Paw Prints June 2007 (Vol. 14, No 2) Index

New Southeast Region Commissioner

by Howard Shaw, CSA, FSA Scot, Chairman
ZELLNA SHAW has agreed to become our new Southeast Region Commissioner for Clan Chattan USA. Zellna is well known among the Scottish families of the Southeast Area, where she has attended the Scottish Games and Gatherings for many years.

She replaces TOM SHEETS who asked to be relieved because of his time commitments. Thank you, Tom, for your services of the past years.

We look forward to having Zellna represent Clan Chattan USA at the Stone Mountain, Jacksonville and perhaps other Florida and Georgia games.

If you are in the area be sure to stop by and offer Zellna your help and to meet one of the Scottish family's great ladies.

Clan Chattan USA Board Election

by Howard Shaw, CSA, FSA Scot, Chairman
Each year approximately one-half of our Board of Trustees seats are up for election or re-election. This provides a continuity of experience and knowledge to the activities of the Board.

This year the following seats are up for election or re-election:

WESTERN AREA: BILL (?) WOODS, RANDY GLENN
NORTH CENTRAL AREA: BILL MCINTOSH
SOUTH CENTRAL AREA: HARRY SMITH
SOUTHEAST AREA: ZELLNA SHAW
CENTRAL EAST AREA: FRED C. SHAW
NORTHEAST AREA: GEORGE WISEMAN

Those wishing to place their name in consideration for a Board Seat within their Area should send a letter of Intent to Seek a Seat and an agreement to serve if elected to:

Howard Shaw
hemkshaw@aol.com
(email for mailing address/telephone --WebMomCat)
To place another person's name in nomination requires a letter of consent and a willingness to serve if elected.

Please participate in the election process to make your organization responsive to your wishes.

The Arizona Express

by Howard Shaw, CSA, FSA Scot, Chairman
The Arizona Express has been slowed but not derailed!

Since about 1987 the Arizona Area has been efficiently, effectively and lovingly served by two of the most dedicated Clan Chattan USA persons by the name of Ora Beth Cesarini and Kay Morneau.

In 1985 and 1987 Marialyce and I traveled to Tucson, AZ to represent Clan Shaw and Chief John Shaw and his Lady, Sylvia. Shortly after that we became involved with Clan Chattan USA. At that time Ora Beth and Kay took over the job of representing Clan Chattan USA: Ora Beth as Southwest Area Trustee and Kay as Arizona State Commissioner. Since that time the Arizona Region has grown tremendously in popularity and strength.

After years of yeoman service these two stalwarts have asked to be relieved of some of their duties as their strength, but not their ardor, has diminished to a point of not being able to carry on the physical effort required to set up and service three tents at every Arizona Scottish Games and Gatherings.

They are seeking persons of sufficient ardor, devotion and effort to help them represent Clan Chattan USA in the Southwest Area.

Our hats are off to their years of devoted service over the many past years and hope that both of them will recover their health. Their knowledge, devotion and effort on the part of Clan Chattan USA will not be lost in Arizona as I am sure that their presence will be felt by their many friends and fellow Scots.

Our heartfelt thanks to both of you from your Clan Chattan USA family.

Editorial

by Alonso D. Chattan, Editor
Words seem hollow and fall far short of the heart-felt sentiment intended in my personal thanks to those dear people who have served Clan Chattan so well and faithfully for so many years.

Thank you, ORA BETH and KAY for all your hard work.

I have known these ladies for many years and I always felt very welcome and, indeed, like meeting family every time I had occasion to speak to them in either letter or in person. Two very gracious and wonderful people.

Please send me items for publication. We all want to share in your experiences and family highlights: those weddings and births and happy occasions.

Any tips on traveling would be welcome. I just got back from a fourth trip to Spain. Spain is a gallant land... as the song says (Inniskillin Dragoon). I recommend it to anyone thinking of visiting. Lots of Brits there. And a whole lot of Irish Pubs...every major city seems to have one.

The Black Watch

by A. D. Chattan, Editor
With the amalgamation of the Black Watch, the 42nd Highland Regiment, into the newly formed Highland Regiment, we lost a bit of glorious history.

Things must change, of course, but it is still sad to lose this wonderful bit of Scottish history, indeed of military history.

The portrait of Prince Charles is the last we will see of the glorious uniform of the gallant forty-twa.

As Colonel-in-Chief of the Regiment, Prince Charles was painted in the full-dress uniform of the Black Watch. It is a wonderful painting that ushers into history a glorious and brave chapter of Scottish tradition.


A truly beautiful painting by Miss Georgina Barclay.
It will hang in the museum of the Black Watch.
To see more of the painting, please go to The Black Watch

A Tribute to Our Southwest Regional State Commissioners

by Ora Beth Cesarini
Southwest Commissioner, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico
My gratitude and thanks go to our three Clan Chattan Kin who have served here in the Southwest for many years and continue to serve, as State Commissioners. They proudly represent Clan Chattan with their commitment and loyalty.

First, a bit of history. It was my privilege and pleasure to appoint these officers:

KAY MORNEAU
Northern Arizona Commossioner 1989-1991
Arizona State Commissioner, 1991
18 years of service to date.

WILLIAM (BILL) GLENN
Nevada State Commissioner, 1996
11 years of service to date

TAMMIE DEAN
New Mexico State Commissioner, 1999
8 years of service to date

A special thank you to Past New Mexico Commissioners
MARK McCLUNY, 1991-1995 and
TOM THOMASON, 1995-1999

As our members know, it requires a great deal of commitment and responsibility to have our Clan Chattan tents at the Games in our states. A commitment of personal time, energy, materials and finances. But along with this comes the reward of our Clan Family fellowship: family and friends, lots of good fun, the satisfaction of providing a "home" at our Games and sharing materials with the many people searching for their family connections. What fun and excitement to welcome new members!

Our three Commissioners have reached a time that they can no longer manintain our State tents. They will continue to serve as State Commissioners and look forward to seeing you at the Games and Scottish community activities during the year, but there will be no home tents. Bill will continue to work with the Nevada State Legislature and SAMS to promote Scottish Heritage. I highly commend and praise Kay, Tammie and Bill! They will keep Clan Chattan well represented.

It is our most sincere wish to encourage any of our members who can accept the responsibility of maintaining a Clan Chattan tent to please contact us. We need you!!!

Kay: email not available
Bill: navywaglenn@sbcglobal.net
Tammie: tldean@unm.edu
Ora Beth: orabeth@msn.com

We and our National Officers will support your and help you get started! Our State Games need Clan Chattan tents for "home"!

Important Stuff from Cindy

by Cindy Davis

MEMBERSHIP
PLEASE FOLKS, renew! This is your last chance!

WEB SITE
We have a website under construction: www.ClanChattan.org
Please bookmark it. It will have links to other sites and Wildcat items (to help save them) for sale.

PLEASANTON
We have given up our Saturday night BBQ at the campgrounds as we were losing too much money. We have reserved a space at BLACK FORTY BBQ at 6:30pm, Saturday night. Black Forty is just down the road from the Radission Hotel.

Please let me know if you would like to come as we have limited space.

PLEASANTON
If you would like to help set up on Friday, please be there around 11:00am. We can use all the help we can get.

Cindy and Neil and friends put in a hard time setting up the Clan Chattan area. It is a big job and she could really use and appreciate your help.

To contact Cindy and any other members of the Board of Trustees or the Commissioners, check out this issue under Clan Chattan Board of Trustees or page seven of your hardcopy issue of the June 2007 PAW PRINTS. It has the contact email addresses for them. -Ed.

A Home Alarm System You Already Have

by Alonso D. Chattan, Editor

A friend sent me the following information and I think it is well worth passing on.

It is too bad but we have to think about these things: home alarm systems.

If you have been thinking of putting one in but it is too expensive, you may have an alternative in your possession. Your car alarm.

Many, if not most, car systems allow you to activate your car alarm by remote control from your key system. It has been recommended that you keep your car "keys" next to your bed on the bedside table.

Should you hear what you think is an intruder, you may want to activate the horn on your car. In most cases this is likely to scare off a thief.

It is easy enough to see if your system has the range from your bedroom to the garage. Try it.

Also, in case of an emergency, activating the car alarm could be a way of notifying your neighbors that you need help. By letting the horn blow and blow, you are likely to capture the attention of neightbors.

While not as good as an actual alarm system, this does offer an alternative. It is really a pretty good idea.

Arizona Desert Cats

Information from Kay Morneau & Ora Beth Cesarini

We want to sincerely express our deepest gratitude to DANE KENYON CORMAC for keeping the Clan Chattan up and running SO smoothly at the February Mesa Highland Games when both Kay and Ora Beth became ill on Sunday. Between Dane and PEGGY McBAIN complementing each other, we are confident the tent was in excellent hands.

This is the 20th year Clan Chattan has had a tent at Arizona's Games. The number of games has risen from two to five a year. We have taken a tent to New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada. Although it is very hard to admit, we know it is time for us to retire our work with the Clan Chattan tent.

We will, however, both retain our positions as Southwest Regional Commissioner and Arizona State Commissioner. We will continue informing members about Scottish and Celtic activities in the Desert Cats newsletter. You are welcome to call any time if you have questions or need information.

As commissioners we give our support to any member or members who assume the responsibilities of the tent. These include a great commitment of time, finances, abilities to store, transport, set up, tear down, and man the tent plus remember you represent a CONFEDERACY of great clans, not just one. We know it is a huge commitment, but it comes with a fulfilling kinship of clan family.

As special thank you goes out to DAVE and JOY McCORMICK and family of Clan Mackintosh for their years of helping us store, transport, and set up our tent, manning it, and sharing their vast knowledge of all things Scottish.

There are so very many clan kin, and our own family members, who have volunteered their time and effort to our Clan Chattan tent. To all of them we send our love and thanks for stepping forward when they saw the need, be it our tent or somehow helping the games progress.

We often think, with great appreciation, of all our loyal members. Many of them have been with us for 20 years to offer their support. The warm, outstanding camaraderie and companionship will be recalled when we think about all the great games and the wonderful Spring Picnics. Remember when??!! The Dolly Steamboat on Canyon Lake, Scottish sounds of bagpipes bouncing off the stone cliffs of Apache Leap (Picket Post Mountain) at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Beth Ba Gowah Indian Ruins in Globe, and the great fun at towering Picacho Peak State Park. At South Mountain, a Phoenix city park, Clan Chattan invited the entire Caledonian Society of Arizona to join us and make the picnic a fund raiser for money lost on a rained-out game in 1993. We all enjoyed CATHERINE McGUIRE's ideas for competitions of The Bonny Knees, Wiggle Waggle, Pin the Sporran on the Jock, and Haggis Hurl-Kilt Catch Over the Bum. And who could forget our most unusual picnic at Oracle, north of Tucson, when we toured an old historical pioneer mansion? And what about Casa Grande Ruins and the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum? These years of friendship with our Clan Chattan members and friends have greatly enriched our lives.

A final word of gratitude goes to the many Clan Chattan USA officers, past and present, who have provided guidance and support -- many times attending the games with us personally. It was always an honor and pleasure to have them here. We send special love and thanks to HOWARD and MARIALYCE SHAW, NEIL and CINDY DAVIS, ANDREW and SUSAN AMERSON, and ALONSO CHATTAN.

We will always look forward to seeing you at the coming games and events.

Signed,
Kay Morneau
Ora Beth Cesarini orabeth@msn.com

Upcoming Events

Arizona Highland Celtic Festival
July 21-22
Foxglenn Park
Flagstaff, Arizona
928-556-3161

Early Info
Tucson will have two-day games November 3-4
529-888-1058

Tartan Color Myths

I remember that as a young boy I was told that the British had forced the Scots to sew a yellow line into their tartans as a sign of cowardness. Of course, that is not true but many myths are around and believed to be true when it comes to such things as color in tartans.

PHILIP D. SMITH, Jr., Phd., FSA Scot, a member of the Guild of Tartan Scholars and President of the International Association of Tartan Studies wrote a very interesting article about common myths surrounding tartans. Here is some of his article which appeared in The Family Tree in 2002.

"There is a myth that the number of colors in a tartan denoted the rank of the wearer. Of course, this is not true.

"There are no references to tartan in Scotland before the 1500's. The first that specifies colors is the feu duty imposed by the king on a MacLean in 1587 which details only three colors: black, green and white. Early literature describes the "wild Scots" in long shirts of a yellow-brownish color now known as "saffron" but certainly not dyed from the flower...check your spice rack in the store for the price of saffron!

"Tartan began to appear in the 1500's, perhaps since the introduction of sheep from which it was easiest to harvest wool than to produce linen. Wool is easier to spin and weave than flax and it more readily takes dye. However, there are drawbacks to wool as the color varies from strand to strand. Weaving a large, solid color can result in a blotchy look. This may be why the Scots took to weaving tartan.

"The earliest portrait that we know depicting tartan being worn is of Countess of Lennox, daughter of the Earl of Angus and mother-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots. Her tartan has four colors, two of which are shades of red. In the early 1700's numerous clan chiefs sat for portraits in tartans that are mostly black and white.

"It may be that the color red carried with it some sign of wealth. Red thread was hard to come by and was used sparingly.

"Another myth in color is the use of a secret code known as "Color Ogham" woven into the sett telling what clan the tartan belonged to. This comes from post 1845 to advance a theory. This has been discredited.

"There simply is not a "Color Ogham" system.

"In 1592 Angus Macintosh was killed whilst leading a raid on Ruthven Castle. His assailant crept out under the shelter of ruins and "...levels his piece at one of the Clan Chattan clothed in a yellow warr coat (amongst them is the badge of Chieftaines or heads of Clans..." and fired. This is a clear reference to the saffron short - of only one color which identified his rank."
History of the Gordons - MS in the National Library of Scotland).

YOUR EDITOR'S OPINIONS OF TARTANS

The Irish tartans have made their appearance in the last 7 or so years. They are mostly made up for the consumer. While a few Irish tartans do exist, the vast majority of them are District tartans and for the most part are really of a single color; not a tartan, as such.

Irish dancers have appeared in kilts of red, green, etc. These are worn by the men as the women tend to wear lovely dresses with intricate designs.

I have been told that the saffron "tartan" was re-introduced into the Irish regiments and that this color of ancient Ireland was chosen so as not to raise feelings of animosity among the Catholic and Protestant members of the military. The saffron shirt was used in Ireland as well as Scotland in the early days.

For the most part, clan tartans are a created thing but I believe it in no way diminishes their importance. After all, we have accepted the concept that certain tartans represent particular clans. Nothing wrong with that as long as we all agree: it seems we do.

The variety of available tartans is limited only by the imagination of the mills. We can purchase weathered, ancient, modern, hunting, etc., etc. We even have the dress tartans for the ladies. These consist of the background being taken out and leaving only white. Many are very, very attractive. Our Clan Chattan dress tartan is very striking. However, the accepted use is strictly for the ladies.

Many military units have a tartan: the U.S. Air Force, Army and Marines to name a few. You can even have your own design made up. It becomes official if the Lord Lyon accepts it. It is not a cheap process. A famous Glasgow Italian ice cream maker, whose family came from Italy, and who traces his family's history in Scotland for several generations, has a tartan, officially accepted, called Macaroni.

Even Walt Disney had the McDuck tartan officially accepted and granted an okay by the Lord Lyon.

There are a few "protected" tartans that you may not purchase without permission. One belongs to the Royal Family and the Fraser military tartan is another.

All in all, it is a fascinating topic and volumes have been written about the subject. Personally, I like my ancient Clan Chattan but I use the Black Watch or Government Tartan in my re-enacting. I also really like my Irish saffron kilt that I use in St. Patrick Day parades. It is nice to have a choice.

Impact of Tartan Day in the USA

A. D. Chattan, Editor
This year I attended a Tartan Day event in Northern California. It seems that the idea of celebrating Scottish Heritage is growing.

Today I received my copy of The Claymore which is the newsletter of the Council of Scottish Clans & Associations which is located in North Riverside, Illinois. They put out an informative and valuable publication that addresses issues in the USA pertaining to our Scottish Heritage.

There is an article about Tartan Day which addresses the growing nature of the event. It quotes MR. GUS NOBLE, "Increasing numbers of Americans of Scottish descent are joining regional Scottish and clan societies, attending Highland games, and subscribing to Scottish-oriented publications."

The article goes on to say how people in Scotland are becoming more aware of the global attitude of recognizing Scottish heritage and customs. In other words, a greater sense of kinship with the rest of the world as regards the identity of those of Scottish descent have the "shared values of their ancestral homeland."

An excellent example is New York City which hosted a Tartan Week in which, "the Rt. Hon. GEORGE REID led 1800 pipers, drummers, clans and 50 tail-wagging Westies and Scotties up 6th Avenue on a beautiful Saturday this past April 14th."

To get the full flavor of these events, along with music, go to the website TartanWeek.com.

To see the nationwide reach of National Tartan Day click on TartanDay.org.

The Clan Currie Society put on a colorful ceremony at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum. They have successfully put on this event for six years. It attracted over 12 thousand visitors to the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island.

I have mentioned the publication, The Claymore, before and if you are interested, you may contact them for details about getting a subscription. Send your inquiry to:

Council of Scottish Clans & Associations
2800 S. Desplaines Avenue
North Riverside, IL 60646
(Tell them you heard about them in Paw Prints)

Editorial Follow-Up

As I mentioned in my editorial, I was recently in the south of Spain. My daughter, Cassandra, took this picture of my grandson, Leif, playing on a very modern playground in front of a magnificent Moorish castle of about the 1100's.

It is really a great contrast of the new and the old.

The ruins are all being fixed up and are great to visit.

Chiefs of Clan Chattan

Click here here to be taken to the list of the Chiefs of Clan Chattan.

The Clans and Septs of Clan Chattan

Click here here to be taken to the list of the Clans and Septs of Clan Chattan.

Paw Prints

email: Alonso D. Chattan, Editor
(email for mailing address/telephone --WebMomCat)

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