Delve into the past with a look through the columns of the East Lothian News and Musselburgh News.
From our edition of September 4, 2009100 years agoFIRE was observed to have broken out in one of the sheds at Whitecraig Farm, occupied by Councillor Aitken of Musselburgh Town Council, and owned by Sir Alexander Hop
e. The discovery was made by the grieve, and he promptly took steps to stamp out the outbreak, but was greatly handicapped in the work by the want of water. A number of willing workers were found in the miners of the surrounding district, and they did yeoman service in keeping the fire at bay, their efforts being directed specifically to the saving of the farmhouse and adjoining hay. The damage is considerable but, we understand, is fully covered by insurance. Most of the outbuildings were destroyed.
MUSSELBURGH School Board held its monthly meeting, ex-Provost Whitelaw presided. The Inspector's report on the Grammar School was read, and was regarded as highly satisfactory, the results of the leaving certificates being particularly commented upon. It was decided that the prizes should be presented to the scholars in Fisherrow School.
50 years agoTHE first ever "field day" at a mink farm in Scotland took place at Newhailes Mink Farm, Musselburgh, when the farm was open to visitors and mink breeders from all over Britain. Among the guests were top men from the Hudson Bay Co., and Mr J C Caine, the largest mutation mink breeder in Canada. He brought to Scotland 15 of the most exclusive coloured mink — unduplicated in any part of the world. Mr Caine also had with him 20 of the top skins from his last collection.
AMONG the most successful evening classes at Musselburgh last season were those specially requested. They included fly-tying, motor maintenance, golf and basketball. These will be continued this session and in addition classes on pottery, and a ladies class in household repairs and decorating have been asked for.
VISITING Musselburgh next week is the Central Council for the Care of Cripples Travelling Exhibition of everyday aids for the disabled on its first tour of Scotland.
25 years agoANOTHER soup kitchen has been set up in East Lothian to feed the families of striking miners. The Ormiston strike committee aim to provide a meal and a pudding each day to miners, their wives and children. Based in the village's miners' welfare club, the soup kitchen served 60 meals when it opened for the first time on Monday. Ormiston brings the number of soup kitchens for miners and their families in East Lothian to six, the others being at Prestonpans, Tranent, Wallyford, Whitecraig and Musselburgh.
PRIVATE houses in Tranent and Musselburgh may be offered for sale at discount price to council tenants in East Lothian. Scottish Residential Estates Ltd have offered to reduce by £1,000 the price of their one-bedroom houses on estates at East Windygoul, Tranent, and Mucklets, Musselburgh. East Lothian District Council want a discount of around 10 per cent on the present selling prices, £20,250 in Tranent and £21,500 in Musselburgh.
10 years ago WORK to transform the fountain in Musselburgh High Street into an official war memorial is on schedule for completion by the end of October. The £58,000 project is being jointly funded by the Musselburgh War Memorial Remembrance Fund and East Lothian Council in memory of the sons of Musselburgh who gave their lives between 1939 and 1945. The work being carried out includes the restoration of the stonework, landscaping and the creation of a seating area. The memorial will also feature a roll of honour bearing the names of the 214 local servicemen known to have died during the Second World War.
THE Salvation Army building in Prestonpans is to be closed for six months while it undergoes an extensive refurbishment and modernisation programme. When work is complete it is hoped the premises, which will be made more user-friendly, will be more extensively used by more groups and organisations in the community. The usual Sunday meetings are to be held at St Gabriel's Church hall.
Interested in local history? Find out more by contacting East Lothian Local History Centre and Scran, both of which hold fascinating records of life in East LothianFrom our edition of September 11, 2009100 years agoTWO separate batches of boys and young men were brought before Bailie Kelt at Musselburgh Police Court charged with playing cards on the Links and at the Haugh. The younger lads were fined 10s with the alternative of five days in jail each; and the older offenders 15s, or ten days' each. It so happened that the offences were committed on Sunday afternoons, and the Bailie, addressing the boys, asked them if they had ever learned to put the Sabbath day to a better use or had they ever learned in the Shorter Catechism the question which dealt with the keeping of the Lord's Day? (Boys — "Yes, sir"),. They might be very thankful that they had the Sabbath, and ought to think shame for not employing their time better.
AT Inveresk School Board, it was reported that nothing had been done to introduce a water supply to Cowpits. The Clerk said it appeared to him that instead of the County Council forcing the Board to introduce a water supply to Cowpits they ought to do it themselves. It was agreed to write and state the matter would receive the Board's attention.
50 years agoWHAT must surely be an all-time record and worthy of inclusion in Wisden to be recorded for all cricketing time was the performance of Musselburgh on Saturday when they dismissed a Department of Agriculture XI for 10 runs. But the low total was not the outstanding feature of the innings. Ten batsmen failed to score — 10 batsmen with ducks! Could the wicket be blamed? Hardly, because Musselburgh, who batted first, made 150 for 8 declared. Only T Philson had any success with the bat and scored 5 runs, the remaining five runs being extras. Responsible for the batting collapse were M Sugden, who took three wickets for no runs, his younger brother, 14-year-old Roger, with two for none, W Martin one for none and A Hare four for five.
BRUNTONS Ltd of Musselburgh have received an order for 82 tons of piano wire from the East German Government, valued at £18,000. The order was placed this week at the Scottish Industries Exhibition in Glasgow.
25 years agoEAST Lothian received a jobs boost this week with the announcement that as many as 80 new jobs may be provided by Ferranti at the former radar station near Tantallon Castle. The site was previously used for light industrial research purposes by Ranco Motors and Lemac Ltd before it was vacated two years ago. Ferranti will continue to use the buildings in connection with the research and development of electrical equipment. A permanent staff of between 20 and 30, mostly skilled engineers, will be employed on the site, although this could rise to between 60 and 80 at times.
THE "Moonies," who own Belhaven Manor House, Dunbar, hope to spend £250,000 developing their grounds and building eight houses within their walled garden. Members of the Sun Myung Moon Foundation, who no longer occupy the prominent old building, wish to build two terraces of six houses in one part of the garden and a further two houses at the paddock to the east of the manor.
10 years agoYOU'RE never too old to say I love you — as Bobby and Minnie Gibson will confirm. Both in their 90s, Bobby and Minnie, of Moir Avenue, Musselburgh, this week looked back on 70 years of happy marriage as they celebrated their platinum wedding anniversary. Married at the Co-op Tearooms in Musselburgh on September 6, 1929, they first met as youngsters while attending Fisherrow School.
THE £1m redevelopment of the out-patient department at Roodlands Hospital in Haddington will reach a new phase next month when work on the extension will start. In the first extension of services at the hospital in recent years, the new out-patient department is expected to be ready by August 2000. The radiography suite has already been upgraded with the installation of new X-ray equipment capable of large scale screening, at a cost of £250,000. Refurbishment of the back half of the out-patient department is nearing completion. Work will start next month to provide new consulting rooms and more comfortable waiting areas.
Interested in local history? Find out more by contacting East Lothian Local History Centre and Scran, both of which hold fascinating records of life in East LothianFrom our edition of September 18, 2009100 years agoBETWEEN Saturday night and Sunday morning the village of Inveresk was visited by a destructive gang of garden thieves, and many of the most beautiful and productive gardens in the district suffered from the effects of their successful efforts in pillaging and destroying the fruit trees, vineries and greenhouses. The raid must have been well planned for advantage was taken of the absence on holiday of the village constable. At Inveresk Gate the vinery was broken into and some 16 bunches of grapes removed, while at Oak Lodge the plum and pear trees were stripped of all their crop. Going then, presumably, to Manor House, the greenhouse was broken into and an excellent crop of tomatoes was pulled. At Springfield the thieves directed special attention to the trees laden with Victoria plums, and have almost stripped the trees. On Tuesday they appear to have visited Pinkie Hill with the apple trees stripped of their fruit. Naturally, the Inveresk people are in a state of anger at the loss of their fruit and the wholesale destruction of their gardens.
50 years agoTHE Rope, Twine and Net Council have agreed that all hourly paid workers are to have their wages increased. This will affect some 500 workers at Stuart's net mills, Musselburgh. For the new starts it will mean that girls of 15 will have a commencing wage in the region of £3 10s weekly, rising to £5 5s at 18 with, of course, the prospect of increased earnings through piece and bonus rates as efficiency improves. Commenting on the new rate for girls, Mrs L Tully, Employment and Welfare Officer, said: "When it is remembered that the company also pay travelling expenses for all employees up to 17½ years of age who reside outwith the Musselburgh boundary, the wages would seem, to say the least, to be a very fair return for the normal five day week."
IT appears to be generally accepted by all concerned that the private street in Musselburgh known as Beulah is in a very unsatisfactory state and in need of resurfacing.
25 years agoDUNBAR does not have a parking problem — in fact there are several unnecessary spaces in the town centre which are not used, according to Lothian Region's highways department. Members of the local community council who recently asked a delegation from the highways to try and resolve the hectic parking arrangements were stunned when a letter from the region gave the results of a survey and said the town had an excess of 60 spaces. Mr Eddie Scoughall suggested that if highways surveyors did visit Dunbar "it must have been on a Wednesday afternoon when all the shops were closed."
A MINISTER has hit out at the Lothian Presbytery for "dragging its heels" over involvement in the miners' strike. Rev George Charlton made his remarks after the Presbytery withdrew his motion to urge the government to intervene in the dispute. Mr Charlton, whose parish of St Ninian's, Musselburgh, has many mining families said: "This is the worst industrial dispute since the General Strike in 1926."
10 years agoTHE world famous New Year Sprint could be staged in Musselburgh this year in a move to give the event a much-needed "kiss of life." Councillors in East Lothian gave their backing to plans to host the event at Musselburgh Racecourse, as part of a major festive spectacle which would combine national hunt racing with the last sprint finals of the Millennium. Older than the modern Olympics and unique in the annals of sporting history, the New Year Sprint was established in 1870 and survived the two World Wars without a break.
LONGNIDDRY Primary School has been hailed as the "best in Scotland" following a good report from schools inspectors. At a meeting of East Lothian education committee, director Ann Marie Carrie said it was a truly excellent report and that staff, pupils and parents should be commended. She commented: "It is an excellent school and, dare I say it, the best in Scotland." Local councillor Peter Ford said: "I am delighted with the report. It is something we should all be proud of in East Lothian."
Interested in local history? Find out more by contacting East Lothian Local History Centre and Scran, both of which hold fascinating records of life in East LothianFrom our edition of September 25, 2009100 years agoDURING the past week, the police have been working most assidiously in their endeavour to unravel the mystery enveloping the finding of a woman's nude body in the pit shaft at Olive Bank, Musselburgh, and every day something new came to light in connection with the mysterious affair. Mr Renton, Procurator Fiscal, who is in charge of the investigations, said: "The body has now been identified as that of Georgina or Jeannie Burnett, a woman of the unfortunate class, who was known as 'Dundee Doddy'." Though the girl had fallen into evil ways before she left Tayside, her parents were respectable people. We learn late last night that the Musselburgh police have arrested two Musselburgh labourers in connection with the murder.
AT Edinburgh Sheriff Court, four Musselburgh lads, Thos Lalley, 61 Eskside; James Langlands, 3 Mitchell Street; James Salkeld, 3 Mitchell Street; and Gordon Maxwell, 17 North High Street, were fined £1 for raids on Inveresk gardens.
50 years agoMUSSELBURGH'S John White, football star who plays for Falkirk and who has worn Scotland's jersey, "cut the tape" at the open-dance in the Lotus Club. Many years ago the premises were used as a dance hall and it was in 1912 that it became a cinema. The dance hall of nearly 50 years ago belonged to Mr Macdonald and was one of the first dance halls in Musselburgh. So on the opening night, waltzing couples danced on the floor used by their parents before 1912. As Provost James Lannan watched the gay scene, he was, he said, reminded of his "dancing years" in 1907. In 1912 the ballroom was converted into the Pavilion Cinema and in 1950 Mr George J Dickson, Tranent, took over and the Pavilion became known as the Arcadia Cinema. The arduous process of converting the old cinema into a ballroom started in 1958. Mr Dickson hopes to form a club which will cater for the less rowdy element in the town. Edwardian dress will, says Mr Dickson, be banned and no jiving will be allowed. Mr Ian Moffat and his band supplied the music.
25 years agoTANTALLON Castle, the scene of several historic sieges, is to act as a fortress again — all in the cause of charity. It is more than 300 years since the castle last saw action when, in 1651, Tantallon was defended against several thousand of Cromwell's troops. On September 28 it will once more be the scene of a realistic, if smaller, siege when four members of staff of the Scottish Council for Spastics are sentenced to 24 hours imprisonment, their only sustenance being bread and water. Bail will only be granted for Mary McKay, Fiona McGurk, John de Courcey and Eddie McGill after 24 hours if the public have sent donations to the Society.
CYCLISTS from all over the Lothians demonstrated over the removal of the "Smeaton" line at Whitecraig on Sunday. The disused railway route between Smeaton and Cowpits Road is under threat from the plan to remove the line to provide construction material for the Musselburgh bypass. Support for their protest came from East Edinburgh MP Gavin Strang and local councillors.
10 years agoTHE company behind plans for an opencast mine at Harry's Burn near Elphinstone has set up meetings with local community councils to outline details of their plans. A spokesman for Perth-based I and H Brown said: "I can confirm that we intend to apply for planning permission from East Lothian Council for an opencast coal site which is substantially smaller than the original application.
HOUSEHOLDERS in Ormiston will soon be able to have gas installed in their homes. Transco, in conjunction with East Lothian Council, have installed gas supplies to the village and now householders are being given the chance to have the supply linked to their home. Work began on laying mains in the village in spring.
AFEAST of special activities has been organised at the Museum of Flight at East Fortune to celebrate European Heritage Day. With roots dating back to 1915, East Fortune is now the best preserved of more than 600 airfields constructed during WW2.
Interested in local history? Find out more by contacting East Lothian Local History Centre and Scran, both of which hold fascinating records of life in East Lothian
