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DJMA Newsletter #11
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As you are all aware DJMA has been a hive of activity in February. Some events enjoyed more participation by members than others.
The John Muir Exhibition in Dunbar Library throughout the month was informative, interesting, thought provoking and beautiful. Materials were supplied and presented by the John Muir Trust, the John Muir Award and Will Collin. Thanks to Will's hard work, with help from Jim Thomson and Richard Weller, all those of us who managed to go and see it were reminded of John Muir the person and his legacy to the world. The exhibition also provided us with drawings of the proposed developments for the John Muir Birthplace. A resumé is included in this newsletter. (There may be another chance to see the drawings at the John Muir House in the summer - watch this space.).
A parallel exhibition at Dunbar Parish Church put together entirely by Will Collin, highlighted John Muir's family connections to the church and his thoughts on religion, taken from his writings.
The Reception to mark the opening of the exhibition at the library went ahead as advertised in newsletter No.11 - unfortunately the crowds stayed away. It was very much a council meeting with one or two additional faces (the editor tried to boost numbers by bringing her offspring).
That same weekend the Church Hall of Our Lady of the Waves was filled with music. Due to illness and other mishaps, the Folk Night differed in contents from the advertising (contact Duncan Smeed to get a low down on grey hairs acquired): only two thirds of The Wee Harbour Grudges were there, The Herber Mooths had to cancel completely. The Sewer Plooms were reduced to one who nevertheless turned up as a member of the audience. To ensure the event taking place, A Kist of Whistles very kindly agreed to perform - at very short notice. The evening was a resounding success, with much audience participation.
The Pageant through Dunbar to the station was very effective, with a great entourage of Victorian citizens surrounding young John Muir and his family. A piper lead the way, the weather played its part, and newspaper photographers and even Scottish Television were present to record the event. Well done to the organisers and participants.
The Ceilidh was great fun for those who turned up although a greater turn out of members and friends would have been appreciated. - The Corn Exchange can be a big place! West Wick Sound certainly got the party swinging. During the interval, when some tasty bites were to be had from the buffet, great music was supplied by The Sewer Plooms.
The Illustrated talk, which included slides of Yosemite National Park, by Nigel Hawkins, Director of John Muir Birthplace Trust and Graham White, who is involved in environmental education, was very informative and fascinating. The great knowledge and enthusiasm shown by both Nigel and Graham was very well received by an unfortunately small crowd in the Narthex of Dunbar Parish Church.
This February DJMA celebrated John Muir's leaving of Dunbar and the beginning of his growing up into the great man environmentalists all over the world pay tribute to. The turnout by DJMA members, however, was not very encouraging.
The editor and council members would welcome suggestions from members, as to what events they would like to see put on, and, most importantly, which they would like to attend.
Ed.
Ute Penny, 2, Implement Rd., West Barns, Dunbar, East Lothian, EH42 1WN, Scotland
Tel. 01368-864 879
E-mail: 100760.3610@compuserve.com
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John Muir might have said of Peter Hunt, as he did of the Indian, that he walked softly and hurt the landscape hardly more than the birds or squirrels.
Peter was the gentlest of men. His calf country was Dorsetshire, and its sea-cliffs with their wildflowers were always his special delight. St Andrews was his chosen university, to study geology and geography; the very image of the clean-cut wholesome student, his picture appeared on the front cover of a freshers' magazine walking out the West Sands in his red gown. But soon he discovered the mountaineering club and the satisfaction of long weekends in wild and remote places, culminating in an expedition to Cape Farewell, South Greenland, in 1975.
His post-graduate training in East Lothian for leisure and recreation management coincided with the development of the John Muir Country Park in the late 1970s, and in Muir's writings Peter found great resonance with his own feelings and ideas. He joined the John Muir Trust as soon as he heard about it, and took part in conservation weekends in Knoydart and Sandwood Bay. In the autumn of 1994, he went on a fortnight's study-tour following John Muir's footsteps in Wisconsin, canoeing in Canada, and climbing in Yosemite. One of his then companions writes of "the thoughtfulness and deep care Peter brought to bear on life's experiences, his sensitivity to things, the wisdom with which he spoke ... his quiet times and his joyful banter and sense of humour. The most outstanding experience of the trip for Peter was in the Holt Library of the University of the Pacific, when he was able to hold the original writings of Muir and to read his very words".
A few months before that experience, Peter had joined the steering group set up to promote a John Muir Centre in Dunbar town. Initially he represented Dunbar Trades' Association, in his capacity as manager of SportPlus whose contract with East Lothian District Council included responsibility for the Dunbar Leisure Pool. When Dunbar's John Muir Association was founded, he was elected in his own right to its council. His unobtrusive efficiency as convener of the 'local involvement' committee ensured a run of very successful educational and fund-raising events in our first two years. Particularly memorable was the bitterly cold February morning when about 50 children took a sponsored walk in the John Muir Country Park: the children listened intently to a much more emphatic Peter than the one we knew, as he explained the route and had them jumping up and down to warm up before the start. Peter's contacts with Bobbie Anderson, the Senior Countryside Ranger in the Park, led to a number of conservation days there for energetic adults from DJMA. For 15 months from June 1995 Peter could be seen many Saturday mornings in the DJMA 'shop', encouraging the volunteer staff and organising the sales records. This, the old Buttercup Dairy in Dunbar High Street, was the venue for the launch of the book The Heart of John Muir's World, by Millie Stanley. Peter had met Millie when she showed his study-tour round the Muirs' first farm in Wisconsin, close to her home, and persuaded her to visit Dunbar.
At the Annual General Meeting in 1997, shortly before his death, Peter was one of three of the original steering group to be re-elected to the council of Dunbar's John Muir Association. In this, as in so many other roles, he is sorely missed.
WS
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With a four-wheel truck and survival kit to a weekend of Bald Eagle watching! This was Margaret Watson's early birthday treat, arranged by her daughter Sheila, who lives in Whitehorse, Yukon.
Their arrival was eagerly awaited by Dave Nanney, planning officer of Haines City, who was to be their B&B host for the weekend. You may remember reading in newsletter No.11, under the heading "trawling the Net", an e-mail Dave Nanney sent to Duncan Smeed. Dave is a keen chronicler of John Muir and was excited about the prospect of having a Dunbar resident, who moreover is one of the founder members of DJMA, as a guest in his house. It was this chance meeting, which resulted in Haines and Dunbar becoming "Sister Cities" (any town is called a "city" in Alaska). The story was reported on in the East Lothian press, on BBC Radio Scotland and some of the major Scottish papers. Briefly this much information about Haines for those of you, who missed the reports: Together with a Presbyterian minister John Muir founded Haines at the end of the 19th century in Indian country in Alaska, where many others before them failed.
With this article an attempt is made to relate some of Margaret's impressions.
We must envisage Haines as a small fishing town by the Pacific Ocean with a relatively mild climate and a lot of rain (60in / year), surrounded by magnificent mountain scenery and glaciers. Haines is located in an enclave, which reaches south from the main area of Alaska like a thin serrated tongue between Canada and the Pacific Ocean, with not many other centres of population easily accessible. The coast has many long and narrow sea inlets, islands and bays. Access to Haines is by a spectacularly beautiful, tarmacked but narrow, 100-mile road north to Haines Junction, in the Yukon. The journey takes the traveller through the desolate Chilkat Pass (3 500 ft) and along the huge Kluane Wilderness Reserve. You can also get there by sea: by ferry from Skagway and with cruise ships from Vancouver, which seem to frequent the town more and more in the summer months.
At first sight it is obvious to any visitor to Haines that it is not a typical American town: it is fairly compact and you can walk to anywhere with ease. The town centre consists of small shops and a supermarket, schools, churches, a theatre, cinema, a town museum, which houses exhibits on John Muir and another museum, dedicated to the local wildlife. As the road network to other, bigger towns is not very well developed, mail order shopping for anything apart from food is the order of the day. The main industries are fishing, forestry and tourism. Tourists, come to see the Bald Eagles, and to hunt or fish in the State Parks in the area. There are many campsites for those who want to get close to the wilderness. The wildlife is impressive, as you would expect in such a place, with bears, mountain goats, elks and moose. Every November it is greatly increased by flocks of Bald Eagles, America's national bird, drawn to the Chilkat River by great quantities of salmon, which come there to spawn. Judging by the pictures I was shown, the congregation of 1000s of these birds is spectacular. There are sign posts for special eagle viewing points, with easy access through specially built board walks which also cater for the disabled. Among the 'eagle tourists' there are many professional photographers for obvious reasons.
November also sees the "Eagle Festival" which goes back to the ancient traditions of the Chilkat Indians, who hold the eagle sacred. The town maintains a "Eagle Foundation" with its own dedicated building.
The two important forces in Muir's life: religion (at its birth) and nature in its unspoilt glory are truly married in the area around the City of Haines.
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The 'John Muir Center' for Regional Studies at the University of the Pacific's Stockton campus in California produces a quarterly newsletter. The winter 98/99 edition carries a short article under the above heading. It announces the purchase of 128 High Street and carries congratulations to the Birthplace Trust for 'their successful efforts to protect this historic site'.
The same article has the following paragraph: 'Also newsworthy is a new film project now underway. Trans-Atlantic e-mail has heated up recently with news from the BBC and the Hollywood Reporter that Sean Connery - that's right, old 007 himself - will co-produce and star in "Dominion", a film about Muir evidently planned several years ago but did not move forward until Paramount Studios recently stepped in. The Hollywood studio acquired the script and hired Richard Friedenberg, a screenwriter whose credits include "A River Runs Through it", to rewrite the original. The film will be produced by Gale Ann Hurd's Western Pacific Productions, and by Connery and Rhonda Telletson's Fountainbridge Films.' Will "Dominion" do for John Muir what "Braveheart" did for William Wallace?
The newsletter also contains notice of the publication of two books on Muir. The first is a reprint of "John Muir: To Yosemite and Beyond: Writings from the Years 1863 to 1875" edited by R Engberg and D Wesling and published by the University of Utah Press (ISBN 0-87480-580-5). The second is a new anthology "John Muir in Historical Perspective" edited by Sally M Miller and about to be published in the USA by Peter Lang. Unfortunately no prices are given.
Will Collin
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As part of the 150th anniversary programme, pupils from Dunbar Primary School posted letters to various parts of the USA. Each letter was signed by a P7 pupil, the same age as the young John Muir was when he left Dunbar, and DJMA president Dan Cairney. They were posted in the box in front of John Muir House and took best wishes from Dunbar to President Bill Clinton, Vice President AI Gore, Minister of the Interior Bruce Babbit as well as the Governors of California, Wisconsin and Alaska, the states most associated with John Muir. Also included in the mailing list were the Mayors of Haines, Alaska, of Meaford, Ontario and of Martinez, California, the President of the Sierra Club, the Director of the 'John Muir Study Center' at the University of the Pacific, and the American Ambassador to the UK.
A reply on behalf of the Ambassador includes a list of places and schools named after John Muir. There are no fewer than 21 schools in California alone which bear his name. The list, which also appears on the World Wide Web and is maintained by the Sierra Club (http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/geography/place_names.html), opens with Dunbar's John Muir Country Park and John Muir House. With East Lothian Council recently naming Muir as East Lothian's man of the millennium, it would be great if the school in which he received all his formal pre-university education could also carry his name!
Will Collin
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The central entrance door will be reinstated - wide enough for wheelchair access. The existing side door will be blocked up. In 1978, the entire exterior of the building was stripped out to the bare supporting walls and reconstructed. Wherever possible the existing structure will be utilised, perhaps with a colour wash for the harling.
A signboard will identify the building as the birthplace of John Muir in 1838. This could possibly be a modern interpretation of the traditional shop sign. There could also possibly be a sculpture, for example echoing the one outside the town house by using seabirds as the link - this would help to emphasise the significance of an otherwise very plain building.
The aim is for the atmosphere on the ground floor to be of a lively contemporary centre - a meeting place for local people and visitors, changing frequently local and global in its message and a rich source of information about local walks, excursions and other John Muir sites. At the same time it will communicate clearly who John Muir was and why his work is of such relevance today.
A high light space will be created by removing the first 2.5 metres of the first floor at the front of the building. Here, visitors will be introduced to John Muir - Who was he? When was he born? What did he do? What did he achieve? This will be set against large static or projected images of the living monuments which provided his inspiration - Yosemite valley, the giant redwoods, Alaskan glaciers - along with Scotland's wild places. Opposite, in this same space, will be an image of Dunbar in the 1840's with this house and the High Street, as John Muir would have known it.
This first space will hit home the stature of the mall as the father of the global conservation movement, while at the same time giving people the essential facts of who? when? where?
Here visitors will be confronted by a large monitor carrying wildlife-related and conservation programmes. Opposite will be a small temporary exhibition space available to the community and others to mount exhibitions on John Muir, conservation, the environment and so on.
At the reception desk a large interpretative map with a bird's eye illustration of Dunbar and the surrounding countryside will enable staff to explain what there is to visit locally. Here there will also be the control panels for audio-visual installations in the building, internet links and closed circuit TV monitors if required. Decisions have still to be taken on where a charge will be made for access to the upper floors. If there is to be a charge, the reception desk will act as the pay barrier.
By contrast to the other two floors, the atmosphere on the middle floor will be one of quiet contemplation. This floor will be divided into two parts.
Muir's whole life, from his birth and early life in Dunbar to his exalted position as advisor to the US President on the National Parks movement, will be told using photographs, facsimiles of documents, extracts from his writings, contemporary newspaper articles, etc. The emphasis will be on his childhood in Dunbar, using archive material of the period, his own recollections, and other contemporary accounts.
Along the side walls of this area will be bookcases containing books which Muir read, those he wrote and those which have been inspired by his life and work. Other walls will display conservation work that is happening today in Scotland and around the world as a direct result of the movement, which he began. A voice will read quotations from Muir's writings - from the earliest recollections of his boyhood, his journeys, the articles he wrote which changed the public and political perception of the importance of preserving wilderness. The emphasis will be on the depth of Muir's feeling for nature and the power of his use of language - arguably his most important qualities
Level 3 will be a busy, interactive area packed with wall to wall information - computers, software, and reference copies of books. Visitors will be able to find out all they wish to know about John Muir through the latest in computers. An area of this floor will be allocated to a 'newsroom' displaying up-to-the-minute press and other media reports on the ecological crisis, contrasted with the good news success stories on reforestation, reintroduction of species, development of sustainable policies, etc.
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It is intended to open the house to the public during summer 1999. The regular Tuesday Town Trail Guided Walks will start from the house and the top floor
Museum will again be open in its present form.
It is hoped to apply for a grant to equip the DJMA office and base it at the house, to continue Muir's work to inspire and campaign for change.
Volunteers will be needed to staff the office: please, if you can spare a few hours, a morning or an afternoon, during the summer months, get in touch with Duncan Smeed (865257) or Will Collin (863162).
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Meet at 11.00am at the John Muir Country Park car park for a family walk hopefully with a ranger, to be followed by a barbecue lunch (bring something to share).
Visit of children from Yosemite Junior High School.
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A group of children and their teachers from Yosemite Junior High School will spend 3 days in the area as part of a Scottish tour. They will arrive in Dunbar on Thursday, 6th May and will visit the John Muir House and walk the John Muir Town Trail in the morning. In the afternoon, they will enjoy a trip around the Bass Rock with the Dunbar Life Boat. Their first evening here will be spent with their host families.
On Friday, 7th May they will be guests at Assembly at Dunbar Primary School, after which they will visit the John Muir Country Park with the Ranger and spend some time engaged on a conservation project there, with a BBQ at lunchtime. That evening they will experience the joys of a Scottish Ceilidh at Innerwick Village Hall with haggis, neeps and tatties. A display of Scottish Country dancing is also planned during the evening.
On Saturday, 8th May the children and their teachers will have a conducted tour of East Lothian, followed in the evening by an American night, complete with hot dogs! There will also be a display of line dancing.
DJMA members are warmly invited to join the conservation project on the Friday - bring your lunch - and to come along to the ceilidh the same night in Innerwick and the American night on Saturday 8th May. (A small charge may be necessary for the evening events).
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