From the Northern Times 25, 50 and 100 years ago
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25 YEARS AG0
From the newspaper of August 7, 1998
Lairg Crofters Show, scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 15, came perilously close to being cancelled this week for the first time in its 88-year history. Arrangements for the well attended show, the last of its kind to be held in mainland Britain have been thrown into disarray by the summer's dismal weather.
The relentless rain has given no opportunity to harvest hay on the games field and farmer Sandy Allison told show organisers it was highly unlikely the weather would stay dry long enough to enable him to harvest the crop before show day.
Panicked show committee members feared at first they would have to call the whole event off. However, at an emergency meeting held on Wednesday night, the decision was taken to initiate a last minute switch of venue. The event is now set to take place on land at Ferrycroft.
Organisers are confident they will be able to stage most sections of the show although not the horse section. The ground at Ferrycroft has been deemed too soft to allow this section to go ahead.
50 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of August 3, 1973
The G.P.O are to introduce a radio-telephone link between Tongue and Melness at the end of the month. The move heralds the inauguration of a chain of similar links along Sutherland's north coast. the Tongue and Talmine exchanges will sever their long association with the manual switchboard at Lairg on which they depended for trunk calls and which was reached over a tenuous 35 miles of overhead wires. With the introduction of a subscriber trunk dialling (STD), the 100 customers on these exchanges will find themselves able to dial several hundred exchanges instead of the two others which they can dial at present.
A SUGGESTION that the Ministry of Defence plan for an experimental firing range near Tain might be altered in favour of a site in Sutherland, was made at a meeting of Sutherland County Council in Dornoch last Monday. The Tain proposal was for firing out to sea, but Mr Michael Burnett, Creich, suggestd that the site should be in the Lairg district on an area of wasteland.
100 YEARS AGO
From the newspaper of August 2, 1923
Miss McLeod, who has acted in Kinlochbervie as district nurse during the last two years has tendered her resignation. She attended about 40 maternity and a few surgical cases in which she has given every satisfaction. Her genial smiles and affectionate words always helped to brighten, comfort and encourage her patients. Being a fully certificated nurse, combined with all her other numerous and necessary qualifications, her resignation is regretted. However, as she is to prosecute her practice in another county, she carries with her the best wishes of the community.
The Gruids mill is now completed and Mr Corbett, the miller, who is a practical and experienced hand, will commence milling as early as possible. Some grain has been reserved from last year for milling at Gruids and this will be dealt with first. The parish will soon reap the benefit of having a meal mill practically at their door and save the considerable cost of transit by rail incurred by having to send to other mills outside the parish. The machinery is all new.
