25 YEARS AGO
(January 16th, 1987)
Golspie Pigeon Club’s annual show will be held in the village’s Youth Centre on Saturday.
Doors will be open at 2pm and there will be teas, lemonade and crisps on sale. The show itself will consist of pigeons which have raced over 500 miles and won top Federation positions.
There will also be an array of fancy pigeons, plus a few budgies. The judges are Messrs Robert Rosie and Sandy Angus from Thurso who were the first judges when the show began several years ago.
Thirty-six adults and children took part in the annual Dornoch Hog Jog on a crisp winter morning through Camore Wood.
A number of spectators gathered to watch the start and all those taking part enjoyed the run.
Although there was no official timing, first home in the 10km section was Donald Gunn of Golspie, now an Elgin resident, followed by Findlay Everitt of Evelix and James Thomson, Camore.
A summer school on plant identification is being held this year at Bettyhill by the University of Aberdeen’s extra mural department of adult education.
The course will be taking place in the university’s Wylie Fenton Field Centre at Bettyhill from July 13th to 20th and will be taught by botanist Mr D Paterson.
It is aimed at teaching beginners the basics of plant identification and students will undertake a full-day excursion to consider the history of the vegetation in the area related to the history of man from Neolithic times to the Clearances.
BBC Television’s Mastermind took on an added interest on Sunday night when former Bonar Bridge resident and pupil of Bonar Bridge Senior Secondary School, Mr John Sutherland, appeared as a contestant.
A retired civil servant living in Edinburgh, Mr Sutherland took an early lead in his specialised subject, Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1775 - 1860.
He won through with 28 points to a place in the semi-finals where, in a few weeks’ time, his former friends and acquaintances will appreciate a further opportunity to watch his progress.
As the rest of Britain struggled to work through a blanket of snow, most of the north dodged the worst of the weather this week and only a few minor roads were closed.
The East Coast, especially the Ardgay/Bonar Bridge area, suffered the main thrust of the storm with between four to five inches of snow falling on the Kyle, Dornoch and Golspie areas at the beginning of the week.
50 YEARS AGO
(January 19th, 1962)
Brora Rangers Football Club have decided that the time has come to embark on major improvements to their recreation hall at Dudgeon Park.
They realise that this has been an eyesore for too long, but now that their finances are at last getting out of the doldrums, and support at games is increasing as the team’s play improves, they feel it would be unwise to delay reconstruction.
At an extraordinary general meeting earlier this week, hall improvement plans were submitted and, if they go through, the whole exterior of the building will be altered and all the iron sheeting on the roof will be scrapped.
Such initiative and courage, after so many misfortunes and set-backs in recent years, well deserve every encouragement (writes our correspondent), and if the village of Brora want to see Rangers regain their erstwhile fame, then now is the time to prove their interest and help to boost the building fund.
There had been nasty rumours circulating about the destination of prizes in the club’s weekly competition involving fundraiser tickets. The meeting this week was called to give the accusers a chance to state their case, but none took advantage of it.
Mr George Fraser, Dalchiel, made another plea to Sutherland County Council last week for a start to be made to the reconstruction of the mile-long Lednabirichen district council road, in the parish of Dornoch.
The work is to cost about £13,000 and the district council are to get an 85 per cent grant which means that their share of the cost will be about £2000.
But they have not yet said they are ready now to meet this share and the county council decided that no action could be taken by their road surveyor until the district council had given the go-ahead.
Mr George Beaton, of the Caberfeidh Hotel, Golspie, recently started a Boy Scout troop in the village.
It was a big venture for this young man as he had only one experienced Scout to help him at the start. Recently, in a BBC broadcast from Rosemarkie, he described how the troop was progressing.
Mr Beaton paid tribute to the help he had received from parents. They had organised a Christmas quiz and a whist drive and a sale of work was to be held later in the year. From the money raised they hoped to be able to purchase such as camping equipment.
Mr Beaton said he had enrolled 44 boys. That was a large number to handle, he admitted, but he had overcome that by putting some of the older recruits through a very intensive training so that they would pass their tests much quicker than in a normal troop.
75 YEARS AGO
(January 21st, 1937)
The epidemic of influenza in the county shows no signs of abating. Many children are absent from school and business staffs in some cases are sorely depleted. The outbreak is the worst experienced for many years.
Fresh cases are occurring daily. Fortunately, so far, only a few cases of pneumonia have been noted.
Quite a gloom was cast over the community of Brora when the sad news spread on Monday that Mr Alfredo Capaldi, Brora Cafe, Fountain Square, had died at Cambusavie Hospital on Monday morning, 18th January, 1937, in his 29th year.
Mr Capaldi was a victim of the influenza epidemic. Complications having set in he was removed to hospital for treatment, but notwithstanding all that careful medical skill and nursing could do, he passed peacefully away.
Mr Capaldi came to reside in Brora from Kingussie about five years ago, where he opened and started a flourishing business known as the Brora Cafe in Fountain Square.
He is the eldest son of Mr Bernardo Capaldi, Roma Cafe, Kingussie, and was married two years ago to Miss Bertha Leslie, fifth daughter of the late Mr Benjamin Leslie and of Mrs Leslie, Victoria Road, Brora.
The weather for the past few days has been of a most boisterous nature with wind at gale force. Aided by the gales, the sea has been running mountains high, the Golspie harbour and the stranded coal ship coming in for a terrific buffeting.
Appearances indicate that the coal ship, which is stranded on a sandbank near the Littleferry, is doomed and is on the point of breaking up. The ship, it is stated, has a load of 200 tons of coal.
The stormy weather has prevented fishermen from following their calling. The fishing craft at the harbour have been in danger of being badly damaged. It has only been by constant vigilance on the part of the fishermen that their craft have remained secure.
100 YEARS AGO
(January 25th, 1912)
In his annual report (year 1910) to the County Council of Sutherland, the Medical Officer of Health says: "In regard to the protection of the community against smallpox, I regret to have to report that the number of declarations of conscientious objectors delivered to the Registrars under the Vaccination (Scotland) Act 1907, is increasing from year to year."
The number in 1908 was 17; in 1909 it was 42 and in 191, it was 60.
That there should be in this county such a large number of "conscientious objectors" to vaccination is, to say the least, surprising and if as the Medical Officer of Health suggests "pure indifference accounts for the majority of those declarations," it is high time that the danger to the community should be clearly set forth.
Several games of curling were enjoyed on the new pond at Golspie during the past few days.
Mr John Polson, Golspie, was the leading winner in a competition held on Tuesday in which a number of local and Brora curlers took part. Yesterday a thaw set in, and the Lairg representatives who visited Golspie were unable to carry out their programme.
London is preparing to give King George and Queen Mary a truly British welcome on their return from their historic visit to India.
Applications for places at the Thanksgiving Service at St. Paul’s on February 6th far out-number the total of some 4000 tickets which are to be issued. The procession from Buckingham Palace to St. Paul’s is to be marked by high State ceremonial.
The whole route is to be lined by soldiers, but special arrangements are being made for the placing of the military in open order so that the crowds shall have full opportunity of viewing Their Majesties.
The children attending Shinness School, along with their younger brothers and sisters, were last Saturday entertained by Mrs Mundell, Dalchork.
A splendid tea was first partaken of and then games were indulged in. Gramophone selections were given and were much enjoyed by he children.
Before the children left, Mrs Mundell presented each with a nice present and also a box of chocolates and a bag of fruit. Mrs Mundell’s kindness is much appreciated by everyone.
