We are well on our way to having a great Tartan Day Festival. The committee has lined up a great program for this year’s event. The Chesapeake Sheriff’s Pipe Band will be playing for us. We have the Scottish Dance Theater of Virginia and the Scottish Dancers of Virginia performing. The ever-popular Doorway Singers will be favoring us with their vocal melodies. Rob Lockwood will present Robert Burns’ ‘Ode to the Haggis’, Bill Lawler will present his weapons demonstration and there will be whisky tasting, a demonstration from the Weavers Guild and vendors. If you, or your clan, has not reserved a space for display of membership and heritage information, plan to do so soon.

In March, the Society will be participating in the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Ocean View. We hope to have Nessie spruced up and ready to go. There will be a great party at the Knights of Columbus at the end of the parade. I hope as many of you as possible can come out and show your Society’s support for the Irish.

Nancy Waller has agreed to become our Telephone Committee Chair. She will need your help in staffing the phone tree to pass information on to all of our members. Please contact Nancy if you wish to volunteer to help.

Don Fraser has consented to head up our Tent Display committee. This group will decide on the type of display that will be in the Society tent at the Festival and will staff the tent. We look forward to a great display that will rival our sister Society in Richmond.

This time of year also brings the annual election of officers to lead us in the next year. Running for office signals a serious intent to participate actively and positively in the affairs of the Society. Officers are the active leaders of the Society in spirit and deed, working to grow the organization as a dynamic organization in the Tidewater community.

Being your President this past year has been an honor and a privilege. I want to thank all those who have supported me and helped us grow. I want to thank each member of the Board of Directors. My deepest and heart-felt appreciation goes to each of you for all your work throughout the year. Without your assistance and support the business of running the Society would have been difficult.

Let’s all look forward to the new year ahead and making things happen.

Yours aye,
Larry

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Helen DelCampo

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Dear Friends and Family,

We have arrived! The closer we came to our destination, I kept thinking of that C&W song, ‘Six Days on the Road’. However, for us, it was ‘Ten Days on the Road.’ We arrived on Tuesday evening, January 22, driving sunup to sunset. It’s a good thing we got here because I don’t think we could have done another mile. Mileage on the Penske at turn-in was 3,284. And that was with no side-trips.

Virginia was reluctant to let us go. After having breakfast with James’ daughter in Richmond, and just after we merged onto the freeway and were picking up speed, the U-Haul trailer that I was towing with the Rodeo started thinking into the Rodeo and swerving madly. Thank God for the walkie-talkies we had! I hailed James and we pulled both vehicles over. The connecting pin holding the trailer to the hitch had come out and the only thing holding the trailer to the Rodeo was the safety chain. The trailer tongue lay on the ground. I offered a prayer of thanks for God’s traveling mercies and the guardian angels that had been sent to travel with us. As we waited (1.5 hours) for the U-Haul rep to fix things, a pickup truck went whizzing by, losing his wooden ladder out of the back of the truck onto the roadway next to us. As 18-wheelers and the other traffic drove over that, James and I were dodging wooden missiles. Meanwhile, a Virginia State Trooper pulled in to investigate things and when told I have been driving the Rodeo, I gained his undying respect. After the U-Haul guy fixed things up, he offered me a place on his NASCAR racing team, and I had gained his undying respect. It seems the tongue had not been properly installed in Virginia Beach. Needless to say, U-Haul has not heard the last of this.

With no apparent damage to the Rodeo, we proceeded onward. And then we hit Arkansas and the damage to the Rodeo became very apparent. Out of the 10 states we traveled through (wow! It just dawned on me-10 states in 10 days), Arkansas has unarguably the WORST roads and we were only on one of them-I-40! We got as far as Conway before we couldn’t go further. A bolt from the left rear brake caliper had come out and we were literally frozen behind an Exxon Food-Mart. After calling AAA, the Rodeo and the U-Haul were towed right up the street to a garage owned by Mr. Helton who was also a U-Haul dealer and serviced Arkansas State Patrol vehicles. I started feeling somewhat better seeing this guy was on the ball enough to have a service contract for state patrol vehicles. He had us on the road by 9:30 a.m. the next day. That morning, as I was doing my meditation and preparing to ask God for traveling mercies for the day, I realized that I had only been asking God for his Guardian Angels to keep us safe. And He had most lovingly done that. Now I added the prayer to keep our vehicles in good running condition. And He did just that through the rest of the journey. Praise God! Of course, James and I were completely convinced that everything we owned that was breakable was completely dust by now!

Until we hit Mt. Shasta in Northern California, we had had clear skies and dry roads. We experienced high winds in New Mexico and a dust storm in Arizona. Thank God that it was at sunset, so we stopped anyway. The inspector at the California State line almost made us leave the ‘Evelyn’ rose bush behind. When we realized we were going to Washington, he said it didn’t matter what we did to Washington, and let us keep her. They don’t want to chance anybody brining in the Japanese beetle. We determined that California is its own country. By the third morning of waking up in California, we needed to get out of there before we had to register to vote! And then we hit Mt. Shasta and our first bad weather ( sleet, snow, and ice). By this time, after going over the mountains in New Mexico and Arizona, we were accustomed to going up hill at 30 mph in 2nd gear. We had been concerned about going over the Siskiyous in northern California into Oregon, but Mt. Shasta was worse! Also by this time, James was concerned that he had lost at least 4 inches in height because of the constant bounding up and down in the Penske. We got across the Siskiyous (dry and clear most of the way after a 4 hour delay in Yreka, Cal.), and spent our ninth night in Rogue River, Oregon. The next day, we were home in Puyallup by 4:40 p.m.

My Aunt (recently widowed on Jan. 2), met us at the apartment with a huge pot of homemade chicken soup, crusty French bread, and a coffee pot. Shortly thereafter, an off-load crew of family and friends showed up. James and I were just numb. Suzi was confined to walk-in closet until everyone left. We slept in our own bed that night.

Putting all things together in perspective, after seeing the incredible landscapes of our great country, we are both glad to have done the trip in this way and age. Neither of us can begin to comprehend what our pioneers must have endured in covered wagons being pulled by oxen. They too had to have had God’s guidance and reassurance on their journey. Since arriving, we have the kitchen, dining room, and bedroom in place. We still have much to do (James keeps singing ‘Boxes, little boxes’), but to our wonderment, we have not found one broken item!

I have had one job interview and was called back to test for the position of Office Coordinator for an alternative school. I have another scheduled for position of Administrative Assistant in another school district. James has contacted the Commissioner for Clan MacAlpine and we will be connecting in person with him soon. James, Suzi, and I are all doing well. Even though this is home to me and familiar ground, I still have adjustments to make. I didn’t have my beloved James with me before, sot his is a whole new thing for me. We are at peace with our decision to make this change. Thank you all for your prayers during this journey.

Jeff Christman stepped down as Pipe Major in October after six years on the job. He finished his tenure on a high note: 2001 was the band’s most successful competition season in recent history, finishing with a ninth place ranking out of 102 Grade 5 bands in the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association (EUSPBA). The band’s top 10 finish came after placing:

• 3rd out of 7 bands at the Colonial Highland Gathering;
• 2nd out of 8 bands at the Virginia Scottish Games;
• 1st out of 7 bands at the Anne Arundel Scottish Festival; and 2nd out of 9 bands at the Richmond Highland Games and Celtic Festival

(The band might have ranked even higher in the season standings if the Williamsburg Scottish Festival had not cancelled its bagpipe competitions in 2001.) The band is especially proud of the fact that its drum corps, led by Drum Sergeant Bob Habib, placed first in each of the four contests it entered.

The band was subsequently upgraded to Grade 4, making it the highest ranked pipe band between Alexandria, Va., and Raleigh, N. C. A letter from Carole Hackett, the EUSBA’s executive secretary, informed the band of the upgrade: ‘Congratulations!’ she wrote. ‘I am pleased to inform you that after reviewing the band’s playing accomplishments throughout the 2001 season, the Executive Committee (at the recommendation of the Grading Committee) has decided that you are ready to be upgraded. You are to commended for your hard work,’ she wrote. ‘On behalf of the Executive Committee of the EUSPBA I would like to with you the best of luck in your new arena of competition.’

Several of the band’s members also had successful competition seasons individually. Megan Amorosi, Bryan Credle, Irwin ‘Smitty’ Lynch, Jim Roberts, and Brian Smith all earned medals in 2001. Roberts finished the season ranked 8th out of 86 pipers in Grade 2, and Amorosi finished the season ranked 7th out of 188 pipers in Grade 4 Jr. Amorosi and Lynch were both upgraded to Grade 3 for the 2002 season.

Roberts succeeded Christman as Pipe Major and has been working with the band on the new musical selections required in Grade 4 competition. He also is getting the band ready for a workshop with professional piper and EUSPBA judge David Bailiff on March 23.

The Tidewater Pipes & Drums performs in the opening ceremony of the
2001 Richmond Highland Games & Celtic Festival in October.

The band plans to return to the four competitions it placed in last year. The members voted not to participate in the 2002 Virginia International Tattoo for the first time in three years, opting instead to compete at the Celtic Festival of Southern Maryland on April 27. It will also participate in an unsanctioned competition at the Chesterfield (Va.) Celtic Festival on April 13, and in the quartet competition at the Grandfather Mountain Games on July 27.

The band is busy with non-competitive activities as well. It was invited to perform with the Virginia Symphony on March 2 and 3, and it is planning a concert with the Band of the Hampshire Constabulary on June 3 at Kellam High School in Virginia Beach.

Along with the new Pipe Major and renewed focus on competition comes a new practice facility. The band now meets from 7-9 pm every Wednesday at the Norfolk Fire and Paramedical Services Station No. 1 in downtown Norfolk. Recent practices have included as many as 14 pipers and 4 snare drummers.

The Tidewater Pipes & Drums is available to perform at festivals, parades, weddings, military functions and other special events throughout southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. The band’s members also are available for solo and ‘mini band’ performances. For more information, please contact: Business Manager Don Gregory at 757-480-8779 or drummajor1g@hotmail.com or Pipe Major Jim Roberts at 757-623-4262 or jamrob98@yahoo.com. The band is on the web at http://tpandd.exis.net.

They arrived in dribs and drabs, rather than in hundreds or thousands. There was no weeping, no hysteria, and few flowers. She was twice Princess Diana’s age when she died, and hers was no sudden demise. Yet if the grief was subdued, a world away from the mass hysteria of five years ago, there was some sort of wistful sadness. Most who came were in their twilight years, who remembered her beauty before excess had smudged it, and theirs was a sense of potential never quite fulfilled.

A handful huddled around the modest pile of bouquets and cards in a corner of Kensington Gardens. They stood for a few moments in silence outside Kensington Palace, her London home, before drifting off to join the majority in the park, simply out to enjoy the fresh, spring-like air on a bright Sunday afternoon.

The public mourning of Margaret Rose, the younger sister of the Queen who died aged 71 after a stroke, was a muted affair. Across London, at St. James Palace, where books of condolence were set up, there were no queuing crowds waiting to sign it. Instead, a steady trickle of people arrived and left without ceremony.

Around 50 bouquets lay at her feet, a fraction of the mountain of floral tributes that marked the same spot after Diana’s death in 1997. Many people were saddened by the lack of mourners, but others were more philosophical, saying that Margaret represented a ‘different age’. Among the flowers lay a huge bouquet of daffodils, from the 11th Harlesden Brownies, with the message: ‘A beautiful princess and our most treasured president. May your guiding light shine on.’

A few yard’s away, inside the palace, lay Princess Margaret’s coffin. Her children, Lord Linley and Lady Sarah Chatto, who were with their mother when she died peacefully in her sleep, were there. A private funeral was conducted the Friday following the Princess’s death at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor, where Margaret’s father King George VI is buried. After lying initially in the royal vault where George III, George IV, and William IV are buried, her ashes will be placed in her father’s vault in the George VI Memorial Chapel.

As tributes to Princess Margaret poured in from around the world, there was widespread concern for the Queen Mother, whose own health has been poor of late. Prince Charles was with her at her Norfolk estate. The Queen, who was said to be ‘very, very upset’ at her sister’s death, mourned her in private, at a chapel at the Royal Lodge, a house where the two had spent much of their childhood. The death of her younger sister marks a somber start to the Queen’s celebrations for her 50th anniversary on the throne.

From The Scotsman, 11 February 2002

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President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair are expected to attend this year’s Tartan Day celebrations in Washington, turning the event into the biggest and most important celebration of Scottish Culture ever witnessed in the U.S.

Mr. Bush and Mr. Lair have been nominated to become the joint winners of this year’s prestigious Wallace award. The American Scottish Foundation is planning a major awards ceremony on Capitol Hill on 9 April as the highlight of this year’s celebrations.

Named after William Wallace, the award is the only major honor given out by the international Scottish community. It was instituted three years ago to commemorate the achievements of Scottish Americans, but the organizers have widened its scope in an attempt to honor the work done by Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush, both of whom have strong Scottish connections.

The Wallace Award has grown in stature as Tartan Day has expanded. Last year, the award was won by Sir Sean Connery, following the former Senate Majority Leader, Trent Lott the previous year.

From The Scotsman, 11 February 2002

Despite the controversy that surrounded him earlier in the games, skier Alain Baxter came home to Aviemore a bronze medal winner at the Salt Lake City Winter Games.

Early in the Games, he had been criticized by the British Olympic Association for letting his love of his country literally ‘go to his head.’ His dyeing his hair in the image of the Saltire, had BOA officials ruling that he had to remove the design prior to taking part in the Deer Valley slalom. Their concern? It might be seen as a political statement. Ever since London allowed Scotland a measure of devolution, some sporting officials in Edinburgh have been calling for a separate Scottish Olympic team. In the meantime, however, the BOA believes that all athletes must support Britain as a whole, and not just one part of it. Baxter, 28, nicknamed ‘The Highlander’, insists his skullduggery was just part of a downhill struggle to express love of country. He was not the only athlete singled out. His cousin, snowboarder Lesley McKenna, was required to remove a Scottish flag from her costume before competing in the half-pipe. Nevertheless, Baxter, is Britain’s best alpine skier in years and he showed it clearly with his medal win.

In Aviemore, they drank Baxter cocktails and Bronze burgers in his honor. They lined the streets, waved, and cheered, and generally enjoyed the biggest party the town has ever seen. With the snow-capped Cairngorms providing a dramatic background, more than 1,000 - half the town’s population-turned out to welcome him home. Baxter was paraded through town in an open-top bus, after having been greeted at Edinburgh by tartan-clad friends and supporters, led by a piper.

Britain’s first Winter Olympics gold medal in 18 years, prompted a worldwide interest in the ancient sport of curling. Curling organizations throughout the United States were deluged with calls of interest. The five Scottish women who won the medal have become celebrities overnight. Scores of friends and relatives greeted the team on their arrival at Glasgow airport following their victory in Salt Lake City. Rhona Martin described their reception, saying ‘It has been unbelievable, something I could never imagine. We are still coming to terms with the celebrity status. It will take us a wee while to adjust. If we can raise the profile of the sport it will be great.’ She went on to add that coming home and being reunited with her husband and children reminded her that ‘I’m just a housewife from Dunlop.’ Later, at the Greenacres Curling Club in Renfrewshire, relatives and members celebrated where Rhona Martin had curled her first stone at age 14. Richard Harding, the club owner, told the audience that it was ‘a historic night’ for the sport, for the club, and for Scotland. Cheers rang through the room as five cakes in the shape of curling stones were given to the team. Other members of the team had similar welcomes. Fiona MacDonald and Janice Rankin expressed surprise at a proposal to give them the freedom of Inverness.

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