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GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Historic reunion set to unfold at 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

BY JAMIE SHELL EDITOR@AVERYJOURNAL.COM “I have personally been attending the Games for over 50 years, and I know we share the common bond of a deep and abiding love for the Games. There is a real sense of family at Grandfather…While we can’t make 2020 any better, we can promise that with your help and support, our 65th anniversary in 2021 will be a spectacular time.” -Steve Quillin, President, GrandFILE PHOTO father Mountain Highland The main gate promises to be a busy location on the second Games (April 25, 2020) weekend in July as visitors return to MacRae Meadows for

L

INVILLE — Almost 14 months have passed since GMHG President Steve Quillin penned with a heavy heart the aforementioned words contained in an announcement communicating the cancellation of the 2020 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

Since that time, the world has underwent much heartache, pain, loss and hardship, and with the new season of spring came the dawn of hope that Quillin’s words might come to pass, that the Highland Games may indeed experience a triumphant return to MacRae Meadows.

As spring gave way to summer, preparations for the 2021 edition of the Highland Games, a Games unlike any previous installment of the three-score-plus years before it, is in full swing, gearing

the 65th installment of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

up to welcome a potential record number of attendees for perhaps the greatest-ever gathering of Scottish clans this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

“The Games will be different than our normal Games have been, but not so different that we won’t have a good time,” Quillin recently shared in a video message on the GMHG website.

Among the differences noted by visitors to this year’s Games are the absence of several indoor gathering events and activities due to Covid regulations, with one of the most notable omissions being the absence of the Chieftain’s Tent activities associated with the Scottish Cultural Village. For this year’s Games, the typical Scottish Cultural Village tent will have no side panels and

Games staff will provide 100 chairs instead of the normal complement of 200+, with tent space scheduled for different family groups who wish to hold meetings, and no more than two meetings scheduled concurrently.

Additionally, the traditional Patrons Reception, as well as no Scottish country dancing outside on the field will be held at this year’s festival.

Attendees riding shuttle buses to the Games site at MacRae Meadows are required to wear face coverings over the nose and mouth by federal law which currently regulates mass transit activity, under which the GMHG bus shuttles are classified, according to Games officials.

The pandemic has also altered the way that the ticketing process will look to

attendees to the mountain, as the traditional ribbon and pin system is replaced for 2021 by a variety of wristbands of differing colors to merit admission and for designation purposes into the Games site.

Despite the contingencies and cuts made to alter the Games in order to hold the event safely from Thursday to Sunday, July 8 to 11, anticipation remains at a fever pitch by both those who make the annual pilgrimage to Grandfather to offer ceud mìle fàilte (“a hundred thousand welcomes” in Scottish Gaelic) and the local contingent who effort to organize the Games weeks and months in advance of the actual event.

“I’ve never seen so many pre-sales of tickets. They’re at least 50 to 100 percent higher than normal, and I’ve never seen the workers in the office having to work so long to fill out the mailings, working 15 hours a day,” Office Operations General Manager of GMHG, Inc. Thomas Taylor said during a visit to the Games office at the foot of Grandfather on June 17.

With the loosening of Covid restrictions from the governor’s office and improved trends with vaccinations, Games officials were able to tweak the capacity of camping site availability in recent months to a maximum of 80 percent.

“We had to leave the capacity at 80 percent due to the potential for overcrowd-

ing, and for safety purposes,” GMHG Operations Officer Cassie Vance explained. “We sold out of all of our camping, sponsors and patrons

by March. We usually have extra two-, four- and six-man tents left at this point, but they were all gone by April.

I feel confident that we’re going to hit somewhere in the 45,000 to 50,000 people range this year, compared to our average of around 30,000 in a given year. We were just shy of 40,000 in 2019, and we should have no problem hitting that number and then some this year.”

The 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games will kickoff on Thursday afternoon, July 8, with the annual running of “The Bear,” a grueling five-mile endurance race that tests a runner’s lungs and will.

The evening ends after dark with the solemn and popular Torchlight Ceremony.

The ceremony signals the reunion and calling of clans again to the sacred field as a living cross of light is made up of a representative of all clans and families who have again ventured to the mountain. As the torches burn in unison in the darkness, the sound of pipes can be heard as families reunite to celebrate common heritage and identity.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Games will feature the familiar ring of clan tents in inner and outer circles surrounding the field track area, the Scottish athletic

feats of some of the most impressive male and female competitors from heavy lifting to marathon running, as well as concerts in the groves, demonstrations on the field and the aroma of enough food vendors to satisfy any discriminating palate.

The preparation of the field site takes place through the efforts of a dedicated team of craftsmen on the Meadows weeks ahead of the Games weekend.

According to the GMHG General Manager of Field Operations Levin Sudderth, the extra year between Games weekends has presented some challenges to his crew, but nothing too difficult to handle.

“We’ve had a little bit of deterioration with some of our materials as they’ve been stored for two years. We’ve been doing some repairs on bleachers, but the biggest challenge has really been remembering how to do some of the things. You get a muscle memory of doing something every year, and for me it’s been the past 26 years, then you skip a year and it throws you off. It’s like missing church on a Sunday, it makes for a long week,” Sudderth explained.

“If anything, the grass in the field has improved. Steve Watson and the field crew and Jacob Evaul and his mowing crew have done a fantastic job of getting the SEE OVERVIEW ON PAGE 3

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Mountain Times Publications • Page 3

Welcome to the 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

O

ur 65th Anniversary Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has been a long time coming. The Covid-19 shutdown forced the first ever cancellation of the Games for 2020 and the Games officials, staff, volunteers and Board of Trustees have worked very hard to stage our Games in 2021, and to do so in a safe and responsible manner.

On May 14, 2021, NC Governor Roy Cooper dropped the requirement for masking, social distancing, and cap on outdoor gatherings. Masks are still required for any

shuttle transportation.

While Governor Cooper’s order is good news in that it reflects the declining rate of disease and hospitalizations, we must recognize that not everyone will be totally

OVERVIEW CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

fields ready to roll. Everything we’ve done to this point repair-wise has been just some minor deterioration of things not meant to sit for two years, like minor welds to bleachers and so forth that have been done. We want to make sure everything is safe for everyone who comes to the Games.”

With GMHG being one of the largest gatherings of Scottish Games (or any festival/ games event) in approximately a year and a half, Sudderth advised that festival goers should be excited about returning to the mountain, but also recognize that things will be a little different, noting the importance of patience as people again come together in revelry and reunion.

“We may be one of the first large gatherings since the pandemic hit. It isn’t just a return to Grandfather, but a return to the familiarity of the numbers of people attending the Games. There will be professional athletes who haven’t competed in heavy athletics in over a year and a half. They’re not just looking forward to coming back here, but they’re looking forward to getting back to what they do,” Sudderth added. “We just happen to chronologically be the first event that is available to them after restrictions have been lowered, and we have had a

comfortable. Please respect the wishes of your fellow attendees, vendors, and clan conveners with respect to masking. We can be safe, and we can be courteous. We often think of our crowd as a “Mountain Family.” Let’s behave as such.

We mourn the passing of Donald MacDonald, co-founder of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games. He, along with Agnes MacRae Morton and some key volunteers, planned and held the first Games on Aug. 19, 1956. Successful beyond their wildest dreams, the crowd was estimated at 1000

to 1500, demonstrating the desire of North Carolinians to Gather and celebrate their Scottish connections. He was thrilled with the growth of the Games and the continued commitment to the annual Gathering of the Clans.

Donald was a friend to many, including me, and he will be sorely missed.

Many thanks to our Chieftain of the Games, Alexander Matheson, who successfully negotiated the rigors of international travel to be with us, and thanks as well to Alisdair Morrison, Chief of Clan Morrison for agreeing to serve as our Distinguished

Guest. Ali is accompanied by his cousin Viscount Dunrossil. In addition to being the North American Chieftain for Clan Morrison, Andrew is a personal friend as well as a good friend to our Games.

Everyone please make our guests feel welcome and appreciated for the effort they have put forth to be with us in 2021.

I also want to thank our Sponsors, The Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation for their never-ending support, and the many vendors, performers, participants, musicians, civic groups, fire departments and

little time to plan for it. We canceled some of (age 13 and older); $5 (5 to 12 years old) the events this year at the Games, but we’re • Sunday Family Pass (up to two adults able to have the Games. I think the biggest and two kids): $75 concern is people coming into a social setting who have been out of a social setting for a long time, and that adjustment period might be a little different, like waiting in line for food and such, may look a little different.”

Attendees to the Games are able to access shuttle buses from four different access points, including Linville, Boone and a pair of access locations in Newland. Specific departure times and locations can be found on the Games website by clicking to www. gmhg.org.

General ticket prices to attend GMHG this year are as follows: • Thursday evening session (4 to 11 p.m.): $15 (age 13 and older); $5 (5 to 12 years old) • Friday all-day session (9 a.m. to 11 p.m.): $20 (age 13 and older); $5 (5 to 12 years old) • Friday evening session only (7 to 11 p.m.): $15 (age 13 and older); $5 (5 to 12 years old) • Saturday all day session (8 a.m. to 11 p.m.): $30 (age 13 and older); $5 (5 to 12 years old) • Saturday evening session only (6:30 to 11 p.m.): $15 (age 13 and older); $5 (5 to 12 years old) • Sunday session (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.): $15

county and regional health officials who helped us navigate our return in 2021.

Most of all, I want to thank all the patrons, tent conveners, campers, and those buying tickets to help in every way to ensure the Games could go forward in 2021. I have never been so happy to say “See You on the Mountain” as I have this year. I wish you the best Grandfather mountain Highland Games experience ever!

Yours Aye, Steve Quillin President, GMHG, Inc.

To purchase tickets, an events guide or for more information, click to www.gmhg.org or call (828) 733-1333.

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GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Games of the Highland Games a true trial of athletic prowess

BY JAMIE SHELL EDITOR@AVERYJOURNAL.COM

G

RANDFATHER MOUNTAIN — Thousands of spectators converge on MacRae Meadows every year for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, returning this year from July 8 to 11 following a one-year hiatus due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

People come to celebrate Celtic culture, for the music, 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, 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.

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 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.

FILE PHOTO

Brent Miller of Gordonsville, Tenn., tosses the 42-pound weight for height during the 2019 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games in Linville.

Miller placed first for the masters in the Games.

Similar to the stone throw, the hammer throw 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.

A game of stamina, the Grandfather Mountain Marathon has gained the reputation as one of America’s toughest runs and for good reason. The final 13 miles are straight uphill. Starting in Boone and stretching 26.2 miles long, the trek winds up Grandfather Mountain, with runners eventually gaining 1,000 feet in elevation. The going is tough, but according to GMHG, the marathon boasts a 96-percent

completion rate.

“The Bear” is a popular event that serves as sort of an unofficial kickoff to the Games weekend. A five-mile footrace that begins in Linville and climbs to the summit of Grandfather, the race is known for its grueling elevation change that tests the will of even the heartiest of athletes. As the race’s reputation has grown, GMHG continues to boast record numbers of participants each year of the event, even with the event’s registration period generally closing several months prior to the actual race.

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.

FILE PHOTO

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 many sporting events that take place during the four-day athletic spectacular.

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

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GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Games at a glance and by the numbers

BY LUKE BARBER NEWS@AVERYJOURNAL.COM Number of Scottish clans and societies: More than 100 Number of clan tents: More than 150 Honored Clan of 2021: Clan Matheson Chieftain of the 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games: Sir Alexander Matheson of Matheson Ambassador of the Games: Tommy Burleson, Avery County native and 1974 NCAA collegiate champion who excelled in basketball at Avery High School, North Carolina State University, several NBA teams and with the 1972 US Olympic Basketball Team.

PHOTO BY ROB MOORE

Thousands of patrons purchase tickets each year for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, as the field and MacRae Meadows come alive for four days each July.

Highland Games access equals one hot ticket

BY LUKE BARBER NEWS@AVERYJOURNAL.COM

PHOTO COURTESY GMHG

Standing tall above all on MacRae Meadows, Avery County legend, NCAA champion and US Olympic basketball star Tommy Burleson is the official Ambassador of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

Corporate Sponsors • Adrian Jenkins Photography • The Avery Journal-Times/ Mountain Times Publications • Bradley Imports • Cameron’s British Food & Imports • Coca-Cola • Glenmorangie • Grandfather Mountain • Grandfather Scottish • High Country Radio • Highland Echoes • Highland Heritage • House of Gordon • James J. Shaffer Photography • Mookie’s Kettle Korn • Pack Rats • Scottish Cottage • Scottish Gourmet USA • Scottish Heritage USA • Scotland in the Class • Scotland Country Highland Games • Scotland Rising • Scotland Rising Clothing Co. • Scotts Corner • Sonny Fletcher • WNCW • Wolfstone Kilt Company

Food Vendors for 2021 • • • • • • • •

Mr. Coffee Concierge Cameron’s British Foods Carolina BBQ House of Douglas Bakery Mookie’s Marvelous Kettle Korn Scottish Cottage Steele’s Concessions Crossnore Volunteer Fire Department

Featured Musical Performers for 2021 • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Brothers McLeod Chambless and Muse Ed Miller Emerald Rae Jennifer Licko Jiggernaut Marybeth McQueen Piper Jones Band The Reel Sisters Seven Nations StrathSpan The Tune Shepherds Will MacMorran Wolf Loescher

T

he hottest ticket in town returns to MacRae Meadows during the second weekend in July. After a pandemic-induced hiatus in 2020, tickets for the Highland Games are sure to be in high demand this year. So as you head up the mountain, come prepared in order to ensure that you will gain admittance into the weekend of Scottish festivities.

Attendees can purchase tickets by mail, phone, using a credit card or by using the order form on the Highland Games’ website by clicking to gmhg.org.

Tickets for the Games can also be purchased at the entrance gate or at the Games’ Linville office. Cash and credit cards are accepted at the office and sales tent. Children younger than five years old can attend for free.

The prices for this year’s tickets and what each package includes are as follows: • Four-Day Advance Adult Ticket with shuttle: $75 • Four-Day Advance Adult Ticket without shuttle: $55 • Four-Day Advance Child (5 to 12 years old) ticket with shuttle: $30 • Four-Day Advance Child (5 to 12 years old) ticket without shuttle: $20 Shuttles locations include the Caldwell Lot, located at Caldwell Community College in Boone (this service is included for all three days with a special four-

day advance ticket to the games). Other locations are the Linville Parking Lot at 350 NC Highway 105 in Linville, Heritage Park Fairgrounds at 661 Vale Road in Newland and the Millers Gap Lot at 3000 Millers Gap Highway in Newland.

For those who purchased tickets without shuttle service, shuttle prices are $10 for adults (round trip), $5 for kids 16 years old and under and free for any child who rides on their parents’ lap. An additional $5 is charged for stroller space.

Shuttles run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Night events are open to general public parking.

Admission to the opening ceremony at MacRae Meadows is $15 for adults and $5 for children ages five to 12.

Daytime tickets for Friday are $20 for adults and $5 for children, while tickets from 7 to 11 p.m. on Friday are only $15 for adults and $5 for children. On Saturday, adult general admission tickets for the Games are $30 for adults and $5 for children. Ticket costs drop down to $15 for adults and $5 for children in the evening from 6:30 to 11 p.m. on Saturday.

Thereafter, admission to the final day of the Games is only $15 for adults and $5 for children. The festivities on Sunday are planned to go from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and families can get in on the fun with a Sunday Family Pass, which includes access for two adults and two kids, for $75.

Click to gmhg.org or call (828) 7331333 for more information and to order tickets online or over the phone.

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Mountain Times Publications • Page 7

What’s new at this year’s Games of MacRae Meadows with a flurry of bagpipes, guitars, fiddles and myriad other The Grandfather Mouninstruments throughout tain Highland Games is the four-day weekend. steeped in tradition, but Entertainers include that doesn’t mean the Brothers McLeod, Chambevent organizers won’t less and Muse, Ed Miller, throw in a few new events Emerald Rae, Jennifer and flavors from time to Licko, Jiggernaut, Marytime. beth McQueen, Piper Jones While the situation Band, The Reel Sisters, surrounding the pandemSeven Nations, StrathSpan, ic has led the Games to The Tune Shepherds, Will require guests to wear face MacMorran, Wolf Loescher coverings while on the and more. transport shuttle and while This year, the harmostanding in close lines, the nious pitch of the MothGames still have more than erland’s bagpipes will be enough to offer. brought to attendees once A mix of new and familmore by the Grandfather iar entertainers and musiMountain Highlanders, cians will be bringing a wee who will celebrate 47 years bit of Scotland to the fields serving as the host band for

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the Games. The Harvey E. Ritch Memorial Pipe Band, Jamestown Pipes and Drums, Loch Norman Pipe Band, Montreat Scottish Pipes and Drums, North Carolina State University Pipes and Drums and Blue Ridge Brass Pipes and Drums will also be filling the atmosphere with their distinct Scottish sound throughout the weekend.

The Highland Games wouldn’t be the Highland Games without the tremendous feats of strength and endurance that visitors from all over country come to marvel at. Uniquely Scottish competitions such as the hammer throw, weight toss, tossing of the sheaf and the immensely

popular caber toss are all set to return.

Moreover, track and field events will take place in the inner field, while The Bear and the Grandfather Mountain Marathon will take place on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

Additional new and fan favorite events that will be taking place include the Highland Dancing Competition, Piping Competition, Drumming Competition, Donald’s Gaelic Ceilidh Tent, Scottish Fiddling, Clarsach, Parade of Tartans, the Torchlight Ceremony, Calling of the Clans, Sheepherding, Scottish Spinning and Weaving, and the Children’s Tent and Scottish activities.

PHOTO BY ROB RANDALL

New activities for children are common each year at the Highland Games, including opportunities for youngsters to try their hand at some of the traditional athletics of the festival.

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GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Grandfather Mountain HIGHLAND GAMES MAP

GMHG Clan/Vendor Listings

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Mountain Times Publications • Page 9

PHOTO BY JROB MOORE

Gathering of the clans is a special ceremony that starts the games competition.

NOTE Clans are not to cook on the field.

Also, front row tents are not allowed to have blinds up that restrict the view of the field.

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Wednesday, July 7, 2021

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

GMHG co-founder Donald MacDonald leaves behind a legacy

BY LUKE BARBER

L

INVILLE — Throughout the history of Avery County, there has 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: Donald Frank MacDonald, who passed away 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 attends every year and was coronated 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

PHOTO SUBMITTED

Donald Frank MacDonald, co-founder of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, passed away on February 18 at the age of 94.

GMHG, as the date of Aug. 19 also coincided with the historical date of Scotland’s 1745 uprising, also known as the Jacobite Uprising.

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 be-

yond 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 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 SEE MACDONALD ON PAGE 11

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

MACDONALD CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

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

Mountain Times Publications • Page 11

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES 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

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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 (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,

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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 co-founding 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.”

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Page 12 • Mountain Times Publications

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

GMHG food vendor spotlight Scottish Cottage satisfies patrons’ hunger for smoked haggis and more to eat.

Yes, while at the Games NEWS@AVERYJOURNAL.COM you can find hamburgers, popcorn, turkey legs, bloomne of the many ening onions, great pizza and joyable aspects of the fish and chips. But you can yearly Grandfather also find the traditional Celtic Mountain Highland Games dish known as haggis, as well is the food made available at as Scottish BBQ. the event by various vendors.

One of the Highland With community spirit in Games vendors who specialmind, there are several food ize in Celtic cuisine is Mark vendors slinging freshFerguson of The Scottish cooked hamburgers and Cottage. more with the profits going “I have been doing this for to various local organiza10 years,” said Ferguson. “I tions. But there are also some am into my Scottish heritage food vendors present that and all things Scotland, so travel the country to various I got the idea of starting a Celtic festivals providing Scottish food business and good Scottish foods for all traveling to festivals. I go all

BY DEREK HALSEY

O

around the country to Celtic festivals in Colorado, Texas, New York, Glasgow, Kentucky and more. We do about 30 festivals a year.”

Based in nearby Asheville, NC, Ferguson has developed a special way of cooking his food by buying peat that is dug up and dried overseas and using it to flavor his culinary creations. Peat is the very rich remains of vegetation that has simmered over the centuries in the bogs. Many in Ireland and Scotland still use dried peat as a heat source, burning it in their fireplaces, which came in handy after the PHOTO SUBMITTED forests were depleted in The Scottish Cottage, operated by Mark Ferguson for more than a decade, is a fixture at the Highland Games, serving up smoked BBQ butts, haggis and more in the traditional method of using overseas dried peat to provide authentic Scottish flavor.

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Scotland many decades ago.

So, Ferguson developed the idea of smoking the meat that he uses in his dishes with imported peat, creating a truly unique and flavorful product.

“We take the basic haggis recipe and decided to smoke it for a few hours with the peat,” said Ferguson. “We also use it to smoke our pork BBQ butts. That is why we call it ‘Scottish BBQ,’ because we smoke it with peat. That peat smoke really seems to level it out and people really love it. We have the peat shipped over from Ireland and Scotland. I have sat around many a peat fire in Scotland.”

With his surname firmly Scottish, Ferguson has been coming to the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

for years.

“We actually originated Scottish BBQ at the Grandfather Mountain Games about 15 years ago,” said Ferguson. “I have been going to the Games there for over 20 years. I have also been to Scotland seven times now, and I love it over there as well. I like the oldness and the pristine beauty of the islands in the northern part of the country. I also enjoy the quality of the people there. They don’t tear anything down; they just build over stuff and add on over the decades. It’s like going back to 200 years ago. After getting hooked on going to the Games on Grandfather, my soon-to-be wife began to go to the Games as well, and that is where we got the idea to get married in Scottish

attire.”

Ferguson has many friends who help him run the food trailer, which gives him a chance to walk the grounds and take in the fun of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

“We have this tight-knit group of people that help us work, so on occasion we can take an hour or so off and go and visit the Clan Ferguson tent and see the games,” said Ferguson. “It has become a good thing for us as the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games has become our premier, flagship event. When we travel, and it doesn’t matter where they are from; if people know about Scottish Games festivals, they always say it is on their bucket list to come to Grandfather Mountain.”

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Mountain Times Publications • Page 13

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Honored Chieftain and Clans of the 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games

BY DEREK HALSEY NEWS@AVERYJOURNAL.COM

W

PHOTO COURTESY CLAN MATHESON SOCIETY

Sir Alexander Fergus Matheson is the featured Chieftain at the 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

hat is fascinating about the annual meeting of the Scottish Clans at the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games is the fact that the distinctive history of Scotland is truly a shared experience. The creation and protection of Scottish culture and the centuries of resistance against the at-times oppressive British overlords were experienced by the Clans as a whole.

PHOTO SUBMITTED

The crest of Clan MacCallum/Malcolm, a featured clan of this year’s Games.

Yet, amongst the clans themselves, each one is different in their own way

GRAPHIC COURTESY GMHG

The shield of the International Association of Clan MacInnes, one of the featured clans of the 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

depending on their geographic location and family traditions. You can hear that for yourself on the Thursday of every Highland Games week when the Calling of the Clans reveals each organization’s unique creeds enthusiastically yelled around the collective torch fire. That is why various Clans are honored every year by the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

To celebrate this 65th anniversary of this event, the following individuals and organizations have been

chosen for honor in 2021.

The Chieftain of the Games this year will be Sir Alexander Matheson of Matheson, BT, LVO DL. Hailing from England and making the trip to Grandfather Mountain, Matheson spent 28 years as a member of the acclaimed Coldstream Guards, the longest-serving regiment in the United Kingdom formed to protect the Royal Family. That task led Matheson to serve all over the world, from Morocco SEE HONORED ON PAGE 14

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Page 14 • Mountain Times Publications

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

Finding your parking spot for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games urday nights, general parking will be MARISA.MECKE@MOUNTAINTIMES.COM available at MacRae Meadows with special parking privileges for ChiefLINVILLE- Visitors have a variety tain Patrons, but parking will be of options for food, music, and unavailable for Highlander Patrons, experiences at the Grandfather High- Clansman Patrons or sponsors. land Games this year as the games Should visitors not wish to worry return for their 65th annual games. about parking, however, numerous Additionally, visitors have plenty of shuttle buses to MacRae Meadows options for parking and making their will take attendees up the mountain. way up the mountain.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday of According to the Games website, the Games, the shuttle buses will gmhg.org, parking is limited at the run from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Passes to Games location at MacRae Meadows ride the shuttle will be available for on the Mountain, and will vary from purchase at the shuttle lot for $10 for day to day. During the day on Friday, adults (round trip), $5 for attendees Saturday and Sunday, no general 16 years and younger (round trip), parking will be available at MacRae and free for kids. Space for a stroller Meadows, although there is reserved will cost $5. parking for Sponsors, Chieftain There will be three shuttle bus lots Patrons, Highlander Patrons, Clans- provided in the Linville area and one man Patrons and participants. located in Boone. Guests are reThere is additional parking availquired to wear masks while standing able on the mountain during the in line and while riding the buses evenings. Thursday, Friday and Sat- per federal guidelines for public

BY MARISA MECKE

transportation. The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games will have a limited number of masks should a visitor need one.

The shuttle buses are at the following locations: • Caldwell Lot: Caldwell Community College, Boone. (This service is included all three days with a special four-day advance ticket to the Games.)

• Linville Parking Lot: 350 NC Hwy 105, Linville, NC (field area behind the Linville Post Office) • Heritage Park Fairgrounds Lot at the Avery Co. Agricultural Extension Service: 661 Vale Road, Newland, NC, 28657 • Millers Gap Lot: 3000 Millers Gap Hwy., Newland, NC, 28657 All proceeds for parking directly benefit the Crossnore Volunteer Fire Department, who are responsible for the buses and drivers for the shuttle routes.

HONORED CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13

to Guatemala and many other countries as well. He also traveled to countries such as Tanzania, Iceland and Peru as the Executive Director of an impressive organization known as the Royal Geographic Society’s BSES Expeditions, which uses scientific expeditions led by volunteers that do charity work of many kinds.

From 2005 to 2014, Matheson served Queen Elizabeth II directly as head of the Royal Department in charge of public honors and awards. Now the 28th Chief of Clan Matheson and the 8th Baronet of Lochalsh, Matheson arrives on Grandfather Mountain with a truly impressive resume’.

As a result, this year’s Honored Clan will be Clan Matheson.

Clan Matheson comes from a fascinating region of Scotland’s western coast.

If you look at a map of the area, Donan Castle, where the Clan recorded its first Chief in the 1200s, stands where three

PHOTO COURTESY GMHG

Clan Morrison is one of the Featured Clans of the 2021 Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

ocean-connected lakes come together, Loch Long, Loch Duich and Loch Alsh.

The Clan found itself in many skirmishes over the years, including fighting bravely

PHOTO SUBMITTED

This map indicates the three parking lots available in Avery County for the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, including a lot in Linville at the base of the mountain, as well as parking at Heritage Park in Newland for shuttle riders.

during the Battle of Inverness in the year 1427 against King James I. The Featured Clans of this year’s Grandfather Mountain Highland Games are Clan Morrison, Clan MacInnes and Clan MacCallum-Malcolm.

While the members and ancestors of Clan Morrison can also be found in Aberdeenshire and the Lowlands region of Scotland, this large bloodline mostly originated in the Scottish Western Isles.

They are one of the few Clans that can boast of Nordic-Viking lineage in the mix.

Clan Morrison is known for its various skirmishes with other clans, yet they also have a rich history of poetry, music, science and charity.

Clan MacInnes, also rooted in western Scotland, can amazingly trace their lineage back to the year 501 AD. Springing up from an Irish migration, the clan centered on Kinlochaline Castle located at the headwaters of Loch Aline. Unfortunately, the clan’s Chieftain and his family were murdered in cold blood in their sleep in the year 1358 and all land was lost with

their deaths. In 1690, Kinlochaline Castle became empty and unused for 400 years until it was restored as a private residence. The MacInnes name and bloodline, however, has survived over the centuries and will be well-represented at the Games.

Continuing the theme of clans from the west coast of Scotland, Clan MacCallum-Malcolm was created in the 15th century by migrants of Irish descent and is centered on Dontrune Castle in the Lorne in Argyll region. The clan’s name in the Gaelic language tells the story of being followers of Saint Columba, who famously brought Christianity to Scotland in the 500s. In the late 1700s, then Chief Dugald MacCallum of Poltalloch changed the family’s surname to Malcolm. Dontrune Castle, originally given to Clan Campbell

by Robert the Bruce in the early 1300s, was not officially acquired by Clan MacCallum-Malcolm until 1792. As we speak, the current Clan MacCallum-Malcolm Chieftain Robert Malcolm lives with his family in Dontrune Castle.

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Mountain Times Publications • Page 15

Music on the mountain

Dulcet tones of pipes, drums, guitars and more provide Games soundtrack

McMorran, a former guitar player for the Chieftains USA tours.” McMorran, Jones he sounds of bagpipes said, is “a piper, a guitar and drums will fill player. He’s young, he’s got a the air of Grandfather lot of energy, and he’s a great Mountain to celebrate the fusion of traditional music Highland Games’ return to and rock ‘n roll.” the mountain this summer.

“We have a lot of people Featuring traditional pipes who grew up learning folk and drums as well as modern music,” Jones said, “but they twists of Scottish classics, the also grew up in a world of Games will feature local and rock music and pop music, regional musicians in an asso when they branch out into tounding number of musical more mainstream music performances. they’re informed by the music “The thing I’m most excited they grew up with.” about,” GMHG music director The Games, Jones exEJ Jones said, “is somebody plained, will feature muin the region named Will sicians playing not only

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traditional Scottish folk music but also their own new, modern music influenced by their traditional roots.

“They were influenced by the Scottish American music that they learned growing up in the mountains,” Jones said.

In selecting the musicians and bands for the Games, Jones said focusing on local and regional performers who can educate visitors about Scottish folk music was a high priority. Noting the importance of traditional folk music in the High Country, Jones said that one of the drivers of continued practice of this kind of music in the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming. Located in Valle Crucis, for 40 years this academy has taught genera-

tions of pipers and drummers instructing them in traditional, regional Scottish folk music.

One notable alumnus of the North American Academy of Piping and Drumming, according to Jones, is his piping instructor who was the first American to win a gold medal in competitive solo bagpiping at the international piping competition, organized by the Highland Society of London.

Jones also said the founder of the rock band Seven Nations, which has been in the Grandfather Mountain area for around 20 years, also went to the piping and drumming academy.

“You don’t have to have Scottish DNA to be part of this,” Jones said, discussing

PHOTO BY ROB MOORE

Ed Miller entertains the crowd with some Scottish folk songs during the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.

piping and drumming.

Jones stated that he became involved in the Scottish folk music scene when he was 11 years old and a friend of his who participated in a youth pipe band invited him to join. Moreover, Jones said that Scottish folk music has appeal for many people in Avery County: he compared traditional Scottish folk music to the Mexican and Chilean corrido, songs that often tell narratives in the form of a ballad, and said they share much in common.

“The whole selection process for this is very carefully done,” Jones said in explaining the process of choosing the music performers for the Games. In his eighth year as the music director, Jones said that each year he turns over about 30% of the performers.

“I want it so that bands can have some time to put down roots and make an impact on the community over multiple years, but we also want to get some fresh talent,” Jones said. “I really look especially for local people, regional people, who grew up going to the music camps, who are now taking the music they learned

and bringing it to the general public.”

Visitors will hear individuals such as McMorran and Ed Miller, among others, as well as bands and ensembles like Seven Nations, the Reel Sisters, Piper Jones Band and more. Jones said that if visitors stay into the evening, guests camping on the mountain will play their own pipes, drums and guitars themselves to bring more folk music to the Games.

“I try to turn it over about 30% every year so that bands that come can have some time to put down roots and make an impact over multiple years, but we also get some fresh talent,” Jones added. “I really look for especially local people, regional people, who grew up going to the music camps, who now are taking the music they learned and bringing it to the general public.”

Marisa Mecke is a Report for America corps member for Mountain Times Publications.

Report for America is a national nonprofit service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

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Page 16 • Mountain Times Publications

GRANDFATHER MOUNTAIN HIGHLAND GAMES

Wednesday, July 7, 2021

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