Tartan
Day and AGM 2001 - a Great Success
Some thirty members and guests attended a"Tartan Day" social and dinner at Britannia Yacht Club, Sunday 8th April. The dinner included an excellent soup and a buffet with delicious roast beef. Special attendees were Margaret Littlejohn and Robert McColgan, our newly inducted Guardians. They had the opportunity to cut and serve a large "Welcome New Guardians cake" which was baked especially for the occasion.
Before dinner, a smaller group attended the Society's Annual General Meeting. In addition to the usual President's and Treasurer's reports, the new committee for the year 2000 was elected. Ross McLellan, Chair, and his Nominating Committee produced a new slate. Elected were:
Note - the committee members
have been listed in no particular order, and the tasks and
responsibilities listed are those that they "happened to do" in
2000or, in some instances, "have agreed to do" in 2001. The Society
now has over eighty members, and plans to continue (and expand
slightly) the various projects held in the
year.
FallSocial
and Lecture - Scots
wahae
Strome Carmichael Galloway has kindly agreed to give a presentation recalling his many encounters with Scots over the years, entitled Scots wha hae. He bumped into many Scots when he was involved with the Ortona camapign in Italy in World War II; through his visits to Scotland he has acquired many friends and acquaintances. He is an excellent speaker, and has a good turn of phrase. Tentative dates are Sunday 7 or 14 October, 2 - 4 pm. Full details in the Fall Newsbulletin.
SpringScottish
Tour - North Lanark
With similar arrangements to the succesful visit to Williamstown last May, there are plans for a Scottish tour in the Almonte area, Saturday 26th May. The tour will include a visit to the Naismith Baseketball Museum in Almonte, and a tour of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum, where there are looms made by Scots craftsmen. A visit to the Mill ofKintail will show the work of sculptor Robert Tait McKenzie, whose creations include the Scottish American War Memorial in Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, unveiled in 1927. We visit St John's Presbyterian Church (which both Naismith and Tait McKenzie attended) and the Reformed Presbyterian Church. Late news - Some two dozen attended, andwe managed to skip the rain!
OneHundred
Years of Canadian Royal Mail
The postage stamp used for the mailing of this issue of the newsletter uses a hybrid method of printing; the new design is in 4-colour lithography, but the single-colourthree-penny beaver image is printed by the Intaglio method, withraised ink - you can feel the roughness with your finger. This intaglio stamp was designed by a Scot -SirSanford Fleming. In 2001, Canada Post celebrates the150 thanniversary of Canadian administration of the postal service - web page no longer available.
In New France, postal communication depended on an informal human chain along the fur trade routes and the transatlantic shipping lanes. Under the British, the postal systemwas simply an extension of the British Post Office.
In 1846, due to political and policy changes in the United Kingdom, it was determined that postal operations in the British North American colonies should operate as independent administrations. The Governor General proclaimed the transfer of control to the Province of Canada on 5th April 1851; the first day of local administration was 6th April. The other colonies followed later.
The first Postmaster General for the Province of Canada, James Morris, commissioned the design of new stamps to mark the transition.The first stamp, the Three Pence Beaver, based on a sketch by Sir Sandford Fleming, was issued on 23rdApril 1851. Sir Sanford had suggested the beaver as asymbol of the industry, economy and hard work of the Canadian people.It was a significant departure from contemporary designs whichusually featured the reigning monarch, a statesman, a geometricdesign or a coat of arms.
The three pence beaver is one of theworld's earliest examples of a pictorialdesign. The stamp was steel engravedby the intaglio process, common for postage stamps and banknotes formany years, and prepared for the Canadian Post Office Department bythe firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson of New York. Theinitial two orders consisted of 250,000 stamps.
The modern stamp was designed by Tom Yacobina of Montreal; the designer's use of modern and classical typefaces emphasizes the duality of past and present.
Text
derived from Canada Post publicity
material
A
Very Scottish Curling Event - Sept 2001 - CANCELLED
Quite a lot has happened since the plan for a September 2000 Curling event, run by the Society, was postponed. A very informal, Scots-oriented Curling event is now planned for 1 - 6pm on Saturday 22nd September at the Royal Canadian Navy Curling Club, Dow's Lake. Whether an experienced curler or a novice, comealong for an afternoon of curling and "fun and games" wi' your ainfolk.
Interest is invited from all types of groups with Scots connections - Soccer andRugby Clubs, Scots Societies; even High School Alumni! The day wouldstart after lunch, depending on the number of teams. The facilities are good at the RCN Curling Club - easy parking, an excellent bar/viewing room, and a side "ingleneuk" to watch videos or playboard games. There will be a catered dinner. Perhaps we could have a"whisky nosing" on the side! Bob Thomson of the RCN Club has kindly agreed to assist with the planning. Circle the date - 22nd September.Anyone wishing further information should contact Hugh Reekie728-5343. emailh.reekie@ieee.org.
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