Scottish Piper


Now Playing: "Flower of Scotland", the defacto Scottish National Anthem. This song commemorates the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 when the Scottish Army under Robert I (the Bruce) King of Scots defeated Edward II (Longshanks) King of England. This ended the English rule of Scotland

A Chairdean Ionmhuinn Mo Chinnidh

Vol.20, No.1 Winter, 2006


Scottish Piper

BALOON TRAGEDY


On Saturday, May 2, 1914 Rex Woods an aeronaut was in Shandon (due east of Estrella) to provide a balloon ascension demonstration. A close friend of Rex’s was John Mac Isaac, a local citizen and cousin of L and M’s from Nova Scotia. As the balloon took off, unknown to Rex, John grabbed onto the trapeze which hung below the huge bag and was lifted aloft. At about 1500 feet Rex heard Mac Isaac shout, “Cut her loose Rex and we will both come down together.” Knowing that the weight of two men on a parachute would cause it to rip to pieces, Rex lowered himself to the trapeze bar and placed a safety rope around the wrist of Mac Isaac and a foot in his armpit, hoping for the hot air to decrease and the balloon to descend. All went well, the air in the bag started to cool, and the balloon started to come down when suddenly the rope slipped off John’s hand and he headed down face-first for seventy feet to the Estrella River breaking a leg and crushing his chest bones in the process. He was taken to a neighboring house and a physician was summoned but John died the next day.

Ballon

A tradition among the Scots was that of taking in a child when their parents were no longer able to care for them so this is what Michael Mc Donald did with John's son Angus (Angie) shown below.

Angie




Holidays-Are They Worth It?


Twas the month after Christmas, and all through the house. Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.

The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I would taste. At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number! When I walked to the store it was less a walk than a lumber.

I remembered the marvelous meals I'd prepared, The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rare,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese And the way I'd never said, "None for me, please."

As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt And prepared once again to do battle with dirt--- I said to myself, as only I can "You can't spend another winter disguised as a man!"

So -- away with the last of the sour cream dip, Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip.

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished. Till all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won't have a cookie -- not even a lick. I'll chew only on long celery sticks.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie, I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, life's no longer a riot. Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!



San Miguel History


by Wally Ohles

(picture of San Miguel in 1889 from, "The Lands of San Miguel" by Wally Ohles,Article from San Miguel Mission Web page:http://www.missionsanmiguel.org

It is easy to understand that people would like to live in the area of Mission San Miguel; the climate is almost ideal. Since prehistoric times, people have lived in the area that now surrounds the Mission and the town of San Miguel. The Franciscan Padre, Fermin Francisco de Lasuen (who was the successor of Padre Junipero Serra) founded Mission San Miguel on July 25, 1797. It was named for the "Most Glorious Prince of the Celestial Militia, Archangel Saint Michael."
In 1806, twenty-seven huts were constructed, to be used as living quarters for the local Indians. During the year 1810, thousands of adobe bricks were made and stored; they were to be used in the construction of the present church. In 1816, the stone foundations for the church were put in place.
By 1815, the workers at San Miguel were furnishing wine and wool for the Spanish soldiers who were occupying Alta California.
The beginnings of a "town" at San Miguel would have been the construction of the two-story adobe, known today as the Rios-Caledonia Adobe. (In later years, a "town" grew up between this adobe building and the Mission). The adobe was constructed in 1835, and served as headquarters for the administrator, appointed by the Mexican government. On July 14-1836, Ygnacio Coronel was in charge; he and his family lived in the adobe. Ynocente Garcia replaced Coronel on March 30, 1837. At that time, it is probable that there were no buildings, other than the Mission Complex.
By 1871, a stagecoach ran daily from San Miguel to San Luis Obispo. The first known office of Wells, Fargo & Co in San Miguel was shown on an 1874 map of San Luis Obispo County; the office site was in Goldtree's store, which was situated on the mesa where the cemetery is located today. In 1868, the stage station had been moved from the Mission to the Rios-Caledonia building, because it was deemed safer than at the Mission - a band of bandits had ridden up just as the stage was leaving the Mission, and shot the driver.
In 1874, Walter M. Jeffreys opened a hotel. (later to be purchased by Lauchlin and Michael). The "town" consisted of a school house, stable, at least two saloons, an express office and a post office. There was a paint shop, owned and operated by Nathan & Issac Goldtree, and a blacksmith and wagon shop, owned by Croxford and Woodworth. Shortly before the arrival of the railroad, a disastrous fire leveled the town. The new town of San Miguel was rebuilt north of the Mission.
The Southern Pacific Railroad reached San Miguel on October 8, 1886; the name of the Mission was applied to the station. The post office is listed in 1887. Many wonderful history books about the Mission, San Miguel and the County written by local historians are available at the Rios-Caledonia gift shop adjoining the mission.

web

WE MET ON THE NET


Since 1998 I have kept track of relatives who I have met for the first time on the Internet. Just this past month I met "new" cousin number 53, Larry Mathew of Chilliwack B.C. Larry is related to the Mac Adams of PEI. I thought you might find it interesting to see a profile of these 52 people. They are from 16 of the 50 States : Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Vermont and Texas And
They are from 5 of the 13 Provinces: Alberta, B.C., Nova Scotia, Ontario and PEI. These people reached me through my guest book, mail lists and genealogical sites (Genweb, Cyndi’s Page, Island Register, World Connect, Ancestry, Help List Canada, Gen Forum and Roots-L). What you should recognize is that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I suspect I have family contacts in almost all of the states and provinces. Each of these persons has intimate knowledge of some branch of the family tree which they have been gracious enough to share with me in order that I could build a database of 7,382 people, 2073 marriages, 1304 different surnames, 50 megs of text messages and 14 generations.
We are one large proud clan spread all over the Northern Hemisphere


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