tartan to study the matter and form an educated opinion, had no problem at all with this non-clan member wearing the tartan in honor of his visit.

Page 5. We have lots of official Chieftain photos of you - how about a picture of you as a regular guy? Maybe you and Teresa together? Here is a photo of Teresa and I on a hiking trail in North Carolina. Just being regular folks. Where did you grow up? I was born and raised in a small town of about 3, people in South Western Virginia.

The original name of the town was Graham, VA, named after the Scottish doctor who established the community. Were your parents interested in your Scottish heritage or did you become interested on your own?

It was moth eaten and I truly did not know what I had. I mean after all it was just and old piece of moth eaten red and black checkered cloth.

Our Scottish ancestor who came to this country in was a man by the name of Thomas Walker. She passed away a few months after giving birth to Thomas from complications associated with giving birth.

Of your family s personal Christmas traditions, which is your favorite? My father loved Christmas. It was his favorite holiday and he would decorate to the nines. I do not have that same passion for decorating but like him I love being together with family, the good food, and exchanging gifts. While I was growing up I heard my father refer several times to our family being somehow connected to Clan Gregor.

I can remember people coming to our house and they would talk to my dad about "all of these old dead people. Having a Scottish heritage was common place where I grew up. Our neighbors on one side were Buchanans and on the other side they were St. If you look through my high school year books it is like looking at a calling of the clans. It was not until my dad passed away in that I realized that our Scottish heritage was more than I really knew about.

I found three items in an old chest that my Scottish ancestor brought from Scotland. One was a small leather bound book that was a diary he kept from sometime in and ending in the fall of There was also a New Testament published in Edinburgh Page 6. What are your hobbies?

What do you do when you aren t Chieftain-ing? What are my hobbies? I don't think I have ever had any hobbies other than reading. I try to read every day for at least an hour and I finally decided along with my wife that if I brought a book into the house another one had to go out.

Our bookshelves would not hold any more. Do you have any pets? We do have a pet. Snickers is her name and she is a 15 year old Calico who is on her last legs. She is suffering from a tumor behind one eye that was removed last month. Now she is a one eyed kitty. We are running a home hospice for the cat and I expect it will not be long before we will have to let our old kitty go. How long have you been a member of ACGS? What leadership positions within the society have you held over the years?

Many times I meet people who have a MacGregor heritage who really do not have a full understanding of "their story. Of the various MacGregor tartans, which is your favorite? When I became a member of the Society I never expected that I would be anything other than a member. What s your favorite part of being Chieftain? My favorite part of being Chieftain is having the honor of being able to meet so many other people of MacGregor heritage at the various Scottish heritage events that I attend around the country four states thus far.

This gives me the opportunity to "tell our story. I think we are indeed fortunate to be able to be part of this never ending story of Clan Gregor. The Clan that refused to die. What s your favorite part of being a convener at Highland Games?

My favorite part of being a convener at Highland Games was like my answer to question 9. The story What a tragic yet exciting Page 7. The reason for this dates back t o t h e y e a r s o f P r o t e s t a n t Reformation, when the strait-laced Kirk proclaimed Christmas as a Popish or Catholic feast, and as such needed banning. What is Hogmanay? It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year's Day or, in some cases, 2 January a Scottish bank holiday.

The origins of Hogmanay are unclear, but it may be derived from Norse and Gaelic observances. Customs vary throughout Scotland, and usually include gift-giving and visiting the homes of friends and neighbours, with special attention given to the firstfoot, the first guest of the new year. From Wikipedia The actual prohibition didn t last too long.

Following the Protestant Reformation, it was introduced by the Act of Parliament, but was brought back in some years after the death of Oliver Cromwell.

However, the Church of Scotland a Presbyterian church - had discouraged Yule celebrations since around The church believed that there was no basis for celebrating the day as it didn t reflect what was in the bible keeping the Christ in Christmas".

There are even records of some people being arrested over unlawful celebrations during the years it was officially banned. It was therefore celebrated very quietly in Scotland and this remained the case until the 20th century. It only became a public holiday in , with most of the public going about their daily routine on a day we now associate with the closure of almost every business and public service.

Even after it became a holiday, Scots were not afforded the luxury to sleep off their hangovers for another 16 years: Boxing Day became a public holiday in And so it was, right up until the s that many S c o t s w o r k e d o v e r Christmas and celebrated t h e i r w i n t e r s o l s t i c e holiday at New Year when family and friends would gather for a party and to exchange presents which came to be known as hogmanays.

M a n y c u l t u r e s h a v e, knowingly or not, adopted Hogmanay traditions. Scotland gave us the bells that chime in the New Year, the singing of national poet Robert Burns Auld Lang Syne as soon as those bells cease tolling, and the taking of a cup o kindness or several in the hours that follow. Other Scottish customs, such as people dressing up in the hides of cattle and running around the village whilst being hit by sticks have, for some reason, died out in all but the highlands and islands.

There is also the requirement to clear all your debts before the bells sound midnight, the underlying message being to clear out the remains of the old year, have a clean break and welcome in a young, New Year on a happy note.

First footing or the first foot in the house after midnight is still common across Scotland. To ensure good luck for the house the first foot should be a dark male, and he should bring with him symbolic pieces of coal, shortbread, salt, black bun and a wee dram of whisky. The dark male bit is believed to be a throwback to the Viking days, when a big blonde stranger arriving on your door step with a big axe meant big trouble, and probably not a very happy New Year by Michael MacFarlane, President of the International Clan MacFarlane Society, and owner of Celtic Jackalope You know - the place where you bought your clan T-shirt at the last Highland Games Ceilidh Under the Castle The Torchlight Procession Photos retrieved from Edinburgh's Hogmanay.

Editor s note: Check out the website to see just how crazy this festival gets. This involves local people making up "balls" of chicken wire filled with old newspaper, sticks, rags, and other dry flammable material up to a diameter of 2 feet, each attached to about 3 feet of wire, chain or nonflammable rope. As the Old Town House bell sounds to mark the new year, the balls are set alight and the swingers set off up the High Street from the Mercat Cross to the Cannon and back, swinging the burning balls around their heads as they go.

At the end of the ceremony, any fireballs that are still burning are cast into the harbour. Page 9. The Horner family finally found their genealogy materials, submitted them to the Genealogy Committee, which found they easily met the eligibility criteria for membership.

So although their membership certificates had yet to be received, we celebrated their memberships, all six at once BTW: These are the 3 rd -8 th new members that the genealogy committee was able to assist in documenting their lineage, just in the last 3 months Have they justified themselves or what?

Each clan attending is invited to announce their presence, and light one arm of the centrally placed bonfire. He announced our attendance with the following he had written out in advance: Thursday was set up day.

Friday is the Quiet day when set up is completed and the general public is admitted. Someone did not tell the public and we had a steady stream all day. A number came with their genealogy written down. If ftdna had been there, at least 6 attendees would have signed up on the spot.

About 40 application packages were given out. Page Some of that wicked North Carolina humor was our only response. Thank y all. The weather was brisk and sunny this year, no tempestuous winds blowing tents around like last year. We see lots of folks from Arizona and Colorado at this festival. The scenery is always so breathtaking at this festival For a newer festival this was its fifth year it is quite a hopping place.

The Wicked Tinkers even come to play the main entertainment stage. Another entertainment treat was a band called the Knockabouts, comprised of John McGregor and his family.

It was a great success all around. If you're ever in this neck of the woods around the first weekend in November, it is a wonderful experience. We got up Saturday morning and Mr Sun was shining bright. This year was even better for the Nashville games with forty eight Clans in attendance. We also had a McGregor lady athlete participating this year.

She came in fourth in her events over all. The attendance to our tent was really something too. We had fifteen McGregor associated families to sign in with fourteen asking for membership forms. Four of those families I found out are Greer distant relatives of mine.

AND R. S-R v M. Child Abduction Application for B. Right-hand Menu. Find and contact your court. They became so proficient at these endevours many other clans would pay them not to steal their cattle as they exhausted other means of stopping them.

Persecution of the MacGregors ended in The Clan Grant and Clan MacGregors stormed the castle and in the process slew the Comyn Chief - and kept the Chief's skull as a trophy of this victory. The skull of the Comyn was taken as a macabre trophy and was kept in Castle Grant and became an heirloom of the Clan. In the late Lord Strathspey's book on the Clan, he mentions that the top of the cranium was hinged, and that he saw documents kept in it.

Clan tradition predicts grave things if the skull ever leaves the hands of the family - prophecying that the Clan would lose all of its lands in Strathspey. In a stunning reversal of fortune, the Scottish king Robert the Bruce granted the barony of Loch Awe, which included much of the MacGregor lands, to the chief of the Clan Campbell. The Campbells ejected the unfortunate MacGregors from these lands, forcing them to retire deeper into their lands until they were largely restricted to Glenstrae.

Iain of Glenstrae died in with no direct heirs. This plunged the Clan MacGregor into disarray as the powerful Campbells meddled with succession and asserted claim to the last remaining MacGregor lands. In , the Campbells dispossessed Gregor Roy MacGregor, who waged war against the Campbells for ten years before being captured and killed. His son, Alistair, claimed the MacGregor chiefship but was utterly unable to stem the tide of persecution which was to be fate of the "Children of the Mist.

But although they made a brave resistance, and killed many of their pursuers, the MacGregors, after many skirmishes and great losses, were at last overcome. In a deadly feud took place between the Clan MacLaren and the Clan MacGregor when the MacGregors slaughterd no less than 18 MacLarens men along with their whole families and took posession of their farms.

This incident was not investigated until when the MacGregors were on trial for slaughtering many men of the Clan Colquhoun. The Battle of Glen Fruin took place in where the MacGregors were victorious, defeating five hundred Clan Colquhoun men, three hundred of whom were on horseback, by four hundred MacGregor men at Glen Fruin. Over two hundred of the Colquhoun men were lost when the MacGregors, who had split into two parties, attacked from front and rear and forced the horsemen onto the soft ground of the Moss of Auchingaich.

It meant the proscription of the Clan MacGregor.