Descendants of Scots honor late, great poet

Georges Creek residents celebrate Bobbie Burns Day

Kristin Harty

LONACONING — The bagpiper and snare drummer wore kilts on Saturday, but the bass drummer wore slacks and a jacket.

“I’m not Scottish,” said Kevin Mallow, who was in the minority at Lonaconing’s Bobbie Burns Day celebration, a Scottish tradition honoring Robert Burns, the 18th-century poet.

“I’m German and Irish,” Mallow said to titters from the audience. “Don’t hold that against me.”

About 75 Western Marylanders — most of Scottish descent — gathered at First Presbyterian Church Saturday afternoon to mark Burns’ 250th birthday and remember their own roots.

On the menu: Brothy beef stew with chunks of potatoes and carrots, crusty bread and homemade shortbread cookies.

“The recipe I have was my grandfather’s recipe from Scotland,” said Bill Abbott, whose grandfather, William Abbott came to Lonaconing in 1893 and worked as a foreman in the coal mines for 53 years. “You use pure country butter.”

The elder Abbott, who died in 1962, was a key player in the town’s annual Bobbie Burns Day celebrations, which featured readings of Burns’ work. Called the “peasant poet” and Scotland’s “national poet,” Burns is best known for verses such as “My Luve is Like a Red Red Rose,” and “Auld Lang Syne.”

His birthday, Jan. 25, is celebrated in Scotland and around the world with traditional Scottish suppers, song and dance.

But Lonaconing residents haven’t had a Bobbie Burns Day celebration in years, said Andrea Bowden, who is leading efforts to revive it.

“It sort of fell out of favor for a while,” said Bowden, whose paternal grandmother, Margaret Bell, was Scottish. On Saturday, Bowden wore the traditional tartan of the MacMillian clan. “This is our first push to ‘Let’s remember our history. Let’s remember our heritage.’”

On Saturday morning, about 40 people gathered at George’s Creek Library for a “Scottish Heritage” program, which included a discussion Lonaconing’s history and hints for how to trace family genealogy. Bowden provided a list of more than 100 surnames — all local families who have some connection to Scotland.

“Believe me, I’m Scottish,” said Vick Baker, the kilt-wearing snare drummer, whose name was inadvertantly left off the list. He grew up in Midland. “My grandmother came from Scotland.”

Baker, Mallow and Wayne Skidmore, all members of Ali Ghan Highlanders fife and drum band, entertained Saturday’s lunch audience with more than a dozen Scottish tunes, including “Amazing Grace,” “Flower of Scotland” and “Minstrel Boy.”

Between songs, the two men in kilts told stories.

“Bobbie Burns was a little bit of a wild character,” said Skidmore, who calls himself “the only toothless bagpiper in North America.”

“So ... when we get to celebratin’ his birthday we like to tell some wild stories. Do you have a clean one, Vick, that you can tell?”

Baker then regaled the audience with a corny joke.

Proceeds from Saturday’s event go to the Mary Meyer Heritage House, which is to be transformed into a “repository for artifacts” related to Lonaconing’s Scottish heritage, Bowden said. Another fund-raiser, this one honoring Irish history, is scheduled for March 14.

Contact Kristin Harty at kharty@times-news.com.