Harkness – MacGillivray Stories

The telegrams on this post focus on those sent by the MacDonalds and a group connected to them. The senders in particular are: Mary Bell, Mary Jean, Sarah, and the company Shore Cottage.

Mary Bell MacDonald

Mary Bell MacDonald was obviously a friend of my mother, although I never heard my mother mention her. In Camille Dressler’s book (2007), Mary Bell is mentioned ten times in the index. So it seems she was used as an oral source. As mentioned before, she said that when she was a schoolgirl, the boys were horrible to the girls and often threw stones at them. Sometimes they would arrive late at school and be given the strap (Dressler, 2007: 110). From what I can gather, the ‘strap’ was used on children (including girls) in Scotland since time immemorial: in homes, schools, and other institutions.

Mary Bell’s account of collecting peat in the 1930s certainly rings a bell with me (Dressler: 2007: 111). She recounts that after all their hard work as children, they would only receive a jam and scone! This reminds me of my childhood as a potato picker around 1960; it seems to imply that my mother’s treatment of her children was influenced by her Scottish upbringing. I can assume that Mary Bell was around two years older than my mother, although I haven’t checked this. I think she lived at Shore Cottage, but I’m not sure.

Sarah MacDonald

Perhaps it was in a conversation with my mother that she mentioned that Mary Bell’s mother, Sarah, was a friend of my grandmother Morag. This would perhaps explain the ‘wedding congratulations’ telegram from Sarah.

Mary Jean MacDonald

Mary Jean MacDonald also sent a greeting telegram to Glasgow from Eigg. As previously stated, the greetings usually contained a witty remark, such as this telegram from Mary Jean: “Now that you’re married, if your husband be cross, just take the poker and say, ‘I’m the boss.’” My mother did do that on several occasions, although not exactly the poker. 

Shore Cottage

I’m a bit unsure about my mother’s connection with Shore Cottage. I think Shore Cottage was a guest house run by Sarah MacDonald. 

My mother mentions banana cake. In other words, they used to visit Shore Cottage for tea and cake – sponge cake with banana filling.