What started as a dream many years ago reached a milestone this past weekend with the opening of an expanded and more comprehensive Scottish Heritage Center at St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

Moved to a new home on the college campus, the Scottish Heritage Center now has an exhibit and historical interpretation room that documents the history of Scots in this region.  The Center also includes the Robert Lee and Margaret McIver McLeod Reading Room, containing a highly notable collection recently donated by Dr. Alexander C. McLeod. A special ribbon cutting ceremony was held Friday, March 20, to mark the occasion.

"I need to thank our many friends in the Scottish-American community who had faith in me and in St. Andrews and who have supported the idea of a Scottish Heritage Center here at St. Andrews from its inception," said Bill Caudill, director of the center. "It is all of you who made this center possible."

The Center also contains the Fiona Ritchie Radio Archive for "The Thistle and Shamrock" containing more than 1,000 hours of Celtic music for listening and research. In the next room, there's a media center with more than 850 vinyl albums from Ritchie's collection as well as other media. The open house marked the first event for the weekend's Scottish Heritage activities.

Five people were recognized at the annual Scottish Heritage Banquet on Friday night. The weekend also hosted guest speakers who touched on several Scottish-related topics. On Saturday night, the award-winning St. Andrews Pipe Band played a free concert with guest Scottish vocalist Isla St. Clair.

Award Recipients

A designer of more than 120 tartans, Dr. Philip D. Smith Jr. received the Scottish Heritage Service Award. He has devoted much research and educational efforts toward Scottish topics including the Gaelic language and the history, culture, and lore of Scottish tartans.

"Dr. Smith is one of very few in the United States who has taught Scots Gaelic on the academic level and he is also to be saluted for his efforts to preserve and perpetuate this language of our ancestors as well as gain respect for it within American academia," said Caudill. "His regularly published columns on Gaelic have assisted countless people with curiosity about the language as well as individuals trying to attain a better working knowledge of the language."

The annual Flora Macdonald Award went to two people this year. Betty Holmes, former head librarian at St. Andrews, and Pinny Geffert, retired St. Andrews archivist, were honored together for their work in the early founding of the Scottish Heritage Center.

"Betty's research trips to Scotland and Nova Scotia gave us resources in the Center which are still being used today," said Caudill. "Her passion and curiosity showed no bounds. I had the good fortune to be with Betty on jaunts through the countryside looking for sites of Scottish interest and even hiked with her through brambles and briars in Montgomery County at the site of Flora Macdonald's home."

In accepting the award, Holmes said her meeting with Bill Caudill when he was an 18-year-old freshman at St. Andrews was a pivotal time in the college's relationship with its Scottish roots. Others in the community wanted St. Andrews to become a focal point for the collection of the area's Scottish-related materials.

"It was interesting and fun for me to work on things relating to the heritage here at St. Andrews," said Holmes.

She lauded Caudill's energy and ability to take the Scottish Heritage Center to its present size and location.

In 1988, Geffert volunteered to serve on a committee with the Museum of the Cape Fear in Fayetteville to plan a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the arrival of Scots in this region.

"She and I made a number of trips together to Fayetteville over those first five years of the event," said Caudill. "I am convinced that if she had never been interested and volunteered to help with that committee, this Scottish Heritage Weekend we celebrate each year would never have had the opportunity to continue here in Laurinburg."

Caudill always waits until the Scottish Heritage Awards Banquet to reveal the recipient of the Highlander Award, given to people in North Carolina or with strong roots to the state who have contributed to the preservation of Scottish history and lore. Two recipients were named this year. Frank Vance of the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games and Gloria Ross, a clan genealogy expert, received the award.

Guest Speakers

The Scottish Heritage Symposium attracts some of the world's most knowledgeable speakers on the history, music, and lore of the Scots. Participating this year were:

• Eleanor Harris, a native of St. Andrews, Fife, presented "Local Sources for Global Communities: An Overview of the Local Collections Held by Argyll and Bute Library Service Highlighting Resources Pertaining to Early Emigrants from Argyll." She works at the regional headquarters library in Dunoon, Scotland, which houses the Local Collection.
• Dr. Philip D. Smith Jr. is one of the world's top scholars of Scottish tartan. He presented "Tartan Since Proscription."
• Patrick King is a writer, director and producer making documentary films for international broadcast including PBS, The History Channel, A&E and BBC Channel 4. He presented "Bagpipes in the Movies."
• As part of her Master's thesis, Bridget O'Brien studied the restoration of an 18th century emigrant homestead in Marlboro County. She presented "Early Scottish Farmsteads in the Eastern Carolinas."
• A native of North East of Scotland, Isla St. Clair is a well-known exponent of Scottish traditional song. She has performed with groups and individuals such as The Chieftains, The Dubliners, The Corries, Billy Connelly, Tom Conti, Chic Murray, Andy Stewart, Jimmy Logan, Pete Seeger, Ewan McColl, and Jimmy Shand. In addition to performing with the St. Andrews Pipe Band, she also presented "The Songs of Scotland."

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About St. Andrews Presbyterian College

An innovative and bold academic venture to an interdisciplinary curriculum, a highly acclaimed college press, an award-winning pipe band, national champion equestrian teams, and first-rate scholarship have marked the distinctive character of St. Andrews. In addition to classes on the main campus, adult learners also choose the Center for Adult and Professional Studies opportunities through St. Andrews @ Sandhills and St. Andrews ONLINE.

St. Andrews was formed by the merger on Aug. 29, 1958, of Presbyterian Junior College and Flora Macdonald College. Further information may be obtained by visiting the College's website www.sapc.edu, calling 800-763-0198 or sending an e-mail to info@sapc.edu.