Hamish MacKellar Remembers
John McNaughton has been recording the reminiscences of Hamish at 95. Here are some edited highlights from the ealy years
My mother’s father was shoemaker at Springfield. My other grandfather was the tenant at Feorlinn. When he died my father took it. I was born there in April 1912 on the Sunday before the Titanic went down. I was recalling this to a man in a pub once. He said “Aye, that’ll be two disasters in the one week then.â€
Springfield isn’t there now. It fell into ruin. After WW1, MacCrae bought it along with Ardachuple and Feorlinn when prices were high. He thought to make a fortune but prices collapsed.
We moved to Shellfield in 1920 with 300 ewes at £7 a head and just 3 or 4 cows. This was the home farm and my father came in as shepherd. When the prices dropped he was out of a job, so he took the farm when sheep were cheap at £2 a head.
We ploughed to plant the turnips, tatties and corn. We sold eggs and that to the yachts and used to let the house to Glasgow Fair folk in the summer. We fed on braxy and muttonand salted herring. We’d kill a pig and had big hams hanging from the roof.
We had our provisions from MacSimon’s in Greenock. He’d be around each month taking orders that’d come to the pier in tea chests. Niel Black came down with his pony and trap collecting for folk up the Glen.
It was a busy road at Shellfield then. The Glen’s beasts were taken off Ormidale pier and would be kept here overnight.There used to be a lot of goats. I can mind about 30 around here. They ate a lot of grass did those goats and kept shifting around.
When I played shinty in the 30’s we had a lot of folk for the team. Competition was fierce. We were in the final against Kingussie. Ther put me and another out of team and called in two players from Tighnabruaich. We lost 2:1.
January 1st, 2010 at 9:22 pm
I visited Hamish and Jimmy Mackellar in 1974 stayed at their farm and enjoyed myself immensely particularly an evening with Hamish and his younger son Hamish at the Clachan. Jimmy was my mother’s aunt (maiden name Pringle) and I recall she had the most infectious laugh. I last saw Jimmy when she and my grandmother visited us in Ottawa Canada about 1981. I’d love to read the unedited interview if it was available.