Great Scot! Festival celebrates Scotland's impact on Utah
By Carma Wadley
Deseret Morning News
Published: Thursday, June 8, 2006 3:37 p.m. MDT
One morning Mary Wilson looked out of her Weber County log cabin window and, through the misty clouds, saw a mountain peak that reminded her of one back home. That's how Ben Lomond, one of Utah's most famous mountains and said to be the prototype of the Paramount Pictures logo, got its name.
Sometime around 1875, Ebeneezer Bryce put his cows out to pasture in what is now southern Utah. One cow got lost, and when Bryce went to look for it, he discovered the canyon of intricate red rock formations that bears his name.
"Anthropologists tell us that place names are one of the sure signs that a people or culture has been in a particular place," says Fred Buchanan. If you look at the map of Utah, he says, you will see many examples of places where the Scots have left their mark on Utah. Cities, towns, mountains, canyons and more. There are more than 100 streets with Scottish names in Salt Lake County alone.
And that's not all, he says. If you look at lists of prominent educators, businessmen, church leaders and politicians, you will see a fair representation of folks with Scottish ancestry. Pipe bands, tartans, Highland games, shortbread and scones are also a popular part of local culture. Utah even has its own official tartan, created at the time of the sesquicentennial, using a combination of tartans attributed to the Logan and Skene families, who were early trappers in Cache Valley.
Between 1840 and 1900, approximately 5,000 Scots immigrated to Utah, says Buchanan. "It was not a mass group; they came as individuals, mainly as converts to the LDS Church." Overall, that may not seem like a large group, "but they contributed more than you might expect. They made a difference here in Utah."
Buchanan will be talking about some of those contributions as part of this year's Scottish Festival, which starts tonight and runs through tomorrow at Thanksgiving Point.
Celebrating its 31st year, the festival will include traditional Scottish foods, dancing, athletics, music, clan gatherings and more. It's for anyone with any Scottish heritage or anyone who likes Scottish culture or wants to learn more about Scottish culture, says Robert Gallimore, director of publicity for the Utah Scottish Association.
"We hope people will come and get a sense of the warmth and hospitality that are trademarks of the Scots. They are warm and embrasive people who share camaraderie, tell wonderful stories. We'll also showcase athleticism. Utah has some of the top-ranked Highland Games athletes in the country.
"If you're not a Scot, you can come be a Scot for a day."
The festival, begun in 1975, grew out of an innate desire to preserve and celebrate Scottish identity, says Buchanan. His own quest to do that began when he arrived in this country as a 17-year-old.
A few years later, while a student at the University of Utah, he was assigned to do a paper on contributions of non-English settlers in the founding of America.
"When I said I would do one of the Scots, professor David Miller responded, 'Oh, did they really make a significant contribution?' With that challenge, I was off and running, and here I am, half a century later, still trying to assess the mark of the Scots on Utah — and not incidentally, trying to educate people of the difference between England and Scotland."
Nationwide, about 5.8 million people claim Scottish ancestry; about 99,000 are in Utah, Buchanan says. Famous Scottish Americans range from Andrew Carnegie to Alexander Graham Bell, Robert Frost, Deborah Kerr and the Pinkertons. Famous Scottish Utahns include the Eccles family, David O. McKay, the Mathesons, John MacFarlane, Sterling McMurrin and David Kennedy.
Even Joseph Smith's great-grandfather was from Inverness, Buchanan says. But, he cautions, you can get carried away with tracing heritage. "Some people claim Marconi, the inventor of radio, was a Scot because his mother was Scottish. But did he get more from her or from his Italian father? Who can say? I always say if you claim too much, you can get blamed too much."
Still, he says, the mark of the Scots on Utah is real and important. "The first book of poetry, the first millionaire, the first Sunday school, the first midwife, the first golf course all came from Scots."
The missionaries and teachers of the Presbyterian and Congregationalists churches made important contributions in education, says Buchanan. Duncan McMillan, for example, founded the Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant.
In business, David Eccles rose from a firewood seller to become Utah's first millionaire. Charles Nibley was a sugar and lumber entrepreneur (he also introduced the game of golf to the state). In more recent times, there have been Morrison's Scottish Meat Pies and Cummings chocolates.
In the arts, David MacKenzie was a thespian at the Salt Lake Theater. John Lyon tutored Maude Adams in elocution. Mable Frazer and LeConte Stewart excelled at visual arts; Thomas MacIntyre, John M. MacFarlane and LeRoi Robertson at music.
In politics, "Calvin Rampton and Scott Matheson attributed much of their success to their Scottish roots," says Buchanan. And, he adds, "it was no accident that it was David O. McKay who gave the LDS Church and, consequently, Utah an international dimension."
Scots are sometimes stereotyped for their thriftiness, Buchanan says. "But they are also known for traits such as hard work, generosity, common sense, seriousness of purpose, inventiveness, democratic and communitarian feelings and, withal, a wry sense of humor."
Ultimately, he says, "The main cultural contribution of Scots was what was in their heads not in their pockets or in their wagons."
And that's why he, and others, work to keep the appreciation of Scottish contributions and Scottish culture alive in Utah.
For Buchanan, now retired as a professor of education history at the University of Utah and the unofficial local authority on Scottish history, he still identifies with the words of Robert Burns:
"No nation, no station
My envy ere could raise.
A Scot still, A Scot still,
I knew nae higher praise."
If you go
What: 31st Annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games
Where: Thanksgiving Point, Lehi
When: today, 5-10 p.m.;
Saturday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
How much: today, adults $7 and children (4-12) $4
Saturday, adults $10 and children $5
Web: www.utahscots.org
Also: Uilleann pipe concert, Sunday, 7:30 p.m., South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, 6878 S. Highland Drive; $10 suggested donation
THE SCOTTISH FESTIVAL
Kilts will be swirling and pipes will be skirling at the annual Scottish Festival at Thanksgiving Point this weekend.
Events get underway today at 5 p.m. with the Strong Man Contest, a showcase of strength and athleticism. It will be followed by a broken caber auction, a tattoo, preview concerts, dancers and a torchlight Gathering of the Clans, followed by fireworks.
Saturday's activities include:
— Highland Games, which this year will feature the nation's top-ranked Highland athletes as the U.S. National Scottish Heavy Events Championships and the U.S. National Sheaf Toss Championships will be decided. Athletes compete in hammer throw, caber toss, weight for height, sheaf toss, weight for distance and stone putt competitions.
— Highland dancing.
— Pipe and drum competitions.
— A display of British cars.
— An exhibition of Highland cattle, several dog breeds from the British Isles and other animals.
— Lectures on such subjects as the Da Vinci Code, Knights Templar, the Mark of the Scots on Utah and other aspects of Celtic culture.
— Medieval armor and spearing and other activities for kids.
— Models of the battles of Bannnockburn and Culloden.
— Demonstrations of kilt-making, tracing Scottish ancestry, cricket and highland wrestling.
— Entertainment provided by the Wicked Tinkers, David Power & Seth Gallagher, Celtic Country Dancers, Dorian Mirth and others.
SCOTCH vs. SCOTS
Fred Buchanan tells this story:
"Our ship, the MV Eucadia, carrying a cargo of Buchanan's 'Black and White' Scotch Whiskey from Glasgow, entered New York harbor on July 13, 1949. The immigration officer asked me my nationality and I proudly said 'I'm Scottish.' 'Naw,' he responded in a New York twang, 'you're Scatch.' 'I'm Scottish.' 'You're Scatch.' 'I'm Scottish.' 'You're Scatch.' Finally in exasperation, I said, 'Look sir, the Scotch is down in the hold, I'm Scottish.' With a broad grin he welcomed me to the United States of America as a legal immigrant."
SCOTTISH HUMOR
You have to have a sense of humor to eat haggis, play bagpipes and wear a kilt, says Fred Buchanan. Here are a couple of his favorite jokes:
• Prime Minister Blair visits Scotland and tours a Scottish hospital. "What are you here for?" he asks the first patient. "My love is like a red, red rose," the man answers. Blair asks a second man, "And why are you here?" "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, for auld lang syne," says the man. The next man answers the question, "O wad some power the giftie gie us."
Blair turns to the hospital guide and says, "Strange. I didn't realize this was the psychiatric ward!" "It isn't," replies the guide. "It's the serious Burns unit!"
• A Scotsman was shipwrecked on a deserted island. So, the first thing he does is build a house. The next thing he does is build a church. And then, he builds another church. When the rescuers finally came, they said, "we understand the house. We understand the first church, but what's the second church for?" "Oh," said the man. "That's the one I chose not to go to."
UTAH PLACES WITH SCOTTISH NAMES
Murray
Morgan
Taylorsville
Wellsville
Ogden
Monroe
Highland
Perry
Ben Lomond
Alpine
Sutherland
Wilson
Torrey
Randolph
Porterville
Layton
Mona
Richmond
Richville
Elgin
Glendale
Logan
Hunter
Grantsville
Orem
Fillmore
Kearns
Millard
Provo
Willard
Woodruff
Thompson
Tinedale
Roy
Price
Newton
Milton
Bothwell
Bryce
Brigham
Sterling
Stoddard
Source: Research by Robert Gallimore based on Utah road map 2004 and "Tartan For Me!" by Phillip D. Smith.
PROMINENT UTAHNS OF SCOTTISH DESCENT
Calvin Rampton, governor
Scott Matheson, governor
Michael Leavitt, governor
Gunn McKay, congressman
Ted Wilson, Salt Lake City mayor
Frank Moss, U.S. senator
Wayne Owens, congressman
Pamela Atkinson, advocate for homeless
Robert Bennett, U.S. senator
Olene Walker, governor
Robert Redford, actor
The Eccles family, bankers and businessmen
Larry H. Miller, businessman
Source: Research by Robert Gallimore and "Tartan for Me!" by Phillip Smith
LDS CHURCH LEADERS OF SCOTTISH ANCESTRY
Joseph Smith Jr.
Joseph Fielding Smith
Parley P. Pratt
Orson Pratt
John Taylor
Wilford Woodruff
Heber Wells
William McLellan
David Patton
Martin Harris
Heber J. Grant
Willard Richards
Charles Nibley
Harold B. Lee
Matthew Cowley
B.H. Roberts
Ezra Taft Benson
Bruce R. McConkie
Boyd K. Packer
Richard G. Scott
Neal A. Maxwell
Monte J. Brough
Alexander B. Morrison
David O. McKay
Howard Hunter
Source: Research by Robert Gallimore in "Tartan For Me!" by Phillip Smith
USA LEADERSHIP OF SCOTTISH DESCENT
35 Supreme Court justices
Nearly half the secretaries of U.S. Treasury
1/3 of U.S. Secretaries of State
25 of 73 in Great Americans Hall of Fame
21 of 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
9 of 13 governors of 13 original states
32 presidents of the United States of America
Source: Robert Gallimore
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: carma@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved
By Carma Wadley
Deseret Morning News
Published: Thursday, June 8, 2006 3:37 p.m. MDT
One morning Mary Wilson looked out of her Weber County log cabin window and, through the misty clouds, saw a mountain peak that reminded her of one back home. That's how Ben Lomond, one of Utah's most famous mountains and said to be the prototype of the Paramount Pictures logo, got its name.
Sometime around 1875, Ebeneezer Bryce put his cows out to pasture in what is now southern Utah. One cow got lost, and when Bryce went to look for it, he discovered the canyon of intricate red rock formations that bears his name.
"Anthropologists tell us that place names are one of the sure signs that a people or culture has been in a particular place," says Fred Buchanan. If you look at the map of Utah, he says, you will see many examples of places where the Scots have left their mark on Utah. Cities, towns, mountains, canyons and more. There are more than 100 streets with Scottish names in Salt Lake County alone.
And that's not all, he says. If you look at lists of prominent educators, businessmen, church leaders and politicians, you will see a fair representation of folks with Scottish ancestry. Pipe bands, tartans, Highland games, shortbread and scones are also a popular part of local culture. Utah even has its own official tartan, created at the time of the sesquicentennial, using a combination of tartans attributed to the Logan and Skene families, who were early trappers in Cache Valley.
Between 1840 and 1900, approximately 5,000 Scots immigrated to Utah, says Buchanan. "It was not a mass group; they came as individuals, mainly as converts to the LDS Church." Overall, that may not seem like a large group, "but they contributed more than you might expect. They made a difference here in Utah."
Buchanan will be talking about some of those contributions as part of this year's Scottish Festival, which starts tonight and runs through tomorrow at Thanksgiving Point.
Celebrating its 31st year, the festival will include traditional Scottish foods, dancing, athletics, music, clan gatherings and more. It's for anyone with any Scottish heritage or anyone who likes Scottish culture or wants to learn more about Scottish culture, says Robert Gallimore, director of publicity for the Utah Scottish Association.
"We hope people will come and get a sense of the warmth and hospitality that are trademarks of the Scots. They are warm and embrasive people who share camaraderie, tell wonderful stories. We'll also showcase athleticism. Utah has some of the top-ranked Highland Games athletes in the country.
"If you're not a Scot, you can come be a Scot for a day."
The festival, begun in 1975, grew out of an innate desire to preserve and celebrate Scottish identity, says Buchanan. His own quest to do that began when he arrived in this country as a 17-year-old.
A few years later, while a student at the University of Utah, he was assigned to do a paper on contributions of non-English settlers in the founding of America.
"When I said I would do one of the Scots, professor David Miller responded, 'Oh, did they really make a significant contribution?' With that challenge, I was off and running, and here I am, half a century later, still trying to assess the mark of the Scots on Utah — and not incidentally, trying to educate people of the difference between England and Scotland."
Nationwide, about 5.8 million people claim Scottish ancestry; about 99,000 are in Utah, Buchanan says. Famous Scottish Americans range from Andrew Carnegie to Alexander Graham Bell, Robert Frost, Deborah Kerr and the Pinkertons. Famous Scottish Utahns include the Eccles family, David O. McKay, the Mathesons, John MacFarlane, Sterling McMurrin and David Kennedy.
Even Joseph Smith's great-grandfather was from Inverness, Buchanan says. But, he cautions, you can get carried away with tracing heritage. "Some people claim Marconi, the inventor of radio, was a Scot because his mother was Scottish. But did he get more from her or from his Italian father? Who can say? I always say if you claim too much, you can get blamed too much."
Still, he says, the mark of the Scots on Utah is real and important. "The first book of poetry, the first millionaire, the first Sunday school, the first midwife, the first golf course all came from Scots."
The missionaries and teachers of the Presbyterian and Congregationalists churches made important contributions in education, says Buchanan. Duncan McMillan, for example, founded the Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant.
In business, David Eccles rose from a firewood seller to become Utah's first millionaire. Charles Nibley was a sugar and lumber entrepreneur (he also introduced the game of golf to the state). In more recent times, there have been Morrison's Scottish Meat Pies and Cummings chocolates.
In the arts, David MacKenzie was a thespian at the Salt Lake Theater. John Lyon tutored Maude Adams in elocution. Mable Frazer and LeConte Stewart excelled at visual arts; Thomas MacIntyre, John M. MacFarlane and LeRoi Robertson at music.
In politics, "Calvin Rampton and Scott Matheson attributed much of their success to their Scottish roots," says Buchanan. And, he adds, "it was no accident that it was David O. McKay who gave the LDS Church and, consequently, Utah an international dimension."
Scots are sometimes stereotyped for their thriftiness, Buchanan says. "But they are also known for traits such as hard work, generosity, common sense, seriousness of purpose, inventiveness, democratic and communitarian feelings and, withal, a wry sense of humor."
Ultimately, he says, "The main cultural contribution of Scots was what was in their heads not in their pockets or in their wagons."
And that's why he, and others, work to keep the appreciation of Scottish contributions and Scottish culture alive in Utah.
For Buchanan, now retired as a professor of education history at the University of Utah and the unofficial local authority on Scottish history, he still identifies with the words of Robert Burns:
"No nation, no station
My envy ere could raise.
A Scot still, A Scot still,
I knew nae higher praise."
If you go
What: 31st Annual Scottish Festival and Highland Games
Where: Thanksgiving Point, Lehi
When: today, 5-10 p.m.;
Saturday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.
How much: today, adults $7 and children (4-12) $4
Saturday, adults $10 and children $5
Web: www.utahscots.org
Also: Uilleann pipe concert, Sunday, 7:30 p.m., South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, 6878 S. Highland Drive; $10 suggested donation
THE SCOTTISH FESTIVAL
Kilts will be swirling and pipes will be skirling at the annual Scottish Festival at Thanksgiving Point this weekend.
Events get underway today at 5 p.m. with the Strong Man Contest, a showcase of strength and athleticism. It will be followed by a broken caber auction, a tattoo, preview concerts, dancers and a torchlight Gathering of the Clans, followed by fireworks.
Saturday's activities include:
— Highland Games, which this year will feature the nation's top-ranked Highland athletes as the U.S. National Scottish Heavy Events Championships and the U.S. National Sheaf Toss Championships will be decided. Athletes compete in hammer throw, caber toss, weight for height, sheaf toss, weight for distance and stone putt competitions.
— Highland dancing.
— Pipe and drum competitions.
— A display of British cars.
— An exhibition of Highland cattle, several dog breeds from the British Isles and other animals.
— Lectures on such subjects as the Da Vinci Code, Knights Templar, the Mark of the Scots on Utah and other aspects of Celtic culture.
— Medieval armor and spearing and other activities for kids.
— Models of the battles of Bannnockburn and Culloden.
— Demonstrations of kilt-making, tracing Scottish ancestry, cricket and highland wrestling.
— Entertainment provided by the Wicked Tinkers, David Power & Seth Gallagher, Celtic Country Dancers, Dorian Mirth and others.
SCOTCH vs. SCOTS
Fred Buchanan tells this story:
"Our ship, the MV Eucadia, carrying a cargo of Buchanan's 'Black and White' Scotch Whiskey from Glasgow, entered New York harbor on July 13, 1949. The immigration officer asked me my nationality and I proudly said 'I'm Scottish.' 'Naw,' he responded in a New York twang, 'you're Scatch.' 'I'm Scottish.' 'You're Scatch.' 'I'm Scottish.' 'You're Scatch.' Finally in exasperation, I said, 'Look sir, the Scotch is down in the hold, I'm Scottish.' With a broad grin he welcomed me to the United States of America as a legal immigrant."
SCOTTISH HUMOR
You have to have a sense of humor to eat haggis, play bagpipes and wear a kilt, says Fred Buchanan. Here are a couple of his favorite jokes:
• Prime Minister Blair visits Scotland and tours a Scottish hospital. "What are you here for?" he asks the first patient. "My love is like a red, red rose," the man answers. Blair asks a second man, "And why are you here?" "Should auld acquaintance be forgot, for auld lang syne," says the man. The next man answers the question, "O wad some power the giftie gie us."
Blair turns to the hospital guide and says, "Strange. I didn't realize this was the psychiatric ward!" "It isn't," replies the guide. "It's the serious Burns unit!"
• A Scotsman was shipwrecked on a deserted island. So, the first thing he does is build a house. The next thing he does is build a church. And then, he builds another church. When the rescuers finally came, they said, "we understand the house. We understand the first church, but what's the second church for?" "Oh," said the man. "That's the one I chose not to go to."
UTAH PLACES WITH SCOTTISH NAMES
Murray
Morgan
Taylorsville
Wellsville
Ogden
Monroe
Highland
Perry
Ben Lomond
Alpine
Sutherland
Wilson
Torrey
Randolph
Porterville
Layton
Mona
Richmond
Richville
Elgin
Glendale
Logan
Hunter
Grantsville
Orem
Fillmore
Kearns
Millard
Provo
Willard
Woodruff
Thompson
Tinedale
Roy
Price
Newton
Milton
Bothwell
Bryce
Brigham
Sterling
Stoddard
Source: Research by Robert Gallimore based on Utah road map 2004 and "Tartan For Me!" by Phillip D. Smith.
PROMINENT UTAHNS OF SCOTTISH DESCENT
Calvin Rampton, governor
Scott Matheson, governor
Michael Leavitt, governor
Gunn McKay, congressman
Ted Wilson, Salt Lake City mayor
Frank Moss, U.S. senator
Wayne Owens, congressman
Pamela Atkinson, advocate for homeless
Robert Bennett, U.S. senator
Olene Walker, governor
Robert Redford, actor
The Eccles family, bankers and businessmen
Larry H. Miller, businessman
Source: Research by Robert Gallimore and "Tartan for Me!" by Phillip Smith
LDS CHURCH LEADERS OF SCOTTISH ANCESTRY
Joseph Smith Jr.
Joseph Fielding Smith
Parley P. Pratt
Orson Pratt
John Taylor
Wilford Woodruff
Heber Wells
William McLellan
David Patton
Martin Harris
Heber J. Grant
Willard Richards
Charles Nibley
Harold B. Lee
Matthew Cowley
B.H. Roberts
Ezra Taft Benson
Bruce R. McConkie
Boyd K. Packer
Richard G. Scott
Neal A. Maxwell
Monte J. Brough
Alexander B. Morrison
David O. McKay
Howard Hunter
Source: Research by Robert Gallimore in "Tartan For Me!" by Phillip Smith
USA LEADERSHIP OF SCOTTISH DESCENT
35 Supreme Court justices
Nearly half the secretaries of U.S. Treasury
1/3 of U.S. Secretaries of State
25 of 73 in Great Americans Hall of Fame
21 of 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence
9 of 13 governors of 13 original states
32 presidents of the United States of America
Source: Robert Gallimore
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: carma@desnews.com
© 2009 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved
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