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Edited
by Frank R. Shaw, FSA Scot, Dawsonville, GA, USA, Email:
jurascot@earthlink.net
Tucked away
among a shrine of trees just outside Greenville, SC is Furman University,
one of the most beautiful settings in America. The James B. Duke Library
sits majestically as a center of focus for the 2,600 students on campus.
DebbieLee Landi is Special Collections Librarian and University Archivist.
She came to Furman after stints at the University of Missouri and the
University of Mississippi. In my role as a university trustee, I have had
opportunity to work with DebbieLee and am very aware that dedicated members
of the university staff like her make Furman a special place.
DebbieLee is
more than just a dedicated employee at a great university. She is my friend!
I am proud to welcome her to this website. (FRS: 4.14.09)
Old Games in
New Scotland
By DebbieLee Landi
As early as
1621, a Scottish nobleman, Sir William Alexander, established a settlement
in Port Royal, Nova Scotia near the Bay of Fundy. Although this settlement
did not last and control of Nova Scotia alternated between France and
England for almost one hundred years, one of the Treaties of Utrecht finally
transferred Nova Scotia to England in 1713. More than seventy years elapsed
before Scottish highlanders permanently settled in northeastern Nova Scotia
and today’s Antigonish County. These immigrants arrived speaking
Gaelic, transporting their storytelling traditions, fiddling, piping and
dance traditions as well as their devotion to the games of the Highlands.
The
townspeople of Antigonish, the Highland Heart of Nova Scotia, met on August
22, 1861 to authorize the creation of a Highland Society. According to the
members of the Antigonish Highland Society, the mission of the society would
be “to protect and perpetuate the language, customs, music and games of the
Highlands.” On October 16, 1863, this Society held its first Highland
Games. We were fortunate to attend the 145th Antigonish Highland
Games on July 19, 2008, Clan Day. The photographs which follow capture only
a few of the many activities and unfortunately, do not adequately convey the
exhilaration of the participants and the ardor of the spectators.
DebbieLee
Landi
All
photographs courtesy of Ryan K. Lazar
Sources:
145th Antigonish Highland Games Program Guide; Encyclopedia of
Canada’s Peoples; The Casket, Antigonish’s community newspaper and
www.antigonishhighlandgames.com
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