Minutes of Note by Lynne JM Longmore

Minutes of Note by Lynne J.M. Longmore

The Royal Burgh of Lochmaben could boast two curling clubs in the nineteenth century, namely The Lochmaben Curling Society and The Royal Bruce Curling Club. Those two clubs amalgamated towards the end of that century. The new club was named the Lochmaben Castle Curling Club and is still known by that name today.

Minute books belonging to both those original clubs are still in existence, having been kept safely all those years. They are a wonderful record of not only the curling exploits that took place on a regular basis but also of the social life of the local inhabitants of Lochmaben. The curlers of Lochmaben past had an indomitable reputation far and wide and were renowned for their feats of strength and curling prowess.

Lynne Longmore has successfully managed to transcribe the two minute books which belonged to the oldest club, The Lochmaben Curling Society. A somewhat daunting task, as these books are in extremely fragile condition, the flamboyant hand script not always easy to decipher and the ink now badly faded.

On completion of those transcripts Lynne decided to proceed with a small publication which would appeal to, not only local residents of Lochmaben and family members past and present, whether curlers or not, but also to those who have an interest simply in the history of outdoor curling and to those who have an interest in the general social Scottish life of the nineteenth century in a rural community. However, curling wasn’t possible every year, when several winters might pass before conditions were suitable.

Minutes of Note is a fascinating summary of the minutes recorded in the first of those minute books of the Lochmaben Curling Society which covers the period from 1823-1863. This account brings together in a beautifully case-bound publication, the more notable minutes and aims to give an insight into the importance of this winter pastime to the residents of Lochmaben and those from neighbouring parishes. Local tradesmen and local dignitaries would come together on frozen lochs and spend a highly enjoyable day in friendly combat and then dine together at a local inn and spend a convivial evening recounting the day’s events.

Results of the games and Parish bonspiels against the neighbouring parishes which would take place on all the Lochmaben lochs including the Castle Loch, the Kirk Loch, the Upper Loch and the old Halleaths or Broomhill Loch, are thoroughly recorded by the various club Secretaries. Names of members present at each meeting are listed in great detail at the start of each minute together with names of the club President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. This in itself becomes a valuable source of information for those undertaking local family research.

Supplementary information which relates to the history of Lochmaben has been included as a result of research into a beautifully engraved silver curling medal, dated circa 1830, which was specifically made for the curlers of Lochmaben to compete for and which is still played for by the current members. The beautifully engraved decoration upon the surface of this medal provides a highly significant visual link to the Royal Burgh’s fascinating past.

A limited number of copies of the book are available, priced at £20. Contact Lynne Longmore directly by email: curlingminutes@btinternet.com.

Van Cortlandt Park

This from David B Smith:

"Some time ago I bought on Ebay a small watercolour which displayed a curling match in progress (above). From the players’ dress it appeared to be from the end of the nineteenth or the beginning of the twentieth century: one prominent curler in the foreground was wearing spats. Behind a tree on the bank of the pond were some figures and some sort of horse-drawn vehicle.

When it arrived I took it from its frame. The painting was mounted on card and on the card in pencil were some words. I deciphered 'Curling' and 'van Cortlandt Lake' but what I took to be the artist’s signature I could not make out. The name of the lake, however, was enough to let me know that I was looking at curling of the American variety. The lake is situated in what is the largest public park in the city of New York, van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx.

I knew of the Lake for I had some time ago come across an engraving in an issue of Harper’s Weekly which displayed, according to the caption 'CURLING MATCH ON VAN CORTLANDT LAKE – SCOTLAND AGAINST AMERICA – DRAWN BY C. J. TAYLOR – (SEE PAGE 91)'. I discovered that the year was 1884.

It was not until recently when a group of undated photographs of curling on the Lake appeared for sale online that I began to wonder about the Scoto-American match. None of the large public or learned libraries in the UK appeared to hold a stock of Harper’s Weekly, which I might consult, but I was reasonably sure that that wonderful institution, New York Public Library, would have it.

And so I applied by email to that library, and was immediately put onto the commercial branch. At very little cost I was able to cause the staff at New York to find 'PAGE 91' and send it to me. I must compliment NYPL on its speed and efficiency. The whole transaction took less than a week.

The article began with a general observation that “the Scottish game of curling has been but recently transplanted to this country, whose vigorous winters afford it a hospitable reception” and a reference to the tradition that King James IV had encouraged the sport by giving a silver curling stone to be annually contested for in the Carse of Gowrie in Perthshire."

It went on: “The excellent example set by King James has been followed in this country by a gentleman of Scotch origin, who has presented a handsome silver challenge trophy , called after the donor 'the Patterson Medal' to be played for by picked curlers of Scottish birth on the one hand, and of American birth (though often of Scottish origin) on the other.”

The match in 1884 was on van Cortlandt Lake, and consisted of eight rinks a side. The Americans were beaten by a score of 157 to 135. “Considering the comparative youth of the native players, and in view of the fact that years add experience more than sufficient to counterbalance any decrease of power by reason of advancing age , the American curlers acquitted themselves with much credit. Were the result at each rink taken separately, the match would have been even, as each side prevailed at four of the eight rinks; the method of scoring is, however, is to add the totals of each side at all the rinks, which puts quite another complexion on the result in this case.”

Another stretch of water in the great metropolis which was from time to time devoted to the roaring game was the lake in Central Park. As John Kerr in his Curling in Canada and the United States notes: (at p.631) "New York’s Commissioners of Public Parks have always acted very generously with the curlers, encouraging their game in every way, granting them the exclusive use of Conservatory Lake during the winter months, with a house on the bank to hold their outfit, and reserving a cosy corner on Van Cortlandt Lake, near the old historic mill of Revolutionary days, for the curlers to play their matches.”

When the first Scots team went to the New World under the captaincy of the Rev. John Kerr in the winter of 1902-3 it had been hoped that a match could be had on van Cortlandt Lake, “where the New York curlers are accustomed in an ordinary frost to enjoy their game, but owing to the very severe frost which prevailed during the time of our stay in the city, this hope was entirely blasted as play on the lake was out of the question…” (Kerr, p. 667)

When the Scots curlers ended their tour of 1922-23 in New York, “There was no official game of curling arranged for while in New York, but several of the Team took part in a scratch game with local curlers at Van Cortlandt Park on a frozen pond.” (The Scottish Curlers in Canada and U.S.A. 1922-23, by Major M.H.Marshall, p.299.)"

Top: The watercolour of curling on van Cortlandt Lake.
Middle: The print from Harper’s Weekly.
Above: Photograph (undated), of curling on the Lake.

Images are from the author's archive.

Curling on Speed River

Curling on Speed River, Guelph, Ontario, by Evan Macdonald. Click on the image to see larger size.

During the summer, Jim Fraser of Sorn CC told me that he had bought at a car boot sale a wee print of a curling match, and he asked if I knew anything about it. Although I had never seen a copy before there was something about it that suggested Canada to me: the match was taking place in the open air in front of some buildings, and although there were in evidence some half dozen Tam o’ Shanters, there were one or two distinctly un-Scottish bunnets to be seen. The print did afford another, important, clue; the artist had signed it 'Evan Macdonald'.

As usual Google came up trumps, for the search showed that Macdonald had been in fact an Ontarian artist who painted largely in the Guelph area of Ontario, and that his daughter, Flora Macdonald Spencer had written a book about him and his work.

In the hope that the book might contain some information about this picture, and perhaps some more curling works, I bought a copy from the publisher, Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Waterloo, Ontario. My hunch proved wrong for there was nothing of curling interest in the book. So I wrote to Brian Henderson of the publisher asking for any information about the artist and the curling picture.

This was the reply, which he had got from the daughter:

“Evan painted it for the Guelph Curling Club, and used an early photograph as a reference, I recall. Not sure if the photo was of actual Guelph curlers, but as he was working on the picture, he told us that his father and grandfather, and fellow local curlers would curl on the Speed River, after cutting a hole in the ice to flood it to greater smoothness. His father was a founding member of the Guelph Curling Club's indoor rink originally on Baker Street in Guelph. The club still has the original, I believe, and were given permission to make prints from the original about 20 years ago.”

She added this amusing anecdote which emphasises the dangers of curling on water-borne ice. “It reminds me of a family story of my father's uncles going out to do such a flooding. Somehow they let go of the axe and it sank to the bottom of the river. The smallest, Uncle Sandy, had to strip off and be held by the ankles until he found it, so fearful were they to return home without it!”

This story reminded me of a reminiscence about John Cairnie:

“On a certain occasion one of his own name, in spite of friendly warnings, played a rink of stones at Denny over ice that was much too weak, with the result that the whole lot went to the bottom of the pond. The accident would not have mattered had not the stones been required for an important match on the following day. Having reviewed the whole situation carefully, Mr Cairnie, all heedless of the biting blast that was blowing and the deep and dangerous character of the pond, calmly divested himself of his clothing and dived for the stones, one after another, until all were safely landed. It is pleasant to be able to add that Mr Cairnie was so little the worse of his adventure that he assisted in brilliant style to play the rescued 'channel stanes' to victory on the morrow.”

Allan Forrest, the father of my late skip, Joey Forrest, told us of his early curling days on the River Clyde at Dalserf, Lanarkshire, and of their chopping a hole in the ice after the day’s play to get water 'to flood the ice to greater smoothness'.

The question remained: did the painting still hang in Guelph Curling Club’s clubhouse? Sadly, a couple of emails went unanswered and so did what I should have done in the first place. I found the number of the club and phoned.

As luck would have it the person who answered the call was Gerry Sundwall, a keen member, who said that it did and that there were prints and that he would send me one. He also answered questions about Professor Murray MacGregor, professor at Guelph University, who with his family had spent a year’s sabbatical in Edinburgh, and curled in every ice rink in Scotland! Janice MacGregor, daughter of the family, was his next-door neighbour, and Murray and Betty, his wife, were still to the fore though both had given up curling now that they were in their eighties.

In fact, it was Janice who sent the print along with up to date photographs of the MacGregor family. And Gerry sent me a snapshot of the oil painting (shown above), 21 inches by 42, as it hangs in the club.

David B Smith.

Curling Spoons

There's a collector in all of us. David B Smith gives a collecting suggestion for the curling enthusiast in this post which he entitles 'An Alternative to Collecting Curling Stones':

Strange as it may seem there are some spouses who are not only not in favour of encouraging the collection of curling stones in the family home but who are distinctly averse to the idea.

The problem is the space occupied by even a pair of stones. One could accommodate a very large and valuable stamp collection in far less space than that occupied by a single stone, as my wife has pointed out to me more than once.

In her defence I have been asked to say that within our house – in various places, such as, cupboards, shelves, under beds, and lying open in corners of rooms – there are more than 250 full-size stones of various ages, sizes, shapes, and weights. The surplus embellishes the exterior of the house. The increasing number of miniature stones has caused the remark – no doubt jocular – that the big stones seem to be breeding.

What, then, to collect, if the most characteristic item of our game is denied?

I recently acquired a small, pretty, interesting object of some value, since it made of silver. It is a tea spoon with a curling design upon the handle. Here it is:

This is the only spoon I have so far come across which occupies the whole of the handle with the design. Moreover it is unique in that it depicts an indoor game in a rink with a wooden barrier. On the reverse it bears the legend: BIRKS STERLING. No date.

The next group of spoons is embellished with a circular disc, at the end of the handle, which has the decoration.

From left to right, 1. Hall-marked silver, 1968-9, a stone below crossed brooms; 2. Hall-marked silver, 1950-1, a stone below crossed brooms; 3. EPNS, (electro-plated nickel silver), a curler delivering a stone; 4. Hall-marked silver, 1932-3, on reverse engraved RINK 1932, a curler delivering a stone; in a band round him PANMURE CURLING CLUB.

A small number have enamel badges as decoration.

From left to right, 1. Silver-plated, at top of handle an enamel badge of World Ladies Glayva Curling Championship Glasgow, 1988. 2, silver-plated, engraved on bowl GLASGOW, and in plastic an oval plaque with below the coat of arms of Glasgow a curling stone below crossed brooms; 3, Sterling silver, no date, a badge, silver and enamel, of Rideau Curling Club Ottawa. 4, EPNS, no date, a badge, enamel, of Edinburgh Ice Rink Curling Club.

The last group have three dimensional decoration in the form of stones or curler.

From left to right, 1. silver plated, no date, a three dimensional curler throwing his stone, engraved on bowl; Nelson BC (British Columbia); 2, silver-plated, no date, Great Britain, at top of handle a three dimensional curling stone.

Happy collecting.

David B Smith

Images are © David B Smith.

Allister's Memorial Seat

David B Smith writes:

"I was intrigued when fellow-member of Kilmarnock and District History Group, Sandy McIntosh, asked me if I had seen the bench seat in the Burns Monument Gardens at Alloway which had a curling scene on it.

At the earliest opportunity I was down in Alloway, and, on a terrace just below the monument and above the River Doon, I found the seat. Sure enough it had a curling scene on it.

The bench consisted of two vertical stone ends between which ran the timber planks which formed the seat. The outer ends of each stone bore decoration. The curling scene was a representation of a 'house', that is, the concentric circles round the tee, on which five miniature curling stones were attached by means of stainless steel handles. All were made of stone from Ailsa Craig.

On the other end was an inscription which surprised and moved me, for it showed that the seat was a memorial to that remarkable young curler, Allister Boyd, and I had heard nothing of this memorial.

The inscription reads simply 'Allister Boyd. Truly Inspiring'.

Allister’s history IS truly inspiring. He had a brain tumour diagnosed in October 2005, and underwent apparently successful treatment for it in the Beatson Clinic in Glasgow. However, in August 2008 the tumour recurred and with it the diagnosis that it was terminal. He died on April 4, 2009, at the age of nineteen.

Throughout his illness Allister never lost his cheery and positive view of life. He decided to raise funds for the two charities that had helped him, Teenage Cancer Trust and CLIC Sargent. The energy which he put into his fund-raising activities was truly amazing. Allister’s efforts resulted in about £180,000 before his death. The efforts have been continued by family and friends and up to the present about £500,000 has been gathered in his name.

The reason for the curling part of the design was Allister’s keen enjoyment of the game. His father Robert was the area representative for Ayr on the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, and wee brother Russell and he were enthusiastic members of Ayr Junior CC.

The commissioning of the seat came about when 'the lady who ran' Ayrshire Business in the Community Initiative, a body which promotes ways in which businesses can become involved in local communities in Ayrshire, read about Allister’s achievements, and suggested to two apprentice stonemasons at Culzean that they should design and make a bench seat in his memory as part of an ABiC competition. This they did and although they did not win, their efforts have provided a very fitting memorial to a remarkable young man."

David B Smith.

Captions:
• The Burns Monument.
• The seat in its place in the gardens of the Burns Monument, Alloway.
• The seat end with the curling house.
• The seat end with Allister Boyd’s name. Below this are the logos of the two charities.

Photos © David B Smith

Scottish Curling Magazines

The Royal Club's e-magazine YOUR Curler, published first in October 2011 as a 'Members' Benefit', joins a select few Scottish magazines which have been produced over the years. This list concentrates on national publications, not including the Royal Club Annual. Also excluded are publications associated with specific events, such as the Hogliner in its various incarnations, and other ice rink based newsletters.

The Royal Caledonian Curling Club's Royal Club Round Up ran from 1993 to 2000. At least twenty-five issues were printed. It was variously a four or eight page publication.

The publication that stimulated my own interest in the printed word about curling was Tee to Tee. This was brought out by Graeme Adam in the late 1970s, really as a challenge to the Scottish Curler which, as younger curlers, we all thought a bit staid at that time. Above is the November 1977 issue, Number 2. I believe there was an Issue 3.

Richard Harding's Curling was first published in October 1982. The front cover of Issue 1 marked the opening of the four-sheeter in Pitlochry. It had 28 pages. The magazine ran for four seasons, with six or seven issues each year with a varied number of pages. The final issue to appear was in April 1986.

On The Button was a simple newsletter produced by The Curlers Association. At least nine issues were printed.

Frank Tocher produced five issues of this newsheet Curling beginning in November 1992 with the above. The lead story is about the Kilmarnock and District Council Cashspiel at the Galleon.The £1000 first prize was the biggest in Scotland at the time.

Scottish Curling Magazine was set up by Frank Tocher in 1999 in opposition to the Scottish Curler. It ran for just three issues.

So, what publication was a constant feature of the Scottish curling scene for so many years? It was, of course, the Scottish Curler, which was published from 1954 - 2010.

This is the cover of the January 1954 Scottish Curler. Robin Welsh was the first editor, before he became Secretary of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club.

For many years the distinctive tartan cover was the trademark of the Scottish Curler.

When Robin Welsh retired as RCCC Secretary he was able to devote more time to the magazine which became bigger and had much more content. This is the September 1985 issue. It was published then by Dunfermline Press.

By 1998, Robin Welsh had been editor of the Scottish Curler for an incredible forty-four years. On Robin's retiral, another Robin, Robin Crearie, became the editor for four seasons, beginning with this October 1998 issue.

I took over as editor in October 2002, and held this position until April 2009. Fifty-six issues, all but one of 24-pages, were published during this time. In January 2004, the magazine celebrated its fiftieth birthday with this special 40-page issue.

Caroline Paterson was the editor of the magazine for the season 2009-10, the magazine being the responsibility of the Ardrossan arm of Clyde and Forth Press. The final issue of the magazine was the souvenir edition after the RCCC Curling Awards dinner in 2010.

Having a library of curling publications spanning all these years provides a superb resource for those interested in the history of curling in Scotland.

Thanks to John Brown and to Christine and Hugh Stewart for help with this post.

Argyllshire Curling

David B Smith writes:

The Glasgow Herald of December 18, 1874, carried the following snippet of information about curling.

“OBAN,- The Oban and Inveraray clubs played a match yesterday on Loch Druimlie, near Port-Sonachan. The results were as follows:- Alex. Macarthur, Oban, 8, against J. Macarthur, Inveraray, 11; John Caddow, Oban, 9, against Sir Geo. Home, Inveraray, 10; Hugh Shedden, Oban, 7, against A. Guthrie, Inveraray, 24. The Obanites were defeated by 10 shots.”

Port Sonachan is a place on the south bank of Loch Awe, from which some sort of ferry plied across the narrow stretch of water to the northern bank.

In 1874 Inveraray CC had 22 regular members, and Oban 35. Inveraray fielded their president, Sir George Home, Bart., who won, and Oban theirs, Alex Macarthur, who lost.

Both clubs had quite a journey to make by horse and carriage to arrive at the icy field of battle. I think the report has named the loch in error. A loch that lies, if not equidistant between the two contending parties but at least equal in difficulty to reach, and which is near Port Sonachan, is Loch Tromlee which lies about a couple of miles from the hamlet of Kilchrenan and to the east of the road from Tyndrum to Kilchrenan, which is the route the Obanites would have to follow.

There is no trace in the maps of a Loch Druimlie on either side of the loch.

The Obanites’ route took them about twelve miles from Oban through Connel along Loch Etive to Taynuilt, from where they had about eight miles up the very wild and picturesque Glen Nant along a minor road which is still single-track and difficult at the present day.

The Inverarayans did not have quite so far to travel but their route did take them over the hills from Loch Fyne to Sonachan on Loch Awe, where they had to cross the loch, with their stones, in rowing boats, no doubt leaving their horses and carriages until the return journey after the game.

A curling match such as this in 1874 must have been quite an adventure as well as a sporting occasion. It seems to have satisfied the participants for neither club played in the Grand Match which followed on Carsebreck a week later.

The Glasgow Herald of February 20, 1888, tells us of another curling match in this vicinity, a points game for four prizes, played by Lochaweside CC on Moonloch. There is no such name on the modern maps of the area but to the north of the road from Kilchrenan to Ardanasaig appears Lochan na Gealaich, which being translated is the 'Lochan of the Moon'.

This map shows the routes of both teams in 1874. Click on the image to see in a larger size. The OS Map Reference for Loch Tromlee is NN 043 249.

Top photo: The Lochaweside curlers competed on Loch Tromlee in 1897, as this photo from the Annual of the Royal Club for 1897-8, p. cxlviii, shows. To see other historical curling places in Argyll look at the map to be found here.

Images © David B Smith