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Banner that kept falling down
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Another challenge was the temperature: high nineties in the afternoon. It was a very hot day, and the afternoon sun was aimed directly at our tent: more poor planning with tent placement. The sun behind us in the morning became the sun in front of us in the afternoon. Even with a hood covering the chair, arms got sunburned, and sitting in the heat outside the tent became unbearable. No matter that there was little space inside the tent to sit and welcome visitors, too, into the tent we went.
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Clan Row - no signs, tri-folds are down
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The extremely high heat caused another problem, though. All the vinyl banners attached to the tent kept sagging or falling over and could not be fully seen. Most were attached with Velcro, and the Velcro had a glue backing. Doing the job wonderfully, the week before, in the cold and wet of Doddridge County, it could not hold up under the intense heat of the sun in Garrett County. Another problem to be solved before the next outing.
Along Came Little Miss
She was not the first little lady to stop by the tent. There had been three other little female people earlier in the afternoon. Into the tent they barged, never minding the two old folks sitting at the entrance. They took no notice of us - two gray haired, wrinkled old people! Instantly, the leader at the front of their pack spied the packets prepared for youngsters: Scottish flag, coloring pages, bubbles, crayons, pencil and snacks.
"Oh, look at this!" she yelled to the others. They all swooped in, grabbed a bag and left as quickly as they came, scrambling past the two of us as fast as they could. We were kind of amused (kind of) and speechless at the same time.
We had thought of asking a couple of dollars for the packets, but middle son said "no", you do not do that. They are give-away type items to promote what you are doing.
Then, into our life came Little Miss. Her family had stopped outside the tent to talk with some people they apparently knew. (By that time, we were inside the tent.) She, on the other hand, diddy-bopped inside, juice jug in hand, and took a quick look around at the tables.
Giving a glance at the remaining kiddie packet, her eyes rested on it, just briefly, with no attempt at touching it. Then, she turned around toward me and started talking. Did she ever talk!
She, her mom and her dad had to keep drinking a lot, today, she let me know, because it was so hot. I told her, yes, that they needed to stay hydrated. Thinking better of that word, when she looked a little puzzled, I explained that she needed to drink lots of fluids...liquids. I think she figured it out.
Talking on, a mile a minute, hardly taking breath, she was an enjoyable part of the afternoon. If others can have packets, I started thinking, then, pleasant little ladies deserve something.
"You know what? You have won the prize, today," I finally told her. "If you turn around, you can have whatever is behind you."
A little unsure, because of all the maps and books and papers behind her, she touched the packet and inquired of me, "This?"
"That's it. That's the prize. You've been so nice and so friendly to me, today. You won the prize."
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Little Miss Blondie |
She picked up the packet and hugged it to her chest. "I won the prize! I won the prize!" she repeated.
Her mother noticed what was happening, so Little Miss repeated it for her mother. "I won the prize!"
"Did you say, Thank you?"
"Thank you!" she said, with great enthusiasm. "I won the prize."
Pulling the flag from the packet, she exclaimed, "I've never had a flag before!"
I tried to explain that it was the Scottish flag, but that concept might have been a bit too much. One day, some later time in her life, she will see that flag and remember.
She never stopped smiling from the time the packet was in her hands. Her mother allowed me to take a picture, and they left soon afterward. I could hear her as they walked down the row of clan tents, still repeating, "I won the prize! I won the prize!"
Enter Larry
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| Larry |
Larry came into the tent, spent a small amount of time looking at the maps, and began talking to us about Scotland. He had been there several times, he said. His enthusiasm for the place was obvious. He absolutely loves Scotland! His fondness is so great that he gladly endures less than comfortable jet plane seating to get there.
Wondering what connection he had to Scotland, if he might have Scottish ancestors or be a clan member, I asked him about it. No, he and his wife had always loved the bagpipes and the Scottish culture. Their plan was to take a trip to Scotland together, but she passed away before that could happen. About four months after her death, he made his first trip to Scotland, alone. He's made the trip, by himself, eleven times altogether.
Larry is not a typical sightseeing tourist who wants to visit all the famous places in a short one or two week vacation time slot. He has decided that his favorite place to be in Scotland is Inverness, in the Scottish Highlands. When he makes his trips, that is his destination.
Hiking is his big activity in Scotland. He has trekked to the top of many Scottish mountains. When asked if there were paths to follow on the way up, he said that, sometimes, there were "sort of" paths to follow. He must have a good sense of direction, but, probably, a good compass, too. Larry is seventy-nine years old. He will be eighty next January 11th.
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Larry playing his flute
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After talking awhile, he went on his way, but was soon back with a flute he had purchased in Scotland. (He plays guitar, too, but he did not tell me that. I will pass that on in just a bit.) He sat down in the chair vacated by Fred, Jr., who was out looking for something to eat. The tune he played was recognizable.
"The River is Wide," I said, when he finished.
"Yes," he said.
He's a very good musician.
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Larry and his flute
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He was off, again, walking around the festival and up and down "Clan Row" playing his flute for the visitors. A bagpiper was doing the same. Larry was playing his flute on his own, just because he wanted to. Maybe the bagpiper was playing for the pleasure of it, too.
Before too long, Larry was back. This time he was carrying a large, black garbage bag. When he opened it, he pulled out photographs he had taken in Scotland. He had blown them up and mounted them on foam board. Turns out, he's also a photographer and develops his own black and white pictures. These were in color, so, they had been developed by someone else. Viewing the photos, it looks as though most of them were taken during his hikes in the Highlands.
Inviting him to leave them in the tent, so he wouldn't have to carry them around with him, he gave permission to show them to anybody who might want to see them. While he was out and about, when he found somebody who wanted to view them, he brought them back to the tent. The next time we are in Garrett County for the Celtic Festival, we will have to make room for Larry and his photos.
Larry's Photographs
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Bridge with colored lights in Inverness?
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| Edinburgh ? |
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Village and a bay with salt water from the sea
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Scottish Village
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Scottish stream
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Photo at higher elevation
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Back to the beginning, when Larry first walked into the tent and spoke so glowingly about Scotland, he said he had very little Scottish blood in him, if any. He had more Irish blood than Scottish, he said.
His ancestors had actually been German and Irish. Naming their surnames, he started with Haines, then Hockman, then Daugherty. Before he went on, I had to stop him. Hockman is not a name heard, often, in our neck of the woods.
My maternal grandmother was a Hockman. Because of religious persecution, her family, Swiss Anabaptist, had fled from Switzerland to the German Palatinate and then to Pennsylvania. From there, they migrated into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
Larry's Hockman 2nd great grandparents had lived in Hampshire County, West Virginia. My great grandfather had migrated from Edinburgh, Virginia to Hampshire County for work, because family lived there.
In my family tree, there is a Philip Hockman from Hampshire County. Philip Hockman turned out to be Larry's 2nd great grandfather. We were cousins, this flute playing, picture taking, Scottish traveler and I! My 2nd great grandmother and Philip Hockman, Larry's 2nd great grandfather, were brother and sister. Philip Hockman was my great grandfather's uncle!
How do I know Larry plays the guitar? In the genealogy book for our Hockman family, Larry's sister passed along the information that he sings and plays the guitar. She also gave the information that he was interested in photography.
Larry and I were stunned at the time and place of meeting one another. Two descendants of Swiss Anabaptists were meeting for the very first time at a Scottish festival in Garrett County, Maryland.
The End of the Day
On this particular day, the end came, and we were glad. Another good experience, with interesting people, but the sun, the wind and the heat had not been friends.
Tucking things away is not the difficult part. But, breaking down the tent can be tricky for one person, although, the instructions say one person can do it. Clan MacDougall stepped in, and the tent came down.
The distance home was less than an hour. For the interstate we are thankful. Next time out, we expect more manpower will be along for the ride.
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Clan Donald
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Clan Donald, I did not learn much about. |
Clan Hay
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Clan Hay , I did not learn much about, either. Maybe, next time. |
Clan Duncan, Robertson, Reid
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Fred, Jr. enjoyed this clan trio. His grandfather was a Reed. They gave him information to join. |
Clan MacDougall
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Clan MacDougall had a bagpipe display and some weapons. They helped take down our tent. |
Clan Elliot
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Clan Elliot participated in the parade. They had good planning and stayed out of the sun. |
Clan Bell
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Clan Bell arrived early. They were observant and helped set up our tent. They have a nice parade banner. |
Clan Fergusson
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Clan Fergusson mans three tents. They hang pictures under their large banner that children have colored. They, also, have two stuffed Nessies. One of the tents seems to be for family seating.
