January 26, 2005
Scots celebrate Burns Night
St. Andrews Society honors Scotland's poet laureate with party
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
With bagpipe music and dance, toasts and poetry, 50 people celebrated the birthday of Robert Burns, Scotland's poet laureate.
Hosted by the St. Andrews Society of Northwest Michigan, the event was held at the VFW Post 2780 Hall. The St. Andrews Society began hosting the celebration last year, taking over from the Grand Traverse Highlanders, who put it on for years and decided to stop.
Group founder and president Jim Mills said they decided to take over from the Highlanders to keep the tradition alive.
"This is one of the times a year that Scots can get together and celebrate," he noted.
The event's packed program included readings of Robert Burns' poetry. Numerous toasts were offered throughout: to "Robbie" Burns, to the haggis, to the innkeeper (the caterer) to the lads and to the lassies.
Attendees mostly devoured the haggis, traditional Scottish fare that is a sheep's stomach stuffed with entrails and oatmeal. The modern version has been toned down, Mills noted, although a traditional recipe was read to the audience.
"Dietary laws wouldn't allow you to make this anymore," said Mills, a resident of Lake Ann. "this comes from a company in Detroit and it is a sausage casing stuffed with ground mutton, beef or suet."
Members of the Celtic Fire Highland Dancers performed five dances during the evening, including the Sword Dance, Highland Fling, Scottish Lilt and Sailors Hornpipe. The group, founded and taught by Lee Ellen Gwyn of Interlochen, wowed the crowd with their high-energy footwork and near-military precision. Three dancers are students, two at West Junior High and one at West High School, who compete in Scottish dancing events around the state.
"It's nice for the girls to be able to show off what they've been working on all year," said Gwyn, who began Scottish dancing at age 9. "I get a kick out of them wanting to do it - whoever wants us to come dance, we'll come dance."
Rev. Elliot Morrison of Peninsula Township led the toast to Burns. He also discussed his quest to find his Scottish roots, where during a pulpit exchange with a minister in Dundee, Scotland, he delved into tartans, crests and all facets of Scottish history.
"England tried to get rid of the clans during the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie," he said. "People could be deported or jailed if they wore the tartan, so they disappeared from use."
Historians have documented eight original tartans dating to before their outlaw by England in the 1700s.
"Of course I took notice, because Morrison was one of the eight," he added of his research at the Tartan Museum.
During the Victorian era, tartans regained popularity and more families gained one associated with their name.
"Many people liked the idea of getting them going again and if one family sent in a large order, the mills would name the pattern after that family," he said of the tartan's proliferation.
The mission of the St. Andrews Society is to preserve and promote the heritage of Scotland. Mills founded the organization in 1997 after attending a Highland Games in the Detroit area. He was captivated and, after watching another event in Alma, decided a local group was just the ticket.
"I knew I was a little bit Scottish and found out about my clan," he recalled. "My name is Scottish and we came over here before the Revolutionary War but since then we've been marrying Germans. So I'm probably 99 percent German."
The group holds gatherings four times a year, has marched in the Heritage Parade during the National Cherry Festival and also hosts their own Scottish games in August. An inclusive guy, Mills said that his definition of a Scottish person is anyone who enjoys the music of bagpipes and he welcomes visitors to group events.
For more information on the St. Andrews Society of Northwest Michigan, call Mills at 275-6497.