Fond memories of the late Jack Maclennan MBE
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COLUMN: Food for Thought by Sandy Sutherland
Many who read these Food For Thought articles will remember with great affection the late Jack MacLennan of Brora.
Although Jack worked at Brora Colliery for 25 years, and 25 years at Brora Woollen Mill, he wore many ‘hats’ – including Brora correspondent for the Northern Times. The Brora News section was known for its detailed accuracy, variety of reporting with informative preciseness. Every local funeral, for example, was not only reported but every relative and cord-bearer recorded.
Jack had been a member of the “Secret Army” during contingency plans against possible invasion after the fall of Norway in 1940. Jack later served with the Royal Army Service Corps.
In his younger days, Jack held the local record for running the mile in four minutes 10 seconds. A local, anecdotal story tells us that if Jack didn’t wear tackety boots when he ran he would have smashed the four-minute mile long before Roger Bannister!
In “retirement”, after many years of involvement with the Brora registry, Jack became Brora’s registrar and archivist working in the Registrar’s Office until his death on June 25, 1999 at the age of 97.
In 1918, he became session clerk at Brora (or as Jack preferred to call it “Clyne”) Free Church; he also served as congregational treasurer, and for 61 years was the Sunday School superintendent. Jack succeeded his father as the congregation’s precentor in 1956.
In addition to his local responsibilities, Jack, as a lay-reader, conducted church services in both Caithness and Sutherland. I personally recall him speaking in both Brora Free Church and in lower Brora’s Fisherman’s Hall (a weekly inter-denominational after-church fellowship). I have re-used many of his sermon illustrations on different occasions.
Jack was awarded the MBE in 1986 for services to the community. I remember this year well because it was the same year I declared my interest in studying for the ministry. Jack was one of the first to encourage me in this and in so doing gave me a number of books out of his theological library.
Prior to my retirement, I considerably down-sized my study library but I retained one of Jack’s books as it not only reminds me of him (his name and date – March 20, 1926 – is hand written in ink on the inside cover) but it proved very helpful in the preparation of Children’s Addresses.
The preparation of a children’s talk for a Sunday morning service can be the thing of a sleepless Saturday night! One “sleep-saving-spark” in Jack’s book highlights the number of SWs that can be found in John’s gospel chapter 4:
“SW met SW at SW. She was a SW. He gave her SW and she became an SW.”
The first set of SWs are easy enough: The “Samaritan Woman” met the “Saviour of the World” at “Sychar’s Well”. The second set of SWs isn’t too difficult either. “She was a SW but he gave her a drink of SW and she became a SW”?
Over the years, with the help of the children of three congregations, I have added a number of additional SWs to the meeting of the SW with the SW before she was changed from a SW to a SW.
As for Jack: “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, ‘Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord...they will rest from their labour, for their deeds will follow them.’” – Revelation 14: 13.
Sandy Sutherland is a retired minister living in Brora.
