Welcome to the 68th annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games
The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Board of Trustees, Officials and Staff extend a hearty welcome to those coming to the 68th Games July 11 through 14. Our preevent ticket sales are a new record high, with nearly every state in the union represented. We also will have attendees from Scotland, England, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. We are thrilled that the visitors from such far flung locales will be introduced to the NC High Country, and specifically Avery County.
Our Chief of the Games this year is John
MacLeod of Raasay. John and his wife, Liz, are attending from Tasmania, and are very excited for their visit. John and Liz will be joined by 107 clans in addition to the MacLeods.
A total of 24 clans are holding Annual General Meetings this year, and that is surely an alltime record.
Beginning with our Thursday night Calling of the Clans, we expect a big turnout of the Scottish families on the field. Grandfather remains
the largest gathering of Scottish clans in the world. We also have a very strong lineup of presenters in the Scottish Cultural Village, along with our now traditional lineup of food and Scottish goods vendors.
Our shuttle service is expanded this year, both in terms of the number of lots and the number of buses. In addition, we have more food vendors and a greater variety than ever before.
The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games is now literally world famous, and we love that Avery County is ground zero for the Scottish American world one week a year. Scottish or not, please come join the fun for our 68th Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and Gathering of Scottish Clans.
Yours aye,
Steve Quillin PRESIDENT, GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES
2024 GMHG at a Glance & By the Numbers
Number of Scottish Clans and Societies: 108
Number of clan tents: 115
Honored Clan: Clan MacLeod
Distinguished Clans: Clan Hunter
Distinguished Society:
St. Andrew’s Society of North Carolina
Chieftain of the 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games: John MacLeod of Rassy
Approximated
Attendees in 2023: 45,000
Corporate Sponsors:
• Grandfather Scottish
• Scottish Heritage USA
• Coca-Cola
• Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation
•Combs, Tennant & Carpenter, P.C.,
Certified Public Accountants
• Idiom
• Glenmorangie
Food Vendors:
• Allison Concessions
• Cameron’s Bakery & Desserts
• Crossnore Vol. Fire Dept.
• Lanky Lassie’s Shortbread
• Mookie’s Popcorn
• Steele’s Concessions
• Brick Oven Pizza
• Frostie’s Ice Cream Express
• Sips and Sodas
• Cameron’s British Foods
• Mr. Coffee Concierge
• The Scottish Cottage
• What the Cluck?!
• Gus’s Greek Foods
Featured Musical Performers:
• Mari Black
• Ed Miller Braw Band
• Piper Jones Band
• Mike Ogletree
• Sean Healy Band
• Strathspan
• Voices of Valverda
• Tune Sheperds
• Colin Shoemaker
• Seven Nations
• The Reel Sisters
Steve Quillin President, GMHG, Inc.
PHOTO BY ROB MOORE GRANDFATHER
Mountain Highland Games Color Guard marches with flags in tow on the track at MacRae Meadows during the 2023 festival.
Sheepherding dogs corral applause at the GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES
GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN —
Careening around the center field, border collies nipped at the ankles of sheep and lambs for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games’ sheep herding demonstration.
Ben Oulsey DVM and Shona O’Kane have both been working with sheepherding dogs for decades. Oulsey owns the Circle BR Farm in Lawndale and said that he got his first border collie in the 1980s. O’Kane owns the Oak Holler Farm in Statesville and was raised in a sheepherding family. She began training border collies when she was 13 and her mother began training sheepherding dogs. While they don’t work together, O’Kane said that “Me and (Oulsey) are besties, twins basically.”
Together, their dogs herd sheep, lambs and ducks at the Highland Games every year. Between Oulsey and O’Kane, they brought six dogs to the Games, including one puppy, named Texas.
“Texas is a chick magnet,” Oulsey said. “He’s a celebrity.”
The soft-coated, blue-eyed canine is often called Oak Holler’s “Big Sky,” O’Kane said, because Texas is from Montana and has bright blue eyes.
“Last (demonstration) my husband, Jeff, foisted Texas in the air and I’m honestly surprised people weren’t throwing roses at him, they love him so much,” O’Kane said. Texas participated in the “baby herding,” demonstration, where the little pup herded a group of smaller lambs as opposed to full-sized sheep.
The adult dogs herded sheep and ducks around the field, including guiding the ducks through a series of obstacles such as a bridge, a tunnel and up a ramp into a little swimming pool. O’Kane said her dog Bobbi loves herding the sheep and
ducks, but another of her herders, Chip, is enamored with the ducks.
“He’ll work with the sheep, but always keep looking over making sure nobody else is getting the ducks,” O’Kane explained. “They love their job, it’s really instinct to them.”
O’Kane’s dogs ran around the field with tails wagging, crouching low to follow the sheep. The dogs moved swiftly to follow the sheep and herd them back into their corral at the side
of the field, so quickly one of the runners competing on the track was nearly tripped by a pup whizzing past his legs. Receiving loud applause for their work, the canines are a crowd favorite at each year’s Highland Games.
Texas the puppy border collie corrals a group of lambs.
AJT FILE PHOTO
Ducks on the field at MacRae Meadows head toward an obstacle as they are herded.
Camping
Familiar, but different What’s new at this year’s HIGHLAND GAMES
BY CHRISTIAN GARDNER christian.gardner@averyjournal.com
The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games returns for its 68th rendition with several new additions to the legendary gathering of Scottish clans and culture at MacRae Meadows.
Stories and tales of the joys and adventures of camping at the Games have long been a treasured part of the Highland Games experience, as well as the organization of the event. This year, as with each year, a clan and chieftain are recognized with distinction.
John MacLeod is the 18th Chief of the Macleods of Raasay, bringing much pride to the Clan with his distinguished background. Madam Pauline Hunter for the Hunter Clan will be on hand at this year’s Games as well.
Guests will have some new food fare to look forward to as well, as several new food vendors make their way to the hallowed grounds. Greek food will be offered for the
first time in the event’s history, with Gus’ Greek Foods offering a wide variety of food to pick from. Whether a guest wants burgers or hot dogs or wants to enjoy some taste of traditional Scottish cuisine, they’re sure to find it at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
Education abounds for adults and children alike at the Highland Games grounds. The Scottish Cultural Village offers talks and demonstrations from various backgrounds, while kids will also find some new things to enjoy, as several additions to the Children’s Tent have been added, such as new educational entertainment. Be sure to visit these locations to see what’s new.
Although no strangers to the Highland Games, the festival welcomes the return of Seven Nations, who will be in concert in the Groves over the course of the weekend as part of a superior lineup of talented musicians and instrumentalists.
AJT FILE PHOTO
The 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games welcomes new speakers, food offerings and educational opportunities to the event.
Games gives back to area students through SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
BY CHRISTIAN GARDNER christian.gardner@averyjournal.com
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has a policy of “always spending money in Avery County first,” then expanding to meet its needs through investments in neighboring counties.
“This includes only renting items or making purchases away from the High Country if absolutely necessary,” said GMHG President Steve Quillin.
A major local investment that the Games has made for many years is in its greatest resource: its local families and students that are integral to the execution of the Games themselves. The Highland Games has a wonderful working relationship with Avery County High School and its students, providing thousands of dollars in scholarships to Avery County High School graduates each year.
“The amount of which GMHG awards
to students depends on the number of applicants, but the nonprofit gives up to $100,000 each year,” Quillin said. In addition, the scholarships are renewable, meaning that as long as the recipient is in good educational standing, they can receive the scholarship every year until they graduate college.
For 2024, Grandfather Mountain Highland Games awarded $13,500 in fouryear scholarships to 10 deserving student applicants. These scholarships can be used for university purposes, but some students choose to use them for community college or continuing education past high school.
The Games tend to favor students who have either volunteered/worked for the Games or have connections to the Games through the years via the student’s family, but any area student is welcome to apply for scholarship funding through the program.
For more information, visit www.gmhg.org.
BOGO COFFEE DRINKS!
PHOTO BY JAMIE SHELL
Avery High School senior student-athletes Levi Andrews and Ethan Shell sign letters of intent to wrestle for Appalachian State in 2021. Both students are recipients of Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Scholarships through their involvement working with the Games.
SAMPLE SCOTLAND through GMHG Scottish Cultural Village
BY CHRISTIAN GARDNER christian.gardner@averyjournal.com
The Scottish Cultural Village has returned to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games for 2024. The Village features a variety of unique and informative presentations from experts in Scottish culture, focusing on Scottish history and lore. The presentations are set to take place every 30 minutes, starting at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday of the Games, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Blue Ridge Brass, Pipes, and Drums
will perform at noon on Friday and Saturday, and at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Connor Civatte will kick off the day at 10 a.m. on Friday and Saturday with a program on Scotland’s historical soundtrack, and will also present again at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
This year’s cultural village will feature discussions on the influence of Scottish immigrants on the creation of American whiskey, the history of bagpipes, an introduction to clans, chiefs, coats of arms and more.
Additionally, this year’s programs will include a space for stamps for patrons who attend presentations at the village. After collecting five stamps, patrons will
receive a free Scottish Cultural Village stadium cup.
For additional information, visit www.gmhg.org.
AJT FILE PHOTO
Lin Robinson (left) and Winston Tatum demonstrating some traditional Scottish weaponry at the Scottish Cultural Village Tent.
Tickets to Grandfather Mountain Highland Games a CHERISHED COMMODITY
BY CHRISTIAN GARDNER christian.gardner@averyjournal.com
While online advance general ticket sales have ended, a common occurrence for the hot ticket that is the largest Scottish gathering of clans in the nation, it isn’t too late to get your tickets to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. Tickets can be purchased at MacRae Meadows on the day of the events at the entrance gate. Patrons who purchased tickets during the advance sale should have received their tickets in the mail several weeks before the Games. Parking is available on the mountain only for those with appropriate passes, but the festival offers several convenient shuttle locations around the area, where patrons can park for free but will need to purchase a shuttle bus pass per ticket holder upon arrival each day. These are round-trip prices of $10 cash for ages 13+, $5 for ages 5-12, and free for ages 4 and
under.
General ticket prices to attend the 2024 Highland Games are as follows:
• Four-Day Gate Price: $85 for adults 13 and older, $20 for children under 12
• Thursday only (4 to 11 p.m.): $20 for adults, $5 for children
• Friday all-day pass (9 a.m. to 11 p.m.): $30 for adults, $5 for children
• Friday evening only (7 to 11 p.m.): $20 for adults, $5 for children
• Saturday all-day pass (8 a.m. to 11 p.m.): $35 for adults, $5 for children
• Saturday evening only (6:30 to 11p.m.): $20 for adults, $5 for children
• Sunday (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.): $20 for adults, $5 for children
For more information on the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, visit www.gmhg.org.
PHOTO COURTESY GMHG
The pageantry and regalia that is the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games must be witnessed in person. Tickets are available to attend the Games for the entire weekend or in daily segments.
Flavors of the GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES
BY CASSIDY NARRON
The Grandfather Mountain
Highland Games is one of the most highly regarded Scottish culture festivals in the country. Along with Scottish cultural games and activities, an opportunity to experience traditional Scottish cuisine is around every corner. From turkey legs to American Scottish
haggis to Scotch whiskies, there is no shortage of flavors to explore.
This year’s Games welcome back longtime vendors, Cameron’s British Foods and The Scottish Cottage, along with first-time GMHG vendor Gus’ Greek Food.
“We are now up to 14 food vendors,” said GMHG President Stephen Quillin. “We try to ensure that there’s not very much duplication so that there is a good variety of food. The food is very important to us, not just the quality but the speed of service.”
The Scottish Cottage has been a part of the GMHG for eight years.
“In the early 2000s I went to the Grandfather Mountain Games as a patron,” said owner of The Scottish Cottage Mark Ferguson. “I got into Scottish heritage and I went to Scotland a bunch of times. When I was looking to start a new business in 2010, I wanted it to be a Scottish food business and my biggest goal was to get into Grandfather Mountain Games.”
The Asheville-based eatery serves Scottish barbeque, smoked haggis, shepherd’s pie and sticky toffee pudding, but their most popular item among its customers is “The Celtic Combo.”
“People were always concerned about how to taste some of everything so we came up with the Celtic Combo that has all three items,” said Furggeson.
Explore further the flavors of the Scottish at Cameron’s British Foods. Their menu includes Scottish meat pies, sausage rolls, Celtic fish and chips and the Scottish egg.
Need something different? Stop by What The Cluck?! food truck for Nashville-style chicken plates, or the Crossnore Volunteer Fire Department tent for hamburgers and hot dogs.
Follow up these deliciously savory meals with a sweet treat from Mookies Kettle Corn or Jack’s Treat Truck.
Sips Soda Shop offers a wide variety of craft sodas to help you cool off in between festivities. Mr. Coffee Concierge can deliver that morning pick-me-up with
A full Scottish breakfast is on offer with a visit to the Scottish Cottage food vendor on Grandfather Mountain during the Highland Games.
their coffee and tea creations and energize you for a full day of festivities.
No matter your palate, feel confident that during your time at the GMHG you’ll find delicious options that are perfect for you!
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Cameron’s British Foods always boasts long lines of patrons at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Mookie’s Kettle Korn offers a sweet treat for those visiting the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games Games Map
Getting to the Games: PARKING AND SHUTTLE OPTIONS
BY JAREN GRAGG news@averyjournal.com
Parking can be a headache at any event, but there’s no reason to let it ruin your trip to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. Each year, traffic at the Games on major access points, including NC 105 and the Linville area, is the most congested during the entire year during the Highland Games weekend, and guests venturing to the event can often expect delays as they near the area.
Finding a parking space on the mountain for the Games is limited and, just like any event, it can be difficult at times to find a place to park.
The GMHG offers shuttle bus services to make planning your weekend more convenient and a little easier while attending the Games. Attendees can park for free at any of the four designated parking lots where each person can buy shuttle bus tickets to ride to MacRae Meadows, where they can attend the Games during the weekend. There are a total of four shuttle bus lots in the surrounding area, with three in the Linville/Newland area and one lot at Sugar Mountain. Only those with an issued GMHG hangtag are permitted to park on location (MacRae Meadows on the mountain), except after 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
The exact locations of each parking lot are as follows:
Sugar Mountain Lot
Sugar Mountain Resort, 1009 Sugar Mountain Drive, Sugar Mountain, NC 28604
Linville Parking Lot
350 NC Hwy. 105, Linville, NC 28646
Avery County High School
401 Avery County High School Rd., Newland, NC 28657
Millers Gap Lot
3000 Millers Gap Highway, Newland, NC 28657
Newland Elementary School (Handicap-Accessible Lot)
750 Linville St., Newland, NC 28657
Shuttle buses will run from the lots from 4 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday through Sunday, June 12 through 14. The price for a round-trip shuttle bus ticket is $10 for attendees 13 and older, $5 for attendees ages 5 to 12 per day and free for attendees ages four and under (cash only transactions). Handicap-accessible transportation will be provided out of the Newland Elementary School lot.
The situation for parking varies depending on the day. The following is a guide to follow when determining where to park or how to get to MacRae Meadows.
THURSDAY NIGHT
Shuttle services will be provided from Avery High School. Buses will start taking people up the mountain at 3 p.m., and the last bus will leave MacRae Meadows at 10:30 p.m.
FRIDAY
There is no general parking available at MacRae Meadows during the day on Friday. Only sponsors, Chieftain Patrons, Highlander Patrons, Clansman Patrons and participants are allowed to park on the mountain. Parking will be available in the Sugar Mountain, Linville and Newland shuttle lots from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
FRIDAY NIGHT
General public parking is available on MacRae Meadows after 5 p.m.
SATURDAY
There is no general parking available at MacRae Meadows during the day on Saturday. Only sponsors, Chieftain Patrons, Highlander Patrons, Clansman Patrons and participants are allowed to park on the mountain. Parking will be available in Sugar Mountain, Millers Gap and Linville shuttle lots from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SATURDAY NIGHT
General public parking is available on MacRae Meadows after 5 p.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.
SUNDAY
There is no general parking available at MacRae Meadows during the day on Sunday. Only sponsors, Chieftain Patrons, Highlander Patrons, Clansman Patrons and participants are allowed to park on the mountain. Parking will be available in Sugar Mountain, Avery High and Linville shuttle lots from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2024 GMHG CLAN LISTINGS
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Parking at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games site is often limited, and officials recommend using shuttle bus services to access the festival during the weekend.
Distinguished Chieftain and CLAN OF THE GAMES
BY JAREN GRAGG news@averyjournal.com
Regardless of the similarities to each year’s edition of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, there are always efforts by officials to present changes that positively affect the festival. Every year at the Grandfather Highland Games a clan chieftain receives the privilege and honor to be named Chieftain of the Games, along with the naming of a clan as the Distinguished Clan for the annual gathering. This year’s Chieftain of the Games is John MacLeod and the Distinguished Clan for the 2024 Games is Clan Hunter.
CHIEFTAIN
JOHN MACLEOD
John MacLeod is the 18th Chief of the Macleods of Raasay. He has a degree in industrial chemistry and was also employed at one of the world’s largest zinc smelters that was located in Hobart, Tasmania. MacLeod decided to follow his interest in agriculture, and Hunter took roles with a Tasmanian-based stock and station agent. Before retiring, MacLeod worked along with the Tasmanian industry and government to provide practical solutions to the state, freight, infrastructure and logistical challenges and issues.
Since his retirement, John is involved with many of his favorite different interests
and hobbies. John, alongside his wife, Liz, are always around family. Alastair, who is the younger Raasay, is living in Hobart. He also has a daughter Hannah, who lives with her family in Cambridge. John is also chairman of the Military Heritage Foundation of Tasmania. This organization provides support to the Army Museum of Tasmania, which focuses on army operations of the British colonies in Tasmania through the current day. MacLeod has served as vice president and is currently a trustee of the Tasmanian Club that was established in 1861. In 1999, MacLeod Torquill Roderick, resigned the Armorial Bearings of the House of Macleod of Raasay to Lord Lyon, who was to be confirmed in John’s name.
The MacLeods of Raasay were established when Malcolm, who was the ninth MacLeod Chief of Lewis in 1510, gave his second son Malcolm Garbh the island of Raasay and Rona. Malcolm also received lands in Ross on the Scottish mainland, and the fourth Raasay Chief gang chartered in his own name in 1546 for these lands.
Brochel Castle is the headquarters for the Clan. The castle is located on the east of the Island of Raasay, but today it only exists as ruins. In its place in the early 1700s, a new house was built on the other side of the island around 1730. This house still remains today after having been modified by successive occupants and renovations.
John is the patron of the Raasay House Community Company which owns and operates the house.
Due to Malcolm’s (the 10th Chief) support for Bonnie Prince Charlie, several financial and seasonal difficulties arose. The Island of Raasay was sold by John, who was the clan’s 13th Chief of Raasay and also the great great great uncle of John MacLeod, during the mid-1800s. This John, along with his brothers, Loudoun, Francis, and James, along with sister Hannah, and mother, Flora, immigrated to various parts of South Australia. Loudoun took up a pastoral lease near Bordertown, which is east of Adelaide. James settled in
McLaren Vale located south of Adelaide.
The MacLeods, in particular Loudon, are notably the first pastoral pioneers in Southern Australia, especially in the early days of the establishment of the colony. Francis (John’s great great grandfather) and Mary Alice Seton of Tasmania in 1858 returned to run the Nalang property. Michael and Florence were sent to their maternal grandparents in Tasmania after the death of Alice in Francis. The family has been living in Tasmania ever since.
DISTINGUISH CLAN
The first hunters arrived in Aireshire around the beginning of the 12th century. These people were experts in hunting and field craft, with generations of experience in the forest of their land of origin. These Normans were invited to Scotland by the Scottish King David I. In papers related to the King’s Inquisition, which was a Royal Court of Law, there was mention of Williemo Venator (William the Hunter 1st Laird) who was appointed as the Royal Huntsman. His wife served as Queen Matilda’s lady in waiting. William put his expertise to good use in any forest of Hunterstonm, which later turned into Hunters Toun that had a quarter along with a village.
As recognition of the family skill grew around the area, the title of Royal Huntsman became a hereditary appointment. King Alexander III of Scotland in the mid-13th century urged his liegeman to build up forces against possible incursions by Norseman. It was during this time that the pele-tower of Hunterston Castle was constructed. Prior, they lived in a wooden fortress near Hunterston Sands. From here the family Allan, who is powerful, faced down the aggression of King Hakon turned on the way in the Battle of Largs in 1263. Hunterston Castle sheltered the clan from the War of Independence where they emerged intact, likely because of support from William Wallace and Robert the Bruce.
In 1374, the great king’s grandson William Hunter (10th Laird) was granted
a charter of lands for faithful service. The family still possesses this ancient document. While farming then lands, the Hunters continued to serve the Scottish crown as Royal Huntsman and soldiers throughout the centuries.
John Huntar (14th Laird) died with King James IV in 1513 at Flodden, and Kentigern Mungo Huntar (16th Laird) died in 1547 for Queen Mary at Pinkie.
The history of the Hunter clan is rich and is constantly evolving, interweaving their roots with the modern landscape of today. New traditions have been created along with keeping up with the old. The aim of Madame Pauline Hunter, who is the 30th Laird of Clan is to preserve Hunterston Castle as the ancestral home, and also the Seat of Clan Hunter, providing a focal point for all Clan members to be able to come together globally for future generations. She wants the Hunter Clan to share and celebrate their heritage internationally.
Madame Pauline Hunter of Hunterston since 1994 has been Clan Chief. Hunter is the 30th Chief of Clan and also is the fifth female Hunter Clan Chief. She has spent years farming. She’s also been in healthcare, but on becoming Chief her focus is spending her time on developing Clan Hunter and the preservation of Hunterston Castle.
Today, Clan Hunter is a worldwide organization that encourages and promotes the familial heritage of connection among those with Hunter ancestry.
PHOTO COURTESY CLAN HUNTER
Madam Pauline Hunter of Hunterston, Clan Chief of Hunter Clan, this year’s GMHG Distinguished Clan.
PHOTO SUBMITTED
Hunterston Castle, ancestral home of Clan Hunter.
Children’s activities offer FUN FOR ALL AGES
BY CHRISTIAN GARDNER christian.gardner@averyjournal.com
The Grandfather Highland Games are more than about the heavy athletics and the track and field events. The kids and kids-at-heart have endless opportunities for entertainment and education at the Children’s Tent.
Children are encouraged to participate in many complementary events like face painting, scavenger hunts, live readings and arts and crafts. In addition, the tent also hosts a coloring contest. Another cool entity, a Passport Booklet, will also be available at the Children’s Tent for children to pick up and tote along, taking part in a scavenger hunt of sorts where participants can visit each of the clan tents where Clans may stamp these
passports with their unique marks to help to craft a perfect souvenir.
Many special events will take place at the Children’s Tent throughout the weekend, including Scottish folk song and dance, sheepherding demonstrations, safe wooden sword demonstrations with the Triangle Sword Guild, and more entertainment. Wrestling and caber toss clinics for children will be spread across the weekend, and kids will be able to put their new skills to the test during the Children’s Games on Sunday.
The Children’s Tent will be open from 8:30 a.m to 4 p.m on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Games.
For more information, visit www.gmhg.org.
PHOTO BY JAMES SHAFFER
GMHG co-founder
Donald MacDonald leaves behind LASTING LEGACY
Throughout the history of Avery County, there have been a handful of influential individuals who have left behind legacies that will benefit generations to come. Among these people include the likes of Rev. Edgar Tufts, Hugh Morton and Agnes MacRae Morton. The community lost another one of these rare spirits on Feb. 18, 2021, with the passing of Donald Frank MacDonald at the age of 94.
MacDonald’s passion for Scottish culture and abundance of energy helped create the lasting tradition that is the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
MacDonald’s story, as told by current GMHG President Stephen Quillin, began in Clio, S.C. MacDonald served in the Navy and went on to study journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After completing his education at UNC, where he crossed paths with Andy Griffith and other influential North Carolinians, he began his career working for the Charlotte News.
In 1954, MacDonald’s interest in his Scottish ancestry led him to attend the Braemar Gathering in Scotland, which Queen Elizabeth II attended every year and was crowned around this time period. MacDonald not only took advantage of the games to see the Queen in person, but more importantly, he brought back a program from the games that he used as the basis for writing several articles in the Charlotte News about Scotland.
Agnes MacRae Morton, who lived in Linville at the time, thoroughly enjoyed MacDonald’s articles in the Charlotte News and reached out to him to begin planning a similar Scottish event at MacRae Meadows, which she owned, in 1955. MacDonald hit the ground running fundraising, and even brought the Black Watch Regimental Pipe Band, of the third infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland, to perform at the Charlotte Coliseum. MacDonald would don his kilt outside of the Charlotte News and sell tickets to the event which brought in enough money for the duo to hold what would become the first Grandfather Mountain Highland Games on Aug. 19, 1956. MacDonald’s vast knowledge of Scottish
history was apparent during the first GMHG, as the date of Aug. 19 also coincided with the historical date of Scotland’s 1745 rising, also known as the Jacobite Rising. It was on this date that Bonnie Prince Charlie, who considered his father to be the rightful king of Great Britain, raised his standard in rebellion to the crown and King George II, which led to a march on Edinburgh and the Jacobites’ final defeat at the Battle of Culloden.
Leading up to the first GMHG, Morton and MacDonald held a media campaign through interviews in newspapers throughout the state, leading the first GMHG to be an instant success.
“They began the task of planning for the Games back in 1955, and they used all of their connections to be interviewed in state newspapers in Wilmington, Raleigh, Charlotte, all over the place. By the time the Games rolled around in 1956, they drew a crowd beyond their wildest dreams. They had 1,000 people. As Donald used to say, ’Boy, we struck a nerve.’ They really tapped into all the Scottishness that was in North Carolina at the time,” Quillin said.
MacDonald served as the first president of the GMHG. He held the post from 1956 to 1961 before getting married in 1961. In fact, MacDonald and his wife’s wedding took place at the Presbyterian church in Linville and was covered by Life Magazine, as it was held in Gaelic fashion complete with a pipe band and kilts worn by the couple and those in attendance.
Life magazine sent photographers and reporters to interview those in attendance. However, the article never ran in the scheduled edition, since the Nixon and Kennedy debates took precedent in the news cycle. After they wed, MacDonald and his wife moved to Scotland where he lived until 2015 before returning to the United States for health reasons.
“He never lost touch with the Games,” Quillin said. “He wasn’t able to attend every year throughout the years, but beginning again in 1990 or so he attended religiously until his health prevented him from attending every year.”
Quillin noted that MacDonald’s passion
for Scottish culture “gave legs” to a lot of interest present throughout the state. During MacDonald’s life, he would not only found the GMHG but also the Robert Burns Society in Charlotte and the Clan Donald Society. This love and vast knowledge of history was present at the GMHG as well. As Quillin points out, there are many Scottish games held throughout the country, and the GMHG is by no means the largest, but it does feature a unique focus on the gathering of Scottish family societies, of which the festival hosts the most of in the world every year during the second weekend in July.
“That was very much keeping with the vision that Donald and Agnes had right from the get-go,” Quillin said.
Also significant for MacDonald throughout his life has been the friendships he formed, especially with Agnes MacRae Morton, as it pertains to the GMHG. Agnes was the mother of Hugh Morton, who was the developer of Grandfather Mountain. On his mother’s side, Hugh’s great-grandfather Donald MacRae first bought the development rights around Grandfather Mountain in 1889 from Walter Waightstill Lenoir, who was the grandson of Revolutionary War officer General William Lenoir. Agnes was older than MacDonald, and played a critical role in providing MacRae Meadows as the site for the Games to be held. Agnes was also responsible for the construction of the Invershiel stone church at the corner of Highway 105 and Tynecastle.
Quillin also held a dear friendship with MacDonald and recollected his personality, as well as memories together as MacDonald traveled back and forth between Scotland and the United States.
“Donald was a large man, six-foot-three or six-foot-four. He was very gregarious, knowledgeable, friendly, outgoing, very charismatic. That, and the fact that he could run those articles in the newspaper, he was kind of a pied piper of sorts. He really drew people to the things he was promoting,” Quillin said. “I knew him extremely well. I considered him a good friend, as did my wife. We stayed with him in his home, and he stayed with us in our home in the mountains and our home in Durham. Losing Donald will take a big
Donald MacDonald was instrumental in the staging of the first-ever Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in 1956 and was a frequent participant in the festival prior to his passing in 2021.
(chunk) out of our lives for sure. He was really a special man to us.”
Furthermore, Quillin shared the story of MacDonald’s Christmas tradition, one which provided quite a spirited celebration of the holiday.
“He was nearly unaffected by age until he was about 90. He was a vigorous man both physically and mentally,” Quillin said. “His Christmas tree each year was decorated with mini-bottles, so that was his tree decoration. He would leave that tree up and leave those bottles on it, and then when he got ready to take the tree down, he would invite all of his neighbors over and they’d take down the tree, and taking down the tree meant you had to drink the bottle that you took off the tree.”
While MacDonald was certainly known for his lively celebrations among friends, he was also accomplished within his chosen profession, both in the US and abroad. MacDonald was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine, the highest civilian honor one can earn in North Carolina. During his time in Scotland, MacDonald worked for the Scottish newspaper The Scotsman, for which he wrote several dozen authoritative articles on the history of the Scottish clans, and he taught journalism at Napier University in Edinburgh. He also wrote a book about the GMHG called “America’s Braemar.”
Among all of his accomplishments, Quillin says that MacDonald’s achievement cofounding the GMHG was the one of which he was most proud, and it is through MacDonald’s effort that people from across the state, nation and world are able to experience the joy the Games brings for generations to come.
“The Games are important to Avery County, and Donald was certainly important to Avery County,” Quillin said. “He had a lot of interests and he was a really great guy. A great guy.”visit www.gmhg.org.
AJT FILE PHOTO
Fiddles, drums and bagpipes: MUSIC at the GAMES
BY AMELIE FAWSON
The air will be filled with the sounds of bagpipes and drums as the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games celebrates another year of Scottish heritage and music. This year, the festival promises many musical performances, featuring traditional pipe bands, instrumental bands and various musical competitions.
Performances will begin on Friday morning, July 11, at Grove I, Grove II and the Alex Beaton Stage. Bands will play Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from noon to 3:45 p.m. on Sunday.
The Grandfather Mountain Highlanders, the host band for 47 years, will lead the musical charge. Founded in 1974 by Harvey Ritch and Agnes MacRae Morton, the pipe band wears the MacRae tartan in honor of its co-founder. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the band.
This year’s lineup includes a mix of traditional and contemporary acts. Among the standout performers is the newly formed Ed Miller Braw Band, a supergroup of Grove I headliners and new musicians. Ed Miller, who learned his craft in the pubs and clubs of Edinburgh during the folk revival days of the 1960s, brings traditional ballads and contemporary tunes. Joining him
are Scooter Muse, Rich and Maddy Brotherton, Jil Chambless and jazz drummer Jack Vogt.
The Sean Heely Celtic Band, featuring U.S. National Scottish Fiddle
champion Sean Heely, blends ancient melodies from Scotland and Ireland with modern tunes. Their repertoire features Scottish Gaelic songs, ballads, sea shanties, pub songs and more from Celtic folk tradition.
Other highlights are the band Seven Nations and newcomers Pipe Dream. Seven Nations is known for its highenergy performances that mix American pop and rock with Highland bagpipes and fiddle. Pipe Dream’s members met at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and they all play Highland Bagpipes, the fiddle, guitar, and flutes and sing.
Other acts include the Piper Jones Band, StrathSpan, Voices of Valverda, the Reel Sisters, Mari Black, Colin Shoemaker, Mike Ogletree and The Tune
Shepherds. Traditional pipe bands will grace the games in events sanctioned by the Eastern United States Pipe Band Association.
Piping events will take place all day Saturday on the east field, the Alex Beaton Stage and on the hill behind the Alex Beaton stage. Pipe bands include The Grandfather Mountain Highlanders, the Jamestown Pipes and Drums, the Harvey E. Ritch Memorial Pipe Band, the Nashville Pipes & Drums,
and the NC State University Pipes & Drums.
The games will feature various musical competitions, from piping and drumming to fiddling and singing reciting.
Piping competitions will be held at the Alex Beaton Stage both on Saturday and Sunday. A Gaelic Mod will be held in the Donald’s Ceilidh Tent on Saturday afternoon. Competitors will sing one Scottish Gaelic song for a judge. On Friday, there will be three levels of fiddle competitions from 2 to 4 p.m. The winner of each will perform a tune from their set at the Friday or Saturday evening concerts. The games will also feature a harp competition sanctioned by the Scottish Harp Society of America and judged by Kelly Brzozowski.
For more information, visit www.gmhg. org/musicperformances/.
AJT FILE PHOTO
Seven Nations returns to the Groves to perform at the 2024 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
PHOTO COURTESY GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES
Sean Heely Band is one of this year’s performers at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
Games for all times!
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games returns July 11 to 14
BY JAMIE SHELL editor@averyjournal.com
GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN —
For the past six-and-a-half decades, Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has served as a grand tartan reunion. This year, the tradition is perhaps more steeped than ever.
Each second weekend in July (this year from Thursday to Sunday, July 11 to 14), GMHG will inundate and educate festivalgoers in traditional Scottish culture, from pipes and drums to haggis and shepherd’s pie. The four-day festival that is the Games has been a destination for competition, entertainment, reunion and celebration of Scottish heritage by thousands who return each year to “America’s Braemar.”
This year’s GMHG is no different. Whether it’s the opportunity to try Scottish staple food haggis, or competing in events such as the tossing of the sheaf, clachneart or tug-o-war, enjoying the dulcet tones of Celtic music from bands from around the world in one of the groves at MacRae Meadows, observing Scottish traditions and customs or simply stopping by a clan tent to learn one’s family history or pick up a souvenir for a family member or loved one, Grandfather Mountain Highland Games leaves an indelible impression as a
unique and fun-filled weekend.
GMHG is a thrilling event where thousands of visitors enjoy a wide range of activities. The musical competitions — fiddles, pipes, drums, harps and more — are a buffet for the ears, while the Games features dancing events that will have the most novice of dancers tapping their feet to the rhythm. Each year, the athletic competitions at GMHG rival any Scottish games in the world. From children’s wrestling to traditional competitions such as caber throwing, hammer, sheaf and weight tossing, amateur and professional athletes alike attract fans and clans of all sizes who cheer the competitors to victory and honor the spirit of friendly competition.
For many attending the Games, the weekend serves as a family reunion of sorts. The largest single gathering of Scottish clans anywhere in the world, more than 100 in all gather on MacRae Meadows annually for GMHG, as those visiting the Games comprise a population of between 30,000 and 40,000 people.
Tickets for GMHG are available upon arrival at the Games, or visitors may purchase them in the weeks and months prior to the event at the GMHG office in downtown Linville.
Parking is available at MacRae Meadows
for patrons and sponsors only are allowed special parking privileges on the mountain for Friday through Sunday, July 8 to 10. Games officials urge patrons to take advantage of the bus shuttle system, where attendees for a small fee can park in areas including Newland, Linville or the Sugar Mountain area and get chauffeured to the Games entrance on an individual trip or weekend ticket pass to ride for the entire weekend for a one-time fee.
From the torchlight ceremony on Thursday night to the closing ceremony on Sunday afternoon, GMHG is chock full of events to entertain the entire family.
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games is located off Highway 221, two miles north of Linville and one mile south of the Blue Ridge Parkway.
For more information on GMHG, click to www.gmhg.org.
PHOTO BY ROB MOORE
A camper parade marches toward MacRae Meadows during the 2023 Highland Games.
PHOTO BY ROB MOORE
Clan Leslie, one of the 2024 clans of distinction, march in the Parade of Tartans at the 2023 Highland Games.
PHOTO BY ROB MOORE
The Highland Wrestling kids are ready to hit the field for their wrestling clinic.
CALLING OF THE CLANS: A history of the Highland Games
BY JAREN GRAGG jaren.gragg@averyjournal.com
The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games (GMHG) as we know it today started as an idea from Donald F. McDonald in 1954 after McDonald took a trip to the Braemar Highland Games in Scotland. He enjoyed the games so much that he wrote articles about them in the Charlotte newspaper where he worked. Agnes McRae Morton, whose family is affiliated with Grandfather Mountain, read the articles and contacted McDonald wishing to host a gathering of clans at MacRae Meadows, and the pair decided how to go about this endeavor.
The planning of the games began in 1955 and the inaugural Highland Games were held in 1956. In its meager beginnings, the event needed funding to get off the ground, and officials found many creative ways to generate the needed money.
“Donald McDonald booked the Black Watch Regimental Pipe Band, who were touring around the US in 1955. McDonald booked them in the Charlotte Coliseum at the cost of $4,000,” said Steve Quillin, current President of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. “Every day at lunch, he would put on a kilt and go out into Charlotte and sell tickets. He ended up selling out the concert at the Coliseum. The money earned from that was the seed money for the first Games.”
That first Games were held on August 19, 1956. The reason for the choosing of this date was to commemorate Prince Charlie at Glenfinnan’s starting of the Jacobite Rising in 1745. Many of the competitions that were a part of the first GMHG are still very much alive in today’s Games, including the Hammer Throw, the Sheaf Toss, and the Caber Toss, which is arguably among the most famous and recognizable parts of the Games. GMHG also includes Highland dance and solo bagpiping and Gaelic songs.
“We can’t have a monstrous field of athletes, but what we do have are highquality athletes,” Quillin said of the Games’ current form. “That is what we aim for at Grandfather Mountain and all of our
contests. We draw competitors routinely from Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, all the way to Washington State and Minnesota.”
The beginning weekend of GMHG had only a handful of clients, but there are more than 100 clients participating who are represented in today’s Highland Games. Officials expected between 300 and 1,500 people attending its first Games, but newspapers at the time estimated the attendance to be approximately 10,000 patrons. There is some speculation as to whether that number is correct, but whatever the approximate attendance, the Games were off and running, exceeding expectations.
Two years later, in 1958, GMHG expanded and moved to the second weekend in July, which has remained the Highland Games official date ever since. Since its inception, GMHG has grown and expanded into what we know of and have today. Every second weekend in July bagpipes sing through MacRae Meadows and bring thousands to Grandfather Mountain to experience the Highland Games. For some, they have been coming their entire lives, while for others the event marks their first foray to be a part of the Games. As the people return each year, it’s like it brings new life and breath, revisiting an old friend, and one can almost imagine hearing the bagpipes and the Celtic rock that plays throughout the whole weekend during the GMHG.
Why are the Games so special to so many people? Is it the people that you meet while you are there? Is it being able to take a step back in time and learn about your Scottish heritage, or is it maybe watching these incredible athletes participate in events that have been a part of Scottish tradition for so many years? For many, if you ask, they will offer a similar response again and again: All of it. The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games are about an opportunity to come together with family and friends, but also learning about and preserving their Scottish heritage. According to Quillin, these are the types of Games that one would have been able
to watch 75 to 100 years ago. They are also some of the most traditional Games in the world.
“What we are is the largest gathering of Scottish clans and families and societies on the planet, anywhere in the world,” Quillin said. “As far as I’m concerned, it is the most special little corner on the earth.”
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games are proud of being at the forefront of many events that are held at MacRae Meadows. GMHG pioneered many events, not just in the United States, but also around the globe. The Parade of Tartans is one of those many special events. Participating clans send a representative to march and represent their respective clans. Quillin states that this is one of the single most photographed events in the ScottishAmerican Highland Games world.
Another special event that the GMHG holds is the Kirkin’ of Tartans, in which every clan’s tartan is blessed. One of the staple events that is unique to GMHG is the Calling of the Clans, occurring at dusk on the opening night of the Games, where every society sends a representative declaring that they are present. Quillin continues that he has witnessed more than 50 ceremonies, and it gives him chills every time he sees it.
There are many different and unique aspects when it comes to what the Games offers, and one of those is to educate and inform attendees on their Scottish heritage. One of these unique opportunities for attendees while at the Games is getting to visit the Scottish Cultural Village.
While there, guests can learn more about a multitude of topics and learn from experts and individuals from different backgrounds and walks of life.
“It’s a series of informative lectures, some of them are historical. Some of them are about Scottish clothing, and some of them are about the innards of a bagpipe,” Quillin explained. “It’s a wide mixture of topics. These lectures are very strongly attended because of people getting to hear the truth. There is no misty romance, but just facts.”
Not only do the events and learning about Scottish heritage make it special for
many of the attendees of the Games, but over the years another unique aspect of GMHG is the campers that reside and stay at MacRae Meadows for the full weekend for the Highland Games. Some of these campers arrive on site days or weeks prior to the actual event. They come and enjoy the Games, but they also form a special bond and have a camaraderie unique only to GMHG.
“These campgrounds have created these little villages, and they spend their vacation time here. These are families of choice, and they referred to themselves as their mountain family, so there’s this phenomenon I refer to as ‘Clansmanship’ that occurs at Grandfather Mountain,” Quillin shared. “I’m fortunate enough to have been to more than 26 highland games in my life, and I have never seen the clanship exhibited to any degree that approaches what we have here at Grandfather Mountain.”
That camaraderie in clanship is what keeps people coming back. As many at the Games say: “It’s all about the clans,” and making those connections and friendships last a lifetime and for generations.
PHOTO COURTESY GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES Scottish dancing at the first Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in 1956.
2023 GMHG believed to top previous year’s attendance
Despite the devastating loss of beech trees on the MacRae Meadows campground earlier this year, staff and patrons both saw the 67th Grandfather Mountain Highland Games to be a record-setting success.
The GMHG staff, though working on exact figures for attendance and revenue, were certain this year’s Games had record-setting numbers, said GMHG President Steve Quillin. Quillin estimates that more than 44,000 people attended the Games this year.
Regular attendees of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games understand that the weather on MacRae Meadows can be unpredictable, and it isn’t uncommon for it to rain at least once throughout the weekend. This year, however, the weather on MacRae Meadows was fair, Quillin said, and the Games drew in “massive crowds” on Friday and Saturday, July 7 and 8.
This year’s Games likely looked different to returning patrons, especially at the campground. Earlier this year, the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games was alerted of an outbreak of beech bark disease on the MacRae Meadows campground. This disease, which is caused by the infestation of one of two types of scale insects and the fungi that results from the insects feeding, results in death of the tree. Currently, there is no effective treatment for the disease, and all of the infected trees had to be removed from the campground to ensure the safety of campers and the health of uninfected trees, Quillin said. The St. Andrews Society of MacRae Meadows started a fundraiser to replant maple trees, which are not affected by the disease, on MacRae Meadows to replace the beech trees. Patrons can donate $80 to sponsor a tree, and will have their name listed on a plaque at the field office each year during the Games, Quillin said. Currently, the plan is to have volunteers plant the trees this October. To inquire about sponsoring a tree or volunteering to plant them, email admin@gmhg.org
From the campground to the crowds to the competitions, the Games went very smoothly this year, he said. They saw record entries in piping and highland dance competitions, and 103 clans were represented on the field. More food vendors were available this year than in the past, which helped in cutting back the length of the lines, Quillin said.
Grandfather Mountain Highland Games introduced a new educational
program at the children’s tent this year, which included lessons on Scottish stories, folk tales and folk songs, and the staff has already received positive feedback from this program, Quillin said. Additionally, Coinneach MacLeod, also known as the Hebridean Baker, was a hit throughout the weekend, selling out every seat in his afternoon ceilidhs, which included singing, storytelling and whiskey and treat tasting, Quillin said.
By Saturday afternoon, MacLeod only had a few copies of his second book, “The Hebridean Baker: My Scottish Island Kitchen,” left for sale at his tent. While there were no major issues with the shuttle system this year, Quillin said that the GMHG staff plans to take a “hard look” at the system from the ground up over the next year to make it as efficient as possible.
Patrons mingle at the main gate to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
Patrons sit facing the field to get a view of the athletics, dance and bagpiping competitions.
COMPETING FOR GLORY Athletic prowess displayed at Highland Games
BY JAMIE SHELL editor@averyjournal.com
People come to celebrate Celtic culture, to be entertained by myriad musical guests, and participate in the gathering of the clans, but ultimately many are drawn to the games themselves.
Scottish highland games throughout history were a time to gather and compete to determine who was fastest and strongest. Today, both male and female champions can still claim those titles and revel in victory.
The caber toss and hammer throw are iconic to the Games. Appropriate to the Scots, these sports
demand more than the average measure of strength, stamina and sheer determination. As highland games where world records have been set, the Grandfather
Mountain Highland Games attract professional athletes and amateurs alike who are up to the challenge.
Male and female athletes can participate in heavy events, or events more associated with the Games, and light events, such as foot races.
Heavy events include the Clachneart, or stone throw. The athlete must throw a 16-pound stone without using overhand, underhand or two-handed techniques. In order to throw the stone a greater distance, athletes will spin
to gain centrifugal force before flinging the stone as far as possible.
Not only do caber toss participants pick up a 20-foot pole that weighs a daunting 175 pounds, they throw it. Caber toss athletes lift the caber, balance it upright and “turn” it, or flip it to make it fall end over end.
In a bygone time when farming was a way of life, sheaf tossing was an everyday chore. A holdover from that time, sheaf tossing is now a competition. A pitchfork is used to throw a burlap sack stuffed with straw over a high bar, without touching the bar. As the bar is raised, the athlete who clears the bar at the highest level wins the competition.
Similar to the stone throw, the hammer throw
Continued on next page
AJT FILE PHOTO
Competitors in the elite women’s heavy athletics division stand in the winner’s circle after competing in a previous Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. From left, Hannah Linzay claimed second place, Elissa Van Vleck won first overall and Adriene Wilson came in third.
PHOTO BY JAMES SHAFFER
Heavy athletic events, such as the stone throw and the hammer throw, are annual staples of competition at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
requires the athlete to throw a hammer from a standing position. In spite of the hammer weighing 22 pounds, stones have been known to be tossed more than 18 feet.
Light events include the 100-yard dash, long jump, high jump and pole vault. Adults and kids alike can participate in the Kilted Mile run.
For the spectator, the games of the Games offer their fair share of challenge and entertainment. For the serious athlete, however, the Games are an opportunity to test one’s mettle and take home several pieces of winning medals and awards.
To the victors go the spoils.
AveryCounty’s Best
Braidy Miller of Lebanon, Tenn., tosses the sheaf — a 20-pound burlap sack of hay — during the annual Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. The sheaf toss is one of
sporting events that take place during the four-day athletic spectacular.