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DJMA Newsletter #16
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| DJMA Newsletter #17 |
 DJMA Newsletter #18 |
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Well friends, here we are again with just a little update on progress with John Muir's Birthplace here in Dunbar. As you are aware, of the various companies who responded to our advertisement to develop the house, a short leet of three were invited to make their presentation to the Birthplace Trustees on 31st January. The three chosen were Simpson ∓ Brown, Architects; Benjamin Tindall, well known for his interest in Muir; and Campbell & Co, a Design and Interpretation company.
All three companies were most enthusiastic about the project and after much discussion, Campbell & Co. were selected. Working with Campbell & Co. will be Scotland's most distinguished architect, Richard Murphy. Mr Murphy has worked on many prestigious projects including Buckingham Palace, The Palace of Holyroodhouse, and The Wallace Monument at Stirling. A preliminary meeting has already been held with Mr Campbell and Mr Murphy and local interests. I, myself, could not attend on the day and our convenor, Jim Thompson, represented DJMA interests. Exciting times lie ahead. I will keep you informed.
Yours sincerely
Dan Cairney
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Friday March 23rd Dunbar Parish Church Hall 7.30pm for 8pm
Professor John Simpson of Ohio State University
(tea/coffee, fruit juice and biscuits will be available)
Admission free
Details of the talk on page 2
Saturday April 7th Dunbar Leisure Pool Car Park 9.30am for 10am
Come and help tidy up the cliff top trail where John where John first learned from his grandfather to love wild places and wild things.
Further information on page 2
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John Simpson provided us with some background on his talk and on his family and his reasons for being in Scotland. We warmly welcome John, Marie, Katie and Ed and hope that they will enjoy their stay with us.
"I am on sabbatical leave from my academic post at The Ohio State University in the United States, living in Cockburnspath for 9 months with my family, researching and writing a book for Random House that compares the landscape history of this area to that of Marquette County, Wisconsin. I'm also be lecturing a bit to the landscape architecture program in Edinburgh. The link between these Old and New World places is the famous naturalist and conservationist John Muir: these were his boyhood homes. I hope to learn what we Americans have gained and lost vis-*-vis our Old and New World roots for our land settlement practices and landscape values. To explore these questions, I hope to tell the settlement story of these landscapes through the lives and words of people, past and present, over the past 400 years. Thus far, I've interviewed a range of people in Marquette County:farmers whose families homesteaded in the forest and prairie wilds of Wisconsin in the mid-1800s during the initial settlement of the territory by Euro-Americans like the Muirs; real estate agents; government officials responsible for land planning, management and conservation; local historians; and Ho-Chunk Indians, descendants of those who were the region's original inhabitants. Now I'm repeating the process here. My DJMA talk (illustrated with slides and overhead projector transparencies) will outline the Muirs' emigration story from Dunbar to the wilds of Wisconsin, then it will explore how the land that the Muir's pioneered (and owned/farmed) is used and perceived today by its current inhabitants and the Ho-Chunk Indians who were displaced in the settlement process. In conclusion, I'll propose some differences and similarities between the settlement legacies of these Old and New World places and people."
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Further on in this bulletin you will read of our new publication The Coastal Trail which updates the booklet The Clifftop Trail produced by East Lothian Council. The publication date is hoped to be John's birthday, 21st April, and to publicise this we are proposing to clear up the walkway between the Leisure Pool and Winterfield Golf Course.
Children will be welcome but under 14 year olds must be accompanied by an adult. Volunteers should provide their own gloves. Further information can be obtained from Council members.
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Newsletter #16 gave you the wonderful news of the Heritage Lottery grant. The next step in the development of the Birthplace has now taken place. A number of architects and design consultants were asked to make submissions and a short leet of three were then invited to present their proposals to the Birthplace Trust. From these submissions the prestigeous design and interpretation company, Campbell & Co. were chosen. Campbell and Co. have an impressive pedigree and among their recent works are The Royal Yacht Britannia, Skara Brae, Oban Visitor Centre, Stirling Castle Vaults, Argyll's Lodgings, Trossachs Discovery Centre, and John Knox House and the Writer's Museum both in The Royal Mile in Edinburgh. They are currently working on The Loch Lomond National Park Visitor Centre.
David Campbell told us that the design and planning of the exhibition will respond directly to its interpretive objects and the visitor will be invited to relate to the subject and whilst communicating the important messages of wild places and the environment and Muir's vision, it will also be engaging and fun. A place that the visitor will want to return to.
It is intended that the works will start in the early autumn and the official opening will be on John Muir's 164th birthday, 21st April, 2002.
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Two years ago we had a successful visit from children from the school as part of their work towards the John Muir Award. Lasting friendships were made during that visit and some reciprocal visits have been made. In particular, one of the teachers, Catherine Soria, has encouraged her pupils in their interest in the environment in general and John Muir in particular. She has taken them to visit Mayme Kimes and to see a musical on the life of John Muir. Catherine asked her pupils to write a fictional account of Muir's life and to put a character into a situation that might have happened to Muir. We have chosen the piece written by Rachel Smith as we were particulary intrigued by how she reversed the names (including Dunbar) and changed the gender.
Catherine writes:- "We are hard at work on the Conserver Level of the John Muir Award. We currently have several projects in the works that will contribute to the effort needed to earn the award. We are surveying the community about their recycling efforts and helping to print a new brochure about how to recycle within the park. We are reprinting our Kid's Guide to Yosemite which will include articles about keeping Yosemite for the generations to come. And we are making a video to detail Muir's life here in Yosemite called, What's the Big Deal About John Muir? This title really makes the students think about whether Muir is still an important figure in the world today. Earlier this school year the students of the 4th-7th grade class went to Concord, California to attend a three day festival featuring the musical, Mountain Days, A Musical About John Muir. This was a professional performance attended by many including Muir's grandson! Recently I gave my students an assignment to think about Muir as a person and make up an event that might have happened to him during his lifetime. The story that follows is one example. Rachel, the author, quotes some of the lyrics from the musical."
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By Rachel Smith
That day was bound to go into trouble. First ten-year old Nhoja knocked over the milk at breakfast, then she got a huge scolding from her mother Enna. She forgot her lessons at school and dropped her lunch in the pond (she was trying to climb the schoolhouse wall with her lunch bag in her mouth but slipped and gave a small cry--of course it fell out of her mouth). Her luck just seemed to be getting worse and worse.
Nhoja live in Rabund, Scotland. She was fair skinned and dark haired. She loved anything in nature. She was often heard to say in her sleep, "Climb the walls get the good views, climb the mountains get the glad tidings." But then again she was heard to say, "Not now Enna, I'm trying to lift the squidge..." So maybe this was nothing. But no one could ever figure out what a squidge was anyway. Anyway, she loved things wild, so, after they were excused from school that day Nhoja ran to the old castles and moors. She loved solitude and wanted to sort out her thoughts after that troublesome morning.
Njoha wondered if old Neekits was still at the castle. Neekits was an elderly husky dog that often came to town begging for meat scraps. On one of her visits to the castle Nhoja had discovered that the husky had taken up residence in the ancient castle. The dog came running out to meet her when she was within sight of the castle. Unfortunately someone else had chosen to visit the manor that day. Nhoja shivered when saw who it was. It was Leinad the oldest kid in the school, about 13, also the meanest. He was always showing off his strength by punching the younger kids. Nhoja couldn't tell how this made him seem strong, afterall they were all about four years younger than him, but she was still afraid of his meanness and his cunning. And Leinad knew it.
"O' it's the little nature girl come up to Castle Detnuah! Me faether said that this place was haunted. Ere you afraid to come in?" smirked Leinad.
"I'm not afraid, Leinad." Nhoja didn't want to talk to him. She'd had scrapes with that one before. Nhoja inched past Leinad and stepped into the threshold. She had indeed heard rumors that this place was haunted but she had gone in before. Many a times she had run into the clammy dungeon with her sister Divad and told her to stroke the bones of a skeleton. Every time her sister would refuse to come forward and lay her fingers on the cold frame. She hoped the Leinad would not follow her into the castle, and he didn't. Maybe her luck was changing.
Or maybe not. As she swept through the manor with Neekits, Nhoja heard sounds she had never heard in her waking life--frightening howls that one only hears in one's nightmares. She wasn't going to back down on this Rehcoocs, which is what they called dares. She tiptoed into the musty dungeon and located a skeleton. She grabbed a toe bone and worked it off. She heard Neekits growl and whirled around.
A decaying figure was moving towards her. She tried not to gag. Brown rot was dripping off the huge shape. Neekits growled. The thing reached toward the dog. The husky whined. "Chicken" thought Nhoja, although she was just as scared. Nhoja grabbed a stone from the floor and threw it at the thing. It hit it in what would be its head.
To her surprise, it clutched at its head. Neekits smelled the thing more closely. The dog bit the figure's foot. By this time she had figured out the "thing" was Leinad covered in mud and duckweed. "Here's your bone, 'ghost'." she said, disgustedly. Neekits had found that he didn't like the taste of mud so he let go of Leinad. Nhoja turned on her heal and tripped away. She explored the moor a bit, then sat down on a rock to think. Her day was going better. She had a good story to tell everyone and she was no longer afraid of Leinad. Well maybe just a tiny eeny bit.
Well done, Rachel.
Catherine has informed us that the school is planning to visit Scotland again next year. We will look forward to renewing 'auld acquaintance'.
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Our venture into the world of publishing, the John Muir's Dunbar having been a success, we decided to produce a companion book based on the Clifftop Trail. Having received agreement from East Lothian Council, who produced the previous booklet The Clifftop Trail (now out of print), a working group was set up . The group consisting of a geoligist, ornitholigist, botanist, historian, graphic designer, and a professional photographer with members of our own council have been meeting over the winter months and will tell the story of the trail from the Leisure Pool to the John Muir Country Park. The work is almost ready to go to the printer. We hope that the date of publishing will be 21st April, 2001. The price has not yet been fixed but will be around £3/£4. With its colour photography, we believe that the book will be a must for members and for visitors to the town.
And remember, John Muir's Dunbar is still available at £2.00 (plus p&p) [see Order Form].
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The summer season under the auspices of East Lothian Council Museum Service when the house is open seven days a week starts on Saturday 31st March. It is a part season this year and the house will close on Tuesday 31st July after which the redevelopment works will start.
The hours of opening are :-
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Monday to Saturday : 11am - 1pm
2pm - 5pm
Sunday : 2pm - 5pm
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With the summer opening of the Birthplace fast approaching, we must convey our appreciation to Richard and Audrey, local members of the Association, who throughout the winter have opened the house on Saturday mornings and seen to all those jobs that require to be done to keep the house in condition such as cleaning windows etc. We are truly grateful.
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We received a letter from Mr Paul Williams of Cupar, Fife suggesting that the proposed Loch Lomond (and Trossachs) National Park be named as (The) John Muir Loch Lomond (and Trossachs) National Park. We most certainly agree with this sentiment for the most obvious of reasons and have written to Scottish National Heritage accordingly. If you, as an individual also agree, why not write to the Chief Executive Scottish National Heritage, 12 Hope Terrace, Edinburgh, EH9 2AR and let him know.
Mr Williams also suggested that other proposed National Parks, eg. Cairngorm National Park, be named after eminent Scottish environmentalists.
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Following the completion of the new classrooms at Dunbar Primary School and the creation of an outdoor teaching area, East Lothian Council, the School, and Community Development discussed the possibility of a series of public art projects employing a variety of media but particularly ceramics and mosiacs. The School suggested that a large blank wall would connect well with an existing idea to create a Tree of Life for Dunbar. Through this theme, a number of ideas will be explored. Tree of Life designs from cultures around the world will be introduced. The importance of trees in maintaining the ecology of our planet and the many ways in which humans and animals depend on them for food and shelter will be examined. The consideration of and need to care for our environment will be integral to the concept. Each child in the school will contribute to the Tree by drawing and designing a leaf, bird, insect, fruit, i.e. something that would be found in a tree, but diverse 'favourite things' could also be incorporated.
DJMA has been invited to participate in this imaginative scheme.
A scheme for older children at the Grammar School is being considered whereby by the use of video and other media, the impact of industries such as Blue Circle Cement Works, Torness Nuclear Power Station, and the Landfill operation south of Dunbar on the East Lothian environment can be examined.
We will keep you informed.
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Answers in Newsletter No. 18. If you cannot wait that long, all the answers can be found in the excellent book by Cherry Good, 'On the Trail of John Muir', available from The John Muir Trust and all good booksellers, priced £7.99.
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