"Canadian History Channel Interested in "Seeds from the Snow Wars"

You may recall the article I had published that was entitled "Seeds from the Snow Wars" which told of the death of Dougal Mac Donald in an avalanch at Rogers Pass in the Candian Rockies in 1910 and how he had impregnated a young woman before his death.(See Back Issues Summer 2006) I went on to tell how Ken Mac Donald, Dougal's grandson, had contacted me for help in tracing his ancestry.
The Canadian History Channel is interested in this story and may run a segment on it but first they want to be sure that Ken and I are actually related for there is always the possibilty that my genealogical research was faulty. They wish to do a DNA comparison.
DNA is carried by the male Y chromsome from father to son and wheras my mother, not my dad, was a Mac Donald, my DNA wouldn't be appropriate to compare with Ken's so I got them in contact with my first cousin, Dick Mac Donald, and he has agreed to submit a DNA sample, as has Ken. It will take several weeks but I will be intereted in seeing the results and hope that Candian History runs this. As I said, my research might have errors or there is always the possibility along the way that there had been an adulterer out in the barn.

BREAKING NEWS: The DNA results finally came in and, alas. Ken Mac Donlad was not the son of Dougal!

Emma Vinald Gillis Rowe


I recently received this obit from cousin Heather Mathews and thought I would share it. Ken Frye says she was always the life of the party at the annual Gillis/ Frye reunions:
Enna Vinal Gillis Rowe passed away quietly on December 12, 2006, at Providence Everett Medical Center after receiving the most loving care. She was born May 21, 1915, on an island on the coast of Maine which bore her name.

Looks like a beautiful place.

The daughter of Edith McIntosh and Llewellyn Vinal. She was the last Vinal ever to graduate from Vinalhaven High School. She attended Normal School in Gorham, Maine and worked summers at the Inn on North Haven where she met Ronald Alexander Gillis. She was married but her plans for family were dashed by WWII. Ronald enlisted and during the war Enna worked as a telephone operator. After the war her dream of motherhood was finally realized. She had two children, Ronald Alexander Gillis Jr., and Margaret Lindsey Gillis (McClure). She was widowed in 1957 and owned and operated a Chicken Farm in Hope, Maine while she raised her children. She was an active member of the Hope Grange, Hope Elementary PTA and the Extension organization. She worked tirelessly and championed controversial causes like polio vaccination for school children. She was a volunteer at Togus Veterans Hospital and regularly went to cheer the recovering veterans. At that time she was a member of the Universalist Church. In 1965 when her son died she moved her daughter to Camden, Maine to make a fresh start. She worked at Achorn's Deptartment Store until she retired and married Dr. Stanley Rowe of Gorham. She was an active member of the United Church of Christ in Gorham. After being widowed she moved to Arlington, Washington, to be near her daughter and grandchildren, Thomas McClure and Jamie McClure. After living in her own home for 90 years she finally conceded to move into Cascade Valley Senior living which she discovered she enjoyed immensely.
She is also preceded in death by her brother, Calvin Burton Vinal; and sister Gertrude Vinal Trefrey.
Memorial Services will be held at 2p.m., January 14, 2006, at Cascade Valley Senior Living.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Village Community Services The Music Program at 3210 Smokey Point Drive N.E. Suite 200, Arlington, WA. 98223. Arrangements under the direction of Schaefer-Shipman Funeral Home, 804 State Avenue, Marysville, Washington.
Published in The Herald (Everett) on 12/17/2006. Guest Book • Funeral home info • Flowers • Charities
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The Scots reputation for being "careful" with money may have originated from the days when most people were poor and needed to watch their pennies. Many Scottish music hall comedians such as Will Fyfe have reinforced the view - despite surveys showing that Scots give to charity more per head than any other part of the UK.
"The Scots have an infallible cure for sea-sickness. They lean over the side of the ship with a ten pence coin in their teeth."
"In some Scottish restaurants they heat the knives so you can't use too much butter."
McTavish broke the habit of a lifetime and bought two tickets for a raffle. One of his tickets won a 1,000 pound prize. He was asked how he felt about his big win. "Disappointed" said McTavish. "My other ticket didn't win anything"
McDougal walked into a fish and chip shop. "I want 10 pence worth of chips, please. I want lots of salt and vinegar on them and two pence worth of pickled onions. And wrap the whole lot in today's newspaper".
You should be care ful about stereotyping the Scots as mean. There was a recent letter to a newspaper from an Aberdonian which said "If you print any more jokes about mean Scotsmen I shall stop borrowing your paper."
Have you heard the rumour that the Grand Canyon was started by a Scotsman who lost a coin in a ditch?
After discovering that they had won 15 million pounds in the Lottery, Mr and Mrs McFlannel sat down to discuss their future. Mrs McFlannel announced "After twenty years of washing other people's stairs, I can throw my old scrubbing brush away at last." Her husband agreed - "Of course you can, hen. We can easily afford to buy you a new one now."
As a Christmas present one year, the Laird gave his gamekeeper, MacPhail, a deerstalker hat with ear-flaps. MacPhail was most appreciative and always wore it with the flaps tied under his chin to keep his ears warm in the winter winds. One cold, windy day the Laird noticed he was not wearing the hat. "Where's the hat?" asked the Laird. "I've given up wearing it since the accident," replied MacPhail. "Accident? I didn't know you'd had an accident." "Yes. A man offered me a nip of whisky and I had the earflaps down and never heard him."
Scotsmen hate to see waste, no matter where it is. So when Jock saw the Niagara Falls for the first time he said it was a waste of water - and a plumber in Dundee could fix them in half an hour.
A Scottish prayer - "Oh Lord, we do not ask you to give us wealth. But show us where it is!"
Angus called in to see his friend Donald to find he was stripping the wallpaper from the walls. Rather obviously, he remarked "You're decorating, I see." to which Donald replied "Naw. I'm moving house."
When a bus company was prevailed upon to increase the concessionary fare to frequent travellers so that they got six journeys instead of four for a pound, one elderly gentleman, renowned for his frugality, even in a community where frugal folk are common, was still unhappy. "It's all dam' foolishness," he declared. "Now we've got to walk to town six times instead of four times to save a pound!"
Did you hear about the Scotsman who got caught making nuisance telephone calls? He kept reversing the charges.
A Scotsman, an Englishman and an Australian were in a bar and had just started on a new round of drinks when a fly landed in each glass of beer. The Englishman took his out on the blade of his Swiss Army knife. The Australian blew his away in a cloud of froth. The Scotsman lifted his one up carefully by the wings and held it above his glass. "Go on, spit it oot, ye wee devil" he growled.
McNab had become a bit hard of hearing but he didn't want to pay for a hearing aid. So bought a piece of flex, put one end in his top pocket and the other end in his ear. It didn't help his hearing but he found that people spoke to him more loudly.
McTavish took his girlfriend out for the evening. They returned to her flat just before midnight and as she kissed him goodnight she said: "Be careful on your way home. I'd hate anyone to rob you of all the money you've saved this evening."
By mistake, Sandy put a 50 pence coin instead of 5 pence on the collection plate at church. Despite his entreaties, the minister refused to give it back to him. So for the next nine weeks, when the plate was passed round, he passed it on saying "Season ticket."
"Sandy suggested a candlelit dinner last night" Jessie reported to her friend the next day. "That was dead romantic" said her friend. "Not really. It just saved him having to fix the fuse."
Jock asked the bus conductor how much it would cost to travel into town. "80 pence" said the conductor. Jock thought this was a bit steep so he decided to run after the bus for a few stops. "How much now?" he asked. "Still 80 pence". Jock ran after the bus for another three stops and, panting, he asked "How much now?" The conductor replied "90 pence. You're running in the wrong direction!"
MacDonald was awarded 10,000 pounds for injuries received after a traffic accident and his wife got 2,000 pounds. A friend asked how badly injured his wife had been in the accident. MacDonald replied "Och, she wasn't injured but I had the presence of mind to kick her in the leg before the police arrived."
A visitor to an Aberdeen bar was surprised to find the beer only two pence a pint. The barman explained that it was the price to mark the centenary of the pub opening. The visitor noticed, however, that the bar was empty. "Are the regular customers not enjoying the special prices?" he asked. To which the barman replied "They're waiting for the Happy Hour"
It is rumoured that the entire population of Aberdeen took to the streets with an empty glass in their hands when the weather forecaster said there would be a nip in the air.
There was understandable scepticism when it was suggested that Napoleon Bonaparte was the grandson of a Scot from Balloch. But now it has been pointed out that there is further proof that Napoleon was indeed Scots - his hand was always under his lapel, to make sure no-one had lifted his wallet...

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